Montana labor news., 1945-05-31

them. 1t enacted that one corporation
could own stock in another thing un-
permitted at common law-an innova-
ton that here, and in other states,
started the racket of holding companies
the knell that tolled the death of most
small, and ALL NEW enterprise in North
America.
Armed with this great SECRET weap-
on the Anaconda Company organized the
father of holding companies-The Anal
gamated Copper Company. Through this
it infiltrated, gradually bought con-
trolling stock interests in the Boston
ana Montana Consolidated Copper and
Silver Mining Company, the Parrot COP
per Company, the Colorado Mining Com
pany. the Red Metal Mining Company,
the Alice Mining Company, the Societe
d Anonyme de Lexington Belgian
capitaD, the Montana ore Purchasing
Company. the Raven Copper Company,
and a half dozen others. too small for
mention
Thus. the Anaconda became virtually
the sole employer of labor in Silver Bow
county. Its silent power is such that
in forty years no person injured in their
mines has gained a verdict, Cthe men
who worked in Butte during World War
1 had as high a casualty rate as the
Butte men serving gallantly on the
European front)
But though by suborning a formerly
free Montana press purchase of Bill
lings Gazette, Livingston Enterprise,
Helena Independent and Record Herald,
Nlssoulian, Butte Miner, they keep the
outside fairly well fooled, they fool no
permanent Butte citizen By reason OF
the secret ballot. candidates classed as
company controlled are usually beaten
in Butte. This was noticed early Frank
Edwards beat Sam Stewart badly for
Governor in Silver Bow county. Ana
conda voters are just as smart as Butte
/ people. They know Workmen's COM
pensation, and other conditions and
wages will be a little better if there is
no private telephone wire from the Mon
tana Power Company in Butte to the
Governor in Helena. They also know
wages are better under Roosevelt than
they were under Dewey's lead-Off
speaker at the last Republican National
Convention. So the silly stuff, such as
old retired Judge Lieper's monologue
attacks en- Jerry O'Connel, mud-sling-
ing at the Supreme Court, front PACED
by Anaconda owned papers, will fool
some voters -Erickson an in
dependent, fearles man will in Butte
and Anaconda, give Ford, cooperating
fully with the Twins, a bad beating come
next election.
The Anaconda people remember that
their city (ward of the Big Twin) dur
ing the Hoover nightmare had the larg-
est per capita relief roll Of any town Of
its size in the nation.
An old Hindu prayed twenty years to
his god for prosperity Starvation fl
nally stirred his anger. He smashed his
god to fragments. It was full of gold
pieces. He was rich
For fifty years Butte has prayed to
the Anaconda. A smashing defeat OF
the Company at a state and national
election may bring some benefit. Pray
ers have brought nothing but $40 day
Company lying stool pigeons infestinl
the state, free whiskey for legislators
intimidation of juries, dodging of taxes
one valuation of power properties fot
fixing rates, many millions less valua'
ton for assessing taxes.
There is no educational, or other pub
lie institution in the state that is no
dominated by the Company. The Stat
Bar Association is its mouthpiece, an'
has been such for twenty-five years
This company umbrella drives most o
our finest young men and women to liv
elsewhere Montana is the one stat
where the population has steadily de
clined for thirty years. But the natura
resources are large.
Independent, private capital fears h
enter Just as the Anaconda tough
and bought all rivals in the Butte area
now it scares away private investors il
mineral deposits elsewhere In the state
All such must wait fifty years. or unit
the Anaconda wills to open them.