Montana labor news., 1945-06-14
MAURY GIVES RADIO
ADDRESS ON OPEN
FORUM PROGRAM

The following radio address given by
Lowndes Maury over the z-Bar network
was delivered Tuesday evening, June 5:
Fellow citizens of Montana
To be a guest OF the Forum is a
pleasure; it also carries a duty to try
TO bring a message of some value.
In the census of 1880, Montana was
the only state showing decline in
population In the last four years ac
sording to count Of ration cards 10000
people have left this state; $4,000 of
these have gone into the armed services.
OF those being honorably discharged
only one in six is coming back to Mon
tana to live.
That indicates that $4,000 in four
years, have left Montana for good and
all. The end is not in sight Rarely
has any state in American history ever
before lost ten per cent of its pcpula-
ton in four years We who from age,
or property holding cannot escape
should figure out why our young people
are running away. 1 suggest a few
causes for you to study
Some Of these are materialistic,
caused by our artificial system Of econ
0my; some Of the mare psychologist. Our
young people growing up in Montana
become ashamed of, and disgusted with,
the political life of the state and the
control of the state government by abb
sentee landlords.
Among the economic causes of our
decline are:
Discriminatory freight rates on our
raw products by the railroads. Some
years ago, before the advent of the New
Deal wheat was selling in Montana at
46c a bushel It cost the farmer 25C
a bushel to deliver it in Minneapolis
Then much of the flour was freighted
back to us to eat.
The governor of Georgia is fighting
before the Supreme Court of the United
States discrimination against the south
ern states in railroad rates The Su-
preme Court has announced that it has
the power and the inclination to help
out the state of Georgia. We elect men
here on the promise that they will fight
the railroads about their high freight
rates; after election we hear no more
from them about it,
Another economic cause Of our decline
is high and uncontrolled rates for life,
fire ana accident insurance. The for
eign insurance companies infesting this
state collect in premiums every year
here at least seven million dollars more
than they return in losses. Their taxes
are only 100000 a year. any property
of such profit if owned by farmers, or
city real estate holders, or mining COM
panies, or utility companies in this state
would be taxed, and is taxed at rate
which would bring in two million dollars
a year This favoritism of taxes of in
surance companies indicates pressure
group working on our legislature, deep
seated corruption existing for thirty
years in that branch of our government
Electricity is the prime utility of
modern civilization Statistics COM
piled by the Federal Power Commission
show that for all electric current used
in Montana, we paid in 1914, five mil
lion dollars more than we would have
paid under power rates charged by the
Tennessee Valley Authority, United
States owned corporation. And yet our
Governor, and some other state officials,
spend their time stupidity preaching that
we should not welcome a similar author
ity in eastern and central Montana over
the Missouri river, and similar author
Continued on Page Three)