Montana news. [volume], April 20, 1911, Image 1

About Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
S1I TMONTANA NBEWS ABOLIII THE CA
Il oL A I ,U " ' ' T" :9 SIT Tl . I
VOL. VII. HBLINA, MONTANA, RSPAY, APRIL 20, 1911. ND. 34.
MAYOR SEIDEL'S
ANNUAL MESSAGE
Old Party Press Treats It With
Silence. Great Progress Made
During The Past Year.
More to Come.
golalist Mayor Seldel presented his
annual message this week to the city
council of Milwaukee, and the nine
daily papers in Milwaukee had very
little to sy about it. practically ig
noring the mayor's message.
The old parties and their press in
Milwaukee and throughout the coun
try are slandering and wilfully lying
about the work of the socialist ad
ministration in Milwaukee. The socl
alists of Milwaukee are making good
but the old parties are afraid to let
it be known, but on the contrary are
carrynag on a campaign of misrepre.
sentations in hopes of d#feating the
socialists at the next election.
The following is from the message
of Mayor Beldel:
To the Honorable the Common Coun
Gentlemen: The past year in the
city government of Milwaukee has
been extraordinary. Among the many
noteworthy facts that distinguish our
mualeipality one is pointed out here
as remarkable sanaftcance at this
?he absolute Iategrity of the city
gr ame.t at Mo . mlwaee as at pwa
at amdm·MsMra is a eseededM and
seeMshed laet mek Isu at *T
sry petan.
With regard to honesty, honesty in
legislation and honesty in admialitra
tion. the present city government of
Milwaukee stands absolutely unques.
tioned.
This is a result attained by the
people of the city marking a forward
and positively necessary step toward
progress in good government.
>imamse sad AresmtUag.
The efforts It 'lnanc!.al reform hav*y
made excellent headway. A com
plete inventory of all the property of
the city., as well as of each depart
ment is near completion.
This should go far toward prevent
ing such leakages as have occurred in
the past-partly through lack of con
trol-partly through dishonesty of
employees.
The practice of indiscrimate distri
bution of supplies of all kinds is
checked. Each department is charg
ed with whatever it uses and the
heads must be responsible.
The revolution in budget making
has gone far in the direction of sane
finance. It would be folly to claim
that the new budget is perfect. This
Ia clearly stated In the preliminary
remarks prefacing It.
Under the new budget, blanket ap
propriations are done away with, and
in their stead appropriations are made
based on a minutely detailed state
ment of the requirements of every de
partment In the city servce.
8o far as possible the departments
are required to remain within their
appropriations, and only by resolution
of the common counici is it possible
for them to receive additional moneys.
This course insures publicity and
minimises the opportunities for reck
loss expenditures. The next budget
will be ready for your consideration
far earlier in the season and will offer
even better results than the past one.
The broadest publicity should be in
vited.
A new system of voucher bills has
been installed, permitting almost ab.
solute check on the accuracy of the
expenditures of the ctly. Where ito
the past every department devised its
own form of payroll independently of
the others, there has now been pro
vided by the comptroller's office one
pay roll to take the place of seventeen
different forms, with the result that
absolute uniformity is secured, and
the expense of printing reduced to a
minimum.
As rapidly as possible the work of
bringing all the departments on a
uniform accounting basis is being
done, and when completed the city of
Milwaukee will be able to point with
pride to this accomplishment.
About T'hation.
The Interference of special Interests
and Inadequate laws should not dis
courage you in your efforts to bring
about a system of equitable and Just
taxation.
Nor should it prevent you from get
ting on the tax roll all property that
under the law is assessable. Such
property rightfully should be required
to contribute its share to the expense
of that protection which it receives.
This cannot be considered a hard
ship on capital and Is no more than
can Justly be asked for by the small
home owner. After the demonstra
tion with the aid of the Somers Sys
tem of value units, It was clearly
shown that the land values were In no
wise equitable as assessed at present.
