The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1922-08-04

harshly criticising the act OF putting
the judgeships back into politics for
which the present state administration
hs responsible he looked into hundreds
of the faces Of the women before him
and said their property and political
rights are not properly adjudicated by
politically made judges or politically
instituted courts The speaker point
ed out the fact that under the new
system of administering justice in
Idaho all the judges who had been
chosen in other years not by political
influences but rather for their eminent
fitness We're being eliminated from the
bench that they have adorned and
supplanted by COOL republicans in ey-
cry case who are expected to become
cogs in a great crushing political ma
chine set up along with the cabinet
form of government.
| Staggering Figures.
Taking up the tax situation in the
county and the state, the speaker de-
voted the larger part of his address
To pointing out waste and extrava-
gance of the present state administra-
ton. He made the assertion that dur
ing the two war years l9l7-lS, at
which time he was governor of the
| state, the cost Of state government
despite the greatly increased expense
and eXorbitant prices occasioned by
the war, the affairs of the state of
| Idaho were conducted on about one
half the money needed for I9l9-20
under republican administration,
| A startling statement was made at
this point to the effect that present
extravaganza in state and county gov
ernments could be saved 10 care for
all outstanding bond interest charges.
From the United States census bu-
reau report on the costs of state gov
ernments for the whole OF the union,
the speaker showed that Idaho had
per capita cost last year of $l6.9s,
while during the last year of his ad-
ministration as governor the per cap
ita cost was only $7.03. Our popula-
tion is rather dwindling than growing
and the cause il, we are taxed to
aeath.
Governor Alexander attacked the
present form of state government rs
| inefficient and wasteful; the state con
stabulary system was given thor
ough raking over The banking and
finance department of the state gov
eminent was blamed with large por-
tion of the bank failures of the state,
and charged with gross neglect and
inefficiency; the direct urinary law
| for county and state offices was eulog-
lied and the promise made that II the
democratic party secured control o.
the next Legislature the law would be
re-enacted as in effect four years ago.
Mr.. Alexander made a strong plea
for a non-partisan judiciary. He prom
ised "clean-sweep" from cellar TO
parret of the state house after the
first of next January If the democratic
party is successful. He did not state
that he hoped To WELD the broom. but
! his audience generally accepted the
J idea that he held such an ambition.
What the war governor of Idaho
said at the meeting will be remember
! ed and quoted for many a day long
after other doings and sayings
are forgotten. He pointed the way
out of present tax difficulty, the only
certain way, that of economy in pub
lie expenditures, large and small. All
were impressed with the certain fact
that he knows what he is talking
about when IL comes 10 taxes, too. At
the close of his review of the fnan-
cial affairs of state Republican Sena-
toriai l.. T.. Glennon spoke in the op-
| position or rather in justification Of
! the present state government, saying
that the cabinet form Of managing
/ things at Boise was entirely within
the limits of constitutional bounds and
/ that the state commissioner OF edu-
cation was appointed first under the
! Hawley administration a dozen years
ago. Mr.. Glennon spoke for half an
hour making the best 1efense that
seems possible. At near the end Of
I his address he made the assertion that
/ large deficits had been left over at
the end of the Alexander administra-
| tiOn, amounting TO nearly nine hun
dred thousand dollars. This statement
was challenged at the end of the
| Glennon address by the former gov
ernor himself. who said he would give
a thousand dollars to bcautify the
park if such a thing could be shown
/ by the records. Nh. Glennon did not
then and there produce his records
/ but maintained he could show them
/ After the speaking was over Glennon
and Alexander met again to refer to
the episode, when the latter pointed
out by the record that 80 far from
being a deficit Of any such amount il
1 was actually less than "a fourth Of that
amount, AMI compared with other sim
I liar deficits of other governors was as
drop in the bucket.
Taken all through from beginning
! 70 end the occasion was most enjoy
able for everybody. At the inception
Of the barbecue i was designated as
"A democratic tribute 20 DR.. Owen T.
Stratton, a we'll known physician in
/ active practice in Salmon. That trib-
/ ute was observed TO the end though
/ the affair took on d community as
pect when others than democrats
( joined. In recognition Of this fact re-
publican speakers were invited 20 the
/ platform but only one of them, Mr.
/ Glennon, responded.
Water Sports.
| Not the least of the attractions
were the water sports that came along