The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1945-10-26
III

THE POLITICAL leaders of the area, with few
brilliant exceptions follow business thinking very
closely. whats good for business is good for pol
tiles" regardless of the general welfare of the peo
pie of the region Three examples will suffice to
illustrate this tendency in politics
First, there the blocs The Mountain States
region is the home of of the smallest, yet
best organized and most powerful, special interest
blocs in the United States Most notorious of all,
perhaps is the silver bloc. Silver is a minority
interest even in the West Yet this group has been
able to impose expensive and nonsensca silver
monetary policy upon the entire nation. The gold
mining interests have been almost equally success
full in their special interest policies Opposition to
Senate confirmation of the Breton Woods Interna-
tional Monetary Agreement has come largely from
the "silver senator's" AS hard money" men, they
concentrated their obstructive efforts on trying to
ever larger masses of indgestible metal down
the threats of unwilling international economy
The Western beet sugar bloc is another which
has successfully protected minority special interest
at great cost to all American consumers And the
cattle bloc has preferred spend its energies fight
ing the importation of Argentine beef rather than
in working with the ranchers of the West to improve
the efficiency of their operations
The typical attitude of the Western politician
toward the blocs has been well expressed by Gov
ernor Dempsey of New Mexico Speaking in Denver
a few days after Mr.. Truman became Chief
Executive, Governor Dempsey did not hesitate to
lineup the President on the side of Western
servatism and the special interest bocs. Governor
Dempsey is reported by the press to have said 81
think that we can depend on President Truman for
number of things that have by the nature of
things been uncertain before. First, think can
depend on him to protect the of the West
from foreign Importation think we can depend
him to protect cattle and our sheep our
copper and zinc and rare metals think this is
most important for postwar prosperity and l
know that he does too"
4 SECOND example of the shortsghtedness and
n economic naivete of Western political leadership
is to be in the current controversy the
proposal for Missouri Valley Authority Taking
their cue from the power and irrigation lobbies and
hypnotzed by their own oratory about States
Rights" the politicians in power in the Mountain
States almost unanimously opposed to MVA.
The reasons for this opposition have been well de-
tailed by Joseph Kinsey Howard in Harper's Maya
zine for June 1915. Mr.. Howard wrote too soon
however, to report the reductio ad absurdum of
this opposition-the ludicrous threat of Governor
Vivian of Colorado to spend every cent Of the
states nine-miondollar surplus to fight the MVA.
The insidious idea of a well-ntegrated and
prehensive program for the development of the ma
tural resources of the large parts of Montana Wyo-
ming, and Colorado which lie in the Missouri River
Basin brings shudders to our governors and state
legislators Indeed opposition in the Mountain
States to the River Valley Authority idea appears
to be compounded in about equal parts of ignorance
prejudice, and dogin-themangerism.
THE THIRD example of almost incomprehensible
i political leadership is to be found in the recent
history Of the vital freight rate controversy Econ
omists almost unanimously agreed that for dec
AIDES the freight rate structure of the United States
has Disseminated against the South and West. The
recent order Of the ice removing the basis for dis
elimination has been hailed all sides as a great
victory for these regions. Yet the political and
business leaders of the West have actually fought
against the removal of this major handicap their
levelopment-or at best they have shown a colossal
to the whole subject.
In the recent freight rate war as in the MVA
oattle Governor Vivian again distinguished himself
rs supporter of special interests and an opponent
Of the general welfare. In 1913 the Southern gov
srnors promoted conference of Southern and West
srn governors in Denver for the purpose of raying
he West to their common cause: the fight
against economic colonalism. By clever maneuver
md by virtue of his position host Governor Vivian
brought forward unschedued speaker during the
Meeting. This distinguished guest of Denver"
urned out to be other than Big Bill Jeffers
PRESIDENT of the Union Pacific.
Mr.. LETTERS spoke long and forcefuly He argued
hat the railroads could and would look after the
Vest and that freight rates should be left alone.
lis oratory must have been persuasive. At any
ate the Western governors refused to be persuaded
W their Southern colleagues. The result was that
he South had to carry the fight alone In Georgia,
Governor Arnall took the to the Supreme Court
n the West governors and legislators alike have
iven the entire problem the weknown silent