The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1944-09-22


by Joseph kinsey Howard, which appears in the
current issue of Harper's Magazine and Is re-
printed by permission of its publishers. The
article is of deep, current interest to the people
of Montana, and should be read by every citizen
of the state.
TIOR almost generation a pair Of fat boys like
/ Tweedledum and Tweedledee, an arm OF each
flung chummily the others shoulders, have
been running the show in Montana
The twins-Anaconda Copper and Montana Power
had for many years single directing intelligence;
political social policies have generally been
identical; and they have many interlocking and in
terdependent business interests. So Montanans
have always Jumped them together. In the dialect
of the Treasure State, they are 1.-THE Company.
The first question asked about a political candi-
date, whether he seeks seat on county school
board or a seat in the United States Senate, is al
ways, ''Is he Company MANI? And if someone
suggests major community venture in any OF the
principal cities-sometimes even in farm villages
everyone else wants to know, How does the Com
pany stand it," Because if the twins dislike can
didate project the chances of either usually have
been very slim indeed Have been, up to now; but
something is happening in Montana.
One of the twins Anaconda Copper has been
doing all right for the copper which Anaconda pro
duces is a precious material The market is
guaranteed labor controls curb the rebeous spirit
of Butte, and manpower controls funnel into the
mines and smelters what few able-bodies workers
the hardhit state of Montana has left-not nearly
complacency
But Montana Power has been losing weight and
is beginning to look decidedly peaked
MONTANA has been learning of this state of
lYl affairs with surprise and comes by such know1-
edge with considerable difficulty, since the twins
control the states fourteen daily or almost
daily newspapers and appear to have the Indian sign
some of the independents OF the eight news
papers in the five principal cities Butte Great
Falls, Missoula Billings and Helena all save Great
Falls two company controlled.
Along with highly-colored account of its troubles
which Montana Power has presented to the public
in company newspapers this harassed twin has
voiced loud cries of anguish, complaining of perse-
cution Montanans have been told that what has
been happening to their" Montana Power Company
Git is operating subsidiary of the vast American
Power & Light SYSTEM probably never happened to
ANYBODY before. Some citizens sufficiently per-
suaded of this to themselves twenty-five cents
a share their preferred stock and hire attorneys
to help Montana Power resist the first thorough
Saturdaynight scrubbing it has ever had to face
Others, less easily convinced that the interests of
preferred and common stockholders american Pow
& Light Montana Powers common-9373
per of all voting stock invariably Identical
suspected that this wholesale employment of Inter
veners' COUNSEL a scheme to pass the gravy
bowl around among the company's legal friends;
these skeptics kept their two-bt pieces in their
pockets to jingle pleasantly against Montana's heavy
silver dollars. Still third group the mass of Mon
tanas population land that is people than live
in Milwaukee), has been happily unconcerned about
the Power Company's troubles but is gradually be-
coming aware of the fact that it has troubles; and
this is significant, and bad medicine politically, for
it has never happened before on such scale. Let
a bosss subjects once learn that the old man is on
the skids and there's telling what might hap
pen.
TINE Montana Power Company would appear to
1 bova of itsa1
by an oddly arrogant proceeding five years ago it
marched into federal court to assert its virtual own
ership of the Montana portion of the Missouri river
longest in North America, which rises in the state
group of farmers in Broadwater county had or
ganized a water users association under
state law, to irrigate twenyone thousand acres OF
land with water purchased from the State Water
Conservation Board. This water the board obtained
by constructing a diversion dam in the Missouri
the project cost little less than million dollars
and was one of several such undertakings in the
plains states assisted by PWA and other federal
agencies
The Power Company sued the Water Conservation
Board it's members (who included the governor of
the sate) and the water users association 1t asked
that title be QUOTED" to it's asserted prior water
rights the Missouri and that the defendants be
permanently enjoined from diversion of any water
from the river for their project. The Company's
complaint said that for operation of its seven hydro
electric installations on the Missouri below the
farmers dam, the flow of "all of said waters
ueC0SSdIy
order that it might fulfill it's obligation a public
utility I'm later action unrelated to this one its
counsel said it predomnantly power company
rather than public utility
During the lengthy hearing before special mas
ter of the waterrghts action M. E. Buck the
operating vice president and general SUI
perintendent responded Eyes, certainly" when
asked ''You claim all the water in the river don't
your" But the question and answer were not ac
cepted in evidence because Company counsel earlier
had acknowledged that water-rght appropriation
of the whole stream made in that way we
would concede would not be valid appropriation
Nevertheless the issue clear: victory for the
Power Company meant that to all intents and pur-
poses it would the river by virtue of water
rights had acquired by absorption of their original
claimants.
THE lower court decided for the company and
L granted the injunction it requested.
The Water Board, the water users, and the state
If Montana appealed, with the help of the Federal
Power Commission and the U. S. Department OF
Justice. To the circuit court in San Francisco the
appellants said:
The court wrongfully ignored the fundamental
principle that the corpus of running water belongs
to the public and is not subject to private owner