Too much is left to the "Judgment"
of the Individual asessor, which may
or may met be oompetet.
PubMetty la the making of an as
sammeat Is of the utmuet impsiranee
and the pues w eepr eis s be
ie&p to eo.eperste with the tax de
partmenn
It is a wrong condition that per
mits an assessor to solicit business if
any kind with people whose property
he is required to assess. This condl
tion permits of too much latitude for
suspicion either Justly or unjustly.
It is deplorable that an attempt to
remedy conditions enumerated above
should meet with the opposition that
you have encounered in your work
In that direction.
Bcare of IMri4euy and Ecrwomy.
The plans of the Bureau of Elite
lency and Economy are rapidly taking
on tangible form. The Department of
Publicity Works is the first depart
ment to be affected by these plans.
Good results can be hoped for from
this work In the way of improving the
financial conditions of the city.
Though quietly, this work goes )n
without cessation.
Instltute of Munk1ipel and SBoial
A new phase in the function of mu
nicipal government was inaugurated
In Milwaukee during the present ad
ministration by the establishment of
the Iniltute of Municipal and Bocial
Service and the location of the Exten.
alon Division of the University of Wis
consin on the second floor of the city
hall.
Well known speakers on municipal
problems were heard by the public
free of charge. In connection with
the Extension Division, opportunity is
offered to the young man to secure
technical knowledge, who has not the
means to attend the state university.
I sincerely hope that these arrange.
ments can be continued next year.
This Institute was made possible
through the liberal spirit of a warm
hearted and public minded woman.,
who, however, wishes her name with
held.
Puble Works Department.
More stringent inspection of public
work has been practiced. Contrac
tors were made to understand that
they would be required to do the work
properly or suffer penalties. In sev
eral cases, street paving material was
of an inferior quality and was re
moved after placed In position. The
same occurred In the construction of
sewers.
Several Inspectors were discharged,
because they could not understand the
orders of the commissioner that spec
Iflcations were to be followed strictly.
It is needless to say that the strict
adherance to the Interest of the d
and citlUens lost the adminlitritS
the friendship of a number of e0ggtU
tors and may have connection
the superintendent of streets.
The sprinkling and cleanilng
streets, and the removal of
rubbish and ashes has been Im...'U
But very much more can be 4k.m
With Improved machinery a ol)
economical system of street clewa-
can be devised, resulting in more fre
quent and thorough operation.
The efforts of this departssa
should receive all possible encourag
ment. Similarly the efforts should Ih
continued to reduce the cost of long
hauls for garbage and re.fuse.
Health Department.
More attention has I.en given ty
the health department to complalNst
received from factories. A divies
of factory inspection has been estab
lished.
The sanitary police force has been
yeeyli..a cjhyl etao etaoi ola
completely reorganised and the oity
redistricted. While this is good as far
as it goes. this portion of the work
cannot be considered complete nntll
the building code and also an exten
ylve sanitsry code are completed.
Efforts In this direction should be
continued until the end is accompliM
ed. In this connection, I wish again
to emphasize that portion of my mes
age of AprIl 19, 1910, dealing with
protection of labor.
Publications have been Issued and It
is wise that this educational eam
palan be extended. Monthly bullets .
are being imued. Educational work
has been begun in some of the schools
and it is to be hoped that this work
may also be enlarged upon.
The plans for an isolation hospital
are ready to be acted upon, and -a
soon as your honorable body shall
have taken action, bide may be ad
vertised for and contracts let. An or.
dinance for the inspection of theaters
is now pending before you and acties
is desirable.
InbM Ma lmor.
Plans for reducing the alarming sl.
tie of intant mrtalty a. well ad
veamed. A pories of this wrk ha
In addltion to the sum of"monsr
planned to be set aside for this pur
pose. It Is advisable to appoint a eivie
commission to aid In performng such
functions as can best be done through
civic effort. A resolution providlng
More 8ocialis8
Victories
During the past week elections for
town and school board officials have
been held in California and Illinois,
thie results show great gains and more'
%ietorles for the socialists.
