Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1886-09-09


in Helena during fair week, Col. W. F.
Sanders, one Of the old-time men Of
nerve and action, made the following
response to the toast, "Vigilantes Of
Montana" proposed by Gov. Hauser:
Why the people of Montana from time
immemOrial to this blessed hour have con-
stituted themselves one cont tinuOus vigilance
committee, that is what we have been con-
si,icring, and that is what we have been
talking about al! this evening, and am ~
little surprised that the Governor, for some
reason, seems to remain oblivious Of that
fact. / think "a committee should be APP
pointed to inquire why this is 81.
Now, nothing In more amusing to me than
to come across the excuses, and cxplana-
tiOns, and apologies and condemnatiOns
that are visited upon our Montana vigil
ance committee and in various countries
where they have existed, and where ] be-
lieve their influence has been benign. ! say
that upon well defined principles Of law
found in books and meeting the approval
oi jurists as well as of moralists, the actions
of our vigila nee committee, its creation, the
conduct Of it's affairs in Montana. can be
justified, and that there is nobody who
can stand and impugn it either as to its
legality or it's Justice.
IL was my fortune to occupy toward il u
peculiar relation. The men who composed
il wanted nothing Of courage, nothing Of
nerve, nothing of intelligence, nothing Of
strength. 1t had come to pass IN IA great
community that the industrious, the hon
est, the law-abiding, the men who believed
in Justice were assslileC for their lives and
their property and their homes, and il was
a question whether they should remain in
the country or leave it,-if leave il they
could. They resolved to stay. They sim
a hat
that could boil down into English speech
their convictions and their resolves. They
did not have, as the San Francisco vigil
ance committee did. an Evening Bulletin
to express their desires, and they had to
hunt around fora poor stammering lawyer,
and ! shall never forget the funny look as
they took a survey of me-there was not so
much Of me then as there il now-but they
looked at me lOngitudinally and every other
way, with great deal Of longing anxiety
and friendlincss. And when we confronted
those robbers and murderers, and locked
horns with them, nobody but coward
would run, and the coward was not found
in the country. (Cheers
The men who stood around me knew
what they each desired, but no man knew
I his ncighbOr. We were all strangers t.
each other, and whenever anybody could
get up and voice his convictions, ms my
friend Mr.. Bagg did, and as tried to do il
| my way, there WAS unanimity amongst
those men who said 1--WE will have ordel
out of this chaos we will have peace out o
this war; we will have quiet out OF thi
murder that is running riot here, or we vii
lay down our lives here and now" ] an
inclined to think they got it,
From Fremonts orchard below Denver
somewhere to tho remotest and almost inac
cessible canyons pf the CPur d Alene noun
tains all were resolved that theeartli should
not contain ca yern sO deep, a hiding plac
so remote. as that "a man should escap
from our Justice when We had once thoi
Oughly resolved hat he deserved to die. am
although it was aot pleasant, although tn
execution Of stern and unbending iustie
required couray and nerve aud steadines
and prudence, the people who had tina
committee and its duties in charge wer
adequate to the duties Of the hour.
| | think | never knew a set OF men VIII
walked into an enterprise of that kind wit
a greater sense Of what it involved, VIII
resolved that it should never overstep til
divine line Of justice, and who amid all III
excitements and prOvO,ations Of the hou
kept their heads upon their shoulders an
never were betrayed into doing II wrong.
l know there is little criticism here an
there of this that or the othertransactiol
but undertake to say that it is made i
individuals who do not understand all IL
circumstances that sursounaled us at tn;
time. But am not going tn give n histoi
Of that vigilance committee in this assel
!; bly,. | intend fully to write II out in detail
IL ] shall ever get time, and il would dcst re-
the sale Of my book il | should expose
here. (Laughter)
of the duties which devolve upon the foun'
ers of states. l do not wonder that mythd
ogy has given divine honOrs to Romull
f, and Rcmus-Sons of Mars-the early shac
builders Of Rome, for when our vigilan
committee and it's connection stepped
the front it was but II part and parcel oi
4 great drama that in this last quarter of
u century has been enacted upon this theat
as to which affirm that these people wi
stand here now to-day, and all the gener
tions that shall follow them in the proce
sion of the ages. have abundant reason
be proud. cloud applause.)
Every time leave this community whe
we are undertaking to make society, whe
we are undertaking to crystalize it, whe
we are trying to purify the influences tn
control il, and 60 back to the old, petriiie
chaotic community where | was born, til
the deacon there is IA man Of some com
guence, and so is the postmaster but ever
% thing was handed down tn them in ship
that they could not change il they wonl
and they would not ifthey could. lie lea
the dull round Of u narrow life.
N Each morning sees some task begun;
~ Each evening sees IL close.
n But when he comes to fold his arms, i
down his life, and we inquire what he h
done, he has simply lived aud been II t.
upon which institutions have acted, Is y
/. in the ground and is forgotten without I
! consciousness that he has left creation
- achievement that will perpetuatc his nan
or the name of his neighbors to succeed
generations, and return here to congra'
late myself and my neghbor- upon VIII
we have wrought, and content myself
reciting the words Of the poet:
One crowded hour of glorious life