The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-03-15
Chapter vi.
Farmers Get Stung

Chapter vi. ra
Farmers Get Stung
have always supposed that the
farmers and city dwellers, who did
not operate factories or business of
any kind where they employed peo-
pie, were not interested in this mat
ter of accident insurance, but that is
another one of the mistaken ideas
we have had put oven on us. When
a state insurance bureau is created,
one of the first things they do is to
appropriate large sum of money to
put it into operation and to keep it
operating for two, three or five years.
Every cent of that money comes out
of the. tax payer. The farmers, be-
ing the largest property owners in
the state, have to foot the most of
the bill. The people in the towns
and villages having homes and work.
ing for wages, all have to help foot
the bill, and this information helps
us to answer the question, what
makes our taxes so high?"
jackson Pays the Bill
Bring the matter home to our own
county, there is no reason why Mr..
Jackson who has built fine subur-
ban home in west Blackfoot, and who
does his own work, should. pay taxes
to keep Commissioner D. w. Church
sitting on swivel chair in his office
at Boise for two years, and to keep
George H. Fisher sitting on his
swivel chair in another office, and to
keep Mr.. Chase in his department, or
Br. Worstel employed in his depart
ment, and to keep flock of typists
busy in all their departments month
after month and year after year fig
uring out rates and claims that COM
mercial insurance companies have
long ago figured out and tested. And
those who insure in the state bureau
have to pay just about the same rate
as that charged by the commercial
companies, and they pay their own
operating expense. If we had not
passed this fool-insurance law, the
commercial companies would have
gone on taking care of that kind of
insurance, giving fully as good SER
vice, and our taxes would not be
nearly so high. Then in addition to
all that, experience in other states
indicates that the day will soon
come when claims against the state
will not be paid, because there will
be no money in the treasury of the
state insurance bureau Do not lose
sight of the fact that the state treas
ury does not have any direct connec-
tion with the state insurance bureau
and the credit of the state is not be-
hind the claims of the widows and
orphans, who had the big misfortune
last year or the year before or those
who may meet the big misfortune
next year or the year after. The {
state insurance bureau is merely the !
custodian of the funds while they '
last. 1t is the business manager till
there is change of administration
and somebody else is appointed. And
that somebody else may not know '
anything about accident insurance.
How Would Mr.. Bills Do?
To bring the question near to us, c
suppose that the chairman of our t
BOARD of commissioners, Mr.. Bills, t
should get the political bee in his t
bonnet and be appointed state insur- +
lnce commissioner for 1921 and Il
1922. He knows a great deal about 1.
automobiles, but a fine job he would t
10 managing an insurance company s.
n suppose that Col. Fugate of Aber-
leen should be the appointee in re-
ognition of his faithful service to
he Republican party in that neck of Il
he woods. He understands banking d
cry we'll, and he knows about build 81
ng roads and culverts, but he could N
asily wreck the state insurance de- ii
artment and wreck the homes of ia
hose depending upon it. Or sup Ell
ose that James Christensen, the fC
Their county commissioners, should til
ct the political bee and have the bi
mbition to sit in swivel chair and Ii
irect the transactions of the insur- w
nee bureau having constant l
,ream Of problems and remittances. st
II. Christensen knows enough about iii
lrming and stockraising and road a
uilding to make several good books, us
ut accident insurance is out of his tn
ne. But seriously, those men are
lst as likely to be the next ap-
1intees under this system as D. w.
hurch and Mr.. Church admits that
6OQSn't knnu r,ounb about h;o IL | fp