Montana labor news., 1939-01-26
CHURCHES SUPPORT PRESIDENTS Dance
REPEAL OF PLAN I
NOT successful

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At this writing the legislature is
now going into its fourth week and
the hard work of the session looms
ahead.
To date only one controversial
issue has required the members Of
the House to declare themselves as
advocates or critics of the estab-
lished order. This was the vote on
the perennially revived question of
retaining or a%bolishing Plan Two of
the Workmen's Compensation Law
which at present provides for en-
ployers insuring against industrial
accidents with private insurance
companies.
James Graham made the general
charge that the insurance companies
gave few benefits, little care to the
injured, attempted to compromise
settlement and in general chiseled
and stole from the injured workers.
However, he did not support his
charges with specific cases and had
no figures to show that the insur-
ance companies were responsible for
any more litigation than was the
Industrial Accident Board in the
cases it handled as insurer.
AS a result the vote on repeal of
Plan Two was necessarily based on
personal feelings and of course, the
members regard of what their con-
stituents wanted in this particular
case.
An interesting sidelight on the
vote was the fact that there were
about thirty more votes for reten-
ton of Plan Two before a roll call
vote was demanded by Sam Spiegel.
On the roll call vote the opponents
of the insurance companies lost by
seven votes, 46 to SO, with 8 mem
bers absent.
From Silver Bow, seven votes
were recorded against the plan.
Goodwin and Freshman voted to
retain the measure, Loughrin was
absent. Missoula county showed an
even split with McClain and Flynn
against Plan Two and Duncan and
Watson voting to retain the mea-
sure. Lewis and Clark county
showed Morrison against the plan
and Smith and Padbury favoring
the insurance companies. From Cas-
cade county only Stevens voted for
the private insurance companies.
There are a number of equally
controversial measures still to come
before the House. Among them are
the Wages and Hours Bill, which
was already the inspiration for a
mass influx of the organized en-
ployers about the state to the public
hearing held on the bill Monday
evening. Special trains were char
tered from Missoula, Billings and
Butte by the employers associations,
Chambers of Commerce and Asso-
ciated Industries of the state which
claimed to represent LOO employ
ers opposed to the bill.
Eugene Rurris, state labor COM
missioner, apparently was so con-
WINGED that the Wage Hour Bill
would be killed that he pleaded at
the public hearing for the Legislators
to amend the measure SO it would
be acceptable to business interests.
The eight-hour collar-to-collar
bill is again before the House and
will face a determined fight, Dan
Kelly and James Carrigan having
already appeared before the mines
and mining committee in their pub
lie hearing in opposition to the bill.
Carl Trauerman of Butte appar-
entity feels that the miners of Mon
tana are a rather shiftless lot for he
spoke against the Wages and Hours
Bill, citing the drunkenness which
he charged existed among miners
in mining camps when they had a
day off. He stated they were used
to working seven days a week and
wanted to work seven days a week.