The following shows some of the
gains madb in Illinois.
Mattoon. Ill.-,-The count of Tue's
day'q ballots shows that Robert Doe
pel, Socialist, was elected alderman
of the seventh ward of this city. He
received 151 votes, his opponent get
ting 124.
Beckemeyer. Ill.rThe results of
Tuesday's elections show that the Soc.
lalists elected a member of the village'
board.
La Salle. Ill..-Harry Halpin. S<c
Iallst, was elected alderman from the
Second ward of this city at Tuesday's
election. Another candidate for ald
erman on the Socialist ticket. Valen
tine, only failed of election by 9 votes.
lies Plaines, 111..-The Socialist
candidate for president of the village
board. W. M. Lawson, polled 102 votes
on the Socialist ticket here at Tueles
day's election. A year ago there was
no socialist vote here.
Maryville, Ill.-The Socialists elec'
ed a village clerk and one village
trustee here, Eugene R. Armstrong.
a miner, receiving 53 votes, and his
nearest opponent 45. Leonard Ar
gus. Socialist, was elected as a trustee.
Pour parties were In the field.
Davis. 111.,-The Soc lallsts enrried
this town at the electlon Ti'uetsdecv.
The party electing the folloeewing
President of the board of trustees.
,r xluch commlilson will hI" prsnt ,,
ý, your honorable body.
(in Tubenruloui...
Plins for the organizatio, nril ',in.
trotl of the tuberculosis pnrhllem ar.
"+II under way and it r.silutioin t
, ,rry these plans into ff1,.et will Ib
'ulimitted.
IDespite the failure to. r.tiain the
• r\ Jei' of Mr. Wm. II. L.iis. rion, whi.
has made this particula.hr piha.s of
conm lnity life a aptcial istudy and
Irom wohsa services effectiv\', r,"nults
,coulid have been exper t, I. w\\ mRust
,,ntinue our efforts.
(ity's Park.
As stated in anoith r iprt h,,r.in,
Am. rican cities have Ih.. n dIl linquient
in Ipreserving and carine ftr the river
tand lake fronts and \tll.a;nllke is no
'xc',pltion to the rule. \Vhil., we ha\e
sII"tured a portion of iur la:lk. front
and are collecting a spliial mill tar
to reclaim more, no oil)J, tion is raised.
HIut the supply can acco(nmmodlate but
a limited number and (inl. thi,,s who
ar.e more fortunate. It is not a sign
of fair mindedness to the large. mass
of our people to tax them for water
front property In ont part of the city
and neglect the other ti.ieutiful parts
that need only be acquir, d.
I hold that the plans of your Metro
polltan Park Commistsin should be
carefully studied and instead of quib
bling over the purchase of the Mil
waukee River Park. Immediately steps
should be taken to secure that portion
of the Menominee River and the Kin
iackln River also which has been de
signed as desirable by the above
named commislion.
The accumulating increment on all
that land will be far in excess of the
amount of Interest that it will cost our
city to secure said lands now.
The change that thereby the tax.,a
would be increased should not hold
good, if the authoritles of our city will
do their duty and place on the assess.
meant roll that property which now be
longs there and escapes. If this were
done for ten years, you could cancel
the entire perk debt and have all the
land herein mentioned.
The itstee of St. Paul and Minnea
poll. are developing more elaborate
PiL . It is safe to my that these
Tiue will grasp the opportuities.
While we pay attention to the large
projects, we should not lose sight of
the need for playgrounds within the
(Continued on Page 3.)
J. C. Mainwaring: thustees, Tuoy Bol
lette, Burnell Williamson, Evan Wat
kins.
The vote except for president of
the board, showed a substantial vic
tory. For that office the Soclalliss
won by two votes.
