Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1917-03-02
ANOTHER LETTER
FROM BOISE
Confined from last week.

The irrigation laws of the state
have had to be patched up and
repealed, for times and condi-
tions keep changing all the time.
And then too a law is like a doc
tors medicine it doesn't always
do what is claimed or expected of
it. Good legislation consists of
applying the grease to the squeak
as located. One prime requisite
of good legislator is to thor
oughly know your state, for one
is constantly called upon to de-
eide on matters that do not in
any way affect his particular Sec
ton and yet is of vital Importance
to other sections. Yet there is
no better way to get this infor-
nation than to sit in the legisla-
tive hail. l find that the people
on the south know less about the
north than the north knows
about the south. Before | came
to Boise, in fact for years, I had
heard so much about the Nor
mons that they had almost
aroused my curiosity as to wheth-
er they were any different than
any other people. Perhaps this
was due to the lack of under
standing how they could support
more than one wife when it
keeps the most of US busy to pro-
vide for one. But since l am
down here have heard a great
deal about their religion, see
some of the pillars of the church
every day and l have learned to
admire and respect them. They
are sincere in their beliefs and
do not practice polygamy al
though it is not contrary to their
faith, in fact is one of the salient
and distinguishing features of
the same. But this is not all of
their religion by any means.
They are most estimable people
and certainly do not seem the
least bit clannish. I feel that
this statement would sound re-
diculous here in Boise for who
would suppose they were differ
ent from any other people, but
after all that l had heard about
them it seemed there must be
some outstanding feature that
distinguished them from other
people.
In the lower house we have
many interesting characters.
The dean of the house is an old
man by the name of Hansen from
Twin Falls. He is 70 years old,
quite wealthy, being president of
the First National Bank in his
town and owning great deal of
property around there. He has
been in Idaho AZ years and has
seen the evolution of the desert
of Southern Idaho TO the wonder
full oasis that it is brought about
by turning the water into the
land. love to talk to him. He
is such a fine old man, not highly
educated in the sense that educa-
ton is nowadays considered but
in the ways of the world he has
graduated from the school of ex-
perience. What makes him in
teresting is his noble character
and his standpat democracy. He
is with the boys, heart and soul,
never misses a caucus and does
not hesitate to have the steam
roller pass over the minority. AS
an illustration of his noble char
acter I need only cite the latest
tragedy in his life by which al
most his entire family was wiped
out Of existence in a railroad
crossing accident near Twin Falls.
A moving train struck the auto
mobile in which were riding his
aged wife and two daughters,
killing them instantly and injur-
ing the driver, The railroad
company figured they would have
to pay heavy damages since he
had money with which to make
a fight and apparently very little
other use left for it so they offer
ed to settle for $40, 900. But the