The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-12-19
1921 Series, Chapter XVIII.
BY The Editor

| AT the close Oh TIE
| last chapter I was tell
| ing about the three
| proposals and the three
| cornered promise made
by the people, the
~ county commissioners
and The Idaho Republican during
the campaign preceding the road
bond election of 1919. For the bene-
fit of thos who did not read that
chapter / wish to review the three
cornered promise briefly.
When the question was laid be-
fore the people as to whether We
should vote 100000 for the bonds
to build roads in the county, repre-
sentative people all over the county
said that If the money could be
handled without any grating, none
of it was to be expended on the Yel-
lowstone highway, and all to be ex-
pended and apportioned in the COM
munities from which the tax money
was collected they would gladly vote
for the bonds.
The county commissioners said
that if the people would decide
where they wanted the roads built
and agree upon it in their own COM
munities and let them know where
they wanted the roads they would
go ahead and use that plan, but they
could not have everybody debating
to them about where the roads
should be built and how.
The Idaho Republican said that
men all over the county were telling
other men just how the roads ought
to be built and it seemed as if every
man had a different idea from nearly
all the rest of them. We proposed
that since nobody in the county knew
how to build roads with the ma
terials we have here and under the
conditions we have here, and that as
we were only talking nonsense when
any Of us tried to tell how the roads
ought to be built, and that certain
methods and certain materials that
made good roads in oher parts Of the
world would not necessarily make
good road here even If we had the
same kind Of materials, that we
were all talking nonsense when we
were trying to tell each other how to
build roads. We proposed that that
whole matter be left entirely in the
hands OF the county commissioners,
and that they should take what was
necessary out Of the bond money to
pay their expenses while they went
out and travelled over the localities
that had already built roads under
conditions similar to our own and
with materials similar to our own.
and learn all they could about road
construction and then come back
home and build the roads as they
thought best, and The Republican
proposed that everybody should keep
their hands off of everything pertain
ing to road construction, unless It,
was clear that there was dishonest
and graft in the WORT. That would
be the only excuse for anybody in
terfering with it. On behalf of my
self and The Idaho Republican
promised that there would be no IN
reference excepting for clear cases
of dishonesty, that we would expec:
the commission to make mistakes,
that we would keep right at their
heels and keep as we'll informed as
we could and keep the people tn-
formed thru the columns Of the
paper and that everybody should
back the commissioners to the limit
so long as there was no dishonesty
in their work.
With these proposals circulated,
and with these promises offered, we
all went to the polls and S91s per
cent OF the voters voted in favor OF
the bond issue.
j Did you ever make promise to
do q thing a certain way or to quit
doing it certain way and then fnd
1t hard to keep that promise? Just
as soon as the election was over peo-
pie began to talk again about how
the roads ought to be built. Ths
commissioners and the county clerk
prepared to take a tour thru south
ern Idaho to study road building and
down in my heart / wanted to go
with them. But there were two rea-
sons why did not 60. First, they
did not invite me to 60, and second,
II l did / would be tempted to criti-