The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1935-12-20
CHARLES E. TAYLOR
Editor and Manager
BfAGPIES COME HOME TO ROOST
FABLE OF THE FOOLISH FARM BOY
BY H. L. MAURY

A farm boy was put to care for an incu-
bator of hen eggs. His mother had a pet
nlagpie whose tongue had been split, and
who chartered often a dozen sentences
learned by rOte. Being well fed and fore
IDLY. washed, he never showed his true
pedigree from the old English words
'maggOt pie, a carrion eater, bird of
small prey, thief of poultry eggs, destroy
er Of young pigeons, pheaSantS and tur-
keys. His gaudy colors and fawning ways
convinced the boy that Matching magpies,
his mothers pets, would be a pleasant
surprise for her. He hunted hard, find
from to in nests and got about 80 mag
pie eggs, which he put in the incubator:
diseardlng an equal number of the hen
eggs. AT the Matching, the farm was in
tested with these evil birds. The grouse
eggs were eaten, and young pheasants,
turkeys, geese, killed by them until the
good man of the house wasted much time
and powder shooting the pests. AS much
from scarcity as reward for folly the
magpie boy as he was nicknamed got no
god fowls to eat for six years.
MONTANA is THE REAL MAGPIE BOY
Every two years we fire up our politi-
cal incubator to hatch 156 men or women
for our senate and house in Helena. For
1ltty years we have put in more MapDie
eggs than any other kind. We got a small
Ter percentage of magpies in the last ses-
sion than ever before. They were in
minority in the lower house. But the mag
pie majority was sufficient in the Senate
TO eject the successor to the Governor.
with men and women starving, child
rem ragged, the state in beggary, the first
published expression of our new accident
al governor is Il shall not take this lob
seriously" There is many truth uttered in
jest. parrot or magpie chatters the
truth sometimes.
While farmers and workers are fighting
with the courage of hunger and despair to
bold part of the stores of wealth being pro-
duced In Montana to nouriSh the produc-
ers OF it and prevent everything they are
wrestling from nature by their labor and
nfaln from going to absentee landlords
IN sw1ndllng Insurance rates, absurd rail-
road trelghtS, gasoline monopolies, whis-
Key monopolies, telephone, gas and light
rates, chattering Northern Pacific land
agent, an ex-lnSurance agent, a country
banker. a polyanna dinner club boy occu-
pies the most responsible office in the
state and his first utterance is that of q
parrot; that he will not take his duties
seriously. That was spoken in the same
breath as his oath of office.
he does not have to take his duties SER
iousy. His work concerning taxation will
De adjusted for him in the Northern Paci-
lie law offices IN st. Paul. His policy on
workmen's compensation will be arranged
on the Sixth floor of the Hennessy Build
ing In Butte. His attitude on shorter
hours OF labor is outlined already bv
Judge HatterSly who recently declared
these acts unconstitutional. His duty to
lessen the eight million dollars gouped
from this state annually by insurance COM
panies above what is returned in payment
OF losses will be explained to him bv the
directors Of the insurance companies
which he used to serve. His gestures about
1nser utility rates will be modulated bv
Ire Montana Power or its holding conf
paaf. Electric Bond and Share. or the
Eaters holding company, American Light
and Power, or this ones holding company,
Commonwealth and Southern, or its hold
ing company, Associated Gas and Electric
or this ones holding company, the men
whO In December some years ago trans
feETed their property to their wives to
avoid paying income tax i. e., the House
of j. P. Morgan & Company.
The Lions ape the Kiwanians. the XII
wanians ape the ExChangeites, the Ex-
ehangeites ape the Rotarians. Actually in
the Constitution of the Rotary Society it
rs written that no wOrkingman can become
member: Farmers work and are thereby
excluded. 1t is even whispered around
that our new governor is a Rotarian.