Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1909-10-07
Man That Tried To Bust Montana News Knocks
Alex. Fairgrieye and BOOms Democratic
Control of Working Men with
Political Organ.
Montana State Federation of Labor Goes on Record
for Woman Suffrage and Orders Executive
Committee to Draft Amendment Bill
for Legislative Assembly.

There is much doing in Montana
labor circles at the present time that
is of interest to the students OF work.
ing class matters. The State FEEDER
alton of Labor held its convention in
August. The convention resulted in
the routing of Alex. Fairgrieves who
has been its president for six years.
by the forces under Howard Smith
who has been secretary for six years.
Smith has fought Fairgrieves bitterly
for some time. Smith is the man that
the w. A. Clark democratic interests
depended upon TO swing the Montana
labor vote into the democratic party,
and the way he worked on his job last
fall was worthy OF Tammany bood-
Ter that had got the coin and was eel.
ebrating as a perambulating beer keg.
CORPORATION FORCE At WORK.
There has been a schism of many
years standing between the Western
Federation OF miners and Fairgrieves
II came up in the shape of fight be.
tween Fairgrieves and Haywood at
convention of the old American Labor
Union. This antagonism was extended
into the ranks OF the Industrial
Workers OF the World, and resulted IN
a jurisdictional fight among the lum-
bermen's union OF western Montana.
between the Montana State Fedora.
ton of Labor and he l. w. w. Tic
lumbermen finally organized into an
international of their own.
1t was stated by socialists at the
convention that the forces at work
against Fairgrievcs were Of the labor
fakir and capitalist variety.
Donahuc. who was elected in his
place, is a labor democratic politician.
During the attack on Fai-gric,rs
he presented cvi leucc to show that
Howard Smith called a meeting Of the
Executive committee last December.
over the head of the president, and
"AAhbuN ilAS hhbNihhEis dA lAlN
of Governor Norris, a democratic and
Amalgamatcd tool. for the purpose az
controlling labor legislation. At this
point NJ. NJ. Derry. a delegate fr"n
the printers union at Missoula, ard
a republican member OF tho lcgisia-
ture jumped to his feet. ana 10y much
noise and points Of order prevented
Fairgricvcs from continuing the pre-
sentation of the evidence which he
held. and by thus applying a muEZle
he prevented the members of the
unions of Montana from knowing how
strong a hold in the corporations have
on the Federation at present.
Federation Labor Paper.
1t was decided to establish labor
paper for the State Federation. Oscar
Partclow was elected as editor. aud
hereby hangs some interesting working
class history. Fairgricvcs has always
seen the possibilities Of the Montana
News as a fighting organ for working
class interests and always threw as
much job work and support of every
sort to the News rs possible. Howard
Smith has been the man that has sys-
tcmatically knocked the News. Several
years ago in the California Wine
House while half drunk he was heard
breathing threats against the New,
and declaring that it must he killed.,
TIE continually knocked the printer
t'r' WIS in here before Upton. Ilr|
u.Hnr neglected to invcigh against
'ha editor because she would not serve
up Dee brand Of politics that he wished
Montana labor 10 digest. He insinu
att, his slurs, invucndncs and knock
ing. throughout the labor organizations
quI lac working-class generally, and