The Council Leader
Published Every Thursday by the Council Publishing Company
Fred Mullin, Editor
Published Every Thursday by the Council Publishing Company
Fred Mullin, Editor
March 13, 1914
TOO MUCH TAX
Editor Council Leader:
May I say a few words through your paper on the ever-present topic of conversation now—taxation?
What encouragement have the people of the great state of Idaho to be industrious today? especially the farming class. The more prosperous we try to make our ranches look, the more we do and try to get of this world’s goods, the higher the penalty of taxation. Think of it, fellow citizens: pay a penalty for trying to be thrifty and industrious. No man of honor or self-respect will object to paying his share of a reasonable sum for the support of our government, but when the people of Idaho are paying the enormous sum of $2,300,000 to run the state government per year, I ask: Is it reasonable? Only eight years ago, $700,000 did the state’s business, and $400,000 thirteen years ago. Isn’t it a question that there must be an extravagant leak somewhere?
Our county school superintendent had the nerve to get up in an open meeting of the Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union at our school house three weeks ago and declare that the only way he could see to lower the taxes in the state of Idaho was to get more taxable property, and I think he expected us hayseeds to believe it.
His talk to us was highly appreciated, except the way he tried to smooth over the tax situation, which carried little weight, especially with those who read and do their own thinking. And another thing. It makes us a little sore under the collar to have our county officials get up and tell us—we, the people who pay their salaries—that the only way to make farming pay is to increase the production of farm products, and burden our already overworked teachers with trying to organize “potato and poultry clubs” among our boys and girls, when we already have tons of potatoes and other products that we have no market for, and we can’t meet our honest obligations because we have no market for these products.
If only our county officials and business men who have the dear farmers’ interests so at heart would exert their energy and influence toward getting legislation to solve the distribution of farm products, to eliminate the drones who feed on the honey between the producers and consumers, their efforts would be greatly appreciated—because the thing that will bring about great development of the country school and farm community life, build better roads and secure efficiency in farm production is to secure just returns for the farmer. This can only be done by proper methods of marketing.
Then we can get our children interested in farming, and we will not need farm experts to do it either. It is like hitching the horse to the cart tail-end foremost to try to get our children interested in farming as long as they see conditions as they exist today. And don’t make us the joke of the age by trying to make the farmers believe that all their ills can be cured by greater production, and that we need a farm expert in each county to do it; another tax-eating parasite on the already over-burdened taxpaying people, for about the first thing an expert will tell us when he comes on our ranch is that we will need this piece of machinery and that particular piece of machinery (he will get a pull from an implement dealer as a side issue) to do scientific farming. A pretty huge joke on old corn-tossel, is it not? And this isn’t the end. When the assessor comes around, how he will sock the taxes on us for owning that machinery.
I am only voicing the opinions and sentiments of my fellowmen in this letter, and
do not wish to discourage progress, industry, or expertism, but would be glad, like others. to see a more common sense view taken on these matters which are agitating the people today, especially by those who are in position to help us.
W.F. Buchner
Pleasant View, Indian Valley, District No. 3
October 16, 1914
BOYS FINED FOR SMOKING
An incident has come to our attention regarding the use of tobacco by schoolboys, which we believe should be brought before the teachers and parents of the county. It is unique as far as we can learn as regards the administration of discipline in the schoolroom. It happened in the Goodrich school a week or so ago. Some of the large boys there were bothering the school by spitting tobacco juice on other children and by smoking. They were personally cautioned that the next offense would not be passed, and it wasn’t. A trial was given them, they were convicted and fined, and this money used to defray a few school expenses. Of course, they had their choice of paying the fine or losing a number of noons. If other teachers would touch the outlaws this way, they would soon be good.
October 16, 1914
PLENTY OF APPLES
Over 2,000 cars of fruit have been shipped by the North Pacific Fruit Distributors this season. This is just 21 days sooner than the 2,000 mark was reached last year. The figure is significant because it amounts to over half of the total fruit shipments made by that organization last year, which were 3,958 cars altogether, and the apple shipping period, by far the heavy end of season, has barely begun.
May 24, 1914
A LITERARY GEM
Mr. Fred Mullin,
Please do not lose sight of the fact that my subscription to your stand-pat, patent-inside and outside, boiler-plate impression has expired. Kill it! Pie it! Hell-box it! Any way to relieve me.
Respectfully,
Wm. M. Freeman
The above pus runs from a sore in the Meadows Valley that has been lanced—and he wants to represent us in the state legislature. In the meantime he can borrow his neighbor’s Leader and read it, thus performing his progressive economy.
Editor
May 24, 1914
MENDING WITHOUT SEWING
Here is a simple and efficacious way of mending a tear, three-cornered or otherwise, in an article of clothing:
Place the cloth flat on a table and smear a little white of a raw egg all around and over the tear on the reverse side. Now cut a piece of linen (a handkerchief will do) a little larger than the tear and place it over the rent so that it adheres to the white of egg. Then get a hot iron and simply press it, without ironing, over the linen. The linen will adhere firmly to the cloth and will not come off even if washed. The rent in the material will now be almost invisible on the outside, and the mending will last as long as the dress or suit.
compiled by Eberle Umbach