The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1945-01-12
MONTANA-the Decadent Colony
By LOWNDES MAURY

By LOWNDES MAUh
A correct diagnosis is the first steI
toward a cure.
Recently the leading educator here
has said that of the 5000 Montanans
released from Military Service, about
900 have returned to become again
residents of the state whence they
were inducted; sorrowful appraisal
by our young folks of the chances OF
successful life in the one state, Of
all the 48, with the richest, most abun
dant natural resources, in proportion
to its population, now steadily, for rs
years, diminished by the blood suck
| ing of our absentee landlords.
AS soon as the economic system OF
Fascism, Naziism, is destroyed by the
Allies, there will be in the world two
outstanding systems: The Russian, OF
mutual aid avowedly of production for
use; the American, the selfish, acquis
tive system, production for profit
The lines between the two will not
be clearly drawn even geographically.
For instance, Sweden, Norway, Den
llcil UtlOlc llC w al Dcut NY uOSl CCo,
by popular approval, by educated
choice, gotten quite close to the sys-
tenn forced by militant party with
no careful delay on the Russian peo-
pie.
Elihu Roote, in argument before the
supreme court against the graduated
income tax, proclaimed it "commun-
tat
road to final communism can be
planned than by heavily graduated
income tax. From this income has
sprung the other noteworthy features
of communism in our midst The
highway system which has been so
works; the Tennessee Valley Author
ity, and others, also Socialist meas
ures, rural identification, farm and
home loans.
But while Communism has been in
filtrating the United States ever since
Benjamin Franklin fathered the postal
system, since Washington advised
building the Cumberland highway
over the Alleghenies, the avowed main
spring of our system has been private
acquisitiveness, the production for
profit only, "laisser faire''-every man
for himself, rugged individualism, devil
take the hindmost.
The census of 1880 startled us local
ly from our local vanity 1t revealed
Montana as the only state that, in the
period of 1920 to 1880, decreased in
population. l then studied hard for
the causes. | published a pamphlet
explaining that these were:
U. S. government ownership of our
land,
High electric power and light rates.
High freight rates,
High telephone rates,
Corporate influence in our state
government,
Oppression of labor
High taxes on farmers, merchants,
working men,
Defective compensation laws,
Low taxes on railroads, telephone
and telegraph lines, and electric
companies,
Bank mergers, and
Chain stores.
Almost 5000 copies were sold. No
one, not paid largess to do so, ever
disputed my diagnosis, or assigned
any other cause for the decline of this
However, afterwards,
on reading a pamphlet by Mr.. Justice
asserting that the life in
surance reserves were a menace to
American liberty, tried his theory on
our insurance statistics for 80 years, |
ire, as well as life. These revealed |
hat the foreign fire insurance COM |
)anies operating here had, in 10 years |
after 1920, extracted in premiums from |
is above 40 million dollars, and re-
urned in losses below 23 million dol
ars. In the same period, the foreign
ife insurance companies had gouged |
is for above 70 million dollars in
and returned in benefits
)elow 10 million dollars. That all
,ther forms of insurance had similar
of intake to outgo That
3randeis was correct-insurance the
eading racket in Montana, as we'll as
of the nation. That all
orms of insurance paid this state in