The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1918-12-27

( r MTHH41sE
Commissioners and Their Tax Ferrets,
After Months Searching, Diseov-
er Charges In Democrat Press,
Of Improper Assessments
Only Political Bunk

The Fergus county commissioners
met Wednesday. to give final consid--
Grafton to alleged irregular assess.
ments, and County Assessor Carl
Riddick was officially indicated of.
the charges hurled at him by the
democrat press during the campaign.
Immediately after. election the"
commissioners appointed two men to-
investigate these charges. In order
to be fair they appointed two demo-
Gratis. Forthwith the democrat press;
from Great Falls to the Dakota line.
heralded in advance what scandalous;
things "were going to be found" But
it has all proved a false alarm.
These men made critical investiga-
ton of every one Of the alleged H.
legal or irregular assessments, and
were actively aided in their work by
the democrat commissioners, treas
urer and county attorney. Mr.. Rid
dicks complete vindication came re-
luctantly, but officially, from the fact
that the whole court house force was
unable to find a single thing wrong
with any one of the many assess
ments about which so much was
said in the democrat press before
election.
No omission, and nothing wrong
was found with his assessment of
the Cottonwood Coal Co. O. the
Montana Power Co.
Several days were consumed in
studying every phase of the bank
assessments, and they were all found
to be according to law, and left as
they were
1t was discovered that NJ. Riddick
had not neglected to assess himself
with mortgages that should have
been taxed to him and that his land
was assessed exactly like other SIM
liar land, and his residence was prop
erly assessed at the same time other
Lewistown dwellings were assessed.
No elevators had escaped assess
ment, as had been charged and out
side of a little personal property of
insignificant proportions, no taxables
were found which could possibly
have escaped taxation under the reg
ular and usual custom of the assess
or's office.
The investigators did find, what
was we'll known in advance, that now
and then a piece of land which had
been correctly entered on the official
assessment sheets, had been incorrect
ly extended by clerical help in
the office, and they aided the assess
or in the checking over of these
sheets to correct these clerical err
rors. Inasmuch as this work is al
ways done as part of the routine
work, not a single acre of this land
would have escaped paying taxes in
any event.
/ AS good measure in making offic-
9 ial reparation to Mr.. Riddick, the
commissioners allowed Tom Stout a
bill of Sc for stationery. The signifi'
8 cant thing about this bill is that it
was found to be a legal claim against
z the county, although just before
election it was diallowed as an n
S legal claim, and given much news
3 paper publicity.
$ This is the bill that Tom Stout de
- clared in substance in his newspaper
i was graft. He privately admitted hi:
mistake, but the Democrat-News ha:
). never been fair enough to publicl!
= acknowledge the injustice done Il fel
a low townsman.
Now that Mr.. Stout has p%resentet
. the same bill to the county commits
"A sioners a second time, and with Al
81 affidavit that it is a just CLAIM
against the county, and the commits
,. ~sioners have paid it, the public ha
official assurance, together with Al
n affidavit by the Democratic News tina
y there was no more merit in tn
charges of graft made by the Lewis
- town News, than in tn
" charges as to wrongdoing in MAXIM
q assessments.
TAP CLOUDS TO BRING RAIN.