Montana labor news., 1945-02-22
APPROVAL GIVEN TO
'DECADENT COLONY
BY LEGISLATURE

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A few weeks back the Montana Labor
News carried an article by l. NIaury, Of
Butte. under the caption, Montana, the
Decadent Colony" Would that each and
every citizen of this state might have had
opportunity to peruse carefully the con-
tents of that offering which exploded
so much factual matter and which
would have given any reader a better
understanding of much that goes on
under the sun in this $4,000 square
miles of one of the grandest spreads
nature ever proffered to the people Of
the entire world; and which so well
showed why Montana was, is and will
continue to be a eDecadent Colony so
long as the abuses mentioned and others
similar are permitted to continue.
No other like amount of the earth Of
fers greater independence for those who
choose to reside in the old Treasure
State-IF. That lousy IF" is always in
our way as We straddle along through
life-IF, the miserable little two-letter
scamp
Mr.. Maury was explicit in showing us
much that is wrong in the state. He
made it clear that we have always had
and still have too many officeholders
''necking" that so-called copper col
lar" And never was said collar better
fitted to a row of necks than on the
group lined up to wear it in the present
legislative group; that is, the majority
Of them. Positively the A. c. NJ. gang
Power crowd. chain racketeers and 9TH
ers of kind rule the roost at this ses-
sion, the rottenest in the history of the
state.
AS I write not single bill of out
standing consequence or benefit to the
real producers of this state has been
passed. General welfare bills as well
as revenue measures have been conspicu-
Gus by their absence or else knitted and
gutted if they did loom. The sO-called
revenue bill, which would permit
churches to utilize slot machines in con-
junction with collection-baskets to lift
the ecclesiastical nut, is not only a
giggle or a laugh, it is a roar. If Sam
Ford ever signs that measure should it
skid through the Senate, he would only
prove himself to be the pious hypocrite
that so many claim him to be.
I reiterate that not single bill has
been passed by the present copper col
lar Legislature which has any real merit
in respect to "the greatest good for the
greatest number" Our aged needy ones
in this state relying on public assistance
number nearly II, 900. Nothing has been
done to add to the mites which they re-
ceive Notwithstanding that hundreds Of
bhem are Montana pioneers and builders
of much which We gloat over possessing.
At Boulder innumerable minors are
actually suffering for lack of proper
nutrition or even enough to eat, but we
have heard nothing about that AT Warm
Springs the situation is one where needed
improvements have been discussed, then
shunted this way or that with no good
accomplished for the many unfortunates
who landed there through no desire of
their own. III
At Deer Lodge, while Warden Jack
Henry is said to have returned to the
state 20 grand as a Saving" made under
his capable management Of the state
pen, recall that for years the guards
and others employed there have tried
repeatedly to secure a living wage for
services performed; especially is this
true of guards who start at IS bucks a
month for S0-day 8-hour shift. Twice
that sum would be little enough at this
time with living conditions such as they
are and with corresponding salaries of
political Holsters such as they are.
During the three weeks I attended
the session the greatest noise I heard
was lot of blah in regard to a grab OF
100000 to advertise Montana" What
for? DO we want TO bring visitors here
merely to introduce them to the 7412
stockholders of the Montana Power
Company who greeted us last New year
after having plucked us for three or four
decades for revenue from watered stock
created by appropriating real water
which belonged and still belongs to the
people IF we take it--and it looks as if
we will with the NGVA, objections Of the
corporation mobsters Notwithstanding
Or, do we want to introduce visitors
to such office holders as Mr.. Smith and
Mr. Young of the r. r. Commission
and who, with former member Austin
Middleton, recently as good as told the
Power Company that they could retain
20 million dollars worth Of watercd
stock which the government BRIGHTLY
and HONESTLY said should be marked
off. If you ask me, Smith should be
marked off" next election and Young
the following election, and both Of then
to stay marked off Advertise Montana
To those here who know Montana best
it is advertised to the world already a!
harboring the dumbest gang OF voter!
this side OF Satan's war garden.
A bill for the protection of dumb ami
mails in the state is said to have failec
only because it neglected to specificall!
state that the majority of the Hous
and Senate members and the voters wh'
sent them to Helena would derive thei
Just dues from such law
Likewise, at least "15-WOLF' lobb.
headed by Al wilkinson of the A. c. M
Company saw to it that such measure
as were in any way detrimental to tn
Company which exploits our natural re
sources hereabouts, including the mus
cles Of all the working stiffs, were 'noll
prossed;" what the corporations in thi
state want they get by one method 0
another" mostly another" with plent
Of frogsklns probably involved
The 30-day divorce bill introduced b
that progressive headed Senator fror