Montana labor news., 1934-03-08

AA0AleAtAANNf A&RA 49, -NN '
Miles Romney, Director for Montana
for the National Emergency Council.)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Radio
audience:
You have been listening in to Cen
eral Johnson's radio talks and know
about the big drive to insure the sue
cess of the N. R. A. You know of the
conferences in Washington where a
mass of criticism and constructive
suggestions hat he invited and re-
ceived is being mulled over and of the
series of conferences beginning March
5, when from two to ten thousand rep
resentatives of Code Authorities will
assemble in Washington from every
state, to consider whatever revamping
is necessary to meet criticism, and
suggestions will be considered and ac-
ton determined upon to build Codes
on an enduring basis.
AS director for Montana for the
National Emergency Council and N.
r. A. Compliance, /, speaking as
neighbor to neighbor, earnestly urge
your cooperation and support of Ma
tional Recovery Administration. Cen
eral Johnson, in a sentence, analysed
N. R. A. as follows; IN. R. A. will
not permit employer to hornswaggle
employee nor labor to bullyrag the
employer, MOI employer or employee,
nor both together to exploit the con-
sumer."
The National Recovery Act sprang
from chaotic conditions that culmin-
ated last March in a nationwide eco
monte collapse. The record shows
that the big banksters and industrial
exploiters, who profited by denying
the workers the right to organize and
bargain collectively and by child la
Dor, sweat shops, long hours and small
wages, by ruthless over-capitalization
and stock market plundering were
largely responsible for the depression.
Blinded by greed and drunk with pow
err they finally ran the economic ma
chine into the ditch. That they were
in collision with many in high gov
ernmental positions, national, state
and municipal, is granted.
An analogy may be drawn from
such conditions and conditions in Mon
tana territory some seventy years ago.
The leading industry then was placer
mining. Soon the country was over
run with road agents, thieves and
other harpies, greedy and avaricious,
intent upon exploiting the busy min
ers. The condition became intolerable.
1t developed that the sheriff, Henry
Plummer of Bannack, was chief Of the
bandits. Over night a vigilance COM
mittee was organized and Plummer,
his deputies, and other road agents
were hanged. The committee was
supported by public opinion, by the
decent men and women who wished to
live in peace and safety. The com
mittee did its work well, in due course
disbanding. It's work has been some
what crude, but it was effective.
And now following these years Of
ruthless exploitation, the people Of
this nation are putting their house in
order. The National Recovery Act,
an emergency measure, is the law Of
the land. The Codes of Fair Com
petition, being set up by all indus
tries, have the full force and effect
Of federal statutes. But vigilance on
the part of all supporters of the New
Deal is the price of National Recov-
cry.
While the National Recovery Act
is designed to preserve the capitals
tic system, swollen profits, cut-throat
competition and rotten trade practices
are taboo. Each industry is expect
ed to become self-governing under its
national, state and local Code author.
tiles and police itself. Business men
excepting the big exploiters, are very
generally for the N. R. A.
Organized labor has made colossal
gains. Collective bargaining where
by the workers shall be represented by
agents of their own choosing, without
interference or restraint on the part
of the employer is now the law of the
land-a United States statute. Child
labor, sweat-shops and other rotten
practices have been abolished.
The major purposes of N. R. A. are
encouragement of legitimate business
through fair competition and trade
practices, protection of labor and pro-
lection of the great mass of consu-
mers against excessive prices. Bust
ness men of Butte and the other in
dustrial centers must realize OF
course, that workers in industry and
farmers must prosper through good
wages and fair prices to become good
customers. In the spirit of Give and
"let live" business men and labor
should be willing to pay fair prices
for the products of the farmer, the
fruit grower and the stock grower
for they are the biggest mass of con
sumers in Montana. They also EN-
ploy more men in normal times thar
all the mining companies in Butte die
in the palmy days. Hence, if mer'
chants would prosper the farmers toe