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Show issfus IE 1 MHO BOI.SR, Idaho, March 8. The fifteenth Idahu legislature has completed Its labors la-bors after sixty-two days of lawmak-, big sr-Msbm?. That a large amount of constructive con-structive legislation haa been passed, together to-gether with much that is immaterial Is generally conceded . The appropriations will lie high when the final .summary is made, but npcctal or general tax levies, i found to be imperative if the ftate is to keep abreast of the times, will not be ! burdensome. Generally speaking the legislature leg-islature has accomplished many things it net out. to (In, Little really bad leglsla- , t ion managed to get through the two! houses, while much was kill-od off. As a whole the record is satisfactory, especial- j ly to the dominant party the Republican. Republi-can. Many of its pled pes have been en-firted en-firted into laws ami legislation that the I planks did not call for, but which does not detract from the record, was Bent to the governor. First and foremost, the form of state government was remodeled and materially changed. This was proposed by Governor Davis and met with the approval of the two houses. The governor was given a cabinet of nine members, standing at the heiids of as many departments, grouped under which are present s::te commissions, commis-sions, boards a nd departments, co-ordinating and consolidating them. Governor Gover-nor Davis will appoint this cabinet that is he will name its heads. This centers responsibility in the administering of the affairs of state. It centralizes the operation opera-tion of the various state government functions. It centralizes purchasing of supplies. The backers of this new form of government claim that it will be found Just as successful in Idaho aa it has proved to be in the state of Illinois. On March 31 the plan will go into force and effect. The result will be watched with the keenest of Interest. The legislature did not forget Its soldiers, sol-diers, and, regardless of the fact that congress con-gress failed to push through its land settlement set-tlement plan during the last session, the Idaho solons passed the necessary legislation legis-lation to work in co-operation with the government. It pnssed a bill creating a state commission which the governor will appoint for that purpese. The number of counties In the state was increased from forty-one to forty- four through the creation of three new counties Jerome, Clark and Caribou. The first has ,)eiome as the county scat anil is organized out of parts of Gooding, Un-"coir, Un-"coir, and Minidoka counties. Clark is created out of the western portion of Fremont county, with Dubois as the county coun-ty seat, and Caribou is formed out of Bannock county, with Soda Springs as all three counties have been appointed all three counties basve been appointed by the governor. Tho annexation acts for Franklin, Camas. Ada and Bonneville counties failed. The proposed new counties coun-ties of Lake :n the north and Nampa and Buhl in the south also met with deftat. The general enabling act, to permit counties coun-ties to settle their own oivision problems by popular vote was killed. Hood roads came in for favorable con-sidtrat'on. con-sidtrat'on. Idaho's future program along this line seems assured. Face to face with an exhausted limit in bond issues, a two-mill levy law was passed, which, by direct taxation, will raise $1,800,000, to be distributed over the main trunk highways of the Flate highway system, resulting in the building during the next two years of many miles of roads. In fact, combined with the help of countieif and the federal government, it makes possible the expenditure expen-diture of approximately $6,000,000 on Idaho's Ida-ho's highways in 19K- and 1920. There was appropriated $200,000 for the maintenance mainte-nance of highways and the interest rate on the $900,000 bond issue to the fourteenth four-teenth session, stiil unsold, was raised from A to 4, per cent to permit their sale immediately. In addition, greater leaway was given to county commissioners commission-ers and good road districts in all parts of the state to build better roads. Liberal Allowances. Liberal allowances were made for the various state institutions not only in so far as maintenance is concerned, but for needed additions and new buildings as well as improvements. The state normal at Lewi st on was allowed 5150,000 for a new administration building and a girls' building for the Idaho industrial training school at St. Anthony to cost $50,000, a building for the state feeble-minded institute in-stitute at Nampa to cost $50,000, a building build-ing for the deaf and blind school at Gooding Good-ing were also approved. The attempt to consolidate the Albion state normal with the Idaho Technical institute at Pocatello, approved and indorsed by the state board of education, failed. The proposed plan to name a commission to investigate during the next two years and definitely .ocate all state institutions so as to prevent the biennial disturbances when the legislature legisla-ture meets also failed. The educational laws of the state were codified. The teachers in public and private schools were removed from the Jurisdiction of the state1 industrial accident board and the school laws generally strengthened. In the future all ins-truction for all sub- ! jects in both private and public schools will be exclusively in the English lan- I guage, for it is made a misdemeanor to instruct in any other language. The ; Americanization plan for the education of ioreigners by giving them special instructions instruc-tions in English and the English language lan-guage was also approved. Conditioned upon Boise securing the approaches to the state capitol and parking them, the legislature authorized author-ized the issuance ct $y00,000 in bonds to raise rhe necessary funds to complete tho state capitoi by building on the two wings at a cost of $40,000 each. There was authorized au-thorized constructed at Lenora, in Boundary Boun-dary county, across the Kootenai river, a bridge; $30,U0U was appropriated for improvements im-provements alopg the fcinake