Montana labor news., 1939-12-21

The following address was deliv-
cred by Mr.. Edward Mason, presi-
dent of the Butte Miners Union, on
December 16, 1899:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
AS president of the Butte Miners
Union, as a resident of this commu-
nifty for the last thirty-five years,
and az an actual producer of wealth
in the mines of this community, l
feel that | am entitled to tell you
some of the problems facing the
people of Butte and the Miners
Union in particular. At the present
time | have three girls in Butte high
school, and a son whom l expect will
enter high school when the term
opens in 1910.
You folks who are listening in
tonight want to educate your chill
dren, and give them the advantages
of the American way of life. We
want to make better citizens, more
intelligent citizens and give them
more opportunities than the MAORI
ty of the working people have had
in the past.
The aims and aspirations of the
working people have never had the
facilities for adequate expression to
date, because it costs money to run
newspapers which have controlled
and moulded public opinion in the
United States. While there are some
splendid progressive and liberal
newspapers in the state of Montana,
it must be conceded that most of the
big daily newspapers represent the
corporate interests and their con-
ception of the social and economic
system. These papers do represent
the outlook or the interests of the
workers.
In this connection it might be OPP
perfume to at least indicate the way
the majority of the unions and
working people feel toward free
speech and free assembly, not only
in Butte, but in any place in the
United States under conditions
which are guaranteed to the people
under the section of the Constitu-
ton of the United States called the
Bill of Rights. Are we to extin-
guish certain sections of the Bill of
Rights because of national or re-
ligious prejudices, or because GER
tain nations in Europe are at war,
or because fear and hatred are again
being aroused by yellow journalism
which are so prevalent in instilling
itself into the psychology Of the
people of the United States. Are
we again to let war hysteria run
away with us as it did in 1916 and
II?
The United States has proclaimed
its neutrality in the war in Europe.
We are not taking sides either with
Russia, Finland, France, England,
nor Germany. Their age-old quar-
rels should not be worth the life of
one American boy.
However, if people want to dis
uss any phase of the European sit
uation in public print or in a public
meeting they should be allowed to
do so, and if the Communist group
has not the same right to express
their position in the present conflict
then neither have the national COM
mentators of the radio throughout
the United States nor the great daily
newspapers throughout the United
States any right to express an opin-
ion in their paper to influence pub
lie opinion of the United States for
or against any government. If a
public meeting in Butte is to be sup
pressed then the national common
tators over the radio should be sup
pressed. In fact all editorial COM
ment should be suppressed. But
who, in a free country, wants this?
The daily papers have been urg-
ing that the Finnish people sub
scribe to a fund to assist in the suf-
fering caused by the controversy
between their country and Russia.
SURELY NEITHER THE MINERS
UNION NOR ANY OTHER LABOR
ORGANIZATION IN BUTTE NOR
ANY HUMANE INDIVIDUAL HAS
ANY FAULT TO FIND WITH so
NOBLE A PURPOSE" But it
should not be forgotten that most
people feel that it was the repre-
sentatives of the big corporate in
terests in the last legislative session
who were the ones who blocked
adequate relief compensation for the
people of Montana and particularly
people who had been manned and
injured and become sick in indus
trial work.
This lack of appropriation has
caused untold suffering in Montana
among innocent children and help
less women SO that the appeal for
funds for Finland seem to have quite
a bit of irony.
The editorials in a local paper on
Wednesday and Thursday of this
week have been looked upon with
not a little suspicion. The history
of the Company in relation to the
H6:~1co hoe not ham ona urhipb