The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1945-07-06

IerIlle Ilelu lOT HIS lllc WI n
l see signs of internal improvement
also think the American ideals ant
practices of cultural advance prevail
ing elsewhere will overflow into this
state where l have spent my life, ant
which | love. l think it may agair
become a place fit for my grandchil
dren to live in l still believe there
are enough good people here to re
store democracy, if they realize what
factors cause the lag, and unite In
| fighting against them. Also there are
some features of our life wherein we
do not lag.
Freight Rates
In agricultural and animal industry,
there is sickening clog, exhorbitant
freight rates, but in spite of this, our
college at Bozeman is wondrous
institution for instructing our splen-
did young men and women in farm
ing, horticulture, stock raising, poul-
try, dairy methods. The results are
vast rolling fields of grain, purebred
cattle on a thousand hills. But in the
Hoover depression, wheat brought 46
cents in Minneapolis, the farmer in
Montana paid 25c freight to Minneapo-
lis, leaving him 21c bushel for the
sweat of his brow, and the exhaus-
ton of his protein giving SOIL
This lag about freight rates can be
helped by political action, and also
by economic public competition. 1t
existed in the Tennessee Valley q
states). The river was made navi-
gable. Now heavy freight, timber,
wheat cattle, move cheaply, by wa.
ter, up and down $50 miles of the
Tennessee river, through locks over
several dams, as high as Fort Peck
dam That the Missouri, once navi-
gable to Fort Benton, was ever aban-
doned for navigation shows lag of our
years. Such lag has been fCstered
by railroad interests. These kept Tom
Carter in the senate. These well
coined the Fort Peck dam, hoping it
to be final block to navigation.
Governor Ford recognizes this
u ctlio pOl IdtiOh las ny OPpOolAS thC
MVA, he thus gains the support of
The railroad owners. He is a politi-
clan. A statesman, Theodore Roose-
velt, recognized the transportation
ag in the Northwest. He fought it
bitterly, against the consolidation of
he Great Northern and Northern Pa
,ific. Wheeler campaigned against |
his lag, but now chairman of the |
committee of the senate on interstate
commerce, where he has power to Sc.
cure better Northwest freight rates, |
lie bushes himself publishing war Sc
lge to Iceland" (while the Atlantic
vas infested with German U-boats).
Dur Rural EIectrification
Behind Japan.
In our farming methods there is yet |
erious lag in identification Before
he war, above 80 per cent of the
arms had electricity in France, Italy,
Austria, Germany, Japan. Before the
Valley authority entered
is work for rural Identification, only
l per cent of the farms in the Unit
ID States had electric service. Due
Mostly to the work of the IVA and
he new deal this has risen to 46
er cent. But the entire nations, espe.
tally Montana, is yet in a serious
az as to identification. The best
nance for us to catch up with Japan
r Italy on rural identification lies
nth the advent of the MVA and eva.
-ribute to Foreign
insurance Companies
For many years the gross of an
ual premiums of foreign insurance {
operating in Montana has 1
xceeded the sum total of yearly {
uses paid by them to our citizens
y an average of seven million dol
lrs per year. This squeeze" equals i
le cost of running our state govern {
lent, including the universities, but /
highway expense. These t
lvored companies pay 100000 the {
ear taxes. Other property paying q
even million dollars the year would I
ay two million in taxes. This condi-
on points to a pressure group cor I
lption of our legislature, present for /
years. '
Group control of government is g
Ire symptom of cultural lag. The e
Ulcers of the Montana State Bar as G
'ciation have been insurance COM v
my attorneys since | have been a {
ember = perhaps As years The +
ate auditor is also insurance COM
issioner. George P. Porter cannot q
1T figure out how he could not re- h
ain as state auditor, but could be =
ected state treasurer. The answer, q
course, is: He was never an in h
france agent by profession. The n
nited States supreme court lately o
ED that insurance was interstate y
'mmerce, therefore subject to control v
the national congress. The con- q
oil of our state government by our n
ven thousand licensed agents is SO !,
that we can do nothing u
'out 1t but apprise our senators and !.
ngressmen of the local injustice. =
ike Mansfield lately voted with the =
surance pressure group. 1t was y,
obably through lack of study. II
TO elect a legislative majority hon II
t and fearless enough to regulate 1e
surance rates and at the same time h
nest and fearless enough to make :
e Montana Power Co. pay taxes on :
9 same property valuation as its
lue used for fixing consumer rates,
the railroad commissioners, would - :,
st million dollars, and then the p
esent governor would veto the leg =.
alton. We are in cultural lag =
ualled nv no other ctata. on o.