The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-02-10
MORE BREAKS THAN ONE.
Benson, Republican, Goes to Clark.
and Tierney, Democrat, Votes
for Mantle.
Two More Of Sanders Supporters
Break Loose From the
Column.
The Republican Caucus Decides
Later TO Drop Sanders and
Take Mantle.
School of Mines Bill Passes the
House With But Four Votes
Against 1t.
- xpx.- v.-AA-. -.u--l --
The Other I%nstltutlons Advanced = Stage
-RsvAlli County Bill Goes Through
the SenAte-Other Buslness.

elected United States senator yesterday wal
for Wilbur F. Sanders to get within 81,
votes of il. That was the furthest he hal
boon from the golden apple yet. just al
Wednesdays ballot, when he was within
two votes OF il, was the nearest he had ever
come to IL. Representative Tierney. OF
Msagher. again showed his displessure at
the treatment OF his Broadwater county
bill by voting for . republican, Tut this
time IL was Lee Mantle, mayor of Butte.
and not Sanders, as it WAS the day before.
But the effect Of his switch. if there had
been any possibility Of a result. would have
been neutralized by his republican asso-
ciate from Meagher, Representative Ben
son. who changed to W. A. Clark before
the vote was announced. Mr.. Benson has
been as bitterly opposed 80 Broadwatsr
county as Mr.. Tierney has been Jealous in
advocacy of it. He evidently reasoned that
il Mr.. Tierney could jump the political
fenee because the bill had been
acted on unfavorably in committee.
he could afford to take his 1850
eiate's vacated place; or 1t might have
been. A. one man sized it up, that Mr.. Bon
son did not think the same political field
big enough to hold him and Mr.. Tierney.
However that may have been he went to
Clark and gave that candidate just as man.
votes as he would have had had everybody
been voting as they were for some time
past and up to the incident of Wednesday.
1t made q difference to Sanders, however.
When Benson left him. Representative An
near. OF Silver Bow county in general and
Walker willie in particular, did the same.
Mr.. Annesr changed his vote to Capt. Thos.
Couch. On top of this Representative
Fleming, of Beaverhsad, left Sanders and
went to Mantle. Whether it was with the
EARNEST wish that there would be a scram-
bic in the same direction. or whether 1t was
to show his republican associates that prom
Uses made on legislation should be just as
binding rs those made in caucus, 10 not
known. If the former. he was disap-
pointed. for the changes stopped right
there. If the latter, he was successful. for
set for its consideration later on. a cour.
tssy not extended the day before. when the
house adjourned while q motion TO that
effect was pending.
The vote in the joint assembly was
within three Of being a full vote. 1t
reached sixty-eight. and il would have
taken thirty. five to elect. Of the necessary
number Sanders, as already stated, lacked
six, CLARK eleven, and Dixon as much as
twsnty-three. Had all the republicans, in
Guiding Mr.. Benson, Rone to Mantle, and
Mr. Tierney staid whore he was, the Butte
mayor would still have been two short Of
enough 10 elect. Popalists Bray and
Matthews could have supplied those two,
but there was no danger Of their doing SO.
In fact. Speaker Matthews told Mayor
Mantle as much in tho lobby of the Hotel
Helena during the noon recess, in the
course Of a very animated discussion which
was listened 10 and enjoyed by a large
crowd. The speaker would have been
much more likely to have gone to
Sanders. and it is said he
was really considering tho advisability Of
doing SO on Wednesday after the Tierney
incident. The same idea occurred to him
yesterday. no doubt. as he hesitatei quite
a time before voting for Dixon, but seeing
that with Mr.. Tiernsy off in another direo-
ton and Ma Benson preparing to leave
Sanders his vote would accomplish moth
ing. be refrained from making the change
to she republican caucus nominee. The
fact that he was considering the advisa-
bilisy Of doing il on Wednesday, however,
and the further fact that his p~opulist asso-
ciate from Silver Bow, A. T. Bray, might
have followed his lead, shows how near the
democrats came to losing the United States
senator by not having gotten together
earlier in the engagement.
The Mantle people thought they saw in
the Incidents of the day a dissolution of the
Sanders vote, and began talking up their
friend. They laid great stress on the claim
that it WAS possible he might receive
enough democratic votes to elect him, if he
got all the republicans. They managed to
get a caucus called for last light, and there
the majority decided that the warhorse was
to be put out of the race and Lee Mantle
entered. Some of those in the caucus will
not leave Sanders for Mantle, and some
who do leave him will scatter to Gov. Rick
ards u Capt. Thomas Couch.
Tho house practically settled the fight
over the three leading public institution
bills. II passed that for the school of
mines at Butte and reported fAvorably from
committee of tho whole on those for the
university at Missoula and the agricultural
college at Bozemnn; and set this afternoon
for considering the Dillon normal school
bill. There were only four votes against
the school of mines bill, showing that the
opposition have mostly come to recognize
the fact that the combination against con-
solidation is too strong to be broken. The
Billings penitentiary bill Ia the only one in
cluded in the agreement which IL still some
distance off from favorable action. 1t ID
some distance down on the calendar.
During the afternoon session OF the
house Representative Jockey stated that he
had received n dispatch from Washington
TO the effect that the bill repeating the sill
yer coinage act had been defeated in the
house of representatives. by 153 to al. The
announcement was received with loud ap
pleuse. in which the speaker, standing up
at his desk, Joined heartily.
The senate yesterday did its share toward
creating another new county. that Of Rn-
vslli. by passing the house bill. II reserved
more opposition than any of the othe r
county bills did in the senate, but those
opposed had delayed their opposition for
too long a torn. and it went through the
senate with but -four dissenting votes. The
senate also passed the house bill creating
the bureau of labor and agriculture. The