The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1930-07-18

tons; and the Livingston GhIer-
prise. True, the Company has new
er officially admitted that it own
ed these journals, but the Mon
tana Free Press, a deceased daily
of which more anon, for weeks
kept standing on its first page
the names of these dailies with a
statement that they were owned
and published by the Company and
asking the reason why. They
naturally carry the names of sep
arate companies and of their staffs
upon their mastheads, but not one
of them ever denied the allegation
of the Montana Free Press, nor
did the Company itself. Certainly
some large resource stand behind
this section of the press of Mon
tana, for some of these dailies are
run at a heavy loss. No one ven
lures to enter into competition
with them, for people realize that
if competition were started the
rich owners of the rival company
newspaper would stop at nothing
to kill the competition.
List of Copper Dailies
Examine the list of Company
dailies and you will find that it
covers the largest cities and towns
with the exception of Great Falls,
where the most influential daily
in the State, the Tribune, is pub
Used and owned by two great
friends of the Company. Here
again we have the bipartisan rae
ket, for the Tribune owns the ev-
ening Leader and the Tribune is
Democratic while the Leader is
Republican. 1t is not fair to say
that these papers are wholly sub
servient to the Company. There
are times when they go counter to
/! its wishes, but there is general
agreement that in the main they
are extremely well disposed to the
super~overnment of the State, and
to the Montana Power Company,
which they oblige by doing much
of its job-printing work, amount
ing to many thousands of dollars
year. At Bozeman, too, there
IS a Democratic daily which be-
longs to the owners of the Tribune
and Leader. 1t, too, has the rep
utation of being very kind to the
Company and understanding clear
~ the essential rightness of its in
tentlons, the breadth of its vision,
and the range of its patriotic SER
vice. This leaves of the entire
daily group only four papers. Of
these the Havre News now, as
formerly, goes along with the
Company; at Kalispell the Inter
Lake leans to the Company on
those rare occasions when it takes
any particular political stand; at
Lewistown the News. a
pretty good paper, is always
ready to pinch-hit for the Com
pany if need arises. There re-
mains but one really independent
paper, the Miles City Star. the
property of Joseph Scanlan, but
even here there are those who de-
clare that during the past three
or four years it has made no at
tacks upon the Company but has
kept very quiet lest the Company
come into this lively town of 1000
people and start a rival daily.
Long live the press of Montana!
Who shall say that It does not 90
the viii of its patrons ? Who re-
fuses to believe that it is free and
untrammeled?
Press In Politics
However that NAV. the trutb l.
that the daily press of Montana is
IN politics with a vengeance. It is
doubtful If In any other State the
press is itself so deeply involved
IN the great economic STRUGGLE
which is at the bottom of our poli-
lcal life. The one test of a dailv
or weekly, and for that matter
OF every politician in the State. Is
whether it or he belongs to the
Company. There may be vital ma
tlonal issues; we may have excit-
ing struggles in Washington over
tariffs and foreign policies. whetb-
er the flag shall follow the dollar
and whether or not we shall oat
mixed up in an unsuccessful effort
TO purge Europe of militarism In
Montana such things soon fada
out; they are ephemeral. of minor
significance. You come back in
eVltably, whether you are a man
or woman, white or Indian. IN tho
battle against the COMPANY ana
the Montana Power Company. IL
IS IKE bit of the Middle Ages
over again, with the patient serfs
trying every now and then tn drive
out the feudal barons that bestride
the State and order the life of tbe
State to their sweet will. Every
man IN political life is watched as
II by hawks. I do not suppose
mere is one, certainly not Senator
wheeler or Senator Walsh or ex-
Senator Joseph NJ. Dixon. now As
slstant Secretary of the Interior
VINO mas not at one time or anoth-
er been charged with having sur-
rendered to the Company. IF anv-
thing you do not ike takes place |
IN Montana life, the Senator's and
congressman have sold ont IF
they vote in any way contrary to |
your thought and belief, the Com |
pany has got them | have had
repeated assurances of late that
both Senator'S have sold out TO the
POWER Company in the matter of /
tne Flathead power lease. / don't
peheve word of it, but it is very
naro % get a reformer In the
State OF Montana not to suspect
ene worst IN every act of every
man in public life.
Prey of Mine Owners
ms Is not surprising. From its
very beginning the State has been
the prey of the great mine-owners
and the Orocc hos 49,. -. 4