The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1942-09-04
BY LOWNDES MAURY

in six years, in 81 cases before tn
supreme court where railroads wer
involved, the railroads had won 8
and that the three where the railroad
had lost were insignificant. Our cour
had fallen, in its unconcern for tn
rights of the common people, as low
as the supreme courts of West Viz
ginia, Pennsylvania or Delaware. IT
decisions were being ridiculed by tn,
judges in other states who were try
ing to keep the law in step will
changes the people were making il
industry and other parts Of the socia
structure.
The facts of the circular were ex
amined and found true 1t worked
Albert H. Angstman and Sam G. For(
were elected in November to elimi
nate two reactionaries. The fina
advent of justices Howard A. Johnson
/ Left Erickson and Albert Anderson tt
that bench, and deep study Of how to
decently prune the rotten limbs from
our old judicial structure (the growth
Of 40 years of corporate blandish
ments), how to straighten our leaning
tower without breaking it down, has
resulted in our courts catching ster
with fairminded,- fearless courts such
as those of Minnesota, Washington
New York, and Wisconsin.
For twelve years, night and day, the
railroads, banks, power mining, chain
store, and insurance pressure groups
have fought vainly to regain their old
over-balance of power in our supreme
court. Their power with former gov
errors was such that whenever death
caused a vacancy, some ex-railroad
attorney or lawyer with side-line
of writing insurance would pop from
nowhere up to the supreme bench.
The fearless lawyers of a bar of
only seven hundred and fifty mem
bers have waged, so far, successful
but uphill fight against more than
seven thousand licensed insurance
agents in the state to keep the SUI
preme court Embarrassed. Of course,
the insurance agents have the money
with which to fight. For 80 years,
tho insurance companies have taken
out of Montana each year, in premi-
ums, $6,000000 more than were paid
back in losses. They have a flying
squadron, to lobby in every state CAPT
tai against any move to reduce their
300 per cent annual profit.
This time, the corporate pressure
groups have chosen prominent law
yer to run against Judge Angstman.
We have aimed to take the judi
ciary out of partisan politics. But
Angstman's opponent has been cham
pioned by the powers partly because
he is prominent democrat. He was
lieutenant governor with Ayers (and
thus president of the most tightly
tethered senate known in Montana
since Clark was chosen by the joint
assembly to represent us in the ma
tional senate). The senate presided
over by Angstman's opponent is some
times called corn shelter run by
electric power, wherefrom the power
gets the corn and the farmer
and worker get the cobs. This will
be democratic year, and many lazy
minded democrats may vote for
opponent simply because
he has been long aligned with the
democratic party. That happened
right in Butte in the primary, al
though in Butte literally thousands of
homes of crippled miners, widows and
orphans of dead miners, have been
by Angstman's rulings in
cases. Stupid voters
forget that benefit to the particular
claimant in a compensation case is
good, of course, but the value to the
is that other persons SINH
arly grieved profit by the precedent
established. All these get the benefit |
If a good supreme court decision
without having to go to law, and do
lot even guess why the mining COM
oanies and insurance companies pay
Judge Angstman's imperishable rec
,rd is in open books: 25 volumes of |
he printed supreme court reports.
In Aesop's Fables, a dog with a
FOOD bone in his mouth was crossing
creek He saw his bone reflected |
n the stream. He jumped for that
hadow shape, lost his good bone, got
cold wetting. His hind-sight was
learer, but not so valuable, as some
mould boua booy
Candidates often after election dis
ppoint their trusting constituents,
nd it is the fault of the candidate.
t the rank and file of the voters fail
0 re-elect Judge Angstman, they have
themselves to blame. No Judge ever
ept clearer from being wined and
ined by social softeners of the cor
orations, than Angstman. Any farm
r or workingman can know the truth
this statement by an hours work
l any lawyers office or public law
brary. Here is a small, fair, cross
ection sample of his record
The cases in which Judge Angst ,
ian has written and concurred in :
pinions in favor of injured workmen !
nder the Workmans Compensation
ct are too numerous to mention.
mong the many cases in which !
ngstman has dissented in favor of ;