The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-10-22
THE EATHER.
RICHARDS THE e OF LABOR.


RICHARDS THE ENEMY OF LABOR
John Ezra Richards campaign Of ex.
PLANTATION is drawing to a close. But
few days remain for him in which tx
square his public record. His hopeless
ti~oundering in the miro Of precinct 81
has been pitiful enough, but not SO pitt
full as the plight in which he stands be.
fore the workingmen of Montana in ask
ing for their suffrages. This man has
been the steadfast and determined foe
of labor in its every aspect. He op.
posed the constitutional prohibition Of
P~inkertonism. He opposed the eight
hour law. He opposed ENGRAVING into
the constitution a provision against con.
tract prison labor.
These statements are not made at
random, or without foundation. They
ear be proved to the satisfaction of any
one who will take the trouble to read
the records of the constitutional con-
vention, of which Mr.. Richards was a
member.
OF course the republican candidate
for governor, now as then, will have
smooth explanations for his votes at
that time. He is particularly strong on
explanations. When be was stabbing
the w8rkingmen of Montana in the back,
three years ago this summer, he kept
reiterating, in his speeches on
the various labor propositions, that
he wanted to refer all such mat
tiers to future legislatures. He did
not want ironclad provisions in the IN
~stitution that would at once and forever
establish the rights of labor. He was
in favor Of postponing action. When
such men as Timothy r. Collins and
William Writ Dixon were testifying to
their loyalty to the cause of labor by
their votes, John Ezra Richards was on
the other side every time. You knew
exactly where to find him. He was
always wrong.
Thus when the article on labor was
under consideration, Mr.. Toole, of Deer
Lodge, offered the following additional
section: "All state, county and munich
pal work in the state Of Montana shall
be done by the day and eight hours
shall constitute a legal days work for
all classes of mechanics and laborers in
connection with the same"
MI. Hartman, of Gallatin, the present
republican candidate for congress
moved to lay the section on the table.
Among those who voted to table, and
thus kill the measure, were John Ezra
Richards, republican candidate for gov
ernor, Charles S. Hartman, republican
candidate for congress, and Warren A.
Gillette, republican candidate for state
senator from Lewis and Clarke.
Among those voting in the negative,
men who favored the eight hour law,
were Timothy e. Collins, the present
democratic candidate for governor, and
William Writ Dixon, democratic candi-
date for representative in congress.
And how was it with the Pinkerton
business? On Friday, July 10, 1899,
Mr., Fields, OF Park county, offered the
following:
"Sec. 80. That no armed person or
persons be brought into this state from
other states on the pretense Of preserv-
ing the peace except on q call made by
the legislature of this state or of the
governor when the legislature ia not in
session; but this shall have no applica-
tion to the forces of the United States.u
In support ofthis provision Mr.. Fields
said: "lt is a known fact that when
there is any disturbance of the peace.
such as we have had in PENNSYLVANIA
and other eastern states in the past, that
armed bodies of men have been i'm
ported into those localities for the mr.
pose of intimidating and coercinp hon
est laboring men. y II y am NOT
here for the protection of the working
mar alone. I believe in equal protec :
tion all around. [ am not here in the
interest of any political party. | am
here for the government that will give
us equality and justice from one end OF
the page to the other, and from one
class Of citizens to the other. l hope
this section will be adopted, and that
the fact will be taken into consideration
that it is not introduced for the purpose
OF giving any one man or class of men
any more rights than any other"
Joseph X. Toole and w. A. Clark both