The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1916-03-23


After the election In 1914, one JEFF
rerson, an employee OF the Capital
news, came to Standpoint. During the
course or his visit there he called
upon me and made known that his
business with me was In the Interest
of the job department OF the Capital
News. He stated that as secretary of
state would have at my disposal a
considerable amount Of job work and
that he desired that should give to
the Capital News a portion Of this
work to be done during my term In
ONCE. I replied that job work In my
-office would go to Republican news
papers so far as the minor work was
concerned, and that in cases where Ii
would be to the states interest to
have bids submitted, j would be guild
ed by my own knowledge Of papers
and job plants in the state in the mat
ter OF calling for such bids. He there
upon said, II think the News will be
Republican paper and that part Of
1t viii be arranged replied that
the News had not been Republican
paper since my knowledge OF it. and
that 1t would be necessary for the
News to give some evidence Of its reg
ulartty as Republican organ before
1 would consider 1t Republican pa
per.
This will no doubt explain to the
general public any animus which the
Capital News has toward me as q
public official. If my position In re-
lation thereto meets with the criti-
cism OF the taxpayers Of this state,
am ready to suffer any penalty that
such criticism may direct
A1tbnx.uT. ~ ..>>x.ax.~A~a
Tor q party presumably In opposition
to that of which Governor Alexander
was candidate, Mr.. Br0xon, the edi-
tor Of the News, was made private
secretary to the high and hitherto dig
nified position of chief executive of
this state. This was palpable ex-
change by the governor with the edi-
tor of the Capital News for publicity
through the columns OF the paper
which the private secretary edits.
That such an unholy bargain was
made Is evident from the fact that the
Capital News each day contains fat
tering encomiums of the governor to
the exclusion OF any other news or
such mention as might masquerade
under the head OF news.
That Governor Alexander uses the
columns of this paper for his own ag-
grandizement and for his own adver-
ttsement is personally known to me
because upon one occasion last fall,
when his stenographer was busy with
private work OF q social nature for
the governor, he asked me for the ser
vices OF my stenOgrapher, which
readily granted him on the assump-
ton that 1t was for the transaction Of
state business, and he dictated an In
terview concerning his travels abroad,
believe In Teton county at that time
which appeared in three column ar
ticle In the News Of the next day.
The contention of the Republican
members of the land board is pretty
well established. Miss Mccoy, state
superintendent OF public instruction,
brought before the board statement
made In the Capital News concerning
the land board, which attempted to
make the governor the Atlas upon
whose. shoulders rested the load of
the states delinquent loans. The min
utes of the land board proceedings
show that all members OF the board
gard to the delinquent land loans
as was the governor. When Miss Nc
Coy complained of the apparent
thrust at the Republican members OF
the land board by the governors or
gan, the governor denied any knowl-
edge of what appeared from time to
time In the News and shirked any re-
spOnsibility for the. article i'm Ques-
ton. 1t then became the land boards
privilege to ascertain where the News
received its information In regard to
land board matters.
BY simple and apparent process
of elimination, the Republican mem
bers of the land board satisfied them
selves that the governor reported land
board meetings to his paper. The
governor was given the opportunity
to have brought before the board the
editor and report of his paper, to
shows that this conclusion Of the Re
publican members Of the board could
be erroneous.
The governor objected to his private
secretary editor appearing before the
board but acquiesced In the invita-
ton that the reporter of his paper
should be invited to appear before
the land board in explanation, IL he
80 desired.
For the News to claim that this was
an effort to censor" the purported
news columns of the governors paper
is simply setting up an issue which
does not exist, for purpose very APP
parent. The issue before the land
board was to prove the source of the
News information in regard to land
board matters, and it was established
to the satisfaction of the Republican
members of the board that this source
was Governor Alexander himself.
The people of this state have the
right to know how closely identified
the governor is with the organ whose
editor is his private secretary. They
should know this that they may know
when they see an article in the paper
in relation to the governor, that 1t Il
the same as If they read one of his
advertisements In the paper for his
store, the only difference being thai
In the case of his clothing advertise
ments, he pays for them out Of hii
pocket, the purpose of such publicity
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