The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-03-16
Secretary of State Barker. Tells How
Governor Alexander Uses the State
Employees To Handle Private Work


: News information in regard to Ian
] board matters. and it was establishe
: to the satisfaction of the Republican
! members OF the board that this sourc
( was Governor Alexander himself.
: People Have a Right to Know.
] 1.-THE people of this state have tn
right to know how closely identifies
the governor is with the organ who's
I editor is his private secretary. The!
| should know this that they may know
when they see an article in the pape
in relation to the governor, that 1t Ii
the same as II they read one of hi;
advertisements in the paper for hii
store, the only difference being tha
in the case of his clothing advertise.
ments, he pays for them out of his
pocket, the purpose of such publicity
being the same in both cases, that Of
gain. If a public corporation owned
a paper in this city, its attitude to-
ward matters pertaining to its in
terests would qualify If it did not null
lily the effect of it's expression con-
concerning such questions.
IF the land board proves then that
Governor Alexander is not only the
directing agency of the News, not only
that his private secretary is its edi-
tor, but that he furnishes either
through a reporter or by furnishing
the copy himself, the news which his
paper prints about him, then what the
paper prints about him is destroyed
in its effect, and any criticism that
should be made of any officials in
opposition to the governor are also
nullfied for the same reason.
The land board has the right to
this protection and I believe the peo-
pie understand that it exercised that
right in securing from the governor
the final admission that he uses the
organ for his personal purposes.
Wallis Case Again.
"As to my being publicity agent Of
the republican state central commit
ditions about the statehouse over
year ago. have only this to say: The
conditions as l remember them con-
sisted of the Allen embezzlement and
the Wallis graft. In the Allen case the
News had the story of the Allen en-
bezzlement a day before it was print
ed and allowed itself to be 'scooped' by
its contemporary Perhaps the News
would like to explain to its readers why
that was the case In the Wallis mat
ter, we find the private secretary to
the governor intertwined in the graft
with Wallis throughout a legislative
report which is a part of the files of
this state; and we find Mr.. Broxon so
closely related to his superior in graft
that he sought the good offices of the
public officials in securing mitigation
for Wallis.
These matters however are only
touched upon because of the News
evident desire to talk away from the
matter at issue, which is that the re-
publican members of the land board
proved to their satisfaction that the
governor of this state not only has as
his private secretary the editor of the
News, but sees that the paper delivers
the goods by not trusting the editor to
see that the goods are delivered, but
delivers the goods himself
Attending to Business.
MY record for attending to public
business Is quite in contrast with that
of the governor editor. 1t is well
known that the governor is away from
the state house about half his time
For instance, he has gone to Idaho
Falls to occupy a pulpit Sunday even
ing, when the board of parole meets
ON Monday, and he viii not be able to
be present to take care of the states
business at that time, preferring pulpit
electioneering to the regular business
Of the state.
AS for the private secretary, he
must occupy some of his time at least
IN advertising the fact that the gov
ernor has returned from another trip,
where he has found that the marbL.
columns of the hosiery at Pinky wink
remind him of the marble columns of |
he Waldorf-Astoria, and that if the
menu served him at the sewing cir
les meeting at Skeedunk had been
served in courses 1t would have taken
It least 10 courses to have served the
neal"