34th State Treasurer: 1953-1957
George Hubert Bates (Democrat), the 34th State Treasurer, was born on a farm near Bates City, Mo., on Dec. 8, 1884. He was educated in the public
schools at Bates City and Lexington, and went to college at the University of Missouri.
In 1905, he started working at the Commercial Bank of Lexington, and in 1915, he became deputy county clerk of Lafayette County. He returned to the
banking business in 1931 as a cashier at the Traders Bank in Lexington. In January 1933, he came to Jefferson City as chief clerk for State Auditor
Forrest Smith. In 1934, the legislative body set up the Sales Tax Act, which became a responsibility of the State Auditor's Office, and Mr. Bates
supervised this new department. In 1946, Governor Phil M. Donnelly appointed him collector of the newly created Department of Revenue, and in 1949
Governor Forrest Smith advanced him to director of that department.
Mr. Bates was elected state treasurer in 1953 with an annual salary of $7,500, and employed approximately 26 persons during his tenure in that office.
He was married to Norma Comer on June 18, 1913. They had two sons and a daughter. Mr. Bates died July 22, 1978.
