The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1922-02-09
Need For Retrenchment
In Public Expenditures
ting Beyond Reason-Quotes Figures to Prove 1t
Says Taxpayers Must Sit Up and Take Notice of How
Their Money Is Used-Production Must Be Speeded

dig out of your business before you
have anything for yourself. The
same thing exists in nearly every
county | have visited We organic
ed in Judith Gap State tax payers
league which | believe will prove to
be a very good thing and in time
with its existence, do not anticipate
this great county indebtedness will
exist
Another thing, consider how we
have been held up to pay for this
Roosevelt Highway and Yellowstone
Trail. Of course men who do not
have heavy taxes to pay threw in with
the idea and considered it would be
a very fine way to bring tourists into
the state and leaving money in the
state. Well, perhaps this is true
to certain extent, but it has com
PEELED US to pay more taxes in order
to pay for them.
But we cannot expect to bring the
taxes down until we have more pro-
duction. That we have got to do.
The Freight Tax
This is railroad town. You peo-
pie may think this farmer PROPOSE
tion does not affect you. 1t affects
you on every turn. Let me show
you why it affects you and why it
affects your business. 1t is the
freight rates. The rate at the pres
ent time on a bushel of wheat from
Buffalo Fergus county, to Mime
apolis is 28c. In 1914 the rate was
18c on a bushel of wheat We are
great wheat raising country. We
have shipped out of Buffalo in the
last two years 100000 bushels of
wheat, and we have paid $4,000 in
freight rates. This is a species of
taxation.
.s5e cannot stop our business like
a factory can when we see we are
not getting ahead, whether we. can
make cent or not. The factory,
the mine and other concerns can
close down, but we cannot. We
have to go ahead.
We have on the state pay roll in
this state 1000 people to serve the
5000. Now that is going some.
You undertake to lay off stenogra-
oher or clerk and you have them
after you, but one half of efficient
people could do the work that these
1000 are doing. Seems to me that
some of the departments are in each
,ther's way. They have deputies and
assistant deputies, door keepers and
ssistant door keepers, janitors and
janitors, stenographers and
Jerks. You go up the hall and you
meet pretty stenographers with their
rms around each other-apparently
With nothing else to do, who could
e cut off the pay roll-but you can
ot do it unless you are a member
f the committee. So that is an
ther source of milking the people.
Iowever, in going into court houses
4 this state lately that before we're
ver-manned, / have observed that a
reat many have been cut out, but
here could be a great many more cut :
IF.
Investment Penalized ,
Notice in going over the country,
specially around Fort Benton, that ).
is a magnificent country, and it
i'll sustain, but how are we going {
get money into the country when ,
person who has money and wants
, invest it has to pay per cent on
is investment? No, he never will =
} it. =
1t was thought when building the g
oosevelt and Yellowstone highways =
at it would assist in bringing tour =
is into the country, and after see -
g this great country they would y
ant to invest. | do not see it that a