The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-01-30


took delight in them. He was 9
large man yet he was nimble on his
feet. He ran races himself in the
.arly days, but as he grew older and
heavier he sat or stood in the judges
stand and watched others run. He
ran for office once in his later years
md threw, bomb among the poll
ticians by announcing that he pro-
posed to be county treasurer-man
willing and women aiding-with
their votes. He admitted that he
was not man of figures, but he said
lie could sit back and appoint a
deputy just as well as a man of let
! tiers, and If they would give him
| votes enough he would show them
that he could take, the salary just
as gracefully as anybodyvthe
deputy doing the work and receiv-
| ing pay also. The very frankness of
his admissions about being person
lily incompetent, and the willingness
to accept something for nothing
while the custom was prevalent, ap-
pealed to the voters and he cut close
to election, He said, and correctly,
that it was Just as fair to make a
gift of the salary to an old cattle
n as to young bank clerk, and
people saw the situation clearly and
elected one Andrew Benson who acts
as principal and deputy and does the
work for one salary, according to the
original intent of the law. BY run
ming on his peculiar platform he
usher in better public service.
Mr.. Watson died in 1918, at his
home in Blackfoot, while engag ed
in writing his will. He sat at his
table with pencil and tablet in hand,
feeling fine and writing different
drafts of his requests. None of
them quite suited him, and each
draft was little different in the
d vision of houses and lots among
he children. His love for each one
hone in the paragraphs, and finally
he laid the pencil down and rested
is head YEARLY ON his hands upon
the table, and there they found him
a few minutes later for his daughter
n-law was in and out doing up the
morning work at his cottage He
was gone.
An Officer Outspoken
H. w. KIEFER lives at Idaho
Falls, the village of his choice in the
long ago when he took up claim
out on Willow creek Kiefer is a
rich man now. He was poor when
he tackled Willow creek One time
ne got it into his head that the rail-
road company was not paying their
full share of county taxes, and he
get into the race for the office of
assessor. lie rode all over many
recincts like sockless Jerry, to tell
Folks that the was Hank -Kiefer
and that he wanted to be their asses
sor. He used to hop on to an old
horse and ride around, with his 10
cent cotton socks curling about his
old shoe tops and exposing his ankles
to, the October winds, telling people
hat if elected he would do his best
to give them fair shake, for that
was before Roosevelt had popular
ICED that expression, "a square
deal He was elected, and he found
some railroad property that they had
not been paying taxes on, and made
them Fay. The next year he admitted
to the writer that 1.-THE darned
cusses wouldn't give me no pass this
year." That was deuce of a long
time ago, and railroad managers
have changed since then-just about
as fast as human nature changes.
Started the Sugar Factory
GEORGE F. GAGON lives in
Blackfoot. He used to know every
body, but new people are coming in
so fast now, he does not keep up |
with his lessons Of knowing them all. |
He generally takes a safe and sane |
view of things and of people. When
somebody becomes radical, Gagon
is apt to rise and point out the mis-
take, indicating that he likes the
truth better than the game that
might be played under mistake. 1t
is funny how men show their strong
traits of character in little matters,
and thereby give you line on what
may be expected of them thruout |
their careers. About thirty years |
ago when Mr.. Gagon wanted to be
for school superintendent |
o. Bingham county when 1t took in
nearly all this end of the state, he
said just one line that cost him the |
and showed men that |
he had a decision of his own. He
rose in convention where they were
talking of establishing an anti
party and said he thought
that such a step little bit previous
and from that moment he hadn't
a ghost of show to be nominated
by that convention. But Gagon
found other things that he could do,
and he has generally been busy. He
Is one Of the directors of the Stand
rod bank now, and devotes part of
his time to it's management. The
Rotary club rates him as capitalist,
and he probably is, for he generally
pays cash for what he buys. Old
timers recall that in 1908 when
there was a mass meeting at the
court house to decide once and for
all whether they would have sugar
factory by putting up their own good
money to help finance it, or hang on
to their money and lose the oppor-
tunity to buy the only sugar mill for
sale in the United States, while men