Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1916-07-07
Lively Time at Committee Meeting

state platform convention held at
Boise, Tuesday and Wednesday, Isl
to the effect that the dramatic in
cident Of the meeting was the APP
pearance before the committee on
resolutions Of Attorney General Pet
erson and Secretary Of State Barker.
A hostile attitude was taken by
some of the delegates against the
land board as a whole because of
the Huston loan. Ned Jenness of
Canyon county who is editor of a
paper and who was dismissed as reg
lister by the land board last Septem-
Der, was on the committee on resolu-
tons and made every effort to secure
the passage of a plank which would
arraign the land board. Several
planks were submitted from the
same source but the one which was
finally adopted and appears in the
platform was compromise between
the hot heads who sought to even
up their score with the land board
members either for themselves or
for their friends, and those conserv-
alive leaders who desired evidence
before they arrived at their conclu-
sions.
While the plank that was adopted
was under discussion, Mr.. Barker
was afforded the courtesy Of the
floor and told in detail the history
of the Huston loan. He showed how
the loan came before the board TO-
gether with other loan applications
a I'd that the immediate former own
ership of the land by Auditor Hus-
ton never came before the board. in-
asmuch as the abstracts are not
brought before that body. He ex-
planned the manner in which loans
are made; that the application is
read by the register, together with
the appraisement and that the regis
ter when the loan is granted informs
the applicant that the warrants will
be sent out upon the furnishing Of
an abstract to the attorney generals
Office showing title. Mr.. Barker ex-
planned that the events which trans
pired in relation to the cashing of
the warrants at the Idaho Falls bank
did not come to light until the regis
ter wrote the bank in May to ascer-
tain If the escrow letter conveying
the warrants had not been received
by the bank, the information being
returned that the warrants were
presented and cashed without any
escrow letter accompanying them.
Attorney General Peterson fol-
lowed with defense of the land
board ia which he stated that the
board had made million dollars
worth Of loans in the last year and a
half: had cleaned up by foreclosure
and threats of foreclosure loans
which had become delinquent pre-
vious to January 1st, 1914. and that
the board had now ordered forecloss
ure on all delinquent loans previous
to January LIST, 1916. He maintain
ed that the state had never lost one
dollar on any of its loans, that where
lands had gone to foreclosure there
had been ample security for the
states money. He maintained that
it was unfair to make one unfortun-
ate occurrence the subject for gen
eral attack. He paid tribute to
Secretary Barker and said that there
had never been a man in the state
house who had tried harder to keep
himself clean and free from reproach
than had he.
The tense dramatic part of Peter
sons talk, which became as he went
along one of the most earnest and
eloquent orations ever delivered by
him, was when he addressed his re-
marks to Governor Cooding, who
had taken the stand that neither
Eagleson nor Barker should run for
a second term. Peterson said: we
have heard it said today that the
party must not go into the campaign
making defense for any man on
the ticket. There will be no defense
necessary for Mr.. Barker. The cir
cumstanceg which surrounded tha