The Fight for Fair State Banking
A candidate for state treasurer calls out the disparity in how government money is distributed across Washington counties.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
W. W. Sherman, of Olympia, deputy state treasurer for the last eight years and now a candidate for the republican nomination for state treasurer, is in Kennewick this afternoon. He points out the existing disparity between the amounts of state deposits in various counties and the amounts the individual counties would be entitled to receive if the deposits were prorated on the basis of the levy of state taxes. During the year 1915, Pierce county had an average deposit of $1,000,000 greater than that to which it was entitled and Thurston county had $200,000 more than that to which it was entitled. On the other hand, 33 other counties had notably less deposited than those to which they were entitled, 15 having no deposits whatever. Mr. Sherman declares for distribution of state funds among all counties as nearly as possible on a basis of their payments of state taxes. Under this plan, Benton county would have been entitled to a deposit of $55,256, instead of $10,000, the amount this county really did receive in deposits.
“33 other counties had notably less deposited than those to which they were entitled, 15 having no deposits whatever.”
Local government finance remains a point of contention today, as rural communities continue to argue they receive less than their fair share of state-level funding compared to urban hubs. Sherman’s push for proportional distribution highlights the age-old tension between central resource management and local economic autonomy.
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