MONTANA 



3908 



MONTANA 



try is developing rapidly, and a large sugar 

 factory is established at Billings. 



Transportation. Three great trunk lines cross 

 Montana from east to west; these are the 

 Great Northern in the north, the Chicago, Mil- 

 waukee & Puget Sound in the center, and the 

 Northern Pacific in the center and south. The 

 Oregon Short Line enters from Idaho and ex- 

 tends to Butte; the Chicago, Burlington & 



Quincy enters from Wyoming and runs to Bill- 

 ings and Great Falls. Each of these lines has 

 a number of branch lines, or feeders. At the 

 end of 1914 the state had 4,846 miles of rail- 

 road. Although the railway mileage is increas- 

 ing each year, there are still large areas where 

 stages are the only means of conveyance. In 

 the mountain regions saddle horses and pack 

 mules are largely used. 



Government and History 



State Constitution. Montana is governed 

 under the constitution adopted in 1889, the 

 year the state was admitted to the Union. In 

 1906 an amendment was adopted which pro- 

 vided for the initiative and referendum. In 

 1914 another amendment granted the franchise 

 to women on the same terms as to men. This 

 victory for women was due in large measure to 

 the untiring efforts of Miss Jeannette Rankin. 

 The people of the state rewarded her with elec- 

 tion, in November, 1916, to the national House 

 of Representatives the first woman who was 

 ever accorded that honor. She took her seat at 

 the special war session of Congress, in April, 

 1917 (see RANKIN, JEANNETTE). 



Other Constitutional Provisions. A period 

 of eight hours constitutes a legal day's work 

 in all undertakings carried on by the state, 

 counties or towns, and on all contracts given 

 out by them, as well as in mines, mills and 

 smelters for the treatment of ores. It is not 

 legal to employ children under sixteen years of 

 age in underground mines. The granting of in- 

 junctions in suits arising from labor disputes is 

 prohibited. 



The executive officers governor, lieutenant- 

 governor, secretary of state, attorney-general, 

 treasurer, auditor and superintendent of public 

 instruction are elected for four years. All of 

 them are eligible to reelection except the treas- 

 urer. The governor, lieutenant-governor and 

 superintendent of public instruction must be at 

 least thirty years of age at the time of their 

 election. The governor cannot veto any meas- 

 ure referred to the people by the legislative 

 assembly or by initiative and referendum peti- 

 tions. The governor's veto of any bill can be 

 overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses 

 of the legislature. Among the special offices 

 created recently are that of state fire marshal 

 and state sealer of weights and measures. 



The legislative authority consists of a senate 

 and a house of representatives. Representa- 

 tives are elected for two years; senators, one 



from each county, for four years, but half of 

 the senate is renewed every two years. In 

 1915 the house of representatives consisted of 

 ninety-three members, and the senate of thirty- 

 nine members. The sessions of the legislature 

 are held- every two years, beginning on the first 

 Monday in January in odd numbered years, 

 and are limited to sixty days. Montana sends 

 two members to the United States House of 

 Representatives. 



At the head of the judicial department is the 

 supreme court, composed of three judges, each 

 elected for six years. Below this are the dis- 

 trict courts, each having one or two judges 

 elected for four years. Justices of the peace 

 are elected for two years. 



For purposes of local government the state 

 is divided into counties, but the most impor- 

 tant government units are the cities and towns. 

 A charter of incorporation may be granted to 

 any town having 2,000 'inhabitants, and such 

 towns are given the right to adopt the com- 

 mission form of government. A primary law 

 provides for party nominations by direct vote 

 for all national, state, county and municipal 

 offices. 



Charitable and Penal Institutions. The state 

 maintains a soldiers' home at Columbia Falls; 

 a home for orphans, foundlings and destitute 

 children at Twin Bridges, and a school for deaf, 

 blind and feeble-minded at Boulder. The in- 

 sane asylum is at Warm Springs, and the state 

 also maintains a sanitarium for persons suffer- 

 ing from tuberculosis. The state prison is at 

 Deer Lodge, and at Miles City there is a re- 

 formatory school which provides manual and 

 industrial training for young offenders between 

 the ages of eight and eighteen years. The 

 penal and charitable institutions are under the 

 supervision of a state board of charities and 

 reform, which consists of three members ap- 

 pointed for six years. 



History. The present state of Montana was 

 part of the territory that the United States 



