The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1958-03-14

SnOulQ De nOnOfeQ Dy cOIlecClOu Oh
original essays on the history of that
part of our country in which he was
so deeply Interested" With one ex-
ception, the contributors are Mon
tanans and their subjects taken from
Montana history. DR.. Walter N. Sage,
author of "The Why and Wherefore
of British Columbia, is the retired
chairman of the history department
of the University Of British Columbia.
His essay is submitted as a tribute
to DR.. Phillips from Canadian his
torians.
One essay with particular interest
at this time is the contribution by J.
w. Smurr, "Jim Grow Out Vest. Tt
must come as quite shock to Mon
tanans to read that Montana Terri
tory segregated Negroes in the pub
lie schools. The Territorial Assembly
of 1872 enacted the segregation law:
"The education of children of African
descent shall be provided for in sepa-
rate schools; and it was not until
1895 that the law was definitely re-
pealed. Moreover, for ten of these
years, segregation was in operation,
notably in the Helena school system,
which ''was regarded during Terri
torial days as the showpiece of Mon
tana education.
Such facts are hardly to be recon-
ciled with prevailing ideas about the
democracy and liberalism of the from
tier. Mr.. Smurr contends that the
pioneers in general transported their
attitudes and prejudices to the from
tier and that the frontier movement
did nothing to check the spread of
raciem in the United States. There
was chance for the pioneers to make
a choice and develop better attitudes.
1t is not particularly to our credit,
Mr.. Smurr suggests, that Montana
failed to do so. ''For those who SYM
oathize with the South in it's present
plight and reflect on the large num-
oers of colored people in that area,
ct it be remembered that Montana
ried to put Negro children in one
and whites in another when
here were probably less than two
hundred colored people of all ages
n a population of twenty thousand.
Among the other essays there are
mes dealing with currency in Mon
ana, reclamation, the discovery of
old, and an incident in the political
areer of Joseph Dixon. All are inter-
sting bits of our Montana history;
nd all illustrate effectively the tech
iques by which skillful historians
ranslate old diaries, business records,
ensus reports, etc. into significant
acts of history.
The last essay is a survey of "Crea-
we Writing in the Northwest, con-
ributed by DR.. Rufus Coleman,
ormer member of the Montana State
English department. Com
AIRED with the four other states whose
terature is discussed, Montana has
it's share of creative writer's.
ut Mr.. Coleman suggests that Mon
ina has failed to produce a regional
terature-writing that is "close to
arth and to those who love it,. For
lie most part, Montana writer's have
one elsewhere for their materials.
nd those who used the West too
ten capitulated to the Hollywood
ersion of a western.
Mr.. Coleman suggests that this sit
alton is the result of political and
cial conditions which are "stulify-
G" to the creative writer. Archaic
lblic institutions and powerful bust
,ss monopolies throttle any real
eedom of discussion and foster an
titude of "self-complacency, apathy,
I'd conventionality". Such repression
ould not be so noticeable in thickly
'pulated states, says Mr.. Coleman,
1t in Montana, with it's sparse settle
emit such actions hurt. Writers are
Drawer now than the rest of us,
ough occasionally there is stray
ul which opposition spurs to action.
oseph Kinsey Howard is the only
tstanding Montana author who
'ote fearlessly about his state. am,
inclined, despite its errors
fact, to nominate Montana, High,
ide and Handsome" as the most
rable book this state possesses. 1t
safe to write about Indians. cow
ya, vigilantes, and such, but, broth