Western Socialism had its own history and culture, a curious mix of free-thinking farmers and militant miners. Here is a look at a week of work by the Socialist Party in the vast state of Montana from the summer of 1906. Alongside short local reports, the accounts of organizers, such as Ida Crouch Hazlett, as they go from town to town and camp to camp spreading the Good News are given. Great stuff.

‘Socialism Around the State’ from the Montana News (Helena). Vol. 4 No. 41. July 6, 1906.

Comrade John Hudson writes from Dean offering to take Ben Wilson for seven dates in his vicinity. He is arranging for Wilson at Columbus, McBride, Absarokee, Rosco, and Dean, and promises to deliver him at Red Lodge. He says, regarding Collins’ meetings in Billings: “I saw Fred Warner from Billings, and he informed me that three of the carpenters who worked with him, after hearing Collins’ lecture, said they would vote the socialist ticket.”

Comrade Fred R. Southworth writes from Nye, that harvest work will prevent their scattered community from hearing Wilson at that place. He thinks Columbus ripe for organization, as the quarrymen are socialistically inclined and Columbus has at least one avowed Socialist influential in the community. Comrade Southworth says: “In the next month’s report, I hope to be able to report four or five new members for Local Nye.”

A large amount of job work has been received during the past week, comrades, throughout the state. Keep up the gait, comrades, and fire all the printing your unions want done to the “News.” All profits made in the job department of the “News” goes to help carry on the socialist propaganda.

Fergus county is being thoroughly organized and prepared for a vigorous campaign.

Watch Fergus and Carbon; something is going to drop at the next election. Our circulation is being rapidly built up and an effort is being made to put the “News” into every post office in those two counties.

Here the question arises: Where is Cascade, Jefferson, Park and Ravalli?

Cascade county is waiting for John Collins to open the campaign. Great Falls is not carrying on as active a propaganda as is necessary to the second city in the state.

Jefferson county comrades are not awake to the opportunities that present themselves, although Local Clancy is forging to the front again.

Park county, outside of Livingston, seems to be dead at present. Local Livingston should see to it that more active work is done throughout the county.

Aldridge socialists are not as active as they used to be.

Cameron, Cameron, Where art thou!

Comrade Hazlett is at the bat in Ravalli county, where she is assisting Lake Como local to line up the socialists throughout the county, to make a test in the workings of the new primary law. Locals Hamilton, Stevensville and Vietor should endeavor to strengthen their local organization. Ravalli used to be the banner county and there is no reason why it should be so far in the rear. It is safe to say that there is more socialist sentiment in Ravalli than in any other county in the state, but it must be crystalized into organization before results can be obtained. Wake up Ravalli county, wake up!

P.B. Ryan of Havre sends in two subs.

Six subscriptions from Ranche this week.

Plans are under way to put an organizer to work in eastern Carbon county.

Comrade James Brown is advertising the meeting for Mrs. Hazlett at Florence.

Comrade Mansberger, of Red Lodge, renews his subscription and informs us that the “News” is the most welcome paper he receives.

Comrade W.B. Stewart of Woodworth has turned the light of truth upon benighted Helmville. He orders the News for a year for a resident of that place.

Comrade Palsgrove sends $6 from Great Falls for subs, salary fund and job work and advises us to send a speaker when convenient into Chouteau, which is moving now to organize.

Comrade Wofford, secretary of Victor local writes that they have 13 members and meet every Saturday evening. He says they have arranged a meeting for Comrade Hazlett on her return from Lake Como.

Comrade Comerford of Norris made the News office a visit of several days last week while he was in with a car load of ore for the East Helena smelter. He is planning for a greater Montana News.

Comrade Paul Castle came in to meet the Socialists that gather at the News office last week. He would still like to have help to enable him to establish a socialist column in the Whitehall paper.

Billings is the loser and Butte the gainer in Comrade Thomas Burns’ latest move. We are in receipt of a note and $7 for subs and literature from our busy comrade now in Butte. Butte socialists are to be congratulated upon this accession of this new wide- awake member to their ranks.

Local Livingston bought one hundred due stamps in June.

Comrade Rooney of Livingston orders ten subscription cards. Livingston is second in circulation of the “News” and seems to be giving Helena a race for first place.

Organizer R.A.C. Stone reports that Local Garnet met June 24 and agreed upon an assessment of $1 per member, payable July 8; also to pay one day’s wages to local state and national fund, payable July 8; to contribute individually to the “Greater Montana News Fund upon arrival of Dr. Willett and to take Father McGrady for one date. Peter S. McDermott was elected to the state committee. The membership is eight.

MRS. HAZLETT’S REPORT.

June 28, 1906. The wet weather in Montana is playing havoc with the socialist propaganda work. It rained continually during the days assigned to the Bonner meetings and then Bonner has certain difficulties of its own. The whole town is the private estate of the Amalgamated company. The lumber industry is carried on here on a large scale on a scale that only the combined, the cooperative industry–the trust today, the co-operative commonwealth tomorrow can handle.

