The people's voice., 1957-11-29

Turrell, Missoula railroad conductor,
told the 14th Farnier-Labor Institute
Sunday morning in opening the dis
cussion on "The Citizens Role In
Political Action.
Panel members, in addition to Mr.
Turrell, were Mrs. Charlotte Holtz,
Floweree farm housewife; Robert
Weller, Kalispell lumberworker; Ern-
est Salvas, Butte miner, and Bruce
Bishop, Portland, Oregon woodwork
er.
Turrell, in setting the stage for dis
cussion, said that political action
takes many forms, that it is a "a
hour day job, and that it is used
whether to nominate and elect candi
dates at state elections, city elections,
or school elections. 1t is also the band
ing together of citizens in "loose or
ganizations such as the Utility Users
Protest League to finance securing
of rate experts to oppose rate in
creases sought by utilities, such as
the pending Montana Power and
Mountain States Tel. & Tel. rate in
| II NSeoO 1OdoOoOO.
The panel chairman, who is also
secretary of UUPL, said, 1--WE can't
tell rank-and-file members to vote for
or against candidate. We must out
line reasons why support should be
given or denied.''
Mrs. Holtz said that the citizens
role in political action is the basic
role. IF we don't have citizens in
political action we don't have a
democracy.
eve must be realists," she contin-
ued. eve must know what we are
fighting for and contending against,
or we can never reach our goals F..
Work must be done ahead of time to
get the right kind of candidates, and
then we must go out and work to
elect them =. Citizens must under
stand the issues and they must act
not sit back and let George do it :.
and, there's no difference in sex on
the political level :"
Bruce Bishop spoke of the practical
aspects of political action as he sees
them. These include: (1) Education
what are the issues, why should we be
for or against; (2) The actual cleo
tion campaign; (3) Support for our
people after we've elected them.
EDUCATION NEEDED
Citing the Importance of education,
he said a survey last year revealed
that IS per cent of the union business
agents in Oregon didn't know the leg
islature sets compensation rates for
the industrially disabled.
How important political action is,
he observed, can be seen when one
realizes that politics determine your
electric rates, your freight rates, your
water rates." in fact politics have a
direct bearing on almost everything
you do.
Ernest Salvas said "citizens so
often fail to recognize the many ave-
nues constituting political action"
He also warned that zone of the most
signs'' on the Montana
political scene ''is the growing at
tempt by the Company to take over
lloIS COHCIOl LII UOIu pOllClCdl par
ties -
Salvas, like other panel men,
bers and various ones in the audi
ence, spoke out sharply about the
lack of political facts in the "con-
trolled press" of Montana. He, like
others, emphasized that for factual
information on Montana affairs
THE PEOPLES VOICE, owned by
farmers and working people, is the
one reliable source available.
He also contended that the initia-
tive process should be used more
often by Montana people to achieve
in their laws which
nave been denied them in the legis-
ature because of pressure from pow
erful corporation lobbies. The initia-
i've process, he said, ''is one of the
means the people have when political
parties fail to do the job they should" {
Robert Weller, although warning /
hat we cannot be complacent, empha- +
ized that there isn't as much apathy i
n the political field on the part of g