The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-10-01
Why Montana Did Not Get That
$1,000 That Was Duo
Her.
A Legal Quibble the Only Reason
Yet Given at Washing
ton.
Every Man Seems to Have Done His Duty
Except Our Representative in
Congress.

GERS OF the Montana constitutional Couven-
tion had forwarded list of expenses over
and above the amount appropriated, it
might have gone through with the other
states which were reimbursed in the gen.
eral deficiency bill just passed ~ congress.
It-was not stated, though it might have
been added, that Representative Carter, of
Montana, may possibly shed some light on
the subject when he comes home to fix up
his fences. The history of the matter is
thus:
When the four territories of Montana,
North Dakota, South Dakota and Washing
ton held their constitutional conventions
last year, prior to their admission to state
hood, the general government allowed each
Of them $4,000 for expenses. All Of them
exceeded e1 eeS that m oa sum, "A Montana by between
yention prepared q memorial to congress,
setting forth the insuficiency of the appro-
priation. This. with statement of the
account and the amount of excess, was
presented to congress-. So the officers of
the constitutional convention did their
Carter was too busy looking after the land
offices to attend to the states bill for s., 600.
he may be able to convince the people that
| the patriotic duty of filling government po-
| sitions was of more importance than a
| mere matter of dollars and cents. That he
was kept fully posted on the matter and not
allowed to forget it, is apparent from the
correspondents which follows.
On February ~ last the following letter
was sent from the governors office in Hele-
ma to Representative Carter in Washington:
Dear Sir-Governor Toole wishes me to write
passed by the const .utionAl convention, praying
| that an appropriately be riade to cover def
cheney Of something IKE 5000 incurred neces-
regularly passed and the governor Is not certain
| that it ever reached you. II it has reached you
a 70
| best endeavor to have the amount included in
! the general deficiency bill 1t seems 10 have been
yentions have exceeded the original appropria-
tion, for congress, when memoria ICED as in this
case to make good such deficiency, and hence
would ensure this result. Thanking you in ad-
vance for your efforts in this matter, ;! am, re-
speotfuiiy' LE9S p,!a.1a a. IA se,sa,s., scRoss,
In reply to this the following letter was
received from Representative Carter under
date of Washington, March II, and ad-
dressed to Governor Toole:
Sir--Referring to your esteemed favor of the
27th, have the honor to inform you that the
representatives and referred to the CON mittee on
anaIy int hs matter
appropriation to defray the expenses of
the constitutional convention, has elected corre
sPonhdence h!e from the treasury department copies
Comptroller Matthews you will observe that all
bills OF the constitutional convention have been
of the $4,000 appropriation amounting to
1926. 20 You will also observe that the bills for
printing were not included in the bills presented
geSt the prOpri0ty of sending on DrOpor bills for
the additional expenditure of money for which
the appropriation is required to the end that the
treasury department may furnish the appropria
exact amount of the de Il .iency. It will be i'm
Sa . 9
heretofore made has not been fully expended,
and that no demands have been presented which
action in furnishing the data referred to viii
readily present itself to you. Very respectfully
yours. T. H. CARTER.
The $296.2O left over did not indicate
that the constitutional convention had got
ten through inside the $4,000 appropria-
ton. The money was left over because the
secretary Of the territory. l.. A. Walker.
disputed the printing bill, and as the
amount was not sufficient to pay any of the
other bills it was turned into the United
States treasury. Alderman G. p. Connolly
who had q big claim for stenographic work
done for the convention, interested himself
to hunt up the various items of excess, and
to explain away the balance TUNED into
the treasury. The first was easier than the
last. as ex Secretary Walker for a long time
declined to make afiidavits to the facts con-
nected with the balance. Finally he did SO,
and this, with the other afidavits and
vouchers we're sent to Representative Carter
by Mr.. Connolly on June last together
with letter of explanation. With these
data and papers before him, the fact that
Representative carter did not succeed in
getting Montana's claim through at the
same time as those of the other new states
indicates that there was either lack of
earnestness on his part or that the treasury
department did not consider the explains
tion sufficient. If the latter was the case,
then between June 6 and Sept. %, there
would appear to have been ample time to
settle any disputed points through the
medium of the mails, even if there were no
telegraph wires.