The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-02-23
WHY BLACKFOOT
is SLOW

WHY BLACKFOOT
is SLOW
Blackfoot people are discussing
the purchase of the water works,
but not very much. It is a subject
that is easily dismissed because no
body is obliged to study it or to reach
conclusions or to be responsible II
mistakes are made in the decision
that is finally reached One of the
beauties about a republic is that
everybody can do as he pleases and
If mistakes are made in conducting
the public business, everybody has
to pay part of the penalty and they
never know just what the individual
losses are. If nobody but the mayor
and council had any voice in settling
the water question; # nobody else
was allowed to discuss it or to ex-
press any preference or opinion; if
will buy them back. We have been
any one who was caught discussing
prison for a period of three months
for the first offense and two years for
the second, men would stop each
other in the middle of the street and
on the railroad tracks to whisper
their convictions about it; women
would hang across the fence and talk
in undertones about water, detailing
to each other every scrap of informa-
ton they possessed, and considering
the reasonableness or the unreason-
ableness of it. They would confide
to each other just how much water
they use in day by actual measure
ment, they would count the houses
in their blocks and the men would
hold secret meetings at the houses
of well-known belligerents, and, with
a guard at the front and back, they
would run the estimates and mea-
surements into totals and rejoice that
they had found the precious truths
about water and it's consumption in
the city of their adoption.
They would discuss ways and
means to get on the council; they
would lay deep plots by which to de-
lay action by that body till after the
spring elections, and then they would
devote all their waking hours not
needed in winning their daily bread,
to furthering the chances of getting
the men of their choice, the men who
sat with them in the secret meetings,
on the council So profound and SO
earnest would be their deliberations
that they would sit in darkness with
their heads together and whisper
their thoughts lest some lurking cos
sack or Sewelits or Drewite should
pounce upon and arrest the bunch and
I, hot c+o 70 fc onpkod ond
turned over to the court to be used
as evidence against them il they dar-
ed to defend themselves.
In Jail and Out
And out of it all there would
spring greater interest. With some
of their number languishing in pris-
on cells, the others would redouble
their vigilance, and at the spring
election, every cottage and howell
would yield up votes galore for some
body who stood for the peoples
rights in regard to water and how
to pump it. Standing opposed to
them in the race would be Lord
Peckem, Count Berrymander, Sir
Bertrand Of Pennington, Count Won
Hesser, Rear Admiral Clarkson, Sir
Fred Pelekypelk, Wesley See of the
Thomperland, Lord Bolingbroke,
Lorenzo Arlington of the High
Bench, Chief James of the Operating
Engineers and Chancellor Are Ess
DeCadence 1t would be great and
memorable struggle; the People ver-
sus the Powers that Bee. The water
question would be pumped so dry
OF facts that not an item Of interest
but would have halo around it.
When the pumps were pulled up, de-
molished and thrown into the river
as an incident of the struggle, when
the belligerents became thirsty and
realized that the non-combatants, the
women and children were also suf-
fering for water, then all the con-
tending forces would meet at The
Hague, sign a scrap of paper and
hurry home to get drink
Banquet Has Bearing
Figuratively speaking, that is the
way public interest would respond
to the occasion if the people were
prohibited from having any voice in
the present water question. But as
it is they are invited to express their
wishes in the matter and they do
not warm up to the subject. They
are urged to take an interest in a
subject that concerns them and their
families even unto the third genera
ton; they have been invited to at
tend big public banquet where all
could meet as friends and on equal
ity, but as soon as the music and the
eating were finished they began to
look for convenient time to slip
out and leave the discussion of the
water question to others. If there
had been no feed" very few would
have been there. If they had had to
remain in darkness and talk in whis-
pers nobody would have remained a
minute. r.
Editor Gets a Rap
The press of the town will convey
to the people all the information 1t
can get about the water plant and
the prospects of the growth of the
town and the future needs of the