Montana labor news., 1936-10-29
ATTY. BROWN PRAISES
ANG5TMAN;; PRAISES
u MONS ON CHOICE
To the Editor Of the Montana

I
Labor News,
Dear Sir:
The Silver Bow Trades and Labor
Council, after a full investigation
of the record of Judge Angstman
and Judge Matthews, gave Judge
Angstman their endorsement, as did
practically every other labor organ
ization in the State of Montana.
No mistake was made in the en-
dorsement of Judge Angstman for
this position. The record that Judge
Matthews has made while serving
as Justice of the Supreme Court
of Montana does not entitle him to
seek reelection as a friend of labor
or as judge having progressive
tendencies.
Judge Matthews has been an As
sociate Justice of the Supreme Court
of Montana since the lst Of January,
1925. When he went to that court,
Lew L. Galloway was Chief Justice
and Albert J. Galen was an Associ-
ate Justice. Under the decisions of
that court, as rendered by Judge
Galloway, Judge Galen and Judge
Matthews, the Supreme Court Of
Montana soon became known as the
most reactionary Supreme Court in
any of the States of the Union. The
record became SO notorious that
upon Chief Justice Galloway seek
ing reelection, it was investigated,
and 1t was then found from the
record of the Court, as written by
the Court, that the Court had been
one hundred per cent reactionary.
Thus the record of the Court dis
closed that in every case taken by
the farmers and shippers to the Su-
preme Court to recover for stock in
jured and killed, that the Court had
decided every case against the farm
er and shipper and in favor of the
railroads. 1t was found that in every
case in which State or County Off
cials had commenced an action seek
ing to recover from the large corpor-
ations the taxes they should justly
pay, that the county officials lost
every case in the Supreme Court. 1t
was found that in every case in
which farmers or owners of land had
brought an action against the rail
road companies for loss or destruc-
tion caused by fires or fills dug by
the companies, the railroads had
won every case and the land owner
had lost every case in the Supreme
Court. A record of one hundred per
cent against the farmer, the working
man and the taxing officials, and
record of one hundred per cent in
favor of the corporations.
1t was found that where men
working for The railroads had been
injured or killed, and actions had
been started in court to recover dam
age by the injured man, or to re-
cover by the widow and the chill
dren, that the juries who heard
those cases had returned verdicts
in the aggregate sum of $157,500
against the railroad companies and
the district judges had approved
those verdicts 1t was found that
when the cases were appealed by
the companies to the Supreme Court,
that in the judgment of the Supreme
Court the juries and the district
judges were wrong, and of those
verdicts amounting to $l57,500 the
Supreme Court wiped off every
thing except $l0,500 that they per-
mitted to stand. Thus, the railroad
companies instead of paying $751;
500 to the injured workman, or to
his widow and children, as assessed
by the juries and approved by the
district judges, paid only $10,500 to
the widows, orphans, and cripples.
The Court then was seven per cent
in favor of the cripples, the widows,
and the children.
In 1929, Judge Angstman and S.
c. Ford were elected to the bench.
The Supreme Court was then com
posed of Chief Justice Galloway and
Judges Matthews, Galen, Ford and
Angstman. The Court soon became
divided on fundamental questions.
1t became apparent that in cases in
volving human rights as against
property rights, Judge Galloway,
Galen, and Matthews supported the
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