The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-04-07

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THE TOWN OF BLACKFOOT
rs DIFFERENT
The town of Blackfoot is quite DIFF
ferent from other towns up and down
the line. 1t has certain features that
mark it as being different from most
of the other towns.
It has the reputation of being old
and conservative, Of being made up
Of a good many true sportsmen work.
ing together in harmony on their
main undertakings.
1t has generally been said OF
Blackfoot that its town council has
acted as a unit not split up in diff
ferent factions Its neighbors on the
north and on the south have been
divided among themselves, the town
councils have fought among them
selves for contrcal Of the town gov
eminent, the public interests have
been sacrificed in such contentious
and the people have suffered for
many things on the altar of political
expedients.
People in the Blackfoot country
are made up of all kinds Of white
people and thousand Indians and
they have learned the lesson of get
ting along together in peace and
harmony. Each one seems to have
learned the lesson that it takes all
kinds Of people to make good COM
munity, that each one probably has
as good right and as worthy q place
in the community as himself; that
each one has q great deal Of good In
him IL he will take him right and
they operate accordingly.
The Blaclkfoot country has repu-
tation for making about as good
roads as people in other localities
and keeping them in better trim. 1t
has q reputation for paying money
for having its roads dragged and re-
paired until they found q better way
Of doing it and it is now operating
on that better way.
People in the Blackfoot country
elect public officials and then leave
it all to them to attend to. They
trust the men too much and If they
waste or sQuander the money, the
general public are slow to believe
it. They have to have the informa-
ton pounded into them before they
will accept it. If public official
falls from grace and gets the public
money mixed up with his own and
squanders 1t all, If he will just come
in penitence before the bar of public
opinion, they will forgive him, take
back their shattered treasury and
proceed to patch it up and make the
best of a bad situation. II the
county official is remiss in his duties
and defiant when they talk to him
about it, they are apt to let him 60
public family.
1t is being said of Blackfoot that
they had a city council working on
two projects; a big job of paving
partly completed and job of build
ing a municipal water plant in criti-
cal stage and when the great money
stringency came on they had
difficulty in selling their bonds
and letting the contracts for
construction work. 1t is being
said of the city council that
they sat for many days and evenings
on this subject and combated every
contractors and bondsmen and finally
by unanimous vote, decided to sit
tight and hold their own. 1t is be-
ing said that the people of Black
foot approved of what the counril did
and with Just few exceptions the
town council and the whole public
are unit in that decision.
What an enviable reputation 1t
would be for the town If it shall be
said at the spring election, that the
people of the town reelected the
mayor and council on their record
and thereby showed their confidence
in them and their approval of what
had been done, of their determine
ton to build water system that
would be of the best and at the same
time determine to protect the city
against heavy discounts in their bond
sale, Notwithstanding the present
temporary stringency of the money
market
What an enviable reputation it
would be for the town to have it
said that they began the construction
of 100000 addition to the water
system with only $4,000 in the
treasury and that leading men of the
town advised the city council to 60
ahead drilling wells and erecting
pump house, and pressure tanks, pay
ing the bills out Of the $4,000 on
hand and assuring them that If they
could not 60 on and sell the rest of
the bonds at decent price, that the
men of the town would endorse their
action in finally shutting down the
work when the money was expended
and waiting until the bond market
was in such condition that we could
get q respectable price for our bonds.
What an enviable reputation it
would be for the town II BOND buyers
and construction companies shall be
saying after the election, that the
business men of Blackfoot are hard
nut to crack that they are all of one
mind; that you cannot stir up fuss
among them to put something
across; that they stand by one an
other and the town; that they have
pride in their town and they will not
let their bonds be sold at disgrace