The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-04-18
CHAPTER XVI

There Is now filed in the office OF
the county clerk at Blackfoot, a
voucher for payment of a bill OF
goods obtained by woman at Aber-
deem, who made application for
county aid. Attached to the voucher
is the written order of the county
clerk. authorizing the merchant
named, to let the woman have goods
to the named in the order, and these
orders usually read $40. SIS or $40
and sometimes more. The clerk
makes 1t a rule to allow no purchases
of this kind excepting upon his writ
ten order, and the merchant must
return his itemized bill showing what
the person bought.
In the case Of the Aberdeen woman
she bought q few items of food and
clothing and the following articles:
Corset, 81; brassiere. 75c curriers',
35c; beads, soc, thd, 15c; CATERS,
$3.50.
During the year 1920 this county
contributed cash to the poor to the
amount Of $279S.80; supplies for the
poor, $3736.28; widows pensions,
$7149; salary of probation officer,
$1,000, and these items with some
others not enumerated here bring the
total for the care of the poor and the
alleged poor, up to about $4,000 for
the year. It is made up Of some
worthy claims and many unworthy
claims which should not be allowed.
Some time last year we called atten-
ton to fifteen dollar silk dress pur-
chased by one Of the indigents and
various other articles that smacked
of society events at public expense,
and we registered our objections to
allowing such bills.
Commissioners claim that they do
not know what ones are going to i'm
pose upon them by buying Injuries
and when the bill comes in they do
not like to turn 1t down and have
the merchant lose. That all goes to
show that the Republican commits
sioners of these days and other re-
cent years do not know how to gov
ern people and are not executives.
Back in the year 1911 Bingham
county was divided and Democratic
governor appointed two Democratic
county commissioners and a Demo-
cratic county clerk to hold office in a
Republican county, Bingham, in
company with one Republican COM
missioner, T. r. Jones, who had been
elected and held over. The two
Democrats on the new board were
w. H. Stuffiebeam and T. j. Bennett,
and at the first session when they
began looking over bills, there came
q bill for silk stockings and other
finery for somebody who was starv-
ing, and those two Democrats and
one Republican hoped all over that
bill and turned 1t down. They then
and there made an order that no
more purchasing orders be issued un-
til the starving family made list
of the things they proposed to buy
when they got their stake from the
county treasury. Then If the list
was all right for INDECENT purposes,
If it seemed to have been studied out
with view of feeding and clothing
poor people, the list was attached to
the order and sent back for use. And
during the rest of their administra-
ton no more nonsense went into that
line of charity.
During their administration the
county clerk was the purchasing
agent and all orders had to bear his
signature or the county did not pay
the bill when the bill arrived. If it
was planks and spikes for road re-
pairs. the order and bill had to show
where it was used and by whom, and |
the commissioner of that district |
could go out and count planks and |