river in Madison Mad-ison and Jefferson counties; $52,000 for the improvement of Leva Hot yprings, in Bannock county, .nd $30,000 for a drainage drain-age district in Kootenai county. Widens Land Board Power. Tne lanu L'Oaiu was given fcicdLtr power in dealing with r.nd iidjuaieaLihg water rights in Carey act projects, and $2'j,uu0 i was appropriated lor an investigation of the water resources of the state. The bonded warehouse act was passed, measures meas-ures to prevent discrimination in handling farm produce, and a bonded real estate dealers' bill. A new fish and game bill was passed, act to codify the laws of salesmanship, etc., and boxing was legalized. legal-ized. A measure was approved to reimburse reim-burse stock owners for stock condemned for tuberculosis; ci eating a state constao-tuary constao-tuary to enforce the laws; authorizing the governor to reorganize the state militia; $50,000 provided lor in direct taxes for the state fair at Boise and Lewiston livestock live-stock show; creating a statu forestry bureau; bu-reau; a state seed analyst; the 'Eleventh judicial district created, for Boundary and Bonner counties, and the Twelfth district for Washington and Adams counties; coun-ties; legislative apportionment measure; making it a penalty to display t lie red flag; authorizing the sfate to manufacture manufac-ture road materials; sterilization of degenerates. de-generates. Ono of the most far-reaching acLs of the legislature prior to adjournment was passage of the act el. minuting the statewide state-wide primary election i,v and substituting substitut-ing in its piace another providing that candidates for United States senator, congressman, con-gressman, justice of the supreme and judges of the district courts, governor and all state elective officials, shall be nominated nomi-nated at Htate conventions instead of at t-tato-wide primaries. It is a compromise measure passed by the two dominant political po-litical parties in this state. It seeks to remedy many of the objections to the primary system. New Nominating System. The primary law i:as ue-eu Lasted for ten years and has. In many respects, been found wanting. It was in 190S that the last state convention we.s held in Idaho. The action taken by party manipulators at that convention forced adoption of a new system for nominating candidates, i Tho late Senator Wedon B Heyburn was j renominated at that convention. So was Thomas R. Hamei for congressman. In fact, the convention was stampeded for Hamei", although two-thirds ofthe delegates dele-gates were pludged to ote for French. The iato Senator James H. Brady was nominated for governor at the same time. He came within an ace of Leing defeated by the combination that was formed. There was a great hue and cry over the action taken. Demands were made for adoption of the primary law. The legislature legisla-ture following later adopted it. Objection to the primary has been growing grow-ing for some years. Many men who would have tok;n a nomination from a state convention, declined to make the financial sacrifice for a campaign under the primary, pri-mary, only to be sacrificed at the political politi-cal altar. The cost to the state was very heavy. It was propoi tionately heavy to the candidates seeking nomination. They found because of Ihe geographical conditions condi-tions of the state tt was difficult to make a campaign without heavy cost. Many candidates who had the time and money spent both liberally and successfully. They were usually nominated. These conditions soon aroused criticism. Then cyme the action of the Nonpartisan league, a new political organization, but claiming to have no political affiliation, which captured cap-tured the nominations in the Democratic party by voting in the Democratic primaries pri-maries as a body. By many this was considered con-sidered the last straw. Selection by Direct Vote. The new law adopts the primary principle prin-ciple as to the nomination of county and 1 legislative delegates and deciding repre- ; sentation in the state conventions. They ; are all nominated by direct vote in their , respective counties just as has been the case under the primary law in the past. Those aspiring to office in counties must do one of three things: They must secure se-cure the approval of the county chairman, or, failing in that, approval of the county coun-ty committee. If they can get neither they may secure the indorsement of five members of their own party who arc willing wil-ling to vouch they have been affiliated with the party for two years previous. The delegates making up the respective county conventions which will in turn elect delegates to the state conventions, will be elected by all of those affiliated with their party at the primary election. There will be one delegate from each pre-I pre-I clnct elected. As many who want to run for the position of delegate may do so. The one receiving the highest number of votes will be declared elected. The county conventions will elect the delegates dele-gates to the state conventions. Those are to be held by all of the political parties par-ties the first Tuesday In August. The county central committees will provide its own rule regulating the county conventions. con-ventions. The state committee wiil lay down the rules governing the state conventions. con-ventions. The new law is in reality a combination combina-tion of the direct primary and the old convention system with both fairly well safeguarded. Idaho is the first state in ; the union that adopted the statewide 1 primary, to abandon it. The experiment ! will unquestionably attract the attention of manv other states in the union which have been confronted with some of the same primary difficulties as Idaho. Party leaders are confident that it will be decidedly de-cidedly more satisfactory than the pri- mary law was as formerly constituted. They are of the opinion that stronger land better men will be brought out for ' state office in the future than in the past, t Idaho has also been nominating its I judges on nonpartisan tickets. Under the j new law they go back tn a partisan basis, i each party nominating its own candi-j candi-j dates. |
