Montana labor news., 1939-03-23
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Workers Alliance
Send Open Letter
To Mr.. Brandjord

BUTTE WORKERS ALLIANCE
Local Union No. G-413
Carpenters Hall, Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana,
March 10, 1889.
I. M. Brandjord,
Administrator of Public Welfare,
Helena, Montana.
In looking over your article in the
Anaconda Standard March 18th,
1889, I am left somewhat in the dark
as to who should be believed. The
special investigating committee set
up by the last legislative session
brought in a report that your adj
ministration cost of public welfare
was about 80 per cent of the welfare
appropriation. In your article you
brand this as a pack of lies-you
claim that the administration costs
are only about 80 per cent. There
must be something wrong someplace.
Mr.. Brandjord, l acted as a dele
gate from the Butte Workers ALI
ance to bring evidence before that
special committee, along with dele
gates from the Butte Miners Union,
Anaconda Shelters Union and
other unions from all over the state
of Montana, that the welfare in
Montana has been and still was in
efficient and inadequate. No doubt
members of this special committee
will enter protests similar to this.
When the investigation committee
made their report I thought there
would be at least a few changes
made in your administrative force.
But it takes a long time to get the
weeds out of a garden, I guess.
Mr.. Brandiord, you claim that
there has never been one dollar,
dime, nickle or penny dishonesty
spent under your administration.
Perhaps you can explain to the tax
payers and the general public in the
state of Montana why the ~so-called
relations representative, P.
Ray O'Connell, should be paid a
Of $4,000 a year, and travel
ing expenses of over $1,000 a year
and a food bill of S666.66 for the
year. This food item alone is 5000
more money than the average WPA
worker here in Silver Bow county
earns for the entire year. Probably
you car tell the general public what
Mr.. O'Connell has been eating to
cost SO much. Or better still you
can probably have published in the
Anaconda Standard an itemized ac-
count showing why this kind of
travelling expenses, and food
bill is so large. Some of the people
would also like to know just what
the duties of the public relations
representative are-some of the peo-
pie are under the impression that he
is just a bouncer or d gunman.
You will also probably explain to
the people of Montana just why it
takes approximately $4,000 to adj
an appropriation of $4,000
for the welfare of needy children.
Mr.. Brandjord, I could go on all
day telling you of things that the
people of Montana would like to
know, but if you can answer these
two questions then the people will
be more willing to believe your
article of March 18th.
Mr.. Brandjord, further in your
l notice the following: ''There
are organizations in the United
States and in the state of Montana
that have their main purpose to fan
the flames of discomfort and class
hatred. Their real purpose is to
destroy our form of government.
Therefore the erroneous and mex
cusable report of the legislative COM
is doubly deplorable."
Mr.. Brandjord, speaking for my
organization, the Butte Workers
Alliance, I wish to state that we
have the best government in the
world and l don't think there is one
Of our members that would do any,
thing to overthrow it. But, as l
have said before, our government is
D. K. but some of the persons that
have the administration of certain
government agencies are the ones we
and other organizations-are try
ing to overthrow. As l have stated
before there are a lot of weeds we
have to get out of the garden if we
ever expect to have a good crop.
I am,
Yours truly,
President of the Butte Workers
Alliance, Bob Dunaway.