The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-04-11

tudl ~IaCultleS, anu suy tuub WIG .nWNAttoNS
cost the senator-elect and his hackers from
$50, 600 to 100000. The official FELTON, the
o v offered for public consumption ia that til,
members, disgustel with Estee's sneakinI
course and filed with admiration Tor Eel
tome %intiexible uprightness, spontaneously
righteousness. Privately, for the benefit Of
those whose terms Of enlistment i'll the ma
rines have expired, the FELTON, men offer q
third theory, which has been stated thus
f'There isn't IA much III this short term
senatorial business as people mn teiton
won't get a smell of patronage, for Stan
ford has already corraled every. federal ap.,,
pointment in the state. Felton's term VIII
expire before a new president is elected, 80
that really all he can get out OF the place
will be a hance to bring hlmself lhto
nctice. Now could not a1oru 70
let his men vote for Estee. because that
would have been a victory for Dan Burns,
and Burns is trying to crowd Crimmins out
of his place as boss. OF course. If the rail-
road had offered Crimmins $4,000 or $oo,---
900 to pay him for his loss OF prestige, III
might have been worth while for MN TO
take it, but for Il short term under the pres
emit circumstances the stake isn't worth
that sort of bidding. .
How did Crimmins keep his men in line!
Why, he had The cinch on them III W OF
three ways. In the first place. they all have
defendants in the city hall. or expect to get
JDeTe themselves ullu ~ tlSN NNi" oeNh
the boss they would never get within root
ing distance of the municipal trough.
Besides, Crimmins was holding $4,000 or
$50. 600 earned by the delegation for votes
on various bills, and to be divided at the
end of the session, and If the boys had
wandered after strange gods they never
could have drawn their dividends. AS far
as the country members that had been sup
porting Estee were concerned, they had to
90 somewhere when they found that Stan
ford would not open his sack, and there was
nowhere for them to go except to FELTON,:
1t would have been absurd to thlnk OF
eiecting Estee gratis"
In the midst of the senatorial scandal
two other scandals demanded attention.
The Examiner charged Assemblyman
Elwood Bruner, Dibble's rival for the lead
ship of the republican majority, with SELL
ing his influence in the matter of appoint
ments on the San Francisco police force at
the rate of S4Oo per recommendation. Tn
charge was proved up to the handle ana
a friendly investigating COMMITTEES was
compelled to find Brnner guilty. The as
sembly refused to print this report IN the
journal, but adopted instead a whitewash-
ing minority report, which, while it did not
venture to declare Bruner innocent. sug-
gested that he should have the benefit of
the doubt.
The waste basket investigation was even
/ more damaging. 1t showed Dibble, the
other republican leader, as a vote broker,
| and proved that at least $500 of railroad
bers in connection with a single bill. But
when the committee inadvertently uncov-
cred the work of the Southern Pacific in the
matter it became terrified. 1t was afraid
to investigate the great corporation, and
after making a few palpably lnslncere
nesses that declined to come, it precipi-
lately abandoned the investigation. and
| the legislature Endorsed it's course.
OF course with lawmakers like this not
much was to be expected in the way of de-
sirable public legislation. 1t was n of
the miracles of the session that an Austria
liam ballot bill was finally forced through
and became a law. This credit for this is
entirely due to the energetic work of the
democratic minority. Armed with the fact
that many of the republicans had bound
themselves by written pledges to support
ballot reform, the democrats cracked the
whip with such effect that after many futile
attempts to escape these men were fairly
cowed into keeping their promises. Even
then amendments were tackled OF which
were designed to cripple the law, but which
happily will not have that effect. Under
them nominations cannot be made by less
than five per cent. OF the voters, which will
require about 5000 names in San Francisco
and $4,000 in the state. This was designed
to keep the nominating power in the
hands of the machines, but it is so much
easier to get names to petitions than it is
to get votes hat no really powerful indie
pendent movement will have any trouble
getting its ticket on the official ballots.
The legislature was pledged to retrench-
ment and reform, but in most respects it
las been the most extravagant ever known.
It's leaders stand convicted of open corrup-
ton. The exposure of their shame did mo-
in the least impair the activity or the in1u-
ence of Bruner and Dibble. Their names
are recorded against the passage OF
the ballot-reform bill. When the majority
report of the committee was presented to
the assembly the chairman was assaulted in
the presence of his wife and daughter by a
fellow member, and in granting him a per-
nit to carry a revolver the mayor of Saora.
mento subsequently told him that his life
was not safe.
When the assembly adjourned sine die it
did SO with cheers for Elwood Bruner. The
leading republican organs agree in calling
the legislature the most disgracefully cor
rupt in the history of California, and ex-
press the opinion that unless the party can
do something to make the public forget the
record of it's representatives it will have nc
chance of carrying the state next year.
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