The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-09-13
TECHNICALITIES VERSUS
SUBSTANTIAL JUSTICE
(From Montana Record-Herald)

AOAA NS(O1 L u
During the past several weeks
mysterious rumors have been afoat
of the impending attacks that were
soon to be launched by the 'big in
terests" of Montana, with the OBJ
jective in view of purging the state
constitution and statutes of every
line of recent legislation that had
for its purpose the curbing of the
imperial powers heretofore exercis-
ed by the invisible government of
this state.
No secret was made of the fact
that the hated and abhorred tax
commission, which had come into be-
ing a few months ago by the man
date of the people of Montana, as
expressed in their recent overwhelm-
ing ratification of a constitutional
amendment, was to be the first and
main object of the attack.
For weeks the newly created tax
commission had been hard at work
in trying to bring about an equitable
reimbursement of the long vexed ques-
tion of taxation in Montana, to the
end that the wealth of our non-resi-
dent landlords should bear the same
proportion of the burdens of gov
eminent as do the people who live in
Montana-no more and no less.
Last week the first thin skirmish
line moved out to the attack, camou-
tagged under the lead of Corporals
Martein and Spaulding. The pur-
pose was to first hamstring the tax
commission by cutting off the month
ly wages of the stenographers. clerks
and commissioners. Thus temporar-
lily deprived of their compensation
by an injunction issued by a local
district judge, it was hoped that the
work of collecting the two per cent
tax on crude oil, the inheritance tax,
which is largely levied on non-resi-
dents who were the owners of stock
in Montana mines, waterpower rail
roads and oil, would cause these en-
ployes to desert their posts and thus
bring about a cessation of their hated
levies.
Yesterday afternoon, while the
Judge from Butte, who had been
called in to hear the first injunction,
was devoting exactly one hour and
IS minutes to the hearing and legal
argument and rendering his decision
upon probably the most important
constitutional amendment ever tried
in Montana courts, the main batter
les were Numbering for he real as
sault.
In quick succession and during the
one hour and Is minutes allotted by
the Judge to the hearing and decid-
ing a fundamental question of con-
stitutional construction, three addl-
tional injunctions were issued IN
rapid succession in the adjoining
room by the same district judge who
had called i'm the Butte judge to pass
upon the first question raised as to
the payment of the wages OF the
clerks and stenographers. The three
new injunctions thus issued were
successfully entitled:
The Montana Power Company
versus
The Montana State Tax COMMISSION
The Great Falls Power Company
versus
uo1ss1u1uuoO xgL e4e4S eue4uoW oQL
The Thompson Falls Power Company
versus
The Montana State Tax Commission
These three new injunctions each
severally prohibited the tax commls-
sidn from hearing and determining
the tentative assessment OF these
power companies, which had beer set
for the following morning at 10
o'clock.
In this dramatic name did Dan
M. Kelly. formerly attorney general
of Montana, and who resigned his
office of attorney general during the
middle of his term to join the legal
staff of the Anaconda Copper com
panv. and the Montana Power Co.,
carry out his threat made to the tax
commission five days previous.
All this t~ranspired while the Butte
Judge in the adjoining chamber, who
bv a strange coincidence was appoint
ed by Governor Stewart to fill the
in the Butte judicial bench
caused by the resignation of Judge
John v. Dwyer, who had also re-
signed during the middle of his term
to enter the legal department of the
Anaconda company, was hearing the
first injunction.
Thus endeth the first chapter.
i. H. issuance md hearing of this :