The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-09

ade.' This order was strongly opposed
TO Mcconnell, and was just AZ strongly
in favor of Sweet. whom II u 60
the skies. My part OF the campaign was
TO go to Moscow. start a small weekly
paper on strong populist lines. support
all h fanatical doings OF the fedora
tion., get the secrets of n order. AND
just before election split the order open
by exposing all their doings n Hop
the paper to McConnelrs favor.
The federation was. as its nom de
plume implied. a shotgun brigade. for.
about a year before I appeared on h
scene, some 200 members OF the order
had come to Moscow from the sur
rounding farms. armed with shotguns
and pitchforks. and had stopped the
sale of property by the sherin for de-
iinquent taxes. At that time they had
given notice TO the oficeholders that
they intended in the mex campaign to
clean them out. and that Bin Mcconnell
should never be governