The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1915-06-17

thousand and five hundred dollars for
the silver service for the battleship
idaho contracted for during Governor
| Hawleys administration and by charg-
Ing to the Haines administration the
appropriation Of one hundred thousand
dollars for the Frisco exposition, the
greater part of which will be spnet
l by his own administration.
| Naturally enough, the consequent i'm
preston was that advertisement was
| Governor Alexanders one purpose, and
/ the question, What will be his next
stunt?" became general This was soon
answered, however. by his utilization
/ of the churches as factors OF his poll
| tical advertising bureau and this lit
tie scheme is being worked to its ut
most capacity. for wherever and when
ever the governor can secure an invi-
tation to speak in church, he accepts,
but IL has begun to dawn upon the
more thoughtful Of the church people
-, that they are being made the playthings
OF willy politician who Is desecrating
the house of the Lord to the level Of
politics, and for the extension of poll
teal rather than spiritual power A
strong reaction OF sentiment has set
in, so strong that there has been such
|
tdon is fast arising among the churches
against the continuance OF their being
made political adjuncts of Governor
Alexander. and 1t Is highly probable
| that their effective use will soon be
lost to the governor.
Indicative OF the opposition to the
governors use OF the churches, 1t is
to be noted that substantial support
ers Of two churches advised that they
would not stand for their churches be-
Ing converted into political auxiliaries
Of Governor Alexander, and that II
he was permitted to deliver addresses
In them that their support would be
Withdrawn.
AS has been indicated, the governors
one object seems to be publicity, poll
IDEAL advertisement, and that he has
an uncomfortable penchant for this is
still further evidenced by an article
In recent issue Of the American Mag
izine, bearing all the ear-marks of an
inspired, II not paid-for, article, in
which 1t Is stated that for years,
Governor Alexander has been referred
to In this state as Honest Nose a
statement which will be received by
nine tenths of the citizens of the
state with surprise.
However. this method of advertising
Is In harmony with all of Governor
Alexanders course, for except In the
way of advertising, he has done but
little for the state. Proof Is abundant
that he is of destructive rather than
constructive temperament and 1t
now seems certain that he viii leave
no enduring monument of his admins
tration. His claim of having saved
the state a million dollars has been
proven a jugglery of figures to de-
ceive, his North and South railroad
Is now a Joke and his gallery playing
through the churches not only marks
him as a demagogue, but humiliates
the citizenship of the state regardless
Of political affiliations.
As a result Of an oversight of the
legislature by which all reference to
an appropriation was omitted in the
title OF the bill, although the bill,
itself. carried an appropriation of ten
thousand dollars, the office OF the
farm markets director, created by the
last legislature Dis likely to be suspend
ed.
The defect OF the law was called to
the attention of the attorney generals
office this week, and in passing upon
the legality of the act creating the
office, Captain r. @. Davis, assistant
attorney general, held that the act is
not a law because the title does not
set forth the fact that 1t embodies an
appropriation as required by Article g.
Section IS, OF the state constitution
and in view of the fact that the state
auditor is liable on his official bond
for all payments of claims for which
there is not a valid appropriation in
the state treasury that official was
advised for his own protection to re-
fuse to honor claims of this depart
ment until the question OF it's appro-
priation is passed upon by the courts
While the advice given to the state
auditor had nothing to do with the
department affected, except as 1t af-
fected the state audior and subjected
him to suit for the recovery OF money
paid out illegally, it may be stated that
ed with much favor by the people as
they hold 1t to be too largely in the
nature OF an experiment.
But two other states have such de-
partments. and even to them their
value Is as yet held to be highly prob
lematic, 1t Is contended that our state
government Is already top-heavy, and
that so young state as Idaho can not
financially afford to experiment with
fads and fancies which have not APP
pealed to older. wealthier and more
completely developed states but that
II will be the part of wisdom and In
line with the general demand for econ
omy and retrenchment to prune off the
burdening appendages of our state gov
eminent wherever possible and especial
~ where their usefulness has not been
clearly evidenced.
The fact that the products Of the
farmers are being very largely dis
posed of through their own co-opera-
tive distributing associations which have
been so successful the past few years
is also used as an argument against
the usefulness of this department by
many farmers who consider that 1t on
ly served to provide berth for an
office holder at the expense of the
taxpayers of the state