Montana labor news., 1945-04-19

creature that it is-thought when it had
secured the passage Of the law that its
interests we're safe. The national gov
eminent was in charge of the classified
ton. It would surely protect and de-
fend the interests of the people. Poor
deIuded. ~defrauded, unsophisticated
honest publicl Never was a public 50
thoroughly iobbed, hoodwinked, defraud-
ed and robbed.
The government, though nominally,
was not in actual charge of the CLASH
ficiation and segregation Of the mineral
lanos of Montana. 1t was the Northern
Pacific Railroad that was actually in
! charge and control, and which manipu-
lated and managed the entire business
from beginning to end. An Indifferent
/ government, a confidiug and trusting
public. and a shrewd designing corpora
ton. INSCRIPTIONS and greedy. tells the
whole tale. The public was uncon-
scionably boncoed and plundered, and
the profits and loot went INTO the coli
fers of the Northern Pacific Railway
Company. less the expenses of the ma
nipulation and management, and the
brokerage of the g~rafters employed by it,.
In the course of several years the APP
preparations by congress for these min
eral land commissioners We're exhausted,
and there being no further money TO
spend on their 'phony' work, the com
missioners went out of business. The So
called classification in most Of the dis
tricts in Montana, that containing the
greatest mineral resources, an extensive
tract Of land remained unclassified. 1t
contained much valuable timber and was
of a mineral character. This tract had
. been left to the last, because the com
-miesioners hated to award it to the rail-
2 road on account of the glazing nature
= of such an act. Congress refused to fur
- Their extend the life Of the commission
/, or appropriate the usual money to e@'
tend its work.
r AT this emergency in the railroad
d interest. it's trusty United states sen
Al ator came to its rescue. During the ez
hiring hours Of congress, when all wa
hustle and confusion, he managed
tack on an amendment to a bill up 70
final passage. that saved the day 10
the Northern Pacific Company. B
Nj means of that amendment the remalnin
ne tract of unclassified land was put in tn
e. hands Of the hybrid Republcan-Dem'
H. cratic mineral expert, heretofore aludt
to to. and the railway company, in a Jill
Ter cot lust exactly what it wanted, vii
of neatness and dispatch.
he That this entire classification OF u
nd Northern pacific land grant in Montan
yn as to its mineral or non-mineral cha
aoter was f~arcical, delusive and absuI
M and manipulated to the benefit OF t.
nd Northern Pacific Railway Company
H. now a matter Of general notorlety
that state. The pretended eZaminatl
mo and classification we're perfunctory al
nd worthless. to put it mildly; not to
err fraudulent and predator. The raliro
is reaped all of the benefits and prof
md and the public was ~despoiled, defrauc
tho and cheated to the top Of its bent. I
ced people of the state only woke up to
hat real significance of the fraud perpetual
idle upon them by the schemers n rasc'
he after the mischief had been DONE a
or the railway had gotten away with
The plumber.
he Only recently a test case came up
ev- fore the land office at Helena, in VIII
tho the merits of this so-caIed classificat
,or- we're inquired into. Testimony was tax
all and the evidence displayed such glar
negligence and incapacity upon the p
nth Of the mineral land commissioners OF
.a1lv Helena district, that the Northern
eific Railway was glade to settle. =
evidence was a stencil in the nostrl'
and the public, and an %eyeopener to the p
om- lie who had been %despoiled.
the The case mentioned is known and
scribed as
10 60 CONTEST NO. 1891
and Northern Pacific Railway Company
Contesta
d OF
ares vs..
,ort- John A. Rowand, Contestee.
ere The evidence is all on file in the
cal eral land office at washington, an
,om- complete record thereof can be 10
at such office, and, al-o, in the
The office at Helena, Montana. Tit rec
ting furnishes most interesting anu NOV