The people's voice., 1958-10-03
Editorial
"Would You Fire A Faithful Employer"


fQlInTUl 10 WnOms
newspaper ad seeking voter support for appointed Chic
ployee?"
N this the is YES.
my opinion Harrison has faithful" you
the school children to the overwhelming majority
other citizens who make the population of great state
base this opinion review of the three major decisions
handed down by the State Supreme Court Governor Aron
appointed Harrison Chief Justice early in 1857.
Here the decsions
The natural gas Decided three-to-two of
Power Company affirming increases granted
the utility by the Public Service Commission in 1853 ranging
from 80 to AZ This rate granted
without Investigation to the accuracy of the nfoma
presented in the utitys application ;.
quote John Rsken attorney for the commission the time,
costing natural about $75000O in higher
bills each and Outcome of this also killed
another court action brought by the then Attorney General
Arnold Olsen seeking to void 21 per
granted ontanaDakota UTILITIES without investigation by
the commission This rate increase is costing MDU
about $25OOOO year, Voting for affirming the Mon
tana Power rate Increase Justices Harrison Angan
and Castles Voting against, Justices Adar and Boomly
The telephone rate Another grand giveaway by
the Public Service Commission in 1853 was the 25 per cent
in granted Mountain States Tel
without nvesgaon) Fought all the way the Supreme Court
by the Attorney General the outcome the the
casethe three voting for affirming
the commissions order the two, dissenting.
The oil royalty In February 1857 shortly after
taking his appointed BERTH Harrison and his Republican
colleagues the court in another 32 decision upheld the 1851
act setting ceiling of 122 cent oil royalties the State
school trust fund receive the first 5000 barrels
month production from school leases This decision in spite
the Constitution demands that schools
full market their the off
mineral exploitation from school lands How much this de-
cision has and will cost the school fund will know
However, similar situation which developed California
recently ended with the 1912 ceiling being knocked
into cooked hat The California Lands Commission
negotiate oil royalties state lands ranging 1928 so
cent Net result doarwse that five state leases
alone oil income jumped 16 times would have been
$55,555974 instead of anticipated $33750O0 (see
VOICE, August 29 1859 The California give
clue how drastcaly the school oil potential in
Montana reduced by that 1851 legislative act.
One in he
ad deserves paragraph two has do with how -four
backlog of court business has been wiped out and the
business brought date under Harrsons steward
ship. :
That's quite record, but the ad overooks most
porant point how that record achieved
legislative action the authority appro
paton hire five legal assistants These five emnenty
able assistants have outside distractions such weekly
disrupt them from work They're able
devote ume to research and preparation of material for
opinions Were the court without these specialists Gas the
to the last Legsature is order to suggest the
backlog would be further extended Afera the ncum
Chief Justice running his Hugo he Gaoping
Swede ArOnson close second appearing the podum
wherever two people may be gathered.
Dry Armstrong
Unlike their
and extended hearings down % Sc