The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1924-03-06
TIE FARMERS GASOLINE VS.
GOV. MooRE's TURKEY.

farmers realize that the turkey in
dustry in the south end of our stat
e is being conducted ON large scale
' or at least to such an extent tha-
! down there folks have organized whal
! is known as the Idaho Turkey Associ
! alton.
RI / here give you the essence of an
D article published by Mrs. G. G. Brink
i of Boise, secretary of the association,
! wherein she quotes our beloved Gov
lIernor as back-sider and poor finan-
cier: Our state, through Governor
Moore with his free convict labor, last
year raised over 1000 turkeys. The
governor had professed how he had
been a farmer once upon time. So,
when he took the reins of our state
government, the association thought
it would be a good idea to have him
| join, which he acknowledged his will
ingness to do. They thought it not
necessary to humiliate him by asking
him to sign a contract, as they had
all other members. He had sold few
hundred turkeys through the associa-
tion the year before and confessed to
being well pleased with the returns.
So last year they made the prison
supervisor chairman of the selling
committee. just before Christmas
they called a meeting and asked for
I,xx g. - & T1ox~
lphoned Swift & Co., asking if they
were going to bid on their turkeys.
Thanks was the reply, stWe have
plenty" Mrs. Brink states that they
began smelling a rat. Whereupon,
they went out to the penitentiary and
found that the prison authorities had,
without letting the association know,
contracted to sell their great allot-
ment of turkeys for 81 cents per
pound to Swift & Co. They formed a
committee of three to wait upon the
governor, and were not slow about
passing their opinion, besides telling
the gentleman that it was hard enough
to pay their taxes to keep such as he
in office without his conspiring
against them in lowering the prices.
He informed them he did not care
to hear anything about taxes, as taxes
and taxes and more taxes was all he
could hear.
The association phoned Bowman &
Co., of Payette and sold two car loads
of their turkeys for 25 cents per
pound, clearing $500 over the gov
ernor's price.
When Mrs. Brink was asked If she
as secretary was going to let the story
out to other farmers as to their treat
nent at the hands of the state admin
stration, she replied: "We are start
ng a campaign of education; that we
want an administration that has a
ieart and that wants to help the little
farmer who is struggling to make both 7
ends meet
After reading Mrs. Brink 3 state
nent, of which the foregoing is the
'ssence, was just wondering if the
governor hadn't figured maybe he
;ould pull off another stunt and put
t over bunch of weaklings who 7
night not wake up quite SO easily, in
he gas tax matter. At least he
wouldn't have woman to deal with :
Well, as usual, at late hour the
geaklings woke up and discovered !
hey were bereft of two cents on each .
allon of gas, regardless of what they :
sed it for; although they were sup
osed to have highway gas law MAX !
1g the two-eent tax exempt on gas
sed for highway travel, light and !
leaning purposes. .
I took up this gas bill with some of
ne most prominent men in the county =
nd told them that the original was 0e
n outlandish bill, and that the farm
IS couldn Z nor would not stand for =
lch treatment. The bill was revised, -
nd sent back several times. In its :,
nal state, / was told by men who =
ere supposed to know, the injustice : :
the farmers was eliminated But "
is evident this report was wrong. -
e evidently got the original bill,
rough which farmers are fleeced out =
many thousand dollars, as usual.
L know Of dozens Of my neighbors -
no are entitled to from $5 to. 500 -
.emption. This bill is fine and dan Z.
r for the small town and city guy. =
ut the idea of the farmer having to u
ntribute towards a highway his hard
rned, depreciative values every time
threshes his crop, chops feed, !.
Imps water for his stock, runs his M aS
ashing machine or his cream separ- -
ori
I here quote figures from South - =,
akota, showing the treatment those =.
rmers receive from their govern =
mt, as compared with ours. :.
In that state the total receipts for !.
e first five months under the two
at gas levy--from July to Novem-
= s,a1..o..-o ASEc 2En7 r1,ex,e I