The people's voice. [volume], July 06, 1962, Image 1

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

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
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EWIDE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
1958 Sidney Hillman Award Winner
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MONTANAS
Vol. XXIII—No. 31
HELENA, MONTANA, JULY 6, 1962
$3.00 Per Year
Tribal Council Leaders Challenged . .
/
Knowles Controversy Ope f Door a Bit
On Long-Smouldering Fh fiend Hassle
Whether Flathead Tribal Council Members Walter M aid and Walter Morigeau were
speaking for the tribe or as individual members in joining *itana Power Company in opposi
tion to the Knowles Dam proposal, has been sharply disputed by other prominent members of
the tribe.
This became apparent last Friday with the publicising of a telegram from Henry Lozeau,
chairman of the Flathead-Kootenai Organization, to the Montana Inter-Tribal Policy Board
in which Lozeau took strong excep-^
-
tion to the McDonald-Morigeau move
to place the intertribal group on rec
ord in opposition to the multi-purpose
development project.
Wired Lozeau:
"We wish to have it known by all
the tribes that Walter McDonald and
Walter Morigeau are speaking* for
themselves only, being uninstructed
as officers of the tribe. The legally
petitioned Flathead-Kootenai Organi
zation is comprised of over 60 per
cent of the enrolled Indians bn the
reservation. No assessment of opin
ion of tribal members has been taken
by the tribal officers prior to or in
preparation for this meeting. We wish
to repudiate any or all statements
directed by these persons to public
versus private power projects on Flat
head Tribal lands,
"Assessment of opinion of the
rank and file tribal members (by
F-KO) shows them to be over
whelmingly favorable toward a
large project for multiple purposes
which will fully utilize the natural
resources of the area, and will
bring cheaper power to the reser
vation and western Montana, and
consequent industry and employ
ment.
FEUD NOW IN OPEN
That an uprising of Flathead tribal
members against various action of the
tribal council was in the offing has
I *
Knowles Controversy . . .
HliPCo. Untrue Assertion About
Bison Range Exposed By Metcalf
Suitable replacement of Na
tional Bison Range land and
facilities that will be flooded
by Knowles Dam is considered
feasible by the Fish and Wild
life Service, Senator Lee Met
calf said Monday.
Loss of land due to inundation
would amount to 10.89 per cent of
the total area in the range.
In response to a request for in
formation from D. Roscoe Nickerson,
Butte, secretary of the United Sports
State Man Heads FU
Peace Corps Project
Ralph Clark, president of the Cas
cade County Farmers Union in Mon
tana, has been appointed to serve as
the Peace Corps representative in
the Farmers Union Peace Corps proj
ect in Bolivia.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Clark have long
been active in Farmers Union, co
operative and regional REA activi
ties.
The Clarks will join other Farmers
Union Peace Corps volunteers for in
tensive training at Arizona State
University on July 1, and will leave
for Bolivia on completion of train
ing in early September.
Project headquarters will be at
Santa Cruz, center of a rapidly ex
panding agricultural area. Farmers
Union Peace Corps volunteers will
aid natives in the development of this
area.—NATIONAL UNION FARM
ER.
been in the winds in Western Mon
tana for a considerable length of
time. Lozeau's telegram however, is
the first public indication of how
aroused a considerable percentage of
the tribe is against the long-en
trenched t r ibal council.
Information is available that some
time back the Flathead-Kootenai Or
ganization, through Lozeau, and its
secretary, Marlene Waylett, appealed
to U. S. Attorney General Robert
Kennedy for an immediate and thor
ough investigation "by the Depart
ment of Justice and the Congress of
the United States of each and every
department of the administration of
the Flathead-Kootenai reservation, in
clusive of the actions of the super
intendent and of each and every mem
ber of the tribal council,
"Such investigation," the FKO let
ter to Kennedy continues, "should
be inclusive of all matters that have
come before the administrative agen
cies of the reservation pertaining to
financial affairs and other things
. . ." relating to tribal business and
the tribal council.
In so doing, Lozeau and Mrs.
Waylett point out that "this re
quest is being made by the author
ity vested in the Flathead-Kootenai
Organization by in excess of 60
per cent of the eligible voters of
the tribe residing on the Flathead
men's Association of Montana, Met
calf said;
"I can understand your concern
over the incorrect statement in the
b r ochure widely distributed by the
Montana Power Company, that the
Knowles Project 'would destroy the
National Bison Range at Moiese'."
(For more facts on this, see page
2.—PV EDITOR.)
