Belt Valley times. [volume], April 10, 1924, Image 1

About Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977

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BELT, MONTANA, THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1924.
VOLUME THIRTY. NUMBER FORTY-THREE.
»2.00 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE
TAXES MOST
COME DOWN
v
Of interest to taxpayers of Mon
tana is a recent article in The Na
tion's Business, written by Lewis E.
Pierson, chairman of the board,
Irving Bank-Columbia Trust Corn
pany of New York, of which the fol
lowing is an abstract:
It is estimated that the national in
come—the combined earnings of the
entire country—amounts to about
458,000,000,000 a year. Out of that
68 billion dollar income, the Ameri
can public is being asked to contribute
more than seven billion dollars to
maintain its national, state and local
governments. Out of every hundred
dollars that an American earns, he
meat, therefore, pay 12 dollars to
some government official before he
can buy anything for himself or for
his family.
According to the official figures,
there are 41,000,000 people in the
United state* who are above the age
of 16, and who are employed in some
gainful occupation and who therefore
represent the nation's earning power.
Since the year 1913 the federal, state
and local g o ver n ments have added
127,000,000,000 to their debt, thus
making a total government debt in
the United States of $32,000,000.000.
This means—assuming that the bur
den of debt and taxation can be even
ly distributed—that every workman,
every stenographer, every clerk and
every mechanic in the country is in
debt for his government to the ex
tent of $787. This obligation must
be paid through taxes. „
In the business communities of the
United States there is a profound
sentiment for immediate tax reduc
tion. The business men who under
stand the full import of a $32,000,
000,000 debt ad a yearly tax bill of
17,000X100,000 recognise the menace
to prosperity which these huge fig
ures represent It is not the business
man alone who demand» tax reduc
tion. The fanner, the workman, the
clerk and the mechanic are beginning
- to understand that taxes play a con
siderable part in the high cost of liv
ing. Somewhere and somehow every
dollar of the $7,000,000,000 we pay
each year in taxes tends to increase
the price of the commodities of com
merce and is consequently reflected
_ in living costs _ ■
Let us suppose that, from causes
we cannot now define, the United
States should begin to fall from its
present prosperous state into a con
tinned period of depression and hard
— rimes. Let us further suppose that
the National Government failed to
economize and continued or increased
the present high rate of taxation. We
know that during the brief period of
depression in 1921 unemployment
rapidly increased and federal income
taxes were in a vast number of cases
paid out of borrowing or past savings
instead of out of current earnings.
We know that there were thousands
of instances where the amount of the
federal income tax meant the differ
ence between profit and loss. Our
experience shows, therefore, that re
duction in taxes represents, according
to the amount of the reduction; insur
ace against unemployment, and that
the more taxation increases the great
er possibility there is of slowing down
industry and of throwing men out of
work.
The American people will mark and
indicate by their action on tax re
duction plans that they think more of
fancied political advantage than they
do of national poaperity.
—MONTANA TAXPAYERS ASS'N.
Bill Martin, old-timer in Montana,
Cascade county and Belt, was in town
Saturday. He had jnat returned from
Neihart and Barker and informed os
that with the present price of lead and
sine, the Block P mine at Hughes rille
ia one of the biggest mining proposi
tions in the state. He states that a
number of motor trucks and
outfits are hauling ore to Mon
arch all the time and that if the rmil
road were hade in there the old camp
would
fhrü read up the coulee which te now
Bill Martin graded the
the Great Falla grade. He also built
the
He haa always
ing and c on trac tin g.
engaged in team
of Holland" Auditorium Fri.Ni
4
■
W '
[ i
t
Amid SctMagai IM
Arnvid Schoidager of Great Falls,
bat formerly of Belt, died Wednesday
morning at the Co him bus hospital af
ter an illness of a month. He was a
member of the sophomore class of the
Great Palls high school, was 14 years
of age and had been elected a member
of the Boys' senate there. He was a
wonderful student and ranked high in
all classes although his work in the
Latin coarse bad won him special
mention.
He is survived by his parents, two
sisters and one brother. The funeral
was held at two o'clock Saturday af
ternoon from the Methodist church in
Great Falls. The Rev. George Meck
lenburg officiated.
The Scholdager family moved from
Belt to Great Falls about two yean
ago and the head of the family haa
since been "practicing there. The chil
dren were famous here for their re
markably precocious intellects and are
well remembered by school friends.
Jos. Leveill« was attending to bus
iness matters in Great Falls Monday.
MAY PURIFY BELT
CREEK THIS YEAR
The members of the Great Falls
Sportsmen'! association met with rep
resentatives from the outside on last
Friday night. The chief topic of dis
cussion was the cleaning of the
do the square thing. No one has any
desire to curb mining operations in
the state hut the public has certain
up
waters of Belt creek made uninhabit
able for fish by the slum from the
Silver Dyke mine at Neihart. Mr.
Wampler, superintendent of the Silver
Dyke Mining company, was present
and appeared willing to assist in any
way in remedying the situation.
It appears that the state laws give
the citizens no relief from this condi
tion and that only voluntarily can the
corporations be induced to alleviate
condition«.
It is said that there is a man in the
east who has invented a method of
clarifying streams from the slum of
mining operations. To get this man
here ia expensive, but the Dyke com
pany has agreed to pay half the ex
pense if the Sportsmen's association
will pay the other half.
Thi s should be done at once. The
public has been exceedingly consider
•ate -and has given the- mining com
pay plenty of time to get set and to
)
inherent rights particularly when they
were there first.
We shall always be glad to assist
in any way to restore Belt creek to
ifcs former condition of beauty and
make it once more the sportsman's
paradise and a recreation ground for
the farmers in this vicinity, the cit
izens of Great Falls and tourists
throughout the state.
We have waited patiently for evi
dence that there is an attempt in good
faith to keep the slum out of Belt
creek.
PAST MASTER'S NIGHT TUESDAY
The Masons held Past Master's
night Tuesday evening of this week.
Ibère was a large attendance of local
members and out-of-town visitors.
The retiring Master, J. R. Culver,
was presented with a gold watch in
lien of a Past Master's jewel, Leo C.
Grayhill made the presentation speech.
After routine business Mr. Charterte
of Great Fall* gave an instructive lec
ture based upon the Morgan case. This
was followed by Mr, Duncan, also of
Great Falls, who gave an eloquent ad
dress upon the home-life of the Amer
ican people. This was followed by
three reels of travel pictures. After
the program the crowd adjourned to
the Black Diamond cafe where a
smoker was held.
Among those present were Messrs.
Black, Charterte, Lloyd, Duncan and
Simons of Great Falls, and Messrs.
Fish, Gruel, Beckstrom and Magnuson
of Raynesford. Principal West and
Win. P. Pilgeram were in attendance
from Armington.
to Unconfirmed report* say an African
Hen swallowed a flivver a few weeks
ago. He forgot to shut off the en
gine, however, and shook to death hi
IS Minutes
CITY ELECTION IS TAME AFFAIR.
MILLARD AND (WIN REELECTED
The vote at the city election held
in the three wards of the city of Belt
on Monday lest resulted in the re
election of Mayor Millard and City
Treasurer C. H. Provin. J. S. Pear
son was elected police magistrate and
Barber, Remington and Morris were
elected aldermen.
The vote in detail and by warda is
given below:
For Mayor—
86
-
First Second Third
Ward Ward Ward
60 30 $6
Millard ..
Spogen . .
Boboth .
Brodie ..
City Treasurer—
Provin
4
0
. 1
.. 1
.49
Police Magistrate—
Pearson ..
Bramlette
Jaap
Fluhr .
Sundermeier
3
.8
3
1
i
For Alderman—First Ward—
Dunston . » . . . . .
Barber .._..
Morris ..
Hsrner ......
... *0
.22
2
i
For Alderman—Second Ward—
Remington ...
Holt ..... r...
11
Sj
Twenty Years Ago
NOW YOU'BNS LAUGH.
T. E. Healey received the following
communication from Geo. Reeves A
Company, publishers of the EganviH*
Star-Enterprise, which for pur» un
limited, unadulterated gall would take
the scent away from a Hmburger
cheese:
Eganville, Ont, Mar. 24, 1903.
We recently received a
communication from the postmaster
at St. Louis, Mo., stating that there!nail
was n0 suc j, a postoffice as Belt in
Montana. Kindly give a» y our pro p er 4
address so that we may continue send
ing our paper and oblige, Yours very
truly. „ ______ ..y. J
Geo. Reeves 4 Co.
Well, if that wouldn't knock the
spots off the sun and give an earth
quake the shivers, what would?
No such place as Belt in Montana;
absolutely wiped off the map and that
by a Missouri postmaster. That long,
lean, lanky, corn-fed, pumpkin dyed,
son of a state of ignorance dassentj
come up to Belt and say that. Can
it be that they have a law in Missouri
forbidding the people of that country I
to study the geography of foreign j
tands ? Here in a spot that we love j
better than a Missourian his com
bread and molasses, John K. Castner
ha# grown gray and E. R. Clingan
bald-headed advancing a prairie town
into a city. They have seen their idol,
wiped off the map by an illiterate
Missouri postmaster. A town that
ha# grown from a lone cabin on the
banks of a flowing brook, when Belt
Butte was a lake, to a town of 4,000
inhabitants, where the freight re-1
T. E. Healey, Esq., Belt, Mont.
Dear Sir:
Time to Prune Shade Trees
Victor Siegel, Veteran Botte Gardener,
Given Some Expert Advice
"Now is the time to look after your
tree* and see if they need pruning
and if they do, be careful," Victor
Siegel, veteran gardener of Columbia
Gardens, told member* of the Univer
sity club ét the luncheon at the New
Pinien yesterday. Mr. Siegel spoke
on "Timely Hints and Suggestions on
Shade Trees."
He made members of the dub sit
up and take notice when be assured
them that it would only be a few days
before the snow and cold weather wer»
things of the past and the thoughts of
everybody In Butte would be turned
toward their lawns, gardens and trees,
"In the last few years we havr had
great deal of trouble with our shade
••••
1S
2
Wltft-ed Blais and wife left on train
Mo. 43 Sunday for a sixty-day trip to
Beattie, Portland and other coast
joints. Wilfred is the son of Cyprian
g fus of Spring Creek and has been
troridng in the machine shop at the
Great Northern roundhouse in Great
Falls for 18 months.
Bohle
Mrs. Nohl
For Alder mai
■orris.
pramlette .....
Browning .
-Third Ward—
BROWNING RE-ELECTED.
The school election held Saturday
for District No. 29 was a tame affair.
The present incumbent of the position
te be filled had been renominated and
4M re was no opposition. N. H.
Browning received 191 votes and there
here seven ballots cast for other par
The judges were Mrs. Larkin.
Epperson and Fred Sunde rmeier.
The school board for the next year
will consist of Fred Burrow«, Chas.
Brovin, Dominic Spogen, Jude Rubber
EL
Mr#. John Prévost and son Jack of
Geyser were visiting Mrs. Jos. Leveille
early this week.
not on the map!
A town where you can get the dou
ble cross on anything from a foot
race to a hurryup marriage and yeti
we are informed that we are not
Montana. Simply becauae Missouri is
not in the United States, they have
-
ceipta are $90,000 a month; with
three or four trains a day, and em
ploying 1,000 men in the mines, with
TOO and six-bits worth of kids on each
mock, and a postmaster drawing an
annual pension from Uncle Sam
$1,800, and a payroll that would ele
vate one of God's chosen people to the
seventh heaven, knocked into a cocked
hat by a Missouri postmaster. It is
enough to make one cry out in the
j fiery voice of Mary McLane, Damn
1 damn! damn! Come good devil and
that Missouri son of darkness by
the nape of the neck and drag him
d ow n to that Iceles» re g i o n an d -eet
him ôn a hot coal until he learns the
geography of Montana, or at least
is able to locate the coal metropolis
of the west.
Belt, noted for its sulphur smoke,
numerous children and countless dogs,
no reason to slander the fair, but sul
phur colored name of Belt, and when
the commissioners get through decid
ing the mahogany-birch question, they
will be called upon to demand satis
faction from that Missouri post
master.
Belt haa been insulted, her flag
trailed in the mud and blood alone
will satiafy her gallant sons. War
on Missouri is declared, and though
it is painful to do it, we will capture
that isolated tract and annex it to the
United States.—Written by J. J. G.
Burns for The Belt Knocker.
trees," he said, "especially from all
kinds of insects. Moat of our shade
tree* in this city are the Canadian pop
lar, the most suitable tree for this
climate, and so far we have not yet
discovered any other shade tree that
can take its place. It grows well, hai
the foliage and shape, and if properly
taken care of will always give satis
faction.
"If your trees need pruning, have
the work done by a man who ha* had
experience. Many trees by «evere
pruning, become diseased and die.
Moat of the trees in our city are now
large and need very little pruning.
Jnat cut out the branch« that inter
fere with each öfter. The les# you cut
the better, as the tree will take care
of itself. I am not in favor of trim-I
(Continued on Page Pour)
Finds Ancrant StahtH
Early this week Joe Voytoski start
ed digging, in the back yard of his
father's place at French Coulee to
learn the cause of the sinking of the
earth over à small area. After dig
ging down several feet they encoun
tered the remnants of a rough coffin
and the bones of the upper part of a
skeleton. These bones were brought
10 town and turned over to Dr. Gray
beal. An effort has been made to dis
cover the identity of the person buried
at this place.
Nearly forty years has passed since
the burial was made but old-timers
think that the remains are those of a
man by the name of Hobson who kept
a saloon about where Holt's Lumber
yard now is. This man had had both
legs cut off just below the knees and
walked around on pads. Later in a
fit of despondency he committed sui
cide by cutting his throat. He was
buried by neighbors at the mouth of
French Coulee, there being no ceme
tery in use at that time except the one
near the House ranch on Lower Belt.
It is supposed that there are two oth
*r smtves near the location of this.
NEW MINE TA»
FOR MONTANA
Helens.—The right to tax metal
mines of Montan« upon the fair and
equitable gross production basis is to
be carried to the people of the «Ute
in a measure to be initiated for sub
mission to the voter, at the next gen
eral election. The work of circulât
ing the petitions is undertaken by
committee of 100 prominent cltisens
from every section of the state.
That such a measure will receive
popular support «.ready te indicted
by the offers of assistance that are
pouring i„ to the committee, in
charge of placing the measure upon
the ballot for decision of the cltteen*
in November.
The bill as to be'submitted to the
people, is declared not to incrca.
taxation, but to equalize the burden
of providing revenue, for the state
government among mining, agricul
ture, business and the various other
industries of the Tre.sur. ststs. B.sed
upon the production for 1928, the me«
sure will raise approximately $600,000
from natural resnurre.« of M o nt a n a
which now escape axation entirely or
pay but a small portion in comparison
with other industries, .....
Proceeds of the metals mines tax
will be divided equally between the
public schools and the state treasury,
, Direct benefits of the lew will be re
ceived b ? ever Y chl,d of school age
» th * 8t *te and other »**«« for school
purposes will be reduced to the ex
n ' o1 * q^rter million dollars, if
1 th « fi *"re, on 1928*. production hold
S ood af * a basis for estimate.
The bill will in no way work a hard
ship upon the prospector and small
mine owner. The tax is graduated
and it is only after production of $600,
000 annually is reached that the 1 per
cent tax becomes operative and col
lectable. Under the bill's provisions
all mines with a gross production of
less than $100,000 annually are ex
empt from the tax. Mines whose
gross production exceed* $100,000 and
does not exceed $260,000 are to be
taxed one-fourth of 1 per cent of the
value of the production; mines whose
gross product value exceeds $226,000
and doea not exceed $400,000 will pay
one-half of 1 per cent; mines whose
production yields more than $400,000
annually and does not exceed $600,000
will pay three-fourths of 1 per cent,
METHODIST CHURCH NOTES.
Harry T. 8tong. Pastor.
Evangelistic services in the church
each evening, except Saturdays, from
now until Easter. "
Sunday morning worship at 11 o'
clock. Sermon by the pastor, "The
Triumphal Entry."
Evening service at 7:30.
the Matter With the Church?" The
evening sermon will have something
to do with this question.
Sunday school at 10 o'clock.
Junior League at 8 o'clock.
T7 1 m niMin t f L T a a , *■*■ m m t A(9A
Bjywwnn ®x o.ov.
What's
Bob Mahood has returned to Gilman
where he and his brother run « garage.
WAGE WAR ON
COUNTY UNIT
demned the county unit system of ns
mi school administration now in af
Red Lodge.—Farmers of the Pwv
erty Flats district unanimously oost
feet in Carbon county, at a
at the Frank Wieter ranch. They
agreed that, in the event voters
fail to abolish the system at the
tion April 28, the residents of the
four districts represented would
to form s second class and get a
from the unit administration in
manner. There were 76 voters
et. Mr. Wieler was chairman.
The assembly voted to employ W. J,
Hanna of Big Timber to canvas« the
county for the abolition of the
system. Word was received Friday
by C. T. Oliver that Mr. Hanna
accept the offer. Ha win begin work
promptly, according to Mr. Ottvar. - -
Extravagance was the chief
brought against the county unit qe
t*m, said Mr Oliver. Some of
farmers present exhibited tax
oeipts which showed increases in the
last four years ashlgh as $100 on a
single piece of property. It was urged
that these increases ware in large
measure caused J>y the change te
method of rural school administrer
tion.
A similar meeting was held at
r those present
ot *■ «"their view« as
termers of the Poverty Flat rea
ident V At Bd »«' mating there
we ™ thoB€ who dw, «* d t* 1 *
■^•™was morecostly mal
^«•• who .rgued that in the end the
coun * y m,t £ bettor tor the
co ®? ty .*r** th * n
^ d
^ f" or
ZLSSÏZlSZk
, h ™ hy th * W80 **^
F *
J* ofaMtog
[districts, they argue ateo tK*
mM,y * t *J"* ri *
*
thsory that eorrectioa «houldbe
£
. -
- A ^ } t n / n i , t . ,yst * , **
curtaiI the Ien,rth of t ® e,r t * rm * «"■
.
Belt Girls
Florence Newmack
Anna Zuhoski
Helen Velebir .....
Ethel Ranta
Annie Klimas ..
girls,
one to six months, according to Cows
ty Superintendent Elle M. Peterson.
Some school* in the sparsely po pulst
ed districts will probably be closed
entirely, she said.—Helene Indep en d
ent.
Grade Teams Get
An Even Break
On Saturday night basketball teases
representing the grade girls and the
grade boys went to Raynesford to try
conclusions with the teams there. The
result was an evep break. The Belt
boy* lost their game while the Belt
girls won theirs.
—Raynesford Girt*
Helen Brutofski Angeline ColarcWk
Left Forward
Gladys Fteh
Bight Forward
I »Vine
Center
.Ella Skadaasi
Left Guard
.Irene CoiareMk*
Right Guard _
Mary Evans
Substitutes
Score 32 to 18 in favor of the
The game between the boys
was closer:
Raynesford
Belt Boys—
Myron Johnson . Charles CoiareMk
Right Forward
Henry Coster '
.Ru*sc!
Forward
Lloyd FM
Henry LarkD» ......
0MMÉT
.Nick Eveam
Myron Robinson .
Left Guard
Chas.
KHmas ....
Right Guard
Albert Grève
Ray Kennedy .
Foster Irwin .
V
Substitutes
Score 18 to 21 in Raynesford's fa
Henry Vaskey refereed bowl
to the satisfaction of everyone
Sterner chaperoned the Belt
people.