The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-07-07

4 The politics of the state Is at a
critical point now and may develop
such confusion in the present cam
paign that party lines will go to
pieces as they never have for a de-
cade. We have had some great and
good men for chief executives, and
they have all made mistakes in
plenty. We have had some men and
women in the official families that
have administered the state govern
ment, but among them have been
many scoundrels. A few s%coundrels
in an administration, along with
some who are looking for easy money
or for business advantage given them
on account of their positions, work.
ing in conjunction with some spine
less people who have not the courage
to oppose the wrong when they see
it and who figuratively shut one eye
for fear they will see something
wrong, can get state affairs into a
bad middle in the course of their
term of office. 1t is such things as
this that have ~discredited our Carey
act projects in Idaho and ruined so
many people who tried to make
homes on them. 1t has enabled
grafters to make fortunes off of the
settlers and bond holders and yet
the officials may not have profited
by the plumbers they made that
favored these promoters.
Each administration has made it's
mistakes, and when anything dis
agreeable came to light, somebody
was usually made "the goat" and
it is always difficult to decide where
to place the blame. Each political
party tries to shift it to the other.
When a great hub-bub was raised by
the Democrats over the bad loan
made to a farmer for more than his
land was worth, investigation show
ed that a Democratic governor had
recommended the loan and made all
the arrangements for it, and that 1t
was about the only favor he ever
asked for anybody during his term
as chairman of the land board.
Two years ago grave charges were
being made against the state treas
urer, O. V. Allen and leading men of
his party were opposed to his being
a candidate for reelection. Had the
convention method of nominations
been in vogue be would have been
kept off of the ticket, but by mean
of the direct primary he put his
case up to the voters direct and they
nominated him. The party could not
help itself and it did not try until
the treasurer plead guilty to a charge
of ENLIGHTENMENT and then they filed
the vacancy on the ticket.
In the same campaign the people
of Bingham county nominated one
A. s.. Dickinson for county attorney,
and when the editor of this paper
refused to support him and asked the
Republican county central committee
to secure his resignation and get
him off the ticket they declined to
act, saying that the people had nom
mated him and therefore it was not
for them to remove him. The peo-
pie reconsidered the matter and re-
tired him at the November election.
The party had 10 power to get him
the ticket, and was unwilling to
act if it had the power.
The state committee appointed ].
w. Eagleson as the Republican nom
inee for state treasurer and he was
and Is now serving. He has
introduced so many reforms and so
much of new system for conducting
the office and safe guarding the
money. that the most of the
administration is fighting him. He
a candidate for reelection and we
shall have more to say about him
During the last Republican admin
Istration, a state official who was in
in some lands, secured a
loan of state school money, and a
great fuss was made about it. The
.oan was paid off, and the SUPPOSE
ion is that it was paid with state