The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-04-21
'ChapterXVII

a
/ in the early days and took all tn
money. Idaho people as a rule viii
separate the county government from
its money by any means they can AM
think 1t is something else beside
/ stealing, and vet when it is added {,
their tax bill they will 'holler" abou
( the high tax. 1t is low grade o
public morals that permits sucl
transactions, and the taxes will neve,
/ be down to what they ought to be i'm
til public morality is brought up t.
the level where it ought to be. /
will take great deal of agitation
and EDUCATION to bring that about
and it will take great deal of will
ingness on the part CT the people tt
come to that state Of mind and tc
that kind of rarctice. But it can be
done.
You Probably Remember
You may remember that it has not
been very many years since the
| church folks would get up festival
and then commit the crime of gambl-
ing in the name of the church and
/ think it was all right because they
were going to use the money for a
religious purpose. 1t has not been
very many years since you have at
tended church baZaars at Blackfoot
or some other place where they had
as many different gambling devices
as they have now at the street car
nivals, only there would usually be
less, money or goods involved. Be-
cause many of the visitors at the
church bazaar were children or peo-
pie, who were not much addicted to
taking chances, they would usually
use small stakes or goods represent
ing small values, and they would
sugar coat the pill by having some
thing funny connected with the
draws so that all of those who drew
blanks might at least have laugh
or somebody have a laugh on the
victim. That helped to sugar the
pill, but still it was lottery business
and there would be various types of
gambling and chance transactions.
Usually the values did not run higher
than 81 apiece. .E
Public Opinion Has Changed
But public opinion would not
stand for that now. Public opinion
has changed, and people object to
those things at street carnivals.
Towns and town councils are refus-
ing to allow carnivals in their towns,
partly because of games Of chance
and partly because of public health.
People want healthy moral atmos-
phere as well as healthy physical con-
ditions, and the legislature was
called upon last winter to enact laws
against carnivals.
Honest But Thieves
But these same people who insist
upon clean thoughts and clean acts
in church bazaars and street carni-
walls, have not yet awakened to NOR
ality in the conduct of the public
business in county, town, school and
road matters. Men will go out to
work on the roads and sit around
swapping yarns at public expense and
suffer the additional damage of not
getting their own roads fixed where
they have to travel turnout the year.
The old theory was that self interest
would prompt them to scorn to waste
their time when working on the
roads in their own country, their own
community and adjacent to their own
farms, but road work, a species of
stealing, has become VIGOROUSLY bad
N our country, and in our county the |
system has been abolished on the
.heory that nothing could be any
worse or more wasteful and extrava-
yant than the old district road work
lnder local road boss. When it |
vas done on the other plan under a
county road superintendent, people |
aised an awful fuss when they saw
lump wagons failing to connect and |
gang of shovelers loafing while |
Waiting for the next truck or dump |
wagon, or when there was any kind |
# delay and loss of time.
Progressive Commissioners
A few weeks ago the commission
rs invited the public to turn out and
10 all they could to repair the roads
nd protect their investment in them
rec OF charge to keep from losing
That we had built and to give to
themselves the advantage Of good
Dads for the season, and they re-
ponded very generously and did not
taste their time. Public morals have
AIKEN big jump in regard to road
latters and everybody rejoiced at
ne better conditions. What we need
ow is to improve the public morals
regard to every phase of the tax
uestion and stop being common
DEMONSTRATING from ourselves.
Corporation Thieves |,
When Blackfoot people talked of
aving West Main street some years
go, there was less opposition to it
ecause Of the fact that they could
stick the railroad company for half
it. Men would say, Whats the
Inference. The railroad will have
pay half of it, and we might as
ell get all we can from them" Men
talk of making bitulithic
,ad all the way to the Bonneville
'unty line because they could stick
Re railroad company for half of it.
he railroad has no vote and the peo-
e could form highway district t
ong both sides Of the track and get d
aving at half price, because the rail a
lad company doesn't count-ex- t
'pting when 1t is time to pay.
Church People Fall n