1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Montana

MONTANA (see ). In 1920 Montana had a pop. of 548,889, an increase of 172,836 or 46% during the decade. The urban pop. was 172,011 or 31.3%, the rural 376,878 or 68.7%. In 1910 the ratio was 35.5% urban and 64.5% rural. The relative increase of rural pop. over urban was due largely to the immigration of an agricultural pop., particularly to the eastern part of the state. The total number of foreign-born whites in 1920 was 93,620. In 1920 there were 12 cities with a pop. of 5,000 or more, of which 6 had over 10,000. These 6, with their increase in the preceding decade, were as follows:&mdash;

In 1910 Montana had 28 counties, in 1920 54. In 1920 only 16 counties had cities of more than 2,500 population. Most of the new counties have been formed in the eastern part of the state by the division of the large counties of Teton, Chouteau, Valley, Dawson, Custer, and Rosebud.

History.—Montana entered upon the second decade of the 20th century under very prosperous conditions. A new railway had just been built across the state. Mines were operating successfully, and there was a growing demand for Montana lumber. Great irrigation projects were under way, and in many sections of the state dry-farming was proving a success. The World War stimulated the mining and lumber industries, but it put a stop to the great reclamation works. During the later years of the decade drought seriously hampered the dry-land farmers and there was a decline in farm production. In 1910 there was a strong opposition to the national policy of conservation. Many people believed that the prosperity of the state depended upon the rapid exploitation of the power sites, the forests and the mines. They urged also that these natural resources should belong to the state. On the other side the conservationists urged that if the Federal Government turned over the natural resources to the state they would soon pass into the hands of a small group of eastern capitalists. They believed also that Federal administration would more nearly assure all the people of a share in them. The larger business interests have in general opposed the Federal conservation policy, particularly as applied to power sites and mineral lands, and most of these have passed out of Federal control. The people, however, came to approve the policy of the national forest service. State politics have largely hinged upon matters of taxation, particularly the taxation of mines. The constitution provides that mines &ldquo;shall be taxed at the price paid the United States therefor,&rdquo; although the &ldquo;net proceeds. . . shall be taxed as provided by law.&rdquo; The mining interests maintain that, since mining is a speculative business and the mines are being gradually exhausted, the net proceeds should be taxed at no higher rate than real estate or personal property. Their opponents maintain that since practically no tax is imposed on mines as such, the tax on &ldquo;net proceeds&rdquo; should be much higher than the property tax. Farmers complain that when business is poor the mines escape taxation by curtailing production, while poor crops and bad markets in no wise relieve them of their tax burdens.

During the World War a new radical movement spread over the state under the name of the &ldquo;Non-Partisan League.&rdquo; It started first among the farmers but soon extended among the labour groups. In 1918 it elected a number of members of the state Legislature. In 1920 the farmers and labour men went into the Democratic primaries and nominated a former U.S. district attorney, Burton K. Wheeler, for governor. The Non-Partisan programme demanded for the labourer a more liberal workmen's compensation law and better sanitary conditions in lumber and construction camps. For the farmer it demanded exemption of farm improvements from taxation and a farm-bank system. The merchants and other business interests organized the Montana Development Association to oppose the Non-Partisan League. This organization supported Joseph M. Dixon, former senator and manager of Roosevelt's campaign in 1912, for governor on the Republican ticket. The Republican platform declared for a Conservative programme, and on this issue the entire Republican ticket was elected. In 1914 Jeanette Rankin was elected representative to Congress as a Republican, the first woman to be a member of that body.

For the World War Montana supplied in the neighbourhood of 40,000 soldiers, and subscribed in Liberty Bonds and Victory

Notes $87,406,650, as compared with an allotment of $56,165,450. The governors of Montana after 1910 were as follows: Edwin L. Norris (Dem.) 1900-13; Sam V. Stewart (Dem.) 1913-21; Joseph M. Dixon (Rep.) 1921-.

(P. C. P.)