O,Vallon, Ill.,-D. L. Thomas, .oc
lallst. was elected mayor here against
a bl.partisan combination. J. E. Til
Iey was elected city marshall. Nick
Lorens superintendent of streets,
Alexander Campbell alderman of the
first ward and Henry Shoemaker aid
erman of the third ward. alls on the
Boelalist ticket. The party candidate.
for city treasurer and city clerk lost
by only a few votes.
MINERS' STRIKE
Calgary. Alta., April 17 --While
striking miners havy, held severctl
meetings to discuss the question of
applying to the government for a
board to arhlrltrate the dlfferenc'·e
with the operators, nothing detinilt
has bee'n decided. The. operators hai\
refused steadily to take the Initliatl',.
claiming that the question of "olpc.
shop" alsolutely cannot le, the i|ubl.
Ject of arbitration. Meantime thi.
supply of fuel all over lnaste'rn Blritiih
Columbia and Alhertai Is reine'hingl
low ebb, even the railways hat\inc
trouble in securing It sueply. Th,
Great Northern Itenlw.Icy hlas dI.peni
ed upon coal from the Fe'rnie, . 1.1I
to operatet many mle.s of lilnes 1it
Montana.
VICTOR BERGER
IN WASHINGTON
Investigating Slums At National
Capitol, Disgraceful Dwellings
For The Poor, Work
In Congress.
(By National Socialist Press)
Washington. D. *. . April 19.--This
Is terrible. People do not live here
they just exist. If the people of the
nation understood that these c(.n.
ditlons prevail so close to the place.
where their laws are made they would
not tolerate it."
Berger Investigates
Thus spoke socialist Representative
Berger while standing on the doorstep
of one of Washington's notorious slum
hovels within the very shadow of the
capitol.
Berger and a number of progressive
newspaper men had spent an entire
afternoon on a tour of investigation
Into the district of the poor and the
wretched.
Declaring that living conditions in
the blind alleys of Washington are
worse than in any city he had ever
visited. Berger said he will do all in
his power as a member of the District
of Columbia committee t owipe' out
this stain on the nation.
Umnle lm to Blsme
The federal government is directly
responaible for the conditions existing
here. as Washington to governed by
the president and congress. To date
this form of government has resulted
in beautifying the avenues of the rich.
while streets of the poor have been
entirely neglected.
Berger found during his investiga
tion that the rents paid by the poor
for the most dilapidated structures
would bring the investors of capital in
model tenements a good income.
Ieath Rate I. Hllh
The poor of W'ashington live in
blind alleys. Disease and death are
ever present in their midst. The deathI
rate in these alleys are far worse than
that of slums in .New York or Chicago.
In one shack Berger was told that
three familes occupied one floor. Six
persons slept in one of those rooms.
(ongressman Herger. who has seen
slum life in many cities, declared that
he had never tHen so shocked by the,
sight of pove'rty and degradation as
he. was while visiting the alley hovels
of Washington's "other half."
Ikcrgper It Astonlsled
"lHonest peopl,." said Iterger. "arte
housed in Washington worse than
prostitute.. A girl reared in these sur
rounding. cannot help becoming im.
moral. Think of 'streets' of thena
tlonal capital canlled 'Nlgger Hookk
and "Louse Alley!'
"I shall demand that the.s,. alleys be
abllished. I hbelelve that the alleys
can le, converted into good. clean
streets. And the explense' of these im
provements. I believe. should be
charged to the unscrouplous owners
of the. surrounding property."
Washington. I). '. April 20.-That
the' delmocratic tparty ham sold ,ot tL,
the salme capitalist Interests which
'controlle.d t(he repubillltetnn co'engrteas.es
is e\videnced 1,b tihe' action of the
lHouse. in selec.tincg c'annnon' hench
mln as hlad of the important cnom
mittloe .
