Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1935-01-03
County Consolidation

County Consolidation
(what Other Editors Say About The subjecN
BURLE BOWLER in the Daniels County Leader)
There has been no little excitement in eastern
Montana the past few weeks over the Montana Tax
payers Association plan Of county consolidation. In
various counties meetings have been held and plans
laid to vigorously oppose any and all attempts OF the
Montana legislature to consolidate eastern counties
TOR that is the motive behind the Montana Taxpayers
Association movement.
The M. 7. A., however. claims it is an economical
move. Statistics do not bear that out. The smaller
counties Of the state are functioning more efficiently
and Just as economically as the large counties.
The real idea behind the plan actually Is TO re-
duce eastern Montana's representation in the state
House and Senate.
A proportionate reduction in representation all
over the state would not meet with so much opposition.
To the north Of US. for example, the Province OF
Saskatchewan, with a population Of approximately L.
O0O. 900. has q single legislative unit of SIS members.
Montana, with a population Of just about half a million
has a total OF 1853 legislators.
But let the legislature or the Taxpayers Assoc1a-
ton do what it will about cutting down state expenses
and curbing county expense, and leave the county
boundaries alone. There Is nothing to be gained by
d~isrupting county government organization at this
time. On the whole, commissioners and county OHIO
ials have proven much more capable Of sound econom-
ical county government than state legislatures have OF
state government Our state is more than twelve mil
lion dollars in debt, and it has levied about every kind
Of a tax imaginable. Counties only have such taxing
authority as Is vested in them by the state.
Let the state give the counties authority to scale
down the old delinquent taxes and they will have done
something useful. Then let the state give the county
authority to use a ~non-party ballot in elections. To 90
those things, adj the state has to do is to submit those
two constitutional amendments to the people. The
people will do the rest.
In the meantime, Eastern Montana residents are
making it plain that they want our county boundaries
left alone.
DAN MILESTONE in the Cut Bank Pioneer Press)
In the parlance Of the "big tops" the meeting OF
the Montana Taxpayers association at Helena last
week was quite a blowdown.
The central question was that Of county consolida-
ton. A group Of lusty and vocal opponents OF the out
lined plan took over the meeting when that phase was
reached and seemingly silenced the proponents.
The idea behind the protest Of the proposed plan
II that It takes away from the counties so neatly
grouped by the Bennionites the matter Of ~selfdetcr-
mduation. They would like to know what right the
group Of which Mr.. Bennion was spokesman has to as
sumo this prerogative.
The spirit animating the opponents of the plan Is
that OF the old town-meeting idea that inspired the
early colonists. They may be ready to admit that
there are too many units Of government In Montana
and certainly few will challenge this-uut they object
to the old Roman canton sysem. The Roman super
statesmen gave it as an excuse for the formation OF
these cantons out In the hinterlands of the Empire
that the Rustics, as they termed them, would receive
military protection, better markets and have lower
taxes. ANY student Of Roman history Of that period
knows what happened on the score Of reduced taxa
ton
Coming home to our own situation, the logic OF
grouping Glacier, Pondera and Toole into a unit IS
open to question. Why should the Bennionites leave
Teton by itself and thereby imply that it was better to
stand on It's own feet than the three named, leaving
tho inference that 1t was a more substantial county!
There are a number Of counties in southern and
eastern Montana that have little real valuation and
that have suffered over a period OF years frc droutn'
one season after another. 1t would seem like the part
OF wisdom and economy to effect consolidation. But
the people down there know their own situation better
than we-or Brother Bennion-and 1t seems only IN
the best democratic tradition to allow them to resolve
their problems in their own time and their own way.
Back Of all this, too, Is the suspicion that certain
OF the key cities would like to gather the backlands
into their vortex, by making of them a ~taxpaying, court
and trading centers. There seems some validity to
the suspicious Of the rural opponents OF the plan that
this is the real incentive supporting the consolidation
movement.
DAWSON COUNTY REVIEW
County consolidation is coming to the fore rather
prominently. The Montana Taxpayers association Is
beating the tomtoms and urging that our counties be
cut down to half as many as we now have or possibly
only fifteen or sixteen. 1t is proposed that mandatory
lexislation to effect this shall be passed by the coming
Legislature.