The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-03-31
WHAT is The AARVEs72
Tho Present City Administration
Has Been False to tho Conf
dence Placed in II.
How Sure-ThinR Gamblers Have
P%rospsrnd and Visitors Have
Been Fleeced.

@.%= ~S0~N 5a@E &T t&5 1
The City Recognized by Confidence Men
as = Safe Place in which to Ply
Their Calling.
II the men who ars running republican
CITY politics this year respected public sem
timent and had inquired az carefully into
the record of Mayor Klsinsohmidt's admin
istration NJ hundreds Of the members Of
their party have. NJ wsll a. taxpayers gen
orally. they would not havs placed Mr..
Klsinsohmidt before the voters for an en-
dorssment last evening. The objections to
the mayor on personal grounds are not
very ssrious, and could be ovorcome; but
as a public ofiosr, charged with seeing that
the affairs OF ths municipality are con-
Quoted in = lawful manner, on an soonomi-
cal basis, mi that the rights Of all arc pro-
teotsd, he has not only been dsfslict, but it
has been. in tho opinion OF ~cisizsns gener-
ally. to put it mildly. this most inoomp stent
administration the CITY has ever had. This
is not 4 general statement, but thors are
facts and figures to proye it.
Mr.. Kleinsohmidt was put into the
mayors chair a year ago BY VIM. Sims and
Thos. Graham. a few days before his cleo
tion no denied that he had made any bar
gains with these NOR looking to sither Of
them taking ! hand in municipal affairs in
caso he was successful. The better
element Of his party believed
him, and vera willing to trust
him. They did SO, and from the night tho
returns we're counted they have regretted
it. Wm. Sims, as Z reward for services
rendered, was put in chargs Of tho police.
and for nearly eleven months he has bsen
supreme in that departments OF the city
government. Soon after his induction into
Office the snre-thing games bsgan to multi
ply, and within thirty days there was an
influx OF skin gamblers. II became
noissd abroad that the sure thing men
were safe in Helena, and soma Of the most
notorious Of them. men with national rep
u~tations for crooked work, were added to
ths population. Strangers visiting the sity.
as we'll as residents, wore induced to pat
1onizs tho gam es started by those men,
and were Invariably re bbed. Complaints
were made to tho city marshal, but there
was no redress. Then the mayor was ap-
pealed to, He said Marshal Sims
would attend to the bnsinezs, bat
grew n less. The newspaper men,
tho square gamblers. and the police knew
where these games were played, how they
were play cd, who ran them. who acted as
stool pigeons. They also know Of cases
whore visitors had been fesoed Of large
sums. Ihe newspaper men and tho square
gamblers told tbs polic2 of numberloss in
stances, and the only result was that thu
swindlers were notified that they must lay
low or were advised to leave town until the
storm blew over. Ths county attorney was
nothing unleAs he had the active support of
tho police. and that he never received. The
mayor cannot plead ignorance of these
things, because they we're common talk
and every business man on Main street
knew Of them. Marshal Sims had not
been in office thirty days before it became
known that there was one saloon and gam
bling house on Main street the police were,
to especially protect; that they were to pay
no attention to complaints Of patrons, and
were to enter it only upon the request of
tho proprietor or some of his employees.
,Tho defenders of the present administra-
ton may point to the arrest of Seoley, Lane
mud Woods a. as a proof that Marshal Sims
has not altogether neglected his business.
This was one of the oases whore the COM
planning witness could not be induced
either by threats or e~sjolsry to leave the
city, and the county attorney succeeded in
getting into Che case before things had
gone very far. The Raymond case, in
which the charge first made was that
of running a sure thing game, fell
through on that charge because the police
did not secure the evidence to convict, so
the county attorney was able only to make
n case on the ground that Raymond had no
license. The police did not arrest Ray
mond. who learned by some means that a
warrant wal out for him. He disappeared
..l - Eoxr ln-o r,iakl- r-.-n~Inrol
himself TO an officer on Main street.
The same elements that aided most in
%electing Mr.. Kleinschmidt last year packed
the primaries last Saturday and forced him
upon the republican, party last night a. its
mayorslty candidate. He is moro indsbtsd
Graham. and they will be treated, if any
thing, with more consideration in case OF
his election next Monday than they have
been in the past. This why the decent.
lsw-abidinR, tair-play republicans objected
to his denomination. They realize that the
felt they could not. with the record Of the
PAST year staring them in the face. afford
to support X einsohmidt, Sims and Graham.
it is not necessary to go outside Of the CITY
office holders to hear expressions of this
sentiment. One Of them yesterday made
the situation very plain when no said: ~
am a republican from principle and | have
never, until the present time, been placed
in a position where it may be necessary for
me to choose between my party's
nominee and the good of the
city in which / 1.-Two. But if Mr.. Klein
schmidt is nominated by the republican
convention I will be compelled to do 20.
This il a year when we cannot afford to
have q man i'll the mayors chair who will
place tbs police force in the control of
Sims and Graham. I mention them to-
gether, because Graham has had as much to
do with running the police force during
Mayor Kleinsohmidt's administration az
has the regularly appointed marshal. Mr..
Kleinsohmidt has simply been a figure
head, and has tuned all the departments
over absolutely to his appointess, and they
have run them as they have pleased, only
keeping in mind the fact that they must
see that the MAYOR is renominatnd. WHY
object SO seriously TO the reelection of Mr..
kleinBchmidt ia on account Of the oonvsn-
tions that will meet here this summer.
We cannot uiford to have members Of
the A. O. q. W., Of the Mining congress.
and of the Cons of Veterans, come hare md
be robbed. Aud they would be. / feel GER
tain, by this sure thing men with Sima as
marshal. During tho past year I know of
four instances where visitors have been
enticed into sure thing games and Lost from
500 to $500 each. In two of these cassa
the police were informed the Same day,
and tho compliments were told that while
thar .to,ian tnjuht he trne, tina uDlicb could