On November 2, 1920, Power County voted under more than a foot of snow, and the valley's three precincts in the county divided. Pauline, at the north end of the valley, voted for the Nonpartisan League's independent ticket by four to one or better. Arbon went heavily Republican. Crystal, closely contested, sent in returns that, by the first count, gave Power County to the Republican candidate for senator by one vote. The League's candidate for the valley's seat on the county board was a man of the Pauline neighborhood, Jack McCool.
A farmers' league
In September 1917 A. E. Bowen, an organizer for the League from North Dakota, spoke to about a hundred farmers and businessmen at American Falls, the seat of Power County, which had taken in the valley from Oneida County in 1913. The American Falls Press summed up his message:
He said further that the league intended to get political control of the state so that it could force the legislature to pass favorably upon such questions as state owned elevators, packing houses and cold storage plants.
The next spring, on April 30, 1918, the Arbon column reported, in a badly garbled line, "a non partisan meeting" one night at the Central school house, probably a League meeting, though the column does not say so. By 1920 the League had a county branch under W. H. Griswold, manager of the Ford Motor Company at American Falls, who told the Press in June that 460 members had paid the $18 fee.
Jack McCool of Arbon
In July 1920 the League held a convention at American Falls. Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bandy went in to attend, the Arbon column reported, and "Jack McCool of Arbon also attended, being elected supervisor." The paper did not explain the office.
He was John A. McCool. When he married Mabel Geesey of Fairview in September 1917, the Arbon column wrote of "John McCool, or Jack as we call him." By 1920 he was on the county's jury list for Pauline.
The Press took Idaho's new primary law as an effort to "prevent a political organization like the nonpartisan league from stealing the election at the polls from another party." The League put up its own independent ticket by petition, and on July 23 its notice, signed by Griswold, told members to keep out of the party primaries:
Every member is warned to stay away from polls of both Democratic and Republican primarys August 3rd, 1920.
Every effort will be put forth by those running for office in either of these parties to induce our members to vote at this primary.
In August the League's petitions carried 530 names. Among the signers the Press printed were W. E. and J. R. Dawson, Earl R. Daniels, Luther Estep and G. M. Houk, names on that year's Pauline jury list and very probably the same men.
Three valley men for one seat
Commissioners were elected by the whole county, "the people voting for a member from each of the three districts," as the Press had explained in 1918. For the valley's seat, the Third District, the October ballot offered E. C. England of Pauline, the Republican commissioner, seeking a second term; J. E. Keeler for the Democrats, very probably the Arbon farmer of that name; and John A. McCool on the League's "Independent County Ticket."
The Press was no neutral observer. It had called the League "an expression of socialism in its rankest form," and its editor, K. E. Torrance, was the Republican county chairman. On October 22 it reported his bet with Griswold: if the Republicans failed to elect six of their eleven county candidates, Torrance would push Griswold down the main street in a wheelbarrow, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner"; if the League failed to elect five of its nine, Griswold was to provide "the free ride and music."
Election day in the snow
The Press counted at least 1,933 votes, the most yet recorded in the county, "despite the severe handicap of over a foot of snow and almost impassable roads." The Republicans carried the county ticket from top to bottom, and England was re-elected. Outside the town of American Falls the independent candidates led by 63 votes, but the town gave the Republicans a majority of better than 300. The paper went precinct by precinct:
The nonpartisans carried seven precincts in the county with overwhelming majorities. Pleasant Valley, Prosperity, Cedar Creek, Lake, Little Creek, Landing and Pauline went nonpartisan as high as eight to one, and never below four to one. The republicans carried Fairview, Arbon, Roy, Igo, Bonanza Bar and American Falls by heavy majorities. Crystal, Neeley and Rockland were closely contested, the first two going to the nonpartisans, the latter to the republicans.
The paper gave no figures for Pauline, and the part of the official abstract printed on November 26 that could be checked (its continuation on page 7) cannot be read in the scan, so McCool's vote at home is not known.
In the Senate race between John F. Nugent, the Democratic senator, and Frank R. Gooding, Republican headquarters had "conceded Nugent to the nonpartisans in the county returns." Then Crystal's returns came in "surprisingly strong for Gooding, with the result that he carried the county by one vote." The paper warned that a recanvass might yet favor Nugent, and its own headline read "NUGENT WINS BY SINGLE VOTE." No later count has been found that settles the county's margin; statewide, the Democrats conceded the seat to Gooding.
"Election day at the Arbon precincts was very quiet," the Arbon column reported. Only 72 of the 117 registered voters came out: several had moved out for the winter, and bad roads made voting light. "Traveling with cars is impossible," the column added. The judges were William Allard, who had sat in the legislature for Power County, T. B. Evans and Roy Porter, with Mrs. Jennie Logan, very probably the author of the valley's first written history, and Joe Evans as clerks.
Two years on
In November 1922 England carried Arbon 27 to 17 and Pauline by one vote, but a Democratic sweep led by Rockland put Perry Lusk of the West Fork, the Democrat, in his place. Pauline went Republican that year by a small margin, except for a few minor offices and governor, where H. F. Samuels, the Progressive, beat C. C. Moore, the Republican, 19 to 18. In 1918 Samuels had been the League's choice for governor.
On this site: Pauline and West Fork, Arbon and Crystal, and the first county commissioners from the valley.
Sources
- American Falls Press, September 11, 1917, page 1
- American Falls Press, September 11, 1917, page 5
- American Falls Press, September 18, 1917, page 4
- American Falls Press, April 30, 1918, page 4
- American Falls Press, July 5, 1918, page 1
- American Falls Press, November 1, 1918, page 2
- American Falls Press, April 16, 1920, page 1
- American Falls Press, April 16, 1920, page 6
- American Falls Press, June 11, 1920, page 1
- American Falls Press, July 9, 1920, page 1
- American Falls Press, July 16, 1920, page 3
- American Falls Press, July 23, 1920, page 9
- American Falls Press, August 20, 1920, page 1
- American Falls Press, October 15, 1920, page 4
- American Falls Press, October 22, 1920, page 1
- American Falls Press, October 22, 1920, page 7
- American Falls Press, November 5, 1920, page 1
- American Falls Press, November 12, 1920, page 2
- American Falls Press, November 26, 1920, page 7
- American Falls Press, October 5, 1922, page 1
- American Falls Press, November 9, 1922, page 1
- American Falls Press, November 9, 1922, page 4