1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Idaho

IDAHO (see ). In 1920 the pop. was 431,866 as against 325,594 in 1910, an increase of 106,272, or 32.6%. The rural pop. in 1920 numbered 312,829, or 72.4% of the total, and the urban 119,037, or 27.6%, both increasing at nearly the same rate. The average number of inhabitants per sq. m. increased from 3.9 in 1910 to 5.2 in 1920. Boise, the capital and the largest city, had in 1920 a pop. of 21,393 (17,358 in 1910). The pop. of the other chief towns was as follows: Pocatello, 15,001; Twin Falls, 8,324; Idaho Falls, 8,064, and Nampa, 7,621.

Government.&mdash;The Legislature of 1919 completely reorganized the state civil administration in so far as the limitations imposed by the state constitution permitted. The Administrative Consolidation Act abolished some 46 boards, commissions and offices. The resulting changes gave Idaho a consolidated form of state government, or, as it is locally called, a cabinet or &ldquo;commission&rdquo; form of government, with the governor at the head, assisted by nine departmental &ldquo;commissioners.&rdquo; These nine departments are: Agriculture; Commerce and Industry; Finance; Immigration, Labor and Statistics; Law Enforcement; Public Investment; Public Welfare; Public Works; Reclamation. Each commissioner, salary $3,600, is appointed by the governor and, except &ldquo;those under the constitution who are appointed for specific terms,&rdquo; may be removed by him at his discretion. The Act further provides that in certain departments designated officers shall be appointed by the governor, but these are

few in number, and on the whole the organization within each department is under the control of the commissioner. This consolidated form of government concentrates authority in the hands of the governor to a marked degree. The law provides a budget system for the state, to be prepared by the Commissioner of Finance.

There were in 1920 45 counties in the state. During the 1921 session of the Legislature an effort was made to secure favourable action on a resolution to divide the state and to permit the creation out of northern Idaho, with eastern Washington and possibly part of western Montana, of a new state of Lincoln, should Congress permit the admission of the same to the Union. There was considerable agitation for this step.

Education.&mdash;In 1917-8 there were 131,845 pupils enrolled in the common schools of the state, as compared with 62,728 in 1905-6. The school buildings were rapidly increasing in number and in quality. In 1918 there were 1,703 school-houses valued at $9,591,609. The law permits the formation of consolidated school districts, of which there were 17 in 1918. The state university comprised in 1920 four colleges: Letters and Sciences, Agriculture, Engineering, and Law; and three schools: Forestry, Mines, and Education. The total enrolment was over a thousand. In 1917-8 the state normal school at Lewiston had an enrolment of 507; the state normal school at Albion, 403; the technical institute at Pocatello, 563.

Finance.&mdash;The total state tax levy for 1919 amounted to $3,795,059 on an assessed valuation of $486,759,104. The total expenditures in the same year for cost of government amounted to $3,405,929. The Financial Statistics of States, issued by the U.S. Census Bureau, gave a total net debt at the end of 1919 of $2,403,218. The outstanding bonds and interest-bearing warrants carried interest at 4.5, 5 and 6%.

History.&mdash;In the World War Idaho furnished 19,016 men, representing 26 to 30% of the total number of men examined for military service. Men from Idaho made part of the 41st National Guard Division and the 91st National Army Division. The 41st landed in France in Dec. 1917 and the 91st in July 1918. The 91st, though it spent but 14 days in active sectors, gained a total of 34 km., or 4.35% of the total ground gained against the enemy. There were 1,390 battle deaths in the 91st and 5,106 wounded. Idaho over-subscribed each of its Liberty Loan quotas. The governors of the state were: James H. Brady, Republican, 1909-11; James H. Hawley, Democrat, 1911-3; John M. Haines, Republican, 1913-5; Moses Alexander, Democrat, 1915-9; D. W. Davis, Republican, 1919-

(H. C. D.)