Montana labor news., 1938-04-21
PUBLIC OPINION HIGH AS RAVALu COUNTY
PROTESTS PROSECUTION OF G.F. DEFENDANTS

ing ran high as an overflow crowd
bulged the Ravalli County courtroom
in a meeting held to discuss relief
conditions and to protest against the
prosecution of the five Great Falls
relief defendants: Henry Murray,
William Davey, Ray Richardson,
Lloyd Taylor and Jack Richardson.
Workers Alliance leaders who are
charged with grand larceny" for
their part in the distribution of com
modities to needy, eligible people on
December II, 1887.
Civic and labor leaders explained
the paramount issues facing the peo-
pie of Montana while the speeches
hinged around the necessity of unity
of all farm, labor, unemployed, small
business and professional people and
the question of the active defense of
the Alliance leaders. In a meeting
marked by persistent applause, the
speakers laid before the audience the
entire range of present farm and
labor problems showing the depend
ence of the business and professional
men upon the well-being of the pro-
ducers and wage-earners.
Rowland Butler, liberal Hamilton
attorney, presided a chairman, stress
ing the need of organization of all
people into the Farmers Unions,
Trade Unions or the Workers Ali
ance. He also showed how the unity
of all working people and small bust
ness men was an absolute essential
to a solution of present day prob
lens.
Speaking for the Workers Alliance
of Hamilton, Peter Sober and War
rem Smith pointed out local prob
lens. Smith told how the local
Alliance had increased the quota
from 100 to 271 men for WPA. He
declared that WPA workers who did
not belong to the Alliance were ac-
tually no better than chiselers or
scabs because they were not helping
in the organized fight for more re-
lief. 1.-THE Workers Alliance de-
mands the right to work and to pay
their debts, by working on worth
while projects" Smith said. Sober
showed the importance of the Ali
ance in preventing the unemployed
from scabbing on the trade union
workers and insisted that it was now
high time for all unemployed to join
the Alliance.
J.. D. Taylor, lawyer and fighter
for the under-dog, brilliantly ex-
posed the shortsighted role of the
business men who opposed the eff
forts of labor to better its own con-
ditions. He declared that the big
problem for the producer or farmer
was to find a better market at home
for his produce, and that the only
undeveloped market is the laboring
man. I'VE are our brothers keep
err" Taylor said, showing how the
business man must concern himself
with the welfare of farmers and la
borers, particularly the unemployed,
if his business is to be successful.
Taylor drew applause with his call
for cooperation between small bust
ness and working people.
A collection of Sill was taken for
the Alliance defense fund with some
So or more in pledges. Henry Muir
ray, state organizer of the Alliance,
then told the audience the facts and
motives of the prosecution of the five
Great Falls leaders. He declared
that three motives were evident: /.
The political embarrassment of Jerry
j. O'Connell and Attorney General
Freebourn who had defended the
Alliance leaders; ~ the attempt to
break up the state organization of
the Workers Alliance by prosecution
Of five active leaders; (3) the prose-
cution vas an attempt to cover up the
corrupt tactics of the state and coun-
ty public board.
Murray showed the many abuses
and law-breaking practices of the
welfare board; including a failure to
pay cash relief, to supplement WPA
checks and many other failures. He
declared that the budget was based