Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1898-05-25
A MATTER OF coNTEnPr.
Mr.. Hilger's Letter Of .Retraction'' Subjected
to Analysis.

first line to the last, is entirely be-
meath more than passing notice. The
editor made no attempt whatever to
shield Mr.. NJ. j. Garrett from the dis
grace which he had brought upon
himself, but belched forth almost en-
tirely from his mud batteries, at the
close. however, calling attention to
the high character of Mrs. Garrett
and the eminent services which that
lady has given to this school district
during the past three years. With
all that was said of Mrs. Garrett /
most heartily agree, and l believe it
is safe to say that nearly every citizen
shares the same view. But OF Mr..
Garrett it is entirely another matter.
Following the editorial in the Dem.
ocrat appeared letter addressed to
Mrs. Garrett and signed David Hill
ger, which is worthy of republica-
tion. The letter is as follows:
LEwIsTowN, Mont, May IL, '9S.
Mrs. NJ. i. GARRETT,
Lewistown, Mont.
DEAR MADAM-I have been very
much grieved at an article appearing
i'm the Tribune" of Great Falls, sent,
it appears, by long-distance tele-
phone from Lewistown, giving in
toto the substance of a petition sent
to Governor Smith, and which con-
tanned some seventy-five signatures,
including my own, and which petit
ton asks for the removal of Mr.. Gar
rett from the state board OF educa-
ton, for the reason that he deserted
Company 1 when mastering into the
service of the regular volunteer serv-
ice, after having been warned that
unless it was his intention to enlist
in the regular service he should re-
main at home.
1t appears that this dispatch was
Watson, the manager of the ARGUS,
supposed to be published i'm Lewis
town, and that he selected my name
from the list in order to attract the
attention of the public as we'll as the
governor, and giving my name a
prominence that would indicate that
| L was the prime mover in the affair
and had drawn the petition. which
is not true.
| cannot express my contempt for
the action of Mr.. Watson i'm this af-
fair, in sending matter not intended
by the signers for publication, for the
reason that the English language
would fail to express my sentiments.
believe now that the action of Mr..
Watson was prompted by taking ad-
vantage of matters to satisfy per-
sonal malice, and l certainly con-
denim his action.
| have the honor to be,
Very respectfully,
DAVID HILGER.
| AS to how many signatures that
petition contained, it appears to me
that the words of Mr.. Hilger's letter
are sufficient on that point.
| 1t will be noted that the letter
which Mr.. Hilger signed does not re-
tract a single one of the allegations
made in the petition referred to, but
his defense-if so it may be character
ized-is confined to saying that the
English language fails to express the
contempt he has for me for sending
the petition to the Great Falls Trib-
une, adding that the petition was
not intended for publication.
The petition certainly was not a
private matter; it remained for days
upon the bar of a favorite resort of
many citizens.
| But l am willing to accept Mr..
Hilger's statement that the petition
was not intended for publication.
How, then, does this place Mr.. Hill
ger? Does it not put him in the po-
sition of one who is willing to do
| that i'm the dark which he would not
in the light of day? If the English
language isinadequate forexpressing
Mr.. Hilger's contempt for mein max
ing the matter public, it is certainly
inadequate to express the contempt
Mrs. Garrett and all citizens must
have for one who publicly acknowl-
edges that he freely subscribed his
name to a petition making grave al
legations against public officer and
requesting the governor to demand
the resignation of that official, and
yet was not willing that the party
concerned or the public should know
anything about it.
| From events which have transpired
since this matter became public the
facts in the case seem to be that Mr..
Hilger was made the tool of a certain
faction in the Democratic party when
he was led to subscribe his name
upon the first line of the place re-
served for signatures on that petit