The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-14
he SAYS IT WAS A MISTAKE
The State Superintendent Of Instruction Makes His Reply to the
Charges Recently Brought Against Him by Miss Harris.
No Wrong Was Intended

she states, and upon the presentation
of assignment the auditor called u
attention to the law. ! saw then. for
the first time. the mistake that had
been made. / thanked the auditor for
calling my attention to this provision
Of the codes. destroyed the assignment
and informed Miss Harris that she
would have to draw the full salary or
$125 in person. She did so, and has col
lected the salary during all the time.
she a worked in this office. What
disposition h has made of it l do not
know, except as she states.
II concluded after a two months trial
that / would not employ her longer.
She exhibited much feeling when she
learned that 1 had no more work for her
and refused for some time to surrender
the keys belonging to the office which
she had, making hints that IL she were
discharged something awful might
happen. -.
These are the facts. which Miss Har-
ris will, ] am sure, admit. We must. OF
course, acknowledge our mistake, which
we do. though mad in the completest
ignorance Of this particular section of
the code, but facts afford little excuse
for Miss Harris letter. h has evil
IDENTIFY been piqued and selects this way
of gratifying her feelings. She certainly
wal not worth $125 a month in my de-
partment, as she was out Of practice in
stenography and typewriting and wholly
unfamiliar with the work Of the office.
The quotations in this communication
are from Miss Harris letter prepared
for the press OF this city, n some Of
the statements herein are in reply to
that letter, which unfortunately the
Standard did not receive, or IL received
did not publish in full. The statement
that Miss Harris ever refused to work
for less than SIPS is false. She makes no
such assertion in her original letter and
will not assert such a thing over her
own signature. The language. "a bar
gain Is a bargain and l wish 1t under
stood that i shall receive SIS per month,
and i do not want a soul except you and
I to know it, is not found in her first
letter at all. and Miss Harris will not
make oath that sue language or any
thing of the kind was used by me. Here
is a most serious variation in the two
statements. Thai I asked for the $3.50
or any sum is not to be found in her
statement. Such statements are abso-
lutely n unqualifiedly false. In short,
about all the statements attributed to
me in the Standards article are signi-
ficantly wanting in her letter written for
the press of Helena. 1t would seem that
her story has been through the hands Of
some n monge who is anxious to
make a sensation. The statement that
I demurred when the auditor informed
me that she must draw the salary is
wholly false, n not found in her let
ter. The state auditor will disprove
such a statement. When the auditor
called our attention to the fact that
state officers could not deal in warrants,
then, instead of insisting on the issu-
ance of a warrant, as stated by the
Standard. we thanked him for calling
our attention to the matter.
course I'm chagrined. as any law
yer would be, at not knowing of this law
regarding warrants, but most attorneys
seldom, If ever, have occasion to read the
political code, where this law is found.I did
what i would do a thousand times under
the same circumstances If of
this law. Nothing d~ishonorable was done
or intended. A mistake was made, and IL
there are those who fancy they can make
anything out of II. such are most welcome
to make the most of 1t. The whole thing
was born in malice. nourished by some
injudicious friends of Miss Harris. and IL
they are satisfied by the result of airing
their grievances in print. I am also.
Her own letter. first submitted to the
press here. shows that she has no cause
of complaint. and that the matter is un-
worthy of public print. I feel certain that
should the Standard have seen this letter
IL, too. would decline TO print Ii. But let IL
now be printed and all the facts connected
with the matter. Let the fullest investiga-
ton be made and this imaginary noun
tain will dwindle to a mole hill. There is
no official act that I have done in this
office hat ] shall not be pleased to have
the Standard or any other paper or per-
son investigate. / shall continue the du-
ties of this office without fear of friend
or foe. and such malignant attacks will
not change my course"