"The overall superiority of the
Knowles Project from the sportsmen's
viewpoint," said Metcalf, "is indi
cated by the following comment by
the U. S. Army Engineers in their
1958 report on 'Water Resource De
velopment, Columbia River Basin'.
FULL POOL DURING
VACATION SEASON
" 'The reservoir which would be
created by the Knowles proposal
would have a full pool during summer
recreation seasons and would provide
excellent opportunities for boating,
water skiing, swimming and other
recreation activities. The Knowles
proposal would not be as attractive
from a recreation standpoint as the
proposed Paradise reservoir, but it
would be much more so than the
Buffalo Rapids No, 4 proposal. The
(Knowles) proposal would have no
direct impact on any areas adminis
tered by the National Park Service,
wilderness areas, state parks, or other
designated areas of high scenic, geo
logic or historic value',"
(The Buffalo Rapids No. 4 pro
posal here discussed was a storage
project, as contrasted with the pres
ent run-of-the-river proposal for Buf
falo Rapids No. 4.)
-see page 8
reservation as signified by their
signatures appearing on a petition
circulated voluntarily among the
Indians for such purpose.
CHARGE INCOMPETENCE
The letter to Kennedy charges
"incompe
tence" in "the handling of the tribal
funds" in connection with the opera
tion of the tribal-owned Hot Springs
(bathhouse) Enterprise. This $500,
000 investment, due to "being oper
ated in" an allegedly "negligent man-I
the tribal council with
ner" has "over the past 14 years
shown a net profit of "around $1,500 I
a year, excluding upkeep and ot)ier
miscellaneous expenses pertaining to
this enterprise . . . Unauthorized
and unbonded personnel are handling
the monies from the bathhouse re
ceipts ... We find further that un
authorized payments are being made 1
from the cash register for personal |
expenditures ...
The letter also asks the Attorney 1
General to probe other tribal busi-|
ness enterprises including:
• The "ill-advised and ill-starred
>>
investment of $35,000 of tribal
funds" in the now insolvent Big Bear I
Charcoal Briquettes Plant "without
proper investigation and without con
sultation and approval of the ma
head Lake: "We have a total ex- I
penditure of approximately $250,000
(in Blue Bay) over a period of 10
years which shows no returns what
soever in profit to the tribe as yet.
This is merely evidence of the im
mature thinking and the utter dis
regard in the handling of tribal funds
by the tribal council . . .
• Tribal Timber; The FKO letter
also charges irregularities in the bid
ding and sale procedure for tribal
timber which allegedly gives "two
yy
■see page 5
Treasure State
Ranks Last In
Income Growth
Last week a top official of
the Peace Corps said Montana's
Governor Babcock was "poorly
informed" in his opposition to
this international program
which has received overwhelm
ing approval of leaders of both
parties, within and without the
halls of Congress.
This week it is suggested by
State Demo Chairman John Mac
Donald that the Governor's being
"poorly informed" is not confined
to international affairs . . . that
he is also badly in need of some
"boning up" on economic matters
as pertains to Montana.
Two weeks ago the Governor rated
front page billing of at least a part
of the daily press when he advised
the faithful at the Republican state
convention that Montana, because of
the business climate created by the
Nutter-Babcock team, is on the gal
lop economically, that happy days
are soon to be with us again; that
—see page 8 |
c-owo*** ' soC ? ET *
" f/lQNfANA
IBEW Spokesman Contends . . . HELfcN*
Of
Montana Power's Offer
Is Actually a Wage Cut
. »
The public is being misinformed," George Goeckel, busi
ness manager of Local 44, International Brotherhood of Elec
trical Workers, said Wednesday. "We do not have any high
paid press agents, but we would like the public to get the true
and accurate facts concerning our dispute with the Montana
Power Company".
(See Editorial Page)
"There is far more standing be
tween the Power Company apd the
union than the difference between
15 and 16 cents per hour," Goeckel
said.
"In the first place the power
company has never offered more
than a 3.3% wage increase. The
15-cent figure is a phony devised
to confuse the issues."
"The so-called final 'package' deal
consisted of the same old 3.3% wage
increase. Then a 3-cent figure was
offered, not as a wage increase, but
to buy a July 30th contract renewal
date. This would mean the contract
would end June 30th, and the 30-day
waiting period would bring US to a
July 30th date every reopener.
