Montana labor news., 1945-01-11
M0NTANA-THE
DECADENT COLONY
By LOWNDEs MAURY

By LOWNDES MAURY
A correct diagnosis is the first step
toward a cure.
Recently the leading educator here has
said that of the $4,000 Montanans re-
leased from military service, about 1000
have returned to become again residents
of the state whence they were inducted;
a sorrowful appraisal by our young folks
of the chances Of a successful life in the
one state, of all the 48, with the richest
most abundant natural resources, in pro-
portion to its population now steadily
for 25 years diminished by the blood
sucking 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
outstand ng systems: The Russian, Of
mutual I'd avowedly Of production for
use; the American, the selfish, acquisi-
tive system, production for profit. The
lines between the two will not be clearly
drawn even geographically. For instance
Sweden. Norway, Denmark, before the
war, had, by degrees, by popular APPROX
al. by educated choice gotten quite close
to the system forced by a militant party
with no careful delay on the Russian
people.
Elihu ROote, in argument before the
Supreme Court against the graduated
income tax, proclaimed it "Communis-
tic" He was correct. No surer 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 popular; our rivers and har-
bors works; the Tennessee Valley Au-
thority, and others, also Socialist meas
ures, rural electrification, 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 build
ing the Cumberland highway over the
Areghenies, the avowed main spring OF
our system has been private acquisitive-
ness, the production for profit only
.laisser faire, every man for himself,
rugged individualism, devil take the
hindmost
The census of 1880 startled us locally
from our local vanity. 1t revealed Mon
tana as the only state that, in the period
of 1920 to 1880, decreased in population.
I then studied hard for the causes. 1
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 Gov
eminent.
Oppression Of Labor.
High Taxes on Farmers, Merchants,
Working Men.
Defective Compensation Laws.
Low Taxes on Railroads Telephone
and Telegraph Lines and Electric COM
panies.
Bank mergers.
Chain Stores.
Almost 5000 copies were sold. NO one,
not paid a largess to do so, ever disputed
my diagnosis, or assigned any other
cause for the decline of this common
wealth. However, afterwards, on read
ing a pamphlet by Mr. Justice Brandeis,
asserting that the life insurance reserves
we're a menace to American liberty, 1
tried his theory on Cur insurance statis-
tics for 80 years-fire, as well as life.
These revealed that the foreign fire in
surance companies operating here had,
in 10 years after 1920, extracted in pre-
miums from us above 40 million dollars,
and returned in losses below % million
dollars. In the same period the foreign
life insurance companies had gouged us
for above 10 million dollars in premiums,
and returned in benefits below l8 mil
lion dollars. That all other forms Of
insurance had similar proportion of in
take to outgo. That Brandeis was cor
rect--insurance, the leading racket in
Montana, as well as peryasive of the
nation. That all forms of insurance
Continued on Page Three