The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1880-12-17

"Artful Dodger," and then says "the man
who cries loudest stop thief is the first one
TO be searched" In this instance 1t Is true.
The Miner " lodged" It's party, "dodged'
out Fusion dodgers which carried lie on
their face !" lodged" out tickets headed
I" Democratic and Republican which II
knew TO be spurious, thereby deceiving the
unsuspecting; "dodged" the candidates OF
Its party IL had asked Democrats TO vote for;
lodged " into the ranks Of the renegades,
and Is now trying to dodge" because we
have held Its nose In 1t until every intelli-
gent man in the Territory mentions the
Butte Fusion treachery as q dishonorable
political trick. That opinion 1t cannot dodge,
and the stigma of Its course will hang over
the Miner for many year. This was the
crime we denounced II for; this the betrayal
we promised to expose, and 1t has been done.
IL was an organized, concerted act Of betray-
al, accomplished with bogus tickets and
lying posters stuck up in the night preceding
election, and deliberate cutting Of throats
Of party nominees to accomplish selfish
purpose. It. was indeed an artful dodge"
No wonder 1t Is 80 extremely anxious to
change the subject and discuss the object the
Fusionists had in view.
In reyertipg to that point IL assumes that
the NEW NORTHWEST is opposed to division
and intimates this paper Is influenced thereto
In its desire to retain the county printing.
Now we charge that the Miner is not only
Influenced by the consideration Of county
printing, but that In the town Of Helena In
July, 1870, one of the proprietors OF the
Miner threatened prominent Democrat that
If the contract for the Deer Lodge county
public printing was not awarded to the Miner
IL would be turned into Republican paper.
How we'll 1t has kept Its promise, despite fly
Ing It's sign as Democratic paper-just as 1t
printed i" Democratic Ticket on tickets con-
tanning the names of Republican candidates
for the Legislature-we leave those who have
noticed It's course during the recent campaign
TO determine. There was not day during
the campaign, from the day 1t started Its fight
on Maginnis, that Republicans did not wish
the editor of the Miner might have strength,
zeal, and pencils enough to keep upthe good
work for our cause. And to crown it all it
went into the nocturnal fusion business.
The acknowledgement Of the Miner that 1t
Is wrong Is in the conclusion of its article
citing the alleged votes received here by
Butte and Deer Lodge men respectively in
the campaign Of 1878, when there was no Re
publican Delegate ticket In the field, and it
innocently quotes MFR. Witter as a Republi-
can candidate for Sheriff, when he had abso-
lutely refused to accept nomination on the
Republican ticket. We have not compared
the figures to see If they are correct. Proba-
bly, they are not. But they have no bearing
on the case, unless the Miner proposes to es-
tablish despotism and compel every man to
vote as 1t dictates. The voters of Deer Lodge
are freemen they 60 to the polls and vote
for whom they please; they have personal
friendships and preferences and are intelli-
gent enough to make up their tickets to suit
themselves. But they were never known to
+" chuck a Legislative ticket, to form con-
spiracy Of detection, or to use bogus tickets
and fraudulent posters.
All that the Butte Fusionists have accom-
plished by dishonorable trickery and more
might have been done fairly ana squarely If
the voters of Butte were in favor Of divis-
ion of this county. The issue should have
been made before the nominating conven-
tions, but 1t was not. Men were selected for
their, political. affiliations and qualifications
and the issue Of division being mentioned in
In the Democratic convention 1t
was disavowed and scoffed at by member
speaking for Butte. II was preferred by the
Fusionists to sacrifice party men at the last
hour by stealth and treachery to making an
open fight from the first as some preferred to
do. That their scheme miscarried and they
deceived themselves while seeking to deceive
others, shows that Time, In this case, brings
Ito revenges early. 1'' '"S ".. as@
1t has been asked of the people Of Butte to
say II they desire division, what line they
proposes The Miner, like baby crying for
the moon, takes upon itself to answer and
blubbers, 4" We want division" It might
have added "and public printing" Right
here we will say that 30 far az the editor Of
this paper Is personally concerned, all things
considered, Butte Is welcome TO organize a
county II she desires and the Miner to the
printing 5"a .A. '2" 7s&'15#4 '4@A~aa as@ T.
But there are others than newspaper men,
and Others than residents of Butte and Deer
Lodge, who have something ut stake and
something TO say about this question. 'n We
have offered only our own conclusions. Con-
sidered rs an abstract question we regard 1t
as unwise to divide Deer Lodge county now.
Instead of making more counties 1t were bet
ter to consolidate, diminish the expenses and
let up on the heavy taxation that is oppres-
sing the people. There are not more than
enough people in the entire Territory Of Mon
tana to form the population Of one good
county, or In the present county Of Deer
Lodge for more than q fair ward or town
ship. It viii cost Butte s75, 900 to 500, 900
the first year the new county is organized,
with consequent debt and taxation, and we
do not see who, except the lawyers and the
Miner, VIII be proportionately benefited.
Court term makes something Of showing In
q village; but very little In .. town like
Butte. The forty miles distance from the
county seat causes neither great expense nor
Inconvenience and probably In an other year
viii be spanned by railway. Division win
break the power Of the strongest county and
make both second-class. II looks to us that
the people Of Butte have not given this quss-
ton look on the reverse side, and that, II
fayoring division, they are doing in haste 70
..a,,a,,, - ta,srr~E CT t3ak II s3fAa 2t3 sHs
q On the other hand the organization Of new
counties Is contemplated by our laws and the
win OF the people u supreme. The action Of
the Butte Fusionists has created q distrnst,
POLITICALLY, that viii be an element Of evil In
any future conventions and campaigns in'this
county rs ut present bounded. IL The with
drawal OF Butte, while, largely diminishing
our assessment roll win also largely diminish
our expenses. The expenses Of Butte to the
county have Been dispropotionately larger
than the revenues derived from IL. Out Of