Montana labor news., 1944-10-26

consumers rates are established. In adj
dition, the Montana Power Co. declared a
stock dividend of four for n OF the 500
par value common shares of one of the
companies from which it had been formed
Butte Electric & Power-which the
Federal Power Commission says had the
effect of writing up the capital invest
ment by approximately $~20,OOO,OOO.
Through these transactions, Montana
Power Co. added more than $40,00O,0O0 to
the figure on which it's customers,
through their purchases of electricity, are
expected to return a reasonable profit to
the corporation. FPC has brought action
seeking to compel the company to adopt
the commissions form Of accounting,
which it is said would eliminate from the
company's capitalization some $5O,OOO,-
900 alleged to be in excess of actual value.
So much for the Montana Power Co.'s
philosophy of finance. Now for its phil
osophy respecting development of the
Missouri river, about which, also, there is
fortunately evidence. Mr.. Howard tells
in Harper's of a suit which the power
company brought five years ago against
a farmers cooperative venture in which
a diversion dam had been built in the Mis-
souri, river and 21,000 acres of land had
been irrigated.
The Montana Power Co. asked an in
junction against this use of the water, de-
claring it was entitled to the entire flow
of the overwhelming the amount which
had been diverted for i~rrigation-fOr the
operation of it's seven hydro-electric
plants downstream from the farmers
dam. The company won in Federal court,
but the appeals court in San Francisco
exempted the water conservation board
from the suit and Mr.. Howard writes that
the company has apparently abandoned
hope of winning under this limitation.
The tie-up Of the Anaconda Copper Co..
with Montana Power comes about natur-
ally from the circumstance that, in Mr..
Howard's words, in Anaconda the Mon
tana Power Co. lis reputed to have one of
the largest single industrial customers, if
not the largest, possessed by any Amer
lean utility-a customer which in 1910
was using more power than the entire air
plane industry in this country"
X \ x x
For almost a regeneration, Mr.. Howard
SAYS, Montana Power and Anaconda Cop
per "have been running the show in Mon
tana." Only now there are signs that the
people of Montana want to run the show
for themselves. Mr.. Howard instances
the victory in the Democratic primary for
the governorship of Left Erickson, a can
didate opposed by the Montana Power
Co.. He might also have instanced the ris-
ing tide Of popular support for MVA.
The Miles City Stars question as to
why Senator Murray introduced the MVA
bill brings up pertinent questions which
that newspaper and Montana voters in
general should ask themselves:
Shall the Missouri river be reserved for
private exploitation, dominating the pub
lie and defraying the cost by high electric
rates? One of the most effective ways to
make this point Of view prevail is to OPP
pose the only workable idea for over
throwing it: MVA.
Or shall the Missouri river be developed
so that it will be of the greatest service to
the most people? There is n workable
idea available for bringing this about
and only one: MVA.
Which is the side of the Miles City
Star? Which is the side>of the people of
Montana?-St. Louis Post Dispatch.