Montana labor news., 1939-02-09
CARPENTERS HOLD SUCCESSFUL MEETING
legislative GOSSIP

lliBulBHtulS last week leBlSld-
tive program was the defeat of the
"collar-to-collar" bill. After q pub
lie hearing on this measure, the
legislators decided that it was a
matter peculiar to Butte and the
rest of the state decided to keep
hands off and let Butte settle its own
troubles. This is in keeping with
the attitude of the legislature in de-
Gliding that Butte is in some way diff
ferent from the balance of the state
and that the only things that
materially affect the state are to get
cheaper labor and longer hours in
smaller communities.
Closely following the defeat of the
collar-to-collar bill was the bill pro-
hibiting marriage between Filipinos
and Mexicans with white girls. This
seems quite a problem in the sugar
beet centers and is causing consid-
cradle alarm. Bob Brown of Butte
pointed out that this problem is an
outgrowth of the industrial situation.
Beet growers import cheap labor to
displace Montana labor in the beet
fields, this throws local labor out of
work and builds a lower class in
the community who contribute
nothing to the community life but
are willing to live on practically
nothing and to spend their meagre
earnings on clothes and in attempt
ing to contact poor white girls whose
fathers and brothers they have dis
placed. Their success has caused con-
siderable excitement among a class
of people who believe in cheap
labor and profits for any type of
business; who would deprive labor
of the necessities of life and then
expect them to maintain the Ameri-
car standard of morals by handing
starving workers a copy book from
which to obtain their moral stand
ards. The arguments on this bill
caused an amusing debate but it is
feared that the lesson it carried was
totally missed by the persons re-
sponsible for the condition.
A bill requiring the posting of a
bond by persons or corporations as
security for the payment of wages
passed the house without q dissent
ing vote. This is a good measure
and inasmuch as it does not affect
the larger mining companies did not
encounter any opposition, one speak
er remarking that inasmuch as the
leader of the miners group and the
head of the A. c. M. seemed to agree,
no one else had any cause to com
plain. He did not state what he
would have done to the bill had it
been opposed by the A. c. M.
The hottest debate in the present
session came up over the Rodgers
Pass bill. This was a fight between
Helena and Great Falls as to who
should benefit most from Referen-
dunn Al which was passed at the
last election. Silver Bow county has
little part in this matter except that
it must pay the bill for whatever
road or roads are chosen to be built,
Some of the counties fighting for
service are counties composed mostly
of farmers who secure a refund of
all taxes paid on gasoline and most
of these people voted against the
collar-to-collar bill for miners. We
must be more careful in the future
in voting for matters beneficial to
farmers.
The wages and hours bill was de-
feated as anticipated; just where
these farmers expect to get a market
as long as they help to keep down
wages in industry is not known. Sill
yer Bow county delegation is living
up to their campaign promises and
Continued on Page A.