The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1924-08-20

S550,000 from the apnronris+;ors
made for that year for -carrvin@ on
state. W
Work Shows Results
inns final bringing of the states
expenditures within the Limits of its
receipts, in face of a S260OOO 600
snr1nkage in the assessable wealth of
tne state, a delinquent tax list of II
per cen and the further fact of the
wlthhOldlng by injunction proceedings
IN "a counties instituted bv the Nor
a n Power company, of about S485.-
9oz, IN taxes due from this one cor
Poratlon for 1922 and 1923, gives me
1aIth to believe that the Strenuous
work that has fallen 10 NV lot dur
ing the past four years has not been
Wlthout real results to the people of
the state.
Aftermath of War
u years ago I was elected gov-
ernOr of the state. We were then in
the very midst Of the severe period
Oh financial deflation that wrought
Ssuch fearful havoc in the lives and
Jun Of thousands Of our men
and women. The war and its after
math had piled high the cost of gov
ernment---federal, state, county. and
municipal. The reduction of the
purchasing power of the tax dollar
20 a % cent basis had further ac-
centuated the difficulties of making
buckle and tongue meet in public ex-
penditures.
On taking the oath of office as
governor, | found a lamentable con-
dlclon OF the states finances, threat
ened with an impending breakdown
5 IN the administration of the neces-
/ sary state institutions and the nee
]. eSsary departments of administra-
ton. In taking up the work. | found
V mat during the previous year, the
1 state government expenditures had
: exceeded It's revenues by about one
million dollars, and with unpaid de-
flclency claims amounting to $685. 600
leo additional. Surely no public official
r ever took over a more appalling task
Of trying to adjust the states rev
t enues to meet the pressing demands
t from the state institutions. Every
= one knew that We could not close the
n penal and charitable institutions like
l. the insane asylum, the state prison
n the orphans home, deaf and blind
1+EN ltlI' tlAO lIDAlAC IOL BIlG AOCOAN
g minded, the reform school. girls re-
Y form school. and the soldiers home
To shut down or cripple the agricul-
tural college, the state university, the
school Of mines and the state norma
college. even in our hour of financia'
e distress seemed little short of Grim.
inal to the boys and girls of thu
state.
s Remedies Proposed
r Immediately on the converting O.
the state LEGISLATURE l, called to it
t attention the desperate situation tina
to confronted, and urged upon M Daa
re thIee immediate course on ne
le dial action.
n First: The abolition of every un
necessary board, commission and of
Of flee.
Second: The limiting of appropria
: tiOns to the revenues available, con
sistent with the actual carrying o
of the imperative needs of the stat
institutions.
Third: A more equitable distribu
ton of the cost of government, S
that all forms of wealth within tn
state should bear their w prOpOl
tionate part of the burden-no MOI
and no less.
Dual System of Taxation
Under the old constitutional pr
visions, ejouted at the time Of II
states admission into the Union
1SS9. it was provided that land, liv'
..ock, merchandise, banks ,homt
and other forms Of property shou
be taxed upon their cash value, b1
that mines, metalliferous, coal al
oil should be taxed upon their IN
- nroceeds." This was so evidently III
fair that I urged upon the legislatu
the imposition of a "gross produ
tion" license tax upon this form
wealth in order to avoid the inequi
able dual system Of taxation und
which the great mining interests
long escaped their part Of the co
of government in Montana.
This suggestion on my part
the legislature met with fierce a
determined opposition by the gre
mining interests. 49,.
We did succeed finally IN wrltI
into the law of the state a gross pl
auction license tax as to coal,
production. and Pullman car compa
los as we'll as a modern form OF
Graduated inheritance tax law, Q
were defeated in the state senate
To the metal mines tax. IhaT Id
however. has been initiated by the J
titions of about 10000 voters OF t
state and will be either ratified
rejected at the November GlecCio"
The initiated metal mines gr'
. uoJ,Ic+ion / per cent tax was ca
fnTI, drafted by the Montana I
oornmission. and 1 believe its I'll
.,.- edontion will not only largely so
tSo heretofore unfair discriminat
in tbe matter of levying the stat
revenues, but will also bring peace 9;
state long distracted by pohtl
Central through Vaccinations
Great concentrated wealth rePre1Se
ed by the political agents (b0th De
ocrats and Republicans n an e ONE ce
of the big metalllferous mlhi Itoc =
p~anies, SO per cent OF n stocn
~oomnaOieS beng owl