The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1925-01-14
Montana a Leader

Xr
Few OF US now remember that we
were the second state in the Union to
adopt this elementary principle Of
transferring the road burden from the
land owner to the owner of the auto
mobile.
"To the best Of my ability, 1 also
urged the absolute necessity of more
adequate state aid to the public
schools.
"And lastly, that we set about. be-
fore it was too late, the rebabilita-
ton of the wild life of the state by
taking the matter out of the palsied
hands of the old political machine
that had been charged with its con-
troll for the previous thirty wears and
under whose regime wild life was fast
| approaching the vanishing point in
the very region that should have been
it's natural haunts.
Cali of these things have during
the past four years, now been written
into the laws Of Montana. Most of
them were only brought about in the
face of probably the most determined
opposition and despite tremendous
odds.
"The last on the list being the en-
actment Of the separation tax on
metals mines, which was only brought
about by a small group Of self-sacri-
ficing men who finally initiated the
bill after it had ben twice garroted
by the majority control of one branch
Of the legislature.
Warning to Political Fixers
fQrk0 nAII Foot &hAA Al -
themselves have finally decreed it's
enactment by more than $4,000 ma
jority, will, I predict, cause legislat-
Ors and politicians and courts to "stop
look and listen before attempting it's
repeal by either legislative act or
court notification.
without mental reservation or
qualification of any kind whatsoever,
l now say that / would ten times over
have rather seen the metals mines IL
cense tax carried at the recent cleo
ton and been defeated for governor
than to have been reelected for gov
ernor of Montana and lost the metal
mines measure.
GAS the Swiss Arnold Won Weinkel-
ried at the battle of Lempach GATH
cred to his breast the Austrian spears
in his effort to break the Hapsburg
battle line, / count it. the great honor
Of my whole public career to have
been the humble means, which, upon
serious reflection l now think may
have betn necessary, to draw the en-
tire barrage Of the gunfire of the
enemy in order to bring about the
greatest victory yet achieved in Mon
tana over the hitherto ~impregnable
lines of the Anaconda. Fer a quar-
ter Of a century, it has wrapped in its
Shiny coils legislatures, courts and
executive officials.
"ParadoXical as it may SEEM, COM
ing from my lips at this time, 1 now
prophesy, with clear vision, that when
the Anaconda, with all it's allied cor
porate interests and newspapers and
subsidized speakers and camp follow
eTs, with all the leaders Of the Demo
cratic party in Montana, failed on
November 4 to defeat the one bic
+ thing for which all these years they
had maintained their standing army
they realized that their heretofore
= invincible army had been irrevocably
defeated.
? Just as certainly as did the failur,
! of Pickett's assault upon Cemeter,
O Heights at Gettysburg foretell tn
final doom of the Confederacy. s
@ certainly did the crushing defeat 0
the massed cohorts of special priv
d lege in its great effort mast Novem
a Der to retain It's ancient feudal right
= IN Montana through the defeat of tn
n metals mines tax presage the fins
# doom of u alien landlords Of til
past and tht rise Of power Ct the az
II r%lcultural sections of this state.
IF The n thing that might cause
passing feeling of chagrin is the ia,
that through our own efforts a rev,
nue. to the state treasury. the publ
er school fund and the road fund. al
prOximating $1,000 GOO per year h;
been created, which will now be use
IN tic get the state out of debt But
at the vicissitudes of life, it not mfr
quently happens that we are enabl,
to reap where we have not sown.
Of Locks Into Future
ed Montana holds more arabic Ian
rk than any other state except TIE
n as. We own more coal, including Il
ne Ignite, than any other state. o.
it timber reserves are second only
e. Washington, Oregon and Idaho. E
d. dOwed with basic resources. nothil
of can forestall the future greatness
ed Montana if only We play well u on
OF part.
IT, What Montana needs above
m other things at this time is intelIige
k leadership, without which the ms
of becomes almost helpless.
"The intelligence tests that we
ed made among the four million Won
lal men drafted during the World Y
TO- show US a startling fact in referer
1Iy to u whole population. Democrs
cannot hope to achieve great thir
on with an average fourth grade inte
gence.
"More than 800 ear ago. Mach
md velli, in his famous book. 81
I'VE Prince" ssid hat four per cent Of
ON people really thought for themseIv
the other SO per cent merely follow
err Il have this past week read an
de- ticle by one Of the recognized soci
osf Ogists of our time. in which ha mo-