Itepresentati'e i.'ltgeralh, thle Tam
meanny ipolitic'in, wais mal'de chalirnlian
,of the ('onnittere on Alppurouprilhtloni.
'lThle Comnlnlit tee' oein Inte'rstate, t'nom
merc', ise heaned by the' ree 'tionatry
.\daln.n, of Ueorgila. Thet new chair
ti an of tit' Postoffice 'comntnl tee' Is
t, lpr, sentative. aM on, of T . lnn ,ss,,.
a o, at feavorite pee ot f "uncle' Joe
e ', n110 n.
T'wo more graduiiiates of theIl' nltlr
'ce 'ITammany school of political, eor.
,,iai li nc i e \ eIlliant tul acr, nel
S Illa itll If i tl' "a ani nl itt I e on' c11 l ll-t
tary Affairs. The ether is fI nrm
(,oldfogle, who is to head the - '-mniit
te.. on Elections.
The. democrats have\ alread.l sh\own
that the.y are not in a; hurry to nact
laws in behalf of the working class.
if thu' ever will pass any at all Their
lI.wislativ,. program for the extra ses
slon entirely ignores the' just demancl4
of labor.
It seems to be the' old. old stopr
again. When the' democrats we're is
the' minority they used to clenounce.
the republican party for "crucifying
labor" and 's'tabbing labor under the
fifth rib." etc.
With tears in their \,'.oice they des
cribed the' miseries of labor and in
bursts of oratory they sware, by all
the gods that ni ne of these conditions
would exist a single day if they shoull
coin,' into power.
And now ?
These democrats were eIlected by
the votes of labor. The A. F. of L.
spent thousands of dollars to help
them carry the country. Yet they
even forget to mention labor in their
program.
Would there be any question about
the enactment of remedial labor legis
lation If we had about thirty Berger
in Congress? Even "A. F. of L.
policy" politicians know the answer.
Labor is not the only victim of the
democratic party. The "dear common
people" have also been handed a gold
brick. It happened thus:
The democrats were about to carry
out a party pledge. And this pledge
was the enactment of a law which
would compel the publicity of cam
paign contributions. So Represent
ative' Rucker, of Missouri, reportd in
a bill which had been approved by
the' de'mocratic caucus.
Now this bill looked awfully radical.
That is as it looked. But the repub
ll'ans are now playing the minority
game. This means the republicans
are' to IN. even more radical than the
democrats.
R. the old C'annon crowd got on
the' floor and went the democrats one
better. They Introduced an amend
nment extending publicity of campaign
contributions to primary el.lctions.
And when the'y did this they rubbed
a sore. spot on the democratic donkey.
And the' old mule kicked.
You s'e.', down South, were Ik mo
ctacy with a capitol D come's from.
a fight for a t'ongressional seat is over
as seon as the returns from the' prim
aries are in. And the man with
money or backed by men with mony
generally wins in the primaries.
Needless to say the democratic lead
ers did not want the publicity law to
apply to, the primaries. And what
these emlnent gentlemen don', want
does not occur in Congress nowadays.
They orde'red the defeat of the amend
ment, and it was defeated.
Now the democrats may boast of
this publicity law at the' next cam
paign, but the thinking workingman
won't be' fooled. Especially if he
knows what is related above.
C(ongr.ssman Ilerger is spending
his first days in studying the' ropes.
He' is up against a gang of expenrl
eince,. parllamentarlana who hate
grown gray in the nsr\; ',a of the cap
italist class, iel wants to be prepare .i
Swhlen he. begins re al fighting. And
thosee who know iterger Iace' ino fear
eof the res'ult
'The Socialist CI'ongre .tuntl is ietieg'
eed dlly b)y hosts of r. Iprt. rs. Thi'
inl,\emlle'nt is now getting a lot of fre'.
ad\vertising Not it day patses but that
the' newspapers publish his oplintion
on the' Issues of the day.
In a special interview given to th'e
t('ontinued on Page 4.)