The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1923-11-07
State Wide Comment
OTHER PEOPLES TAXES

| l.
The great power and copper companies are showing a decided
interest at present in other peoples taxes. These great concerns
finance and maintain the Montana Taxpayers association, which is
composed, in membership, Of officials, employees and friends of
the corporations named or their subsidiary banks and businesses.
latest activity of this prOpagandistic agent of the copper and
power gang is to butt into the affairs of the public with advice
to bring lawsuits against cities and counties and to resist tax
The secretary of the association has mailed to this news
paper, and presumably to other newspapers in the state, letters
and purported lists of city, town and county tax levies made in the
state, with request to publish the same, and in the letters the
taxpayers are urged to pay certain taxes, said by the lists to be
illegal, under protest, and to bring suits to recover the same if not
voluntarily refunded.
An examination of the lists of levies discloses that many levies
in various towns, cities and counties are pronounced illegal, with
advice to the taxpayers to treat them as above stated. If the adj
vice of the Montana Taxpayers association is followed in this
matter the courts of the state will be filled with suits to recover
taxes paid under protest, and the taxpayers and town, city and
county governments will be put to endless trouble.
On the face of it, when the Montana Taxpayers association
employees a high priced attorney, as the letter states to examine all
the tax levies in the cities and counties of the state, for the purpose
of informing the citizens of legal and illegal levies so they may
refuse to pay taxes except under protest and sue to recover the
same, it serves a highly benevolent public end. 1t really looks like
an astounding and extraordinary charity on the part of this agent
of the power and copper gang.
One wonders why it should go to the expense of maintaining
an organization, with a paid secretary and a paid attorney, who
is a tax expert, for the benefit of the people of the state. Certainly
a very insignificant percentage of the taxpayers even belong to the
concern by courtesy, and it is notorious that it's funds come from
the big corporations.
But the matter becomes clear when given a moments thought
II II people lit kept OuSy III a ii II UNI duu all II Clues III
the state wrangling and suing and fighting over the city and coun-
ty tax levies they will have much less time in which to investigate
the taxes of the great tax dodgers, and perhaps no energy with
which to pursue such Investigations to the point where the tax
dodgers are required to pay just taxes.
1t has the appearance of a smoke screen or a herring drawn
across the trail of the tax dodgers. Of course, everybody believes
in lawful taxation-except tax dOdgers-and there may be no
defense for illegal tax levies. Yet there are counties and cities in
the state whose people-because of the absolute necessity for
schools, roads and governmental service of various kinds-have
voluntarily authorized the city and county officials to make such
levies. In view of this the pretended public service offered by the
Montana Taxpayers association, in urging taxpayers to protest
and sue for taxes, is both gratutious and mischievous.
But this is all in conSOnance with the policy of the big copper
and power corporations. While the Interlocking Press of the gang
raves to the people of the State about the vast benefits that will
accrue to them if they come to Lewistown and bind themselves to
peace and harmony and love of their fellow men for ever more, the
taxpayers association of the gang urges the people to resist taxes
and bring suits in every city and county in the state.
It's a great game, gentlemen, a great game! If the people
really desire to enjoy it, they must get the gangs various activities
in full perspective, and watch both hands and both pedals of the
concern while they are performing their Mephistopheian and
Machiavelian feats of political and industrial magic, so that the
whole show can be completely understood and the final degree of
entertainment extracted from it-From Montana Record-Herald