The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1936-01-24

Ject lesson BILLINGS ilcn oally Cd,
alton co Osarlan submissive corp5r-
T HeIonS controlled town n the state.
- ;ns, - tine worst of Counsel AZ
90 20 Insurance company taxes NE I
s.le governed by a cotar;a az 80
I - 1l NV assembly in New y VII 1o
OF all the master Of ca1 issT I T
1tili+;os pro1its of the railroads.
~ - and industries are invest
; n II insurance companies This
t ti.a. ring OF racketeers took
i I'm and one half million doll
laLs out OF Montana last vear and
Pald four and one half ~,iII 1;I
back. They worked us e. , nUn
f fo, o. o. IoO percent in one wear and
To- e. years since our state audi
LOT SOr mas Kept the score. # has
Deen almost as rotten in each vesr
AS 70 our mine taxation. ua ara
governed by the ghosts ~ Msr ems
Icy ana w. A. Clark who at
And we have been governed bv
Tnese outsiders ever since WiIbnr
?. Sanders (statue IN oE- " stots
LOUISE went up and down the
SAG 81 years ago, speaking and
mLLtlhg pamphlets against our
STATE constitution and predicting
that If this constitution was Ids
opeo the very things would hap
pen tnat have come to pass.
Some things unique in judicial
annals have been wrought under
the shade Of that old UMBRELLA
Even where it pretends to some
measure Of equality, it has been
warped into grotesque fancies bv
luolclal construction. Equality of
burdens on corporations and per.
sons IS proclaimed in it, vet ev-
cry natural person who earns a
certain amount of money here in
any year pays a state as well as
national income tax. Corporat-
Ions, are exempt from this. Of 90
states with state income taxes. on.
~ two, Montana, the dairv farm
Of Wall Street and Delaware. the
dukedom OF the Duponts, exempt
corporations from income taxes.
Inc reason we do it is because
all the profit making corporations
operating in Montana are owned
by absentee landlords and thew
govern us. They fix our rates,
They adjust our taxes, and they
adjust these 50 that every farm
in the state is about to be seized
for taxes which in tens of thou
sands Of cases are piled up for so
many years that the total exceeds
the market value of the property.
We have no sense of humor. We
howl around about our elected Of
Ulcers wasting tax moneys. I see
no evidence Of it. The good natur-
ed easy marks who live here and
pretend to themselves that they
govern this state let the absentee
landlords escape paying 25 or 80
million dollars in taxes annually
that they should pay.
Our dear old constitution COM
lnandg uniformity Of taxation On
the same class Of property. In
Musselshell county, independent
operators own 5000 acres of coal
land. This is assessed at 5000 the
acre or a total Of 1920, 900. In the
same county the Northern Pacific
owns T7y000 acres Of the same
kind of land. This il assessed at
80 cente an acre or q total of $685.
500. This Is constitutional accordzI
ing to almost the last opinion
written by ex-chief Justice Gala
way, January 4th, 1885 in Super
,ior Coal Co. Y. MusSelshell coun-I
,ty. 98 Mont. COL. When (if) q
constitution demands that 1900
acres pay taxes on q valuation Of
$SSy 500 and 5000 acres pay taxes
on q valuation Of $120yOOO, it is
time to get new constitution ave
en- If the one we have was The
best that money could buy AZ
years ago. ~.g Eg
y / propose q test Of state pride
and decent courageous, intelligent
citizenship in Montana. The util-
tiles list their property for fixing
their 90 called just return on in
vestments i. e. enormous rates to
consumers at 50 million dollars
more than they list their values
for taxation. Ny test is that until
We can, elect q senate that will i'm
peach any member Of the State
Board of Tax Equalization that
does not vote to assess their prop
critics as high as they register the
same properties for rate fixing
purposes Montana has not arrived
at statehood. She is a docile mich
COW Of our foreign owners.
BY the way, does anyone want
to learn some law, some accurate
law, sustained by the Supreme
Court of the Uniter States? This
state has the power to declare its
policy as to what is a reasonable
return for money invested here
I The Federal Courts at the behest
of the moneyed interests have set
the just return at 6 per cent pei
annum, but this is in the absence
Of any declaration of the partic'
ular state involved Of its policy
of a less rate rate being just
Some return from utilities in Mon
tana are as certain as interest OF
government bonds. Liberty 8 pei
/ cent bonds are at 100 today. A
dentist can, if he tries, by slight
effort make a strong man scream
I with pain. A declaration by the
state that 8 and one half per cent
is "a fair return for money invest