The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-01-11
THE NEW OFFICIALS

| The new county officials were
| sworn in on Monday and the COM
missioners were in session Monday
and Tuesday. They will probably be
in session again the last of the week
or the first of next.
The only departments where
changes come are the clerks office,
the sheriff's and the assessors. H.
A. Benson is the new county clerk
succeeding F. M. Fisher, and he has
for his deputies Miss Ruth billiard,
chief; Miss Jessie Lloyd, deputy re-,
corder; Miss Florence Mallory Of
Shelley, deputy clerk; Miss Zula
to any part of the work that needs
her. Mr.. Benson was elected on the
Democratic ticket, and has sur
rounded himself with deputies who
are of his own political party and
interested in making a good record
for that party.
A. B. Stephens succeeds A. H.
Simmons as sheriff, being elected on
the Democratic ticket, and as in the
case of he county clerk, necessarily
by a considerable numbre of Repub-
licans helping. Mr.. Stephens has
for the present, for his deuties, the
two men who were in the office with
Sheriff Simmons, George Ezell and
D. P. Brill. He says he will keep
them for the present and has moth
ing to announce in the way of
changes Street comment has 1t
that it presents a unique problem
Mr.. Ezell is the man who came near
est defeating Mr.. Stephens in his
race for office. He received the
next highest number of votes in the
campaign. Also Mr.. Ezell had
enough opposition to prevent his
election as sheriff. He is acknowl
edged to be competent officer, and
to know the roads in Bingham
county better than any other living
man, and when sent out to serve
papers in civil suits, he finds them
all with as few miles of travel as
anybody could, and fewer than any
one else available. Every seven
miles travelled with the sheriff's car
costs 81 plus wages, and there are
a lot of papers to serve these days.
1t is also being said on the street,
that Mr.. Stephens being a Democrat
owes it to his party to put in
party man; that he has the respon-
sibility for making good, and what
ever record he makes as sheriff will
be credited or charged to Democracy
IN this county. Some have said that
ne has a fine chance to harmonic
elements and apply COM
non sense to the public service and
show that 1t Is matter of men and
rather than politics
anyhow. During the campaign Mr..
Stephens did not go out campaigning
,ut merely announced that he was
took the nomination,
vent on with his work and in the
econd campaign took the election.
The public are getting a lot of fun
'ut of the string of circumstances
Mr.. Stephens ride
nto office, and there may be more
un ahead. Meantime he is smiling
nd working and saying very little.
In the assessors office, Arthur
is chief, elected by the
party and he has ap-
ointed James Duckworth his
equity w. H. Snyder, who was his
pponent for the nomination is help
ng temporarily in the office. Mr..
)uckworth was reported to have
cen an ardent supporter of the los
1g candidate, Mr.. Snyder, in the
rimary race, but supporter In the
all campaign. Street talk has 1t
nat he is in a sense, minister of
the gospel and should not hold
Official office or be a deputy. But
here is precedent in these mat
IFS, established and followed for
lany administrations, in another
apartment of the county govern
tent, the county superintendent Of
,hools. Nearly all the ministers
no have lived in the town for f1f-
zen years have been employed as
elpers in marking and grading the
papers for the eighth
-ade pupils of the county, and OBJ
ctions have not been made to this
ractice, tho they worked by the
DUR rather than by the month.
lille tongues are wagging merrily
yer the details of the new organi-
.tion, the work is going on and
sople hope for increased economy
Id efficiency.