The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1922-07-07
ALEXANDER ON
LIVE STATE ISSUES
ADDRESS FORMER GOVERNOR
CONSIDERS OPENING OF CAM
PAIGN FOR DEMOCRATS.

About hundred interested citizens, |
men and women, gathered. at the court /
house last evening to greet former
Governor NJ. Alexander, who had
spent the day here; and who was the
guest of the local county democratic
club.
/ President w. A. Bradbury of the
club first introduced Attorney Tyler
Of Pocatello, who spoke few min
tutes on his impressions gained since
his residence in Idaho, covering per-
iod OF about "a year. The speaker
pleaded for harmony among the demo-
cratic hosts, and urged that a full
county ticket be nominated for the
November election, and for close,
hard-working county organization.
Following Mr.. Tyler, Mr.. Alexan-
der, in the role of private citizen,
talked about an hour on the woes of
the people of the state and nation, and
urged his hearers to think more ser
| iously of the bad fix things are in
generally, and to carefully consider
/ the means of remedying very bad
/ situation.
Taking up the tax situation in the
county and the state, the speaker de-
svpted the larger part of his address
/ I'd pointing out waste and extrava-
| gance of the present state administra-
tion. He made the assertion that dur
4 ing the two war years of 19l7-lS, at
whic htime 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
half the money needed for 1920,
Idaho were conducted on about one
under republican administration.
Coming closer to home, Mr.. Alex
ander quoted the following figures as
the sums of money which Bonneville
county taxpayers had paid to the state
in taxes from 1914 to 1921:
l914-Republican administra. S2S,970
I1915-Alexander administra... 10000
,1916-Alexander admintra...,... $1,000
1917-AleXander administra-
tion ''war year. .......,............ 10000
i91S-Alexander administra-
tion "war year" ....A............ AZ, ,000
Republican administra. 10000
1920-Republican administra. 115,00C
publican administra. $4,000
= The speaker did not analyze these
sums, contenting withJthe as
sertion that the difference between
twenty-six and twenty-eight housanc
dollars in 1914 and 1915, and hun
dred fifteen and twenty thousand ir
1919 and 1920, could be laid to repub-
lican waste and extravaganza of Bon
neville county state taxes, from which
no good had been derived.
The speaker attacked the present
form Of state government as ineffic-
lent AMI wasteful; the state constab
ulary system was given a thorough
raking over. The banking and finance
department of the state governmen.
was blamed with large portion OF
. the bank failures of the state, ant
charged with gross neglect and inef'
ficiency; the direct primary law fol-
> county and state offices was eulogiz
cd and the promise made that if tho
democratic party secured control Of
the next legislature the law would bt
! re-enacted as in effect four years ago
Mr. Alexander made a strong plei
for non-partizan judiciary. He prom
ised a "clean sweep" from cellar u
, garret of the state house after tht
, first of next January if the democratic
, party was successful. He did not STATE
, that he hoped to WELD the broom, bu
, his audience generally accepted thu
, idea that he held such an ambition.
t Taking the United States censu
, bureau report on the costs of stat
! governments for the whole of the un
: ion, the speaker showed that ldah'
had a per capita cost last year o
5 S16.94,, while during the last year o
| his administration as governor tn
. per capita cost was only s7.03.
, Mr.. Alexander paid fine eulogy I
Q Idaho's "war governor" NJ. Alexan
der. and concluded his address by ap
c pealing to the patriotism of his hear
ers for a more simple and efficien