The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1930-12-19
CHEWING II OVER
BY HANS RASMUSSEN

| take it for granted that you have read the
part of the State Examiners Report printed in the
Producers News last week This part should have
been printed in the Medicine Lake Wave in Sep
tember but has not been printed there as yet. OF
course, The Wave is going to print it now, after
The Producers News has exposed it, but it is a
safe bet that, if we had Producers News the re-
port would never have been printed in any of the
papers of the county and the people would not
have known anything about it.
Last year the State Examiner told is the con-
dition in the county was "deplorable." This year
he is telling US conditions are much than
last year. am going to quote few of the things
he said.
ct is hard TO realize how a board of county
commissioners would allow an illegal payment
from the sinking fund. By unlawfully using
$50, 79S. SO of the sinking fund money in the pay
ment of just claims agains the general fund, the
commissioners cannot excuse themselves by the
preteXt they were saving money for the county"
AT this rate he says, sit will take the county
fifty years to pay off the present Indebtedness.
The taxpayers will be required to raise several
hundred thousand dollars in interest that is abSo-
lutely unnecessary. :. The sinking fund of your
county was just about up to requirements in 1925
and it is the fault of the county commissioners
that have been on the board since that time that
levies have not been made to keep 1t up to re-
Quirements. They have simply ignored the law. If
this condition is allowed to continue the taxpayers
of Sheridan county will be penalzed another three
or four hundred thusand dollars in interest
Under the present management there is no chance
that the taxpayers of Sheridan county will ever
escape from the heavy burden of taxation"
The examiner was telling you taxpayers the
and again that since 1925--the time the French
Iverson combination formed = county has
gone to the dogs.
Last year the county paid s54 ga in interest.
During the same year the county expenses were
s61,O21.S7 higher than the year before.
About tn taxes refunded the Examiner has this
to say: "The above refunds all illegal and the
county commissioners are without any authority
IN refunding taxes unless paid under protest. The
county commissioners should therefore refund
$1,7S1.30 TO the county"
III order to pay the county surveyor the county
commissioners created $4,000 emergency fund
The examiner says: "In doing so they laid them
selves liable for the expenditure"
One hundred and ten dollars and forty-five
cents was paid to an adding machine company
"This Is payment for service in advance and is
prohibited by law"
Frank French Ed. Iverson and Niels Madsen
went to a commissioners convention where they
were entertained by machine companies with wine,
women and song and had had heck of a good
time The trip was paid for by the county Now
the examiner comes out and tells them that French
should pay back to the county S1770, Iverson
s112SS and Madsen s69.S9. Do you think they will
do it?
D. A Meharry got s166sO and the examiner
says: Mr.. French is liable for the debt and not
the county"
About some road claims the examiner has this
to say: THE county commissioners allowed them
selves and their official bondsmen to become liable
county officer will allow himself to become liable
the commissioners have in the above instances
is beyond understanding"
Now there are people, and lots of them, up in
arms about this report and the sneaky way in
which it was suppressed, and they are trying to
find out what could be done about it
Well, If anybody wants to do something, it does
look ike the commissioners could be ousted and
could be made to dig upSto the county some 80 to
so thousand dollars, and there are several ways
TO go about it. But the leader, Frank French
just sit there and laugh at it all. He is rich
man, but not even the car he is driving is in hi:
own name, from him you could not collect a pen
ny. You might collect his bonds of course and
also Dust him.
Anybody start a taxpayers suit, but tina,
viii cost some money. | tried it once and it cos
me $1,000 and what did we get out of it? We 20
what the little boy shot at - whatever that is
When the judges and the lawyers are working II
cahoots with crooked bunch of county commits
sioners taxpayer hasn't much of a show.
You can circulate petitions and ask the Judge Il
call a grand jury. But wiz the Judge call it? I
the jury indicts the commissioners, which il YER
likely will do then it is up to the county to star
suit against them, but what good viii that do
II he wanted to and in this case he would not wan
to, so il would be nothing but a farce
What also could be done: We could ALL qui
paying taxes. That would be very effective but Z
some people 1t sounds too crazy, although it
not as crazy as it sounds when you consider tina
at the present time PC of the people own $3.50 o
the wealth and it viii only take a short time be
fore they viii have it all.
What also be done-and what probably Wi
De done: Petitions can be circulated asking tn
attorney general to start action but It takes 10
OF signers TO get him to move If he does move
viii very likely bring results.
Think it over while you are dancing aroun
your Christmas tree and let us hear from some Q
you