AN 84-CENTS PER DAY
WAGE CUT
"An additional 2 cents was offered
in exchange for the $1.00 per day
I un ch allowance. Thüs the company
sought to eliminate the $1.00 per
day they are presently obligated to
P a V linemen. Instead of a 2-cent per
hour offer, this is in effect an offer
to cut 84c per day, or over 10 cents
an hour from present earnings of
linemen.
the total 'package' offered was not
15 cents per hour, but was in fact
almost 1 cent an hour loss to the
union's members, with 3 cents of
fered to purchase
newal date.
"The union made a last ditch offer
to settle for 16 cents an hour wage
strike, and was ignored by the power j
company. '
"When the facts are examined
July 30th re
increase. This was only to avoid a
State Equalization At All-Time Low . . .
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Million Bv 196Ï Lealslature
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HELENA
Superintendent
j q-j? Public Instruction Harriet
Miller has notified county su
perintendents of schools that
all three sources of state school
support for 1962-63 are ex
pected to fall below the 1961
62 levels.
Miss Miller said that the state
equalization level for the Foundation
Program will drop to an all-time low
of 84% compared with 89% in 1961
62, the state Interest and Income
payment per census child is expected
to drop to $18.00 compared with
$20.63 in '61-62, and the state Class
room Unit Assistance payment is
estimated at $122.00 per. unit, down
from $127.64 this past year.
The State Superintendent re
ported that the 84% Foundation
Program level for '62-63 is an all
time low, requiring a record 16%
state deficiency levy on local prop
erty to make up the remaining cost
of the Foundation Program.
nearly two and one-half million
"We regret that the school finan
cing prospect is so bleak, but these
estimates are based on the best offi
cial information available at this
time, and these are the figures which
county superintendents must use in
preparing this year's school budgets,
Miss Miller said.
The State Superintendent said that
more pupils, continuing inflation and
Montana's economic difficulties con
tribute to the problem.
With the statewide taxàble valua
* .
tion of property failing to show any
growth, with no more revenue pre
dicted from corporation license taxes
and only a very small increase ex
pected from the individual income
tax, state funds for schools are not
adequate to maintain the support
level of recent years,
said.
99
Miss Miller
She said that the legislative ap
propriation of state funds for the
1962-63 Foundation Program is
"The Union has demanded 25 cents
per hour to bring this Montana Power
wage rate into line with other settle
ments in this area, such as: Pacific
Power and Light who have offered
25 cents an hour on a wage rate
already higher than ours,
"Pacific Power, who operates in
northwest Montana and also in Wyo
ming, offered 25 cents per hour to
the Flathead area linemen. This offer
is on a present base of 3.06 compared
to Montana Power's $3.02. In Wyo
ming PP&L pays linemen $3.34 with
the 10c increase made this year.
"The Bureau of Reclamation bas
ing wages on a three-company aver
age (one of them being Montana
14c this with
spring
another boost of approximately 24c
due in October.
Montana Power Co.," which is
the most prosperous utility in the
nation, "has the highest revenue per
man hour of any utility in the na
tion, almost 21 dollars per hour
compared with less than 15 dollars
per hour as the national average,
Goeckel said.
"The difference between Montana
Power management and Local 44 is
the'difference between 3,3% and 25
cents per hour,"
opportunities for young people in
New York's crowded lower East Side,
Program Aimed At
Juvenile Delinquency
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Federal»
city and private funds will be used
to launch an experimental three-year
program aimed at stamping out juve
nile delinquency and opening new
dollars short of the amount re
q u > ret * f° r 100 % equalization,
Under these circumstances, local
taxpayers are obligated to contribute
a greater share of total school costs
through increased mill levies," she
concluded.
* .
Gov. Rice Comments
On School Support
Drop Below 1961
A major reason why state support
for the public schools in 1962-63 will
fall below the previous year, is the
serious drop in farm income, said
Acting Gov. Paul Rice, Monday.
Although the short crop of 1961
seriously cut into the farmers' ability
to pay state income taxes, Rice said
that the continuing lack of parity
prices for farm products has had an
even greater long-term effect on the
Montana economy. Montana grain
farmers, he said, "have had from
fifty to sixty cents per bushel less
with which to buy the things they
need, including replacement of farm
equipment. In the overall, this
amounts to $40 to $60 million not
going through Montana trade chan
nels.
This lack of purchasing power, he
continued, has resulted "in vacant
buildings on main street" which "have
appeared in most farming communi
ties".
If farmers could have had parity
prices in recent years, he said, not
only would main street be prosper
ous but "our state debt woudd have
been wiped out".
Pointing out how important farm
income is to Montana, Gov. Rice
urged: "let's all get behind our agri
cultural people and work to help the
farmer. The farmers and stockmen
produce the millions of new wealth
which are so vital to our economy.