Montana labor news., 1936-06-11

or surgery or dentistry an Montana
requires an outlay OF more than $50
1000 and closer to 100000, and alb
sence from the state of from 5 to 8
years. To become an engineer mot
engine driven requires from 4 to 6
years study and that many thousand
dollars. Graduation for Journalism or
10 become a high school teacher re-
quires an outlay OF 1 to 5 thousand dol
lars. To become a scientific farmer,
entimologist or chemist requires ample
means.
In truth these noble pursuits are not
for the sons and daughters OF farm
ers or workers or small business peo-
pie. 1t is becoming increasingly diff
ficult for professional men to educate
their children for the professions.
A law journal in California, some
years ago, proposed prohibiting all
without independent income from en-
tering the legal profession. That
showed well the capitalistic philosophy
but it was an idle gesture. The bar
riers raised by law have nearly barred
the gates to all the profession except
for the children of the rich. As for
the poor or even middle class in the
words OF the Scripture, THE fathers
have eaten sour grapes and the child
rem teeth are on edge" | assert that
we can and must do away with this in
Montana. Keep the barriers if you wall
but, provide means whereby able mind
ed, ambitious youngsters of all classes
can surmont those barriers. The
brains and intellectual ambition lie not
entirely with rich mems sons. Some
of the stupidest and LATEST drones in
our universities are from families of
the wealthy.
Humanity is above property. This
state is one of many faced with a sur
plus labor supply, not needed for pro-
duction, such as never happened be-
fore in the history of the world. The
spectre OF unemployment will not down.
Public work is but temporarily exer-
cising it. Finish Fort Peck, finish the
Columbia Valley Authority, finish your
roads, finish your irrigating projects
actually, not just in political news
papers. What next? What now,
even? Idleness is the root Of evil
of our fine young lads and girls
after they leave the high schools. For
five years they are displaced from self
Improvement or any useful place in in
dustrial life. The terror of the man on
the job is the crowd waiting to take
the job. Some years ago, crowds Of
students in Chicago University, in or
der to sustain themselves in college
earned money as strike breakers. Re
lieve this pressure on the labor market
by taking these young folks for five
years after they leave high school, out
Of the labor supply. Have a state I'M
i%versity at Missoula, Bozeman, Butte,
Billings, that is for every am
bilious bright child in the state, not
just a state institution in name only,
and only for the children of the rich.
The Townsend Plan (and it is not
fantastic) says to relieve the conges-
ton by retiring the aged. That should
be done, | say it is equally as good
to relieve the congestion by removing
the pressure at the other end, by con
serving the coming as we'll as the pass
ing generation.
The Unemployment situation is sor-
rowful in Montana at present, in spite
Of an immense mount of public work
going on here. This work will be fin
in due course. Then, the deluge.
The figure OF unemployment in the ma
ton stands stubbornly at II to Is mil
lion. The figure OF their dependents
in abject distress seems constant at
above 4 million. We must act, and acs
quickly, TO break this stranglehold OF
starvation Of the masses. If we lead,
other states will follow.
Build thee more stately mansions
oh my soul"
Put a state income tax on the cor
porations. 1t would raise 3 or 4 mil
lion dollars the year. Tax the big
Iandholdings for 4 or 5 million dollars
the year. Put a rate of taxation on
the utilities equal to that which the
state and counties try to collect from
farmers, home owners and small bus
men. Allow all high school gra-
.1uates, whose parents cannot afford to
pay their way, to go to college on fel-
-owships provided by the state. Open
the university units to all the glad sons
and daughters OF the people. Post
Done the day when Ben takes fathers
Job away from him. Get more teach
ers and less timid ones in our univer-
;ity units, Infuse into the caste a
stream OF blood constantly from the
and workshop,
The same arguments will be used
this plan, that were used aga
INST free grade schools one hundred
years ago, against free high schools
years ago. against free text books
twenty-five years ago. Out with them.
60 a step forward. Give our children
| better world than we have. If this
treason Ito capitalism make the
most of it,"
H. L. MAURY.