Montana labor news., 1937-05-20
WAGE DEMAND OF CLERKS VERY REASONABLE
TRIBUTE TO P. 0.
kEENEY

KEENEY
The University library made a
dynamic tool of scholarship is the
monument built by Phillip Keeney
in Montana. To the library he
brought his fullest energy and sin
cere effort. Under him the library
became not a passive repository of
printed matter but the living heart
Of the University with its every ia
cility made available to those who
wished to use them on the freest
and most liberal terms. What this
means to the youth of Montana can
be appreciated by those who know
how remote the state is from the
main streams of culture and mod
ern thought. To understand the i'm
portance of this fact one must re-
call the library before his coming.
Its custodians suffered from a dis
ease common among librarians, a
fear and horror of having books
leave the library, a grabbed and
rule-bound attitude toward those
eager to know and use the treasure
of the library.
Revivified the Library
All this Keeney changed and the
change came at a time when it was
most necessary. Knowing the r
rents and forces at working during
recent times he poured into the Ii
brary the best and most vivid ma
terial on social questions and its
shelves became the refuge of those
tired of the Was and cant of the
classroom and weary of dynamic
windbags recently come to power.
Charm of Manner and LiberaIity
of Mind
For those of us who honor and
admire him will forever be grateful
and Montana in the years to come
will thank him. We can be grateful
for more, for the quiet dignity and
charm of his presence, the unassum-
ing keenness of his mind, his sin
cere liberalism untinged by senti-
mentality, his love Of the arts and
his devotion to Municipalities dis
titled from the best tradition of
academic life. These were an ex-
ample to US and they stand out more
sharply when one remembers that
those who now oppose and attack
him were then engaged in a vulgar
jockeying for favor and position
among the venal and reactionary
rulers of Missoula and meddlers in
the affairs Of the University which
they consider their private preserve.
Understanding and Tolerance
We remember gracious evenings
in his home, free discussion, music
and quiet pleasure ~centering around
his friendliness and his interest in
students. l remember him in par
ticular as an undergraduate and
graduate student for his constant
and unfailing help in obtaining ma
terial and for a generous relaxation
of regulations when he knew this
would advance the usefulness of the
library. For his understanding and
tolerance I respect him. For the
help he gave me he has my graft
tude. And with me many others
will look back and thank him with
pleasure. For these l speak.
Base Motives Behind Dismissal
! need not nor do | intend to go
into the sordid motives and ami
mosities which lie behind his dis
missal. Their sources are manifest
in the character of the men who
have brought this about. All men
who honor this state and year for
its advancement and the increase
of its culture know and condemn
these forces.
Bestowed a Precious Gift
But not all men know what
Keeney means to those who know
him from daily contact as a man
and an educator. l speak for these
to let him know that we will not
forget him, that he has given us a
precious and enduring gift.
Honored and Respected
The tribute of those who honor
and respect him is testimony of his
worth to our state and its young men
and women whose eagerness for
knowledge and understanding he
fed so faithfully. This tribute means
far more than the anger of poll
ticians aroused in his behalf, an
anger we know as being easily
awakened when self advancement
may be gained. We shall remember
Keeney the man not the martyr.
Sinister Political Influences
Should he leave us now, forced
out by persons whose venality the
state is already beginning to appre-
ciate, he will join in spirit a great
and distinguished company = the
company of those men exiled by au-