The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-10-07
MONTANA BANKERS FORM THEM.
SELVES INTO ASSOCIATION.
ADDRESS BY BILLINGS MAN
NJ. A. Arnold Talks On "4ank Taxa
ton In Montana and Shows
Its Inequalities.

A state organization has been ef-
fected by the bankers of Montana,
who have been in session at Helena
during the last day or two for that
purpose. They elected officers as fol-
lows:
President, B. F. White, Dillon; first
v~ice-president, Albert l.. Smith, Hele-
ma; secretary, Frank Bogart, Helena;
district vice-presidents, First, A. C.
Johnson, Helena; Second, E. B. Wei
rick, Butte; Third, M. B. Greenwood,
Anaconda; Fourth, ]. NJ Keith, Mis-
soula; Fifth, Alden j. Bennett, Vir-
ginia City; Sixth, e. H. Talcott, Liv-
ingston; Seventh, A. L. Babcock, Bill
ings; Eighth, r. s. Ford, Great Falls;
Ninth, Peter Koch, Bozeman; Tenth,
Austin War;, Lewistown; Eleventh,
D. R. Pee]er, Kalispell; Twelfth, R.
M. Lewis, Glasgow executive council,
M. A. Arnold, Billings; ]. H. T. Ry-
man, Missoula, and Alex. ] Johnston,
Butte.
Governor Toole delivered an ad-
dress of welcome, to which Alden ].
Bennett, of Virginia City, responded
in behalf of the bankers.
Address BY NJ; A. Arnold.
Papers of different kinds were read
by the delegates, all relating to sub
jects of interest to the business OF
banking. M. A. Arnold, cashier of the
First National bank of this city, made
ar address on Bank Taxation in Mon
tana." He spoke as follows:
Mr.. President and Members of the
Montana Bankers Association: In
the act of bank taxation in Montana,
as construed and carried out by the
various assessors and county boards
of equalization, and with no uniform
system, they have closely followed
the definition of taxation as ex-
pressed by a celebrated minister Of
finance of Louis XIV, who said that
"the act Of taxation consists of so
plucking the goose as to procure the
largest amount of feathers with the
least possible amount of squealing."
No one realizes more forcibly than
the banker who has been squealing a
long time in certain sections of our
state, because of excessive plucking,
in other words, because Of unfair val
uations and unjust determinations in
the matter of taxation. ! desire al
the outset to state that there is no
disposition on the part of the bankers
of this state, o do they wish to
,evade the payment of their just and
equitable portion of taxes, but it is
a matter of common knowledge that
the amount of taxes paid by the
banks is unduly proportionate to that
paid by the owners OF other classes
of property, that the assessment OF
bank capital is excessive and unrea-
aoonably high.
1t has been we'll said that the banks
by reason of the publicity given their
business are peculiarly vulnerable"
to assessment and taxation as well as
to criticism on the part of those who
think the banks do not pay their pro-
per share of taxes.
I believ all we'll informed persons
will recognize the fact that, not from
any discrimination of the law, but
from the peculiar circumstances sur
rounding the conduct of the banking
business, the banks pay an exces.
sively disproportionate part of the
personal property revenue of the
state, county and city.
Our books are in a sense. open to
the public, and we are estopped from
contradicting our sworn and pub
lished periodical statements even 1t
we were so disposed, and the asses
sors cannot legally guess at or lump
the assessment with all the figures at
his UlSpOSdl.
I have recently sent out to the
banks in each county in the state in
quiries for the purpose of obtaining
the relative valuations of the different
classes of property as fixed by the
assessors and county boards of equal
ization for taxable purposes and at
what per cent Of actual cash value
they were assessed at. The results
shown are astonishing, most illumi-
mating, and glaring inequalities are
disclosed.
AS between bank capital and other
property, both real and personal, the
banks are assessed from 10 per cent
to Is per cent higher than any other