The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1922-10-13
County Taxes Decrease
Continued from Page Onel

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Besides these school taxes, the
County Commissioners after listen
ing to Link and his hackers decided
that it was necessary to raise more
money for Link so they went to
work and made special road levy
on all male citizens of this County
between the ages of Fl and so years
in the sum of $500 each. County AS
SCISSOR Aspelund cut out the regular
$500 road tax this year but the
Commissioners had to keep Link and
his high priced crew going so they
just fastened this special levy onto
all of US. Remember this when you
go to the polls and vote that each
male voter in this county has to pay
out two dollars extra in taxes Just
20 keep that man Link on the job.
Had the board of county commits
sioners showed the least inclination
to cooperate with County Assessor
Aspelund and County Treasurer Dan
Olson, 100000 worth of Seed Grain
Bonds bearing seven per cent inter-
est would have been retired and dur
ing the coming year, $1,000 in inter-
est would have been saved, reducing
taxes just that much for next year.
The taxpayers will observe that the
entire budget for the administration
Of the county, which includes all sal
airy, mileage, court house upkeep,
county printing, court expense, and
road and bridge appropriations,
amounts this year to about $4,000
The taxpayers attention is then call
ed to the fact that the amount of
money that must be raised to meet
interest charges against the county is
$4,000 or about $4,000 more is re-
quired from the taxpayers each year
to pay the interest on the bonded in
debtedness than is required for the
administration of the county and the
building of the roads and bridges.
That $4,000 in interest, hung like
a milestone on the necks of the tax
payers is the results of ten years of
county extravaganza, county treasury
plundering, and county robbing, which
was hidden each year by the issuing
of refunding bonds to cover warrants
for money used that could not be cola
lected at the time by means of taxa
ton. Every year, before the farm
ers took over the reigns of govern
ment, the county went into debt,
over and above the amount of taxes
collected, about 100000 at an aver
age interest rate to be raised by taxes
of about per cent, amounting to
about $4,000 extra per annum, be-
sides sum of about $4,000 per year
in sinking fund to meet the payment
of the bonds as they become due, un-
til the county was practically sunk
in debt--a monument to graft and
county robbery, the such of which
cannot be equaled in the history of
any county, city or state in this
United States except Roosevelt coun-
ty, Montana.
But these scandalous conditions
have ceased-the farmers rose up in
their wrath and kicked the grafters
as far as possible out of office. Things
have changed in Sheridan county,
but the effects of this rule of Grim
inals and thieves and robbers can not
be wiped out in two years or even
ten years. The farmers have elected
traitors to office-men who in order
to feather their own nests will stoop
to petty thievery and trickery and
then sheer at the honest farmers who
honored them by electing them to Of
flee, and just so far have been him
dered the redemption of the county,
but the traitors now can only obstruct,
they cannot do the damage they once
were able to do.
So, thank goodness, the taxes will
not increase, but will decrease little
this year.
If the Board of County Commits
sioners had been honest and had tried
to help, many another thousand
would have been saved-if Dolin had
not been given the printing contract
with Joker in it, that makes his bid
the highest submitted, because tof
which and TIE deliberate betrayal of
the taxpayers of the county by Tylar
and Ibsen, y large part of the print
ing costs the county nearly full code
rates-if the board of county commits
sioners had tried to do their duty and
had been as anxioasto have been hon
est and decent as they were to serve
Jud Watkins and feather the nest of
joe Dolin, many another thousand of
dollars would have been saved for the
taxpayers.
i Yet, in, spite Of these double cross
ars and grafters, ii spite OF dishonest
men Of small moral caliber whom the
farmers believed to bes honest and sim
ceres yes, ii spite of these pretense Of
men, few officers, standing with
their backs TO the wall, have saved so
much money to the taxpayers, have
the county so well, that
for the first time in the history of the
county, during the hardest times this
country ever experienced, during Al
time when the taxes have not been
paid, they have run the county with