The Amalgamated owns everything, streets, houses, post office, hotel, all. As a result the flunkeyism, so characteristic of English subservience, is rampant. Those that serve the company in a capacity where they can wear clean clothes and white shirts board at the hotel and assume that they are higher socially. Their work is of no benefit to humanity or society. It is simply a part of the machinery by which the capitalist class exacts its profits from society. The real workers, the producers of the material things that society and human life has need of, live in the shacks, and the sheds, the bunks and the huts. They get $2.30 a day. They pay the company $10 a month rent out of that. They pay back most of the rest of it to the company at the company store. They can’t save for there is nothing to save. They have none of the comforts, conveniences or decencies of civilization. The flunkeys and satellites look upon them with contempt. It does not occur to them to condemn the conditions that make their brothers what they are. To do that they would have to think. But they never think. If they did they would despise to give their consent to a system that makes horses of their brothers and asses of themselves. They prefer to take the system as God Rockefeller hands it down to them, and when they lose their grip and drop into the pit consider that they are only “one more unfortunate.”

The company itself is no worse than other companies–in fact, a little better, if anything. They are running the business for profit, and they do whatever must be done to make profit. As long as the workers consent to let these people do their business for them they must accept the consequences of the capitalist control of society. Those in charge showed no special prejudice against the Socialists. They look upon them as a mild and harmless type of imbecile. I was cheerfully granted permission to hold meetings in front of the store. It rained both nights, but some information was acquired that will assist us in the future in reaching the “lumber jack slaves.” There are two parts to Bonner. Bonner proper, where the post office is, and where the great mill plant, the offices, and the exquisite little hotel are, is the “respectable” part of the settlement. A mile and a half away there is a little village called Riverside. The saloons are here. It is where the proletarians take such pleasures as their meager salaries afford. Here they have a little freedom and relaxation, and here is the place to hold the socialist meetings. The “tonight” bills that were distributed in the first part of the day led to a confusion as to whether the meetings were to be held at Bonner or Riverside, and we had no meeting. I spent most of the next day working up a meeting personally. It was raining at night, but about twenty gathered under the porch of the store. I found several men taking the Appeal, and one who was taking the News. Sold one sub, several books, and the men contributed a good collection for the crowd. On the return trip hope to hold two meetings at Riverside. Half, a dozen men gave me their names, and said they would advertise the meetings for us. Bonner can be organized. As a commentary on the fling of our opponents that “socialism will break up the home”, in the course of my short talk I referred to modern industrial conditions where the laboring man is not secure enough of his job to assume the responsibilities of a home. After the talk one man told me that there was only one married man in the crowd. Oh, yes, socialism will break up the home, when capitalism is liable not to have us any homes to break up.

The train to Missoula was five hours late on Thursday, and in order to get the Hamilton train at five, I took the Blackfoot stage in the afternoon, but we failed to catch the Hamilton train. The result was that the Hamilton meeting was missed, but we held one on the street at Missoula; took up a collection and sold some subs, so the evening was not entirely lost. Friday morning started up to Hamilton on the freight. Dr. Willett and wife got on at Victor. At Hamilton we found the comrades much disappointed over the failure of the meeting the preceding evening. It seems this has happened some half dozen times. Hereafter no calculations must be made on the train connections.

Comrade Platt met us at the depot and brought us out to his hospitable home for a picnic at Lake Como on the 30th.

COLLIN’S MEETING.

The five nights from Friday to Tuesday were all put in by Comrade Collins in strenuous work. The indoor meeting at Basin was moderately attended, but evoked great interest. At Clancy an open air meeting was held. A large crowd was present and the meeting was in every way a success.

Be it said to the utter condemnation of the majority of Local Helena, which boasts of a membership of fifty, that only a small crowd appeared at the Workers’ club to hear Comrade Collins’ instructive speech along the lines. of the class struggle. The open air meeting of Monday evening at East Helena and Tuesday evening at Helena, drew large crowds of interested listeners who hung on the arguments of the speaker and displayed great interest, remaining to the last. Literature sales and collections were good. The Helena meeting was a great success considering the unusual difficulties. By the time Comrade King had finished the introductory speech a good crowd was presence but the meeting had to be conducted in a perfect storm of fireworks. The persistence of the crowd to remain under such difficulties and their respectful attention and interest was very encouraging. An officer of the law took charge, of a drunken man and marched him away in spite of his protests to “arrest the other fellow”. Literature was disposed of to the amount of $1.40. True to their habits, the members of Local Helena were conspicuous for their absence, none appearing to assist at the beginning of the meeting when their services were so much needed. It would be interesting to know just what is taking place in the heads of the majority of those fifty members of Local Helena.

KING’S REPORT.

The farmer’s of Powell county are still deep in the bogs of capitalism, so that the meetings at Helmsville and Ovando were rather disappointing. Only a small audience appeared at Helmsville. No Socialist speaker had ever visited the place before so that a great amount of apparently fruitless work will have to be done before we will succeed in getting a hearing. About twenty appeared at Ovando and gave close attention, several remaining after the meeting to discuss the subject. Collections were $3.80. The crowd did not gather until after ten, so that it was after midnight before the audience dispersed. Local Ovando is made up of energetic workers, who have labored hard to spread Socialist ideas and literature. Their work is having its effect, but the difficulties they are meeting with are very great.

At Garnet an interested crowd of sixty were out, many being women. Garnet, from all appearances, is a splendid field for propaganda, and this little mining camp can be captured shortly with the proper amount of work. Collections were $8.

The Montana News first published in Lewistown, Montana, began as the Judith Basin News published by J. H. Walsh in 1904 as the paper of the Socialist Party of Montana. The Montana News moved from Lewistown to Helena, and from 1905 was edited by Ida Crouch-Hazlett. Splits within the State Party led to a number of conflicts over the paper, which ran as a weekly until 1912.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/montana-news/060705-montananews-v04n41.pdf