The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1919-12-26

house, and among other things,
created department Of good roads.
They discussed the matter Of the
proposed bonding, and there was a
strong inclination to endorse the
bonding proposition coming up in
the April election. There was q
very pronounced sentiment that this
is a corrupt county whose officers
will bear watching, and that if the
road work and expenditures could be
scrutinized close enough and kept
safe and honest, it would be good
idea to endorse the bonding PROPOSE
ton and get behind it. Much i'm
portance was attached to what they
said and much anxiety was felt as
to what they should do and the in
fluence it would have for or against
roads. Marion Ginger of Aberdeen
was made leader of the good roads
department.
During the road bond campaign a
number of meetings were held and
some very earnest discussion dealt
with the subject of the ability and
Jegrity of our county officials, and
the probability of their wasting the
bond money or large proportion of
1T, and the chances for contractors
getting large blocks of the money
and delivering but, little road grade
for it. They also went into the
question of buying road machinery
and throwing liberal commissions to
favorites, and employing high-priced
engineers and superintendent to
absorb the money riding around in
fine automobiles.
Could Not be
True
Numbers Of men said that if they
could only know that the money
would be honestly expended for
roads, so that we should get almost
a dollars worth of road for each dol
lar expended, they would not hest
tate to vote for the bond. But they
did not believe it was possible that
this would be done. Many men said
that if we could be sure of getting
70 or 80 cents worth of road for
each dollar expended they would
still vote for the bonds. There were
some who freely predicted that it
would be handled so the people in
the towns would get the most of the
money and the roads in and around
BlackfoOt would get the bulk of the
improvements, and the outlying dis
tricts would pay the bill and get
little or nothing. They predicted
that it would be the old story of the
farmer getting the hot end of the
iron, and the town people getting the
advantage. Some expressed the hope
and the belief that there would be
an honest administration, and that
the roads leading to the beet dumps
and loading stations, and the lines
of heaviest travel would receive the
improvements, and so fierce was the
criticism that anyone who talked
hopefully in that line was regarded
with suspicion and looked upon
somewhat in the light of dreamer.
The bond election carried by a
vote of over SO per cent land in the
early summer when the machinery
was nearly all bought and the or
ganization was getting well into the
work, an agitation was started, de-
claring that the county money was
being squandered for n achinery that
was not needed, that co Inty officials
were making outrageous commits
SiOns OH it, that poor tractors were
being bought just because one of the
commissioners could get a commits
sion on them, and at water meeting
so much fear was aroused that a
mass meeting was appointed at
which time it was expected that de-
cision would be reached as to the
wisdom of stopping all road work
by injunction.
Sifted the ...
Problems
This paper conducted thoro in
quiry into all these charges and pub
lished report as to our findings.
1t showed that strong organization
had been built up, good help was do
ing effective work, no graft or COM
missions could be discovered, the
charges about poor machinery
seemed ungrounded, the agitators
who were the keenest to stop the
work remained away from the mass
meeting that followed two days after
publication of our report, and from
that time on, the good roads depart
ment of the farm bureau paid so lit
tie attention to road matters that
at the annual meeting of the bureau
held last week the leader of the de-
partment was not there to make a
report, that department did not seem
to have anything to recommend it,
and it was dropped from the list of
departments.
Good Men in
SOdom
There is lesson in the foregoing
matters worthy of some reflection.
The very favorable showing in road
construction all thru the summer
and at the close of the season, must
be very reassuring to all sincere
friends of road improvement, and it
must be very embarrassing subject
for all those who for selfish reasons
or .out of faulty thinking arising
from the heart, were predicting evil
and trying to have people act upon
a foregone and incorrect conclusion.
The voices of those men will prob,
=, l,1y Mt ho hard vary much in