The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1944-06-02
Channels of Misinformation

Channels OF Transformation
Mark Twain said that the people do lot talking
the weather but do nothing about it. The true about
the by the vested interests all the daily
of the state with the exception of the Great Falls
daies one in Miles City, in Lewsown and one in Boze
We do lot of talking about this pernciou circum
stanceand then subscriptions to these propaganda
instruments.
should ask at the offices of of the papers
ognzed the property of the Anaconda Copper Mining
the Montana Power Company the of both
jointly the who poses manager of the paper would
probably deny with some assumed vehemence that these com
panes had rights of ownership in it. He would point to
the officers of the corporation probably and call attention
residents the community for time past
This might even have ready at hand
to give why j Dickey whose business address the
sixth floor of the Hennesy building IN Butte happens to be on
the board of directors of the companies publishing the Montana
Standard Butte the Billings Gazette the Livingston
Enterprise and the Daily Moulan and T. b. Weir attorney
for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company the board of d
rectors of the two Helena recently consolidated
He would probably deny that the Anaconda Copper Min
ing Company responsible for carrying the deficit
aton of these various companies deficits in the of
era of the companies amounting to several times their total
capital There doubt business the state
who would appreciate finding out how these companies
to keep going under the burdens of debt which they
admit owing
This the way situation companies
looked at the end of 1913
Independent Publishing Co., Helena Paid in capital $751;
10000; existing debts, $215, 96951.
Montana Record Publishing Co., Helena Paid in Capital
$38,945.00; existing debts, $341 ,616.44
Livingston Publishing Co., Livingston: Paid in capital $685.
10000; existing debts $11,312.51
Printing Billings: Paid capital $95, 25000;
existing debts, $14 72298.
Muscular Publishing Co., Mssoua: Paid capital $780,
10000; existing debts, S43,456.85
Post Publishing Co., Butte: Paid in capital 2450OO0;
existing debts S117,34887.
Standard Publishing Co., capital 100000;
existing debts $388,96O05.
It will be noted that the the company press at
the end of the amounted to 81 while the total
paid in capital amounted to less than half the of the
debts $5O9895OO These debts of the
Anaconda Copper Mining Company.
These papers will invariably be found championing priv
eges OF their owning group giving some up service to the
public interests only when involves threat of increased
taxation carefully selecting the they publish and dee
ing from all dispatches and local stories items which
might reflect adversely the activities of the wealthy
privileged will be found that where circumstances compel
mention of incident of that kind the stories will be
coored in favor of the vested interests concerned and the
reader will have understanding of the actual facts after
reading such stories.
obvious example of this the reporting
hearing held in Butte recently by the Federal Power Com
mission charges that the Montana Power Company
carrying fifty millions of dollars of wrteups its plant
valuations used for making of those
the from the Associated Press
reports which followed the line would have under
standing implications of the Reading reports
the company the reader unless he had prior
actual knowledge of the would probably have been left
with the impression that the Montana Power Company
being unwarrantedly abused by old government
bureau
There are people the realize
the of control by the vested interests Of the majority
of our daily papers That is why publication like The
Peoples has survived long it has But there
enough people yet conscious of the need for publication
of this kind to make possible for it to develop should
and extend its influence.
1t practical certainty that the Anaconda Copper Min
Company the Montana Power Company either both
charge operation Of these propaganda organs
operating expenses and thus able deduct the
from federal and state Do you think that right?
In the of the Montana Power Company it has been
charging for service based fifty millions of
making profit the basis of that
ton For years. you and customers have been paying
probably 40 per each month than should
been paying. the majority of customers of the Montana
Company who have been paying this gouge
years would invest the charges that they pay
year. they could their newspapers
printing plants.
Don't forget that the ownership by these exploiting
poraons newspapers help them keep you gnor
of their exploitation of YOU
They profitable control these channels misn-
formation