The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-09-19

lished a central agency, with full Jun
isdiction over all, popularity known a
state tax commission. Although tn
people themselves ratified the Tia.
Commission amendment, The Ana
conda and the Montana Power inter
ests Immediately attacked by INDUCTION
In the Supreme Court. After months
of delay, the ratification by the vot,
of the people was sustained by a bar.
majority vote of to 2 in the Suprem,
Court.
/ Despite the opposition of powerful
Hobbies, financed by these great special
interests, we were finally able to write
into the tax laws of Montana a modern
provision regarding:
Inheritances,
| Pullman car lines,
A Tax Commission,
29o gross on oil production,
Coal production and Gasoline.
The financial political power of the
great metal mining companies was
strong enough to defeat in the Senate
the one per cent gross production tax
on the output of metal mines, which
the House had passed Since Mon
tana's admission to statehood, these
great foreign owned mining companies
had, through political control of legis-
latures, newspapers, bank credits and
state government, been able to have
their yearly output of millions of
wealth assessed for taxation only on
met production" If there were no net
profits there were no taxes on the
mineral wealth produced.
The Dual Tax System
Yet, during all these years, the farms
tana's resident citizens were paying
taxes whether there were any net
profits in the business or not.
To show how unfairly the present
dual system of taxation has worked,
l cite following actual transactions:
This last February, the Davis-Daly
mine in Butte was sold to The Ana
conda by vote of its stockholders for
$3,000,000. Mr.. Mcintyre, the County
Treasurer of Silver Bow, certified to
the State Tax Commission that for the
year 1923 the taxable value of this
mine was S41O30. The total taxes
paid that year on this property, which
sold for three million dollars, actual
cash, was $3.50.
If this three million dollars had been
invested in farm lands that year, in
stead of $3.50 taxes it would have
paid $55,275, or nearly % times as
much. If this three million had been
invested in either cattle or merchan-
Use, the taxes would have been $61, AT,
Or more than "a times as much.
Let me give you another illustration
rs to how the present dual system of
.axation works here in Montana.
The new Tax Commissions returns
,or the last year show that the"stocks
IF merchandise" paid nearly three
times the amount of taxes paid by all
he great metal mines of the state.
Lat year "store furniture and fix
,ures" paid in more than one-third as
much tax as all the metal mines net
proceeds tax.
In 1922, "bank stock" paid over
light times the tax as did met pro-
leeds" from metals mines. That year
Household Goods" paid 21a times as
much tax as did all metals mines on
heir met proceeds"
This dual system of taxation in Mon
ana has been so brazenly unfair that =
he wonder is the people who live in {
1ontana have borne the unequal bur- s
en- with such meek patience and for I
tude.
But under the initiative section of
ur state constitution, 10000 citizens
the state have, within the past few {
lonths, initiated the same identical
ne per cent gross output metals mines i
cense tax law as was passed by the I
ouse two years ago. /
Mines Tax Law viii Pass
Despairing of continued control of
gislatures by the big mining interests,
icy have finally determined to exer- !.
Sc their reserved constitutional DOW :.
s of legislation by popular vote. I'm :
SIS l know nothing of the exasperated !.
cling of the people of Montan regard :
g this ancient wrong, the initiated :
II will become law in November by =
e greatest vote ever cast by the =
ople of this state. y
If these two great corporate inter-
is would only take the money they :.
W pay out in trying to control news =
pers, primary elections, legislatures, :,
urts, the maintainence of lobies and =
i'd political agents, and the further - :,
: of political propaganda, and use -,
in the payment of their own fair =.
are of the burden of taxation, they -
uld have money left over for an in -
.ase of legitimate dividends to their v. "
president stockholders. And, we 80 80
uld have peace here at home. -
Popular Government Trumphs in
While it is true that in the recent M
primaries the big copper m,
hing companies, by the expenditure CT
ems of thousands of dollars. are now
lsting that they have nominated a wi
nocratic state ticket of their own I'M
losing from Governor down. II is th: