The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-01-03
A BIG IDEA
BY BEN BUCKLEY

A short time back / heard a broad
cast from the chambers of the Su-
preme Court of Montana 1t was a
movement, as | understand, that was
Matched by the Montana Bar Asso-
citation at a convention in Billings.
don't know if it is the air or soil in
that locality that causes such rank
growth of subversive ideas, but / do
know there are a lot of such ideas
in Billings floating around free and
handsome-like, begging someone or
some place to adopt them and give
them a home amongst decent people
where they can take root and grow to
be great big subversive laws. These
little ideas don't want to be little
bastard ideas forever They want to
settle down and be great big respected
laws. So this one has sneaked up to
Helena and is begging the Supreme
Court of Montana to adopt it and give
/ it chance to grow and spread and
become a power in its own right. The
plot, as | recall it now, was for the
Supreme Court to appoint a district
Judge to the different districts and
this judge was to appoint speakers
and tutors. They were to organize
classes of the children of said district
that are finishing or about to finish
high school to study and learn how to
become patriotic citizens. / believe
it was left up to the district organizer
tutor to decide what was patriotic or
what wasn't after the student had
memorized the Constitution. After
seeped in this patriotic learning if
they agree with their teachers they
will receive some kind of a diploma |
signed by the district judge. And |
now, dear student, you can hang this |
diploma of lamb skin or whatever it |
is going to be made of, on the wall |
OF your house, cabin or tent. 1t de- |
ponds how lucky you are which kind
of habitation you might be able to
promote. And you can console your |
self by looking at this lovely scroll |
when you haven't any beans to cook.
Now il it happened to be sheepskin
you could boil it up and make your
self some soup.
But anyway the idea was discussed
over the radio and one judge thought
that the foreign element of this coun-
try with their different isms were
sending our paradise here to the bow
vows, and they shouldn't be allowed
to become a citizen of this country
short of 10 years residence. Again
it was suggested that we go into our
grade schools and get the children a
little younger, that they would be
more susceptible to this line of patri-
0tism Now this might be an idea
With magnificent possibilities. Why
couldn't we with a little time and pa
hence bring it to a national move
nent and force every child (no mat
.er how many generations of fore
fathers he has had here) to take this
study in citizenship And when they
'eceived their diploma duly signed by
he presiding judge of said district l
hey would become a citizen of the
United States. But if the student |
lidn't agree with what the judge con- I
idered was or wasn't patriotic they I
get their scroll signed by l
aid district judge, wouldn't become L
citizen of the United States, and C
would therefore be a subject for de-
If we could find a place q
o send them to.
But then again these foreign coun-
ries might be getting choosey by that p
ime and they wouldn't want these "
ind of people either. You know it's s
II awful drawback to the rulers of fl
ny country to have people that in n
list upon doing their own thinking. c.
'amn it! Good ideas like that al N
-ays seem to have hurdles to jump. Il
III, why can't all of these working al