The Tomahawk., 1919-09-25
montana INTERESTS
KILL PRIMARY LAW
Special Session Finds Way to
Kill Act Saved by Farmer
Petitions.
DR0UTH VICTIMS UNAIDED
Amazing eoIdness Of Copper Trust
Henchmen Opens Eyes of Many
People-Farmer.Labor Union
Helped by React:onaries.

: Helena, Mont.-Montana farmers,
who had expressed their opposition
to the plan to kill the direct primary
law in a petition signed by 10000
voters Of the state, were openly fIouted
by the special session Of the Montana
legislature when the copper-controlled
lawmakers voted to slaughter the pri.
mary law without approval by tho
people.
The record Of the last session Of the
Legislature, called by Governor Stew
art on the pretext Of aiding the farm.
ers In the drouth regions Of the state,
was more reactionary than even tho
regular session. Every relief for tho
farmers, who had been hit by the
drouth, was killed. The bill to stop
profiteering failed. A measure de.
signed to help the farmers in tho
drouth regions by suspending arrears
In taxation and declaring a morato.
rum for these farmers also failed.
But the legislature killed the pri.
mary law by adding an emergency
clause that withholds it from a refer.
endum vote, and added two more su.
preme court judges, so that even IL
the League should win over all the
obstacles placed in it's path, the Ana.
conda Copper Mining company would
have a majority-i in the states highest
court to declare every League measure
unconstitutional.
League members of the legislature
worked valiantly to force through re-
lief measures, but were overwhelmed
by the smooth-running copper com.
ipany machine.
The referendum vote in Montana
was startlingly successful. When the
last legislature passed a measure call.
ing for a popular vote on the measure
on September 2, when the farmers of
the state would be busy in the fields,
too busy to vote, they circulated peti-
tfons demanding that the referendum
go over until the general election Of
1920. Forty thousand voters asked the
.postponement of the vote. AS soon
as these petitions were filed with the
secretary of state, and as soon as the
attorney general held that the petit.
,tions automatically delayed the refer.
;endum and the secretary of state an.
:nounced that he would abide by that
decision, copper company politicians
got busy. As result, the primary f.
peal bill, with its emergency clause.
making it Immediately effective, was
tsent through the legislature without
"a hitch.
The bill adding the two supreme
court judges also carried the emerg.
,ency clause.
League Strengthened.
However, leading Montana attor
neys have held that the action of the
legislature is unconstitutional in view
of the act passed by the previous ses.
sion of the legislature. An appeal
probably will be taken by the League
farmers in order to test the legality
of the measure to slaughter the states
primary law. This measure will come
up before the supreme court before
the copper company's two extra judges
get on the bench. The court, as pres.
emily constituted, is emphatically not
subservient to the Anaconda Copper
Mining company, and this was the rea-
son why the act was rushed through
the session.
One farmers relief bill which passed
permits the counties to vote bonds to
the amount of $4,000 each for the re-
lief of farmers, but counties in which
the relief is more sorely needed are
already bonded to the legal limit.
The legislature also provided that
the railroad commission of the state
might investigate the high cost Of
living, but provided further that the
findings of the commission shall not
be made public, under heavy penalty
for the members.
The reactionary session has strenth-
ened the League in Montana consider
ably, however, and memberships are
being received at an Unprecedented
rate.