The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-02-12
BILLY RAE And JOHNNY CAMPBELL
PULL SOME FAST LEGISLATION

pensation The bill was not only
rushed through the house with little
or no consideration, but likewise was
steam rollered through the senate and
now lies on the governors desk and
the senate refused the request of the
house to have the bill brought back
for reconsideration.
The facts are, the way the bill is
worded, the entire state of Montana
will have to assume the obligation OF
raising these additional funds for the
men suffering with this disease. In
other words, So counties will have to
pay the freight for 9SS of all the
silicosis victims in the state who live
in Silver Bow county. This means
that the state must raise, through adj
ditional taxation from four to five
hundred thousand dollars year to
take care of these individuals, when
it should be the responsibility of the
mining companies themselves, and this
money should be raised through a
state industrial accident board and ac-
or three-under which these miners
are now or have been employed. A
new bill should be passed to transfer
the obligation to its proper place be-
fore the adjournment of this session
as it is a known fact that the gov
ernor wants a silicosis bill, but GER
tainly will be on the spot If this bill
is signed in it's present form.
Johnny Campbell and his cohorts
did nice job in saving the present
board of education and few other
of former Governor
Ayers, which was made campaign
issue in the last campaign. These
men were working in full cooperation
with the Missoula Mere, and other
active supporters of the present state
regime at the university. In the
opinion of a great many laymen, all
these appointees should have been
passed out of respect to our governor,
and allowed him to select as many as
he wished of those already appointed
after the session closed so they would
be his appointees rather than the APP
pointees of a former governor, but the
company crowd showed their strength
in effecting this compromise when
only three additional votes were
needed to defeat the endorsement OF
these appointees and only two were
necessary to tie, leaving the final de-
cision in the hands of the lieutenant
governor but our friends Bill Kelley
and Leonard, saw fit to join the COM
pany henchmen and support the ma
iority committee report, thus endors-
ing all the appointees up until cleo
ton. This shows the strength of the
company when they really set out to
DO job.
Another bill before the house is to
attempt to appoint non-political high
yay commissioner on salary of 3d.
10000 year to spend full time at
he Capitol building and to direct the
operations of the highway commission.
There certainly can be no non-political
as this is simply bally-
100. 1t would simply mean that the
nan who would be appointed would
not have been in the public eye and
would be placed in this important
position at salary way below what
le would be entitled to for directing
he expenditure of eight to ten million
lollars. 1t would mean that all that
would be necessary to control road
contracts, would be to contact and In
luence one man, and without ques-
ion, in my mind, the contractors
would be willing to pay this man s40,-
100 year for service he might be
lble to render them. The only posi-
lie way to administer our highway
department under the present regime,
s through the appointment of two
clean-cut republicans and one
democrat Of like reputation, who are
cal business men and who have made
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