The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-01-30
BILL PUTTING
STATE BACK OF
CAREY PROJECTS
HOUSE BILL WOULD IMPOSE NEW
DUTIES ON STATE BOARD OF
LAND COMMISSIONERS.
ALL SUITS TO Be INSTITUTED
BY ATTORNEY GENERAL
Duty Of Board Would Be To Do All
Things Necessary to Secure Enforce
ment of Contracts Entered Into BY
The State of Idaho.
Editorial Correspondence

fFOtlOIlal CORRESPONDENCE
BOISE. Jan 30-To get behind its
Carey act projects in fact as well as
in name, is the duty that will be inn
posed upon the state board of land
commissioners if house bill number
ia by a member of the Twin Falls
delegation, becomes a law. The bill
carries an appropriation of ten thous-
and dollars to make it effective.
Under theprovisions of this bill
there would be no more Settlers
suits" no more defensive organiza-
tons, no more arbitrary rule Of
Carey act by construction companies;
and much less trouble generally.
1t places squarely upon the board
the duty of doing ANY and all things
necessary to secure the enforcement
of the terms and provisions of all
contracts entered into by the state"
under the Carey act laws, and requires
the attorney general "to institute and
maintain" all such suits or actions; al
so ito institute all suits or actions
that may be required in behalf of the
settlers. to determine their interests
under any contract made by the state
or under any contract between the
settlers and the promotion company
where the provisions of such con-
tracts and the forms thereof have
been approved by the state" 1t re-
quires the attorney general to defend
actions of like character, either on
behalf of the state or of the settlers
that may have been or may hereafter
be instituted by the promotion COM
pany' The costs of such actions are
to be paid by the state, and ten thous-
and dollars is appropriated to cover
the additional expense to which the
state will be put to carry out the pro-
visions of the act.
The bill carries an emergency
clause to put it into effect immediate
| ly upon passage and upon being sign
| ed by the governor, instead of await
ing the statutory time of sixty days.
The governor, while generally OPP
posed to appropriations of any kind
is known to be favorable to the bill
as drawn, and will no doubt ask that
it be regarded as an administration
measure, to have the solid support OF
the Democratic members in both the
house and senate In such an event
its passage is, of course, assured. Ir
his message to the legislature the
governor said:
"The attorney general ought to b'
required by law to bring all suit
that may be required in behalf of thu
settlers to determine their interests
under any contract made by the state
and the state should pay the cour
costs of all such litigation"
More or less trouble has come fron
every Carey act contract entered int
by the state. Very often the difficult
has not been serious and has been east
ly adjusted. But from some of tn
projects there has been no end @
trouble, due to various causes. In tn
case of the Big Lost River. King Hill
West-End and others, financial diff
culties prevented the promoters froI
completing those projects, with tire
mendous losses resulting to the sci
tiers who had been induced to take u
lands. Because the Carey act opera
tions are under the direction of til
state, and because state officials hav
5 represented that the state stood bac
2 of the settlers who took up lands, an
would fully protect their interest
large numbers of people from til
/ Middle West were induced to inves
in lands on these projects, only
4 learn, as one after another of thes
schemes went to the wall, that til
state left the settlers to the tendC
mercies of the companies. SuccessiN
land boards denied responsibility fC
a the mistakes of the past, and the il
q vestors who thought the state stoo
: back of them, have discovered thi
they stood alone, backed by poor
r drawn contracts, full of loop hole
+ and confronted with foreclosure a.
o tons.
Other causes resulted in the di
asters of other projects, and for son
of such causes the state itself has bee
i responsible by virtue of the negl
I gence of its officials.
Confronted with ruin the settle
on many Of these projects have o
l. ganized to protect their mutual il
n terests; and on the other projec