The Sidney herald., 1959-11-11

Montana has now reached tn
point where u present tax struc
ture is hard pressed to meet tn
cost of operating our state govern
ment.
Montana could easily go dow
the road to the Poor House JUS
as Michigan has done. In Mich
gan, state employees are now fac
ing "pay-less pay days" an,
Michigan's legislators are nov
seeking a way to pay IL million
dollars in "past-due" bills. We al
know living costs have Increases
have increased about one hun
dred per cent in twenty year
while the cost of government ha
increased about eight hundred pc.
cent.
81 don't believe anybody will
object to the necessary expense O
any office which is supplying
service demanded by the Public
but think we all can agree tina
our Boards and Bureaus have ex'
banded far beyond actual public
needs. I think we all know tina
here in Montana needless red tape
duplication of functions and lacl
of coordinated effort is costing
taxpayers hundreds of thousand.
of dollars a year.
"The sad part of this is the fac
that this wasted money coulc
have been used to pay for ar
operation, to feed a hungry child
to solve a housing problem, or to
find a way to assist in developing
an industry. l would be the last
person in the world to criticize
any worker in the state or fed
eral service who does his job OF
wants to do his job. / added the
latter because many state and fed
eral employee are hindered and
often prevented from doing the
work they are competent and
anxious to do by ridiculous de-
partment head regulations.
Il will give you an example OF
what 1 mean. At a hearing in a
Hi-line town not too long ago that
involved one of Jul State Depart
ments, there were eight repre-
sentatives from Helena present.
They came in six State cars and
were undoubtedly ordered to at
tend this hearing by some depart
ment head. At a recent CONNER
cial convention in a Montana city
three state employees attended at
your expense, if you please. They
did not come as speakers but only
ii hear what was going on and
they also were undoubtedly in
structed to attend that conven-
ion by some department head.
With firm leadership and a budget
director newly provided for by our
State Legislature the executive
branch of our state government
can now lead the fight toward
reaching a goal of economic stab
ility.
"As I see it we have two ave-
nues to follow if we are to avoid
a financial catastrophe here in
Montana: we can increase taxes
or we can do as other states have
done in meeting this same prob
lem - inugurate an industrial
development program which will
bring more people, more money
and more taxpayers into the
state. If this is to be accomplish
ed we must have a carefully
planned campaign utilizing all of
our existing educational and po-
litical facilities:
"Such a program coupled with
an honest and sincere effort to
decrease the high cost of govern
ment can again put us in the po-
sition where we will have a bal
anced budget without imposing adj
ditional heavy taxes on our Mon
tana citizens.
81 am sure that we will all
agree that Montana's greatest need
is not for more taxes but for more
taxpayers and only IN industrial
development program sponsored
by and aggressively pursued by
our State government can bring
this about. Leadership to initiate
such a program properly rests
with the Governor.
81 would like to tell you what
has been accomplished in other
states and in a neighboring pro-
vince to the North. Montana in
the last six years has to my know
ledge secured only six new major
industries while other states OBJ
are enjoying far greater
industrial growth. The Province
If Alberta, to u North, has &C
probably a hundred new
major industries that "leapfrog-
ged" Montana, with their ideas
and capital, choosing to establish
heir business enterprises else
Calgary and Edmonton,
TWO cities directly to the North
us have enjoyed exceptional
population and economic growth
these past few years as a direct
result of this industrial shift. Now