Montana labor news., 1939-01-26


reads the will of c. c. Bell
hem. The employees will get dividI
plans had been turned down by the
government officials, Murray finally
was able to work out a program
calling for joint participation in the
project by the Bureau of Reclama.
ton and the Works Progress Ad-
ministration. His plan was immedi
ately approved.
In addition to this particular
project, Murray has been instru.
mental in securing Public Works
projects for Montana amounting tc
more than $4,000, 900 in loans and
grants since the inception of the
1888 PWA program, New school
buildings, DAMS, municipal power
plants, sewage disposal plants, street
and road Improvements, irrigation
projects, aids to universities, and
hundreds of similar lasting benefits
have been given final approval
through Murray's consistent efforts
Montana being a state wherein the
problems Of both industry and agri-
culture have to be COPIED with, the
recent depression Of industry which
brought widespread unemployment
in the industrial areas, combined
with drought conditions and crop
failures in the farm districts, created
an emergency which could only be
dealt with by the prompt relief ex-
tended by the Works Progress Ad-
ministration. Senator Murray had
first-hand knowledge of these state
wide conditions, having Travelled
through every section Of Montana
accompanied by the state WPA adj
ministrator and the officials of the
farm relief agencies. Upon his re-
turn to Washington he Immediately
set to work on the passage of an
adequate WPA appropriation to
meet the expenditures required to
relieve this widespread unemploy-
ment and agricultural distress. After
the passage of the 1888 act, the state
of Montana received WPA alloca-
tions of more than $1,000, 900 per
month-the largest per capita relief
allotment Of any state in the union.
Always active in his support of
agriculture as the only permanent
means Of re-establishing needed
purchasing power, Murray has con-
sistently gone down the line" for
the farmer and livestock man. His
work in behalf of the national legis-
lative program of the Farmers Edu-
cational and Cooperative Union re-
ceived much commentator from
farm leaders. At the request of
Farmers Union organizations in
Montana he introduced and succeed
ed in securing passage of al amend
ment to the Motor Carriers Act
which allowed Farmers Union or
CARNATIONS to take advantage of
certain exemptions in the act.
Drought-stricken and debt-bur-
dened farmers of Montana have had
a warm friend in Montana's junior
Senator. He has recognized the
importance of the work Of the FSA
in its three-fold program Of re-
Mobilization, land purchases, and
land utilization. Thousands of Mon
tana's farm families have received
more than three million of dollars
of loans and grants to buy seed, feed,
farm animals and equipment neces-
sary to operate their farms success
Then, too, of utmost importance
to Montana farmers has been the
governments land buying program;
with funds made available through
the Relief Act and under Title III
of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant
Act, over a million and a half acres
of Montana's submarginal land has
been committed to purchase by the
government.
Senator Murray has pledged him
self to support additional appropria-
tons for extending the necessary
work into those regions where the
program has not yet been started.
He has been urging o activity
in finding homes for stranded farm
families who need to be resettled on
farm land capable of providing them
with a decent standard of living and
security for the occupants. "The
Milk River Farms and Fairfield
Bench projects in my state have
demonstrated the efficacy of the
resettlement program and I shall
devote every effort toward securing
more of these projects to meet the
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