The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1919-02-14
D0|NGs OF OUR
STATE LEGISLATURE
Comments Sent in by Our
Boise Correspondent

When we undertook TO write
weakly" letter to the Gazette we
assumed that during the meeting of
the state legislature we would have
plenty of good material, but our
ideas have gone wrong. We do not
care to critlcise but thus far there
is little else to do. The present
body is made up of retormers.
Economy is their watchword and
yet actions do not accord herewith.
Here is one of many instances: A
reading clerk was employed in the
house, clearly an innovation. He
is a young kid with a loud voice
that everybody hears but nobody
understands. He is paid six dollars
a day. On the fifth day Of Feb
ruary the writer was present and
the work of this special reading
clerk consisted of fifteen minutes
of actual reading for the day. So
it goes along other lines. But why
grumble? Even Boise is wishing
that the legislature would adjourn
and go home.
There is movement on foot to
complete the wings Of the state
house at a cost of $500, ,OOO.O0 thus
creating work for the returning
soldiers soldiers. This in
itself may be very commendaDle
thing but entirely unnecessary so
far as providing Accommodations for
the legislative bodies is concerned
as all wise conclusions of these
solons are reached at the Owyhee
Hotel. The legislative halls are
only occasional meeting places for
recording the votes already agreed
upon and for this purpose the
present legislative halls are ample.
A sort of hysteria has taken hold
of many of the members of the state,
legislature in referance to the re-
turning soldiers. They are predi ct
ing all sorts Ut caIamities unless
something is done to give the SOL
diers jobs. The assumption is that
the returning soldiers will be
dumped down in a body. They
seem to forget that the soldiers are
coming to their own homes, at least
in most cases, and rather slowly at
that. Most of them will drop right
into their old places having been
absent but a few months. This is
especially true of the farmer sol
dier. These Legislators talk loudly
about "the empty stomachs' of SOL
diers who will thus be inclined to
join the Bolshevists. They fail to
remember that the soldiers are the
pick of each community, the
physically fit.
A few days ago we happened to
find the Lower House in session.
The question before the House was
whether an amendment to the
present law, that allows ten cents a
day for keeping estrays, should be
changed to twenty-five cents day.
Aiis brought ont the most spirited
-W,cussion we have heard in this
body. 1t was one of those rare
cases when each member seemed to
understand the. meaning of the
question at issue. Even the women
showed that they had opinions on
the subject. After extended dis
cusison, the H. G. of L. seeming to
be the determining factor, the nigh
er rate prevailed.
Unless Governor Davis is wiser
man than his friends believe him
to be, he will be wading in deep
water before his term expires.
When his Bill was discussed in the
House one of the brightest men in
it republican, believed that "this
Bill is striking at the very founda-
tiun of the state government in
abolishing functions that it has
taken years to build up" He was
also responsible for the statement
that neither the public nor the
legislature understood the Bill. In
view of the latter statement il
would not be expected that this
scribe should tell the Gazette fam.
lily just what the Bill is. Suffice il
to say that it reorganizes the state
government and reduces it from
forty-eight divisions to nine, Civ.
ing the Governor almost unlimited
power.