The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-12-15

REPUBLICAN,
charging us for. There was only one
a instance ever observed where they
had q chance to charge US for some
thing and did not do It. To lie per-
fectly fair to them ! feel that ] ought
to mention 1t.
4 One Honest Man
A Mr.. Booth, highway engineer
was here looking after some part Of
the road we were trying to turn over
to him, and he and his good wife
were living at the Cottage hotel in
Blackfoot in the fall, and it came a
snowy period with cold weather so
that nothing could be done in his
line. They remained for several
weeks waiting for the weather to
clear and finally left without finish
ing the work in hand. never could
find any bill filed for their hotel ex-
pense for those several weeks and
thought 1t was so different from
state highway methods, kept 1t in
| mind and long afterwards when l
was in Boise, went into the audi
tors office and got one of the office
girls to help me 60 thru the vouchers
and there was no bill filed for that
item. We found claims for other Of
ficers that had been allowed and paid
that I considered improper, but Mr..
Booth had evidently paid all that
himself and / always feel like TAX
ing off my hat to him when I meet
him. think this item will be a
source of some comfort to the county
commissioners, for they have often
remarked that If there was any item
of expense which the highway de-
partment ever had chance to
"stick" this county for and did not
do 1t they would like to know what
it was.
A Three-cornered Promise
During the road bond campaign of
1919, the county commissioners
authorized this paper to say to the
people of the county that If they
would vote for the road bonds and
authorize the board to issue them,
they, the board, would extend the
money on the roads which the people
wanted it spent on, If the people of
he county and the communities
would decide where they wanted 1t
spent infornNtihs board as to their
wishes. ;,,'.y iS5
The .peonls in, turn said they
wanted the money spent in the vari-
GUS precincts and communities where |
the tax money and the bond money
would have to be paid, and that they
did not want it or any Of it spent on |
the Yellowstone highway. Some peo-
pie wanted concrete roads for short |
distances, some wanted earth roads
for long distances, some wanted
roads at the places of
heaviest traffic, and some wanted
earth roads with crushed rock sur
face.
The Idaho Republican said there
was no chance for the people them
selves to come to an agreement as
to what kind of roads to build, and
that the board was the proper body
to 60 about and study roads until
they knew all they could learn by
and by a study of our
available road materials, and then 60
On and build what they thought best
in each locality, but build and ap-
propriate the roads according to as
sessed valuation in the different To-
calities that pay the taxes. We pro-
posed that the people should say
where they wanted the money spent I
n their respective communities, the I
BOARD should decide as to materials
md construction, and that everybody 6
Use should keep their hands off and ,
i've the commissioners free hand to
10 it the way they thought best, no
natter what the rest of us thought. '
md this paper promised, and asked
he people to share in that promise, c