Montana labor news., 1934-01-04
Claim A.C.M. Friends Given Choice Jobs,
Condemns A. c. M. Co. Control of c. WA.
REPORT FRIENDLY TO A. C. M. ADOPTED

The following is the complete re-
port of the majority of the Legisla-
ture Committee investigating C. w. A..
Administration in Butte:
Mr.. Speaker:
We, your committee, appointed to
investigate the administration of the
Civil Works program in Silver Bow
County, respectfully report as follows:
Your committee held five public
hearings in the courtroom Of the Sec
ond Judicial District in the Silver Bow
County courthouse on the evening Of
Friday, December 10th, on the after
noon and evening of Sunday, Deem
Der 18th, and on the afternoon Of
Monday, December 18th, and all hear
ings were attended by an immense
crowd, which was significant of the
feeling and interest Of the people Of
Silver Bow County in respect to the
necessity of an investigation; this at
tendance being in spite of the fact
that the hearings held were given no
publicity by the newspapers until re-
quested by the chairman Of the COM
mittee.
The afternoon of Friday, December
18th, and morning of Monday, De-
cember 18th, was utilized by your com
mittee in checking the payroll Of the
Civil Works Administration with the
relief rolls of the county to determine
to what extent the rules and regula-
tons of the Civil Works program were
carried out in the endeavor to trans
fer men from relief rolls to the Civil
Works payroll.
At the hearings all the members of
the administrative committee in Silver
Boy county testified as well as the
subordinate officers, and several wit
nesses testified as to the alleged
abuses and conditions as they existed.
The Silver Boy County committee
charged with the administration of
the Civil Works program consists of
the following: Chairman, DR.. H. D.
Kistler, who in private life is the
president of the Murray Hospital
Corporation: ice-chairman, J.. D.
Newman, president of the Louis S.
Cohn Tobacco Company; Secretary,
D. G. Stivers, attorney-at-law for the
Anaconda Copper Mining Company;
Treasurer, A. j. Davis, president of
the First National Bank of Butte, and
the remaining other members, W. ].
Mcmahon, Commissioner of Labor for
the Anaconda Copper Mining Com
pany; j.. j. Burke, cashier Of the
Metals Bank and Trust Company of
Butte; and Paul Hudtloff, prominent
in the lumber business of Butte. This
committee appointed a sub-commit-
tee, known as the operating commit
tee, consisting of Mr.. Mcmahon,
James H. Rowe, a director of the
Chamber of Commerce of Butte, and a
member of the firm of Lawlor and
Rowe, real estate and insurance
agents of Butte, and Willard S.
Thompson, Secretary of the Chamber
of Commerce of Butte. Because of
the personnel of the committee as
listed above, because some Of its mem
bers had connections with the Ana
conda Copper Mining Company, and
other retained capacities with organ
izations closely affiliated with it, and
with inter-locking directorates, your
investigating committee had great diff
ficulty in securing testimony from
those who, it was reasonable to be-
lieve, had complaints to register with
the committee. 1t was obvious and
patent to your committee that many
were reluctant and afraid to testify
because of the economic consequences
in a city entirely under the control
and domination Of one corporation,
upon which nearly the entire working
class population is dependent for EN-
ployment in normal times.
Your committee found that Silver
Bow county had been allotted a quota
of 5000 men to be employed on Clvll
Works projects, and later a further
quota Of 500 men. That Of this num-
Der, 1923 had been placed at work at
the time of the investigation, as
shown by the list of employees fur
J nlshed the committees; that the al