The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-01-18
REFORMER OR OBJECT0R
County Commissioners Edgerton
Analyses tho Last Card OF
R. Jockey.
All the Banks Are on Exactly the
Same Level as Regards
Taxation.
How the m fasteners Have Reduced
Mr.. Jockeys As~ssssments-As to
Lot 23, Block "a.

Mr.. Jockeys Assssansnts-As to
Lot 20, Block "A.
Last Monday morning The INDEPENDENT
published a communicates from b.
Jockey. Referring TO the burdens Of taxa
sion, Mr.. Jockey said: "All that claim Ia
shat II (~unimpsovsd outside property
should bsar only its equitable proportion
of the general burden. will illustrate BY
q reference to certain assessments she
equity Of which has existed the last three
years. Mr. Edgerton II president OF the
second National bank of Helena. with .
paid M capital Of $4,000 and with sur
plus and profits amounting to $25.00O moro,
or 800, 600 In gold and gresnbacks, which
10 held and loaned to taxpayers, and which
should produce q revenue Of from 10 to u
per cent. or moro. BY reference to the 40.
easement roll / find that this bank 10 as
sessed upon 852, 40, or 81 per cent Of its
sctual cash value. Lot "a, in block "a. of
the Jockey addition, being Twenty-Five feet
front and 100 feet deep. situate in a
gravel bed, whore Helena avenue
crosses Dry pulch. was assessed In
1892 At $1.5O0. Its cash value is hard TO
estimate, but il would probably not have
sold at any time for more than $500 cash, II
that much. There are no Improvements OH
II. there 10 no income. the investment Ia
dead, And taxes ond assessments to BE- paid,
yet when this matter was presented to the
commissioners they refused TO reduce the
assessment, and referred me to the courts.
and when ! attempted to appeal was in
formed that there was NO law authorizing
an appeal from their action. In one In
stance property worth 100 cents on the dol
lar 10 assessed at 81 per cent Of it, actual
value, in the other instance unpreduotivs
property ID assessed at more than 300 per
cent of ito value. This is protection in one
case and without xsoiprocity in the other.
IL it fai. or honsstp Neither il this an iso-
lated case; il 10 the rule and not the excep-
tion."
Monday the attention Of M. Edgerton.
who 10 ono Of the county eommissionsrs.
also president Of the Second National
bank. was called to the above. He
read the statements made carefully, and
said: II prefer to look mp the records be-
fore / make any reply to Nj. Jockeys
statements. ] do not think . controversy
Mr.. Jockey sees At TO attack the institution
of which am an officer, and II do not
notice him some may think his statements
are correct. Tomorrow / will endeavor to
answer Mr.. Jockey" Yesterday Mr.. Ed
gerton had seen the records and this is what
he said - the result:
II regret hat Mr.. Jockey has seen at 10
DO personal. In his trst card he stated that
the commissioner had levied a greater rate
OF taxes for 1892 than 1891. Feeling that
this was a mistake on Mr.. Jockeys part,
undertook to correct the public ~ TO the
.-ESnNk nj h{u rrr I INDIA mo ant
was satisfactory, a. be drops the subject of
the former discussion and has turned to q
new issue. II occurs to me, in discussing
shs subject Of bsnk taxation, it would have
been better If the gentleman had mentioned
that he himself was . director and large
banks OF this city. and 1t would have been
only fair il he had said that all national
and state banks were assessed
upon precisely the same basis OF
valuation. 1t would have been far
kinder il, instead of making = personal
attack upon my own institution. the small
est in the city, he had said, i am q director
in the American National bank; We have q
capital Of $500, 600. The first year that We
started in business We paid no taxes what
ever. and in 1892 paid taxes only on $lO4,-
000.' 1t would have been fairer and kinder
if illustrations Of this kind had been made,
but even that would have been far from
presenting the subject in its true light. be-
cause tho banks are entitled to deduct the
par value of their United States bonds
which only draw, in our case. two per cent
per annun interest. and are, by act of con-
Rress, exempted from taxation, and which
the law requires US to keep In order to do
business. This, together with the possibil-
ity Of losses. accounts for the apparently
low valuation placed on national bank
stocks.
'The question of tnxation," continued
Mr.. EdRerton. 'is one that for all ages has
been taught with difficulty. Methods
direct and indirect have been in vogue ever
since government FIRST had form, aud none
have been entirely satisfactory. Perhaps
no problem connected with the subject ia
more difficult of satisfactory solution than
that of equalization between productive
and reproductive property, unless IL
possibly may be that which draws n line of
distinction between business enterprises or
capital invested in active business and that
which is used for speculative PURPOSES. l
nm prepared to state and fully believe that
the banking capital of thia city pays from
two to three times the amount OF taxes per
dollar actually invested to that Of any
other line of business depending on the use
of capital; and the fact that we ate required
absolutely 10y law and not as a matter of
preference to invest in government bonds
(the interest upon which il exceptionally
low, among other reasons. because they are
not subject to taxation) docs not Justify
the unfair comparison made by MI. Lookev.
"As to vacant lots and outside property.
II MI. Looky had seen fit, he might have
made a very happy illustration il he had
referred to some of his own experience. not
altogether in the nature of hardships in
holding unimproved property and other
than lot %. in block "a. To illustrnte-if
he had said that somewhere about the year
1884 or 1886 he bought q piece of propsrty
in Helena for a consideration Of 49, 600 or
$4,000. which he sold within six years
thereafter for about $3.50, 900, and then. il
be had carried hts illustration further by
saying that he went before the commission
ers Of this county in 1891, with notes secured
by mortgages. representing a par value, ex-
elusive of interest. of over $3.50. 600 on that
Same property and, upon his oath, petitionsd
that it be reduced to 500. 600, we would
have then seen that capital invested in
notes such as represent national bank as
sets have, even when secured by real estate
mortgages, in Mr.. Jockeys Judgment, if
owned by himself. equities, emitting them
TO reduction. Ii he had told you in his
last article these ahme commissioner did
grant him a reduction of $3S. 900, or
about % per cent of these notes secured by
mortgages. one would not have Thought him
30 badly tr ated. In 1892 he only paid on $50,
GOO or said mortgages. We would perhaps
have a clearer idea of the mental operations
that lead to Mr.. Jockeys Judgment on
financial questions .. pertaining to taxation
IL ho had said that Al that uana saaaion