Taxman’s Trap: Helena Supreme Court Weighs in on Motor Boat Tax Fiasco

April 29, 1919, was a day of reckoning for W.A. Moore, the county treasurer of Great Falls, Montana. The Helena Supreme Court was asked to take jurisdiction of a friendly suit brought by the old state tax commission to test the validity of the classification act that would govern the assessment of property in the state. David Hilger, a former member of the state tax commission and owner of a motor boat in Great Falls, was at the center of the controversy. Hilger’s prized vessel, worth a substantial amount, was caught in the crossfire of the new law, which had been framed by the state tax commission just months prior. With the classification act hanging in the balance, assessors and county treasurers across the state were holding their breath as the court weighed in on the matter. Charles R. Leonard, Rudolph Von Tobel, and Charles N. Pray, all esteemed attorneys from Butte, Helena, and Great Falls respectively, appeared before the court on behalf of Hilger. Their mission was clear: to prevent Moore from demanding more than the tax should be under the classification law. As the court took the matter under advisement, one thing was certain – the fate of Hilger’s motor boat, and the future of taxation in Montana, hung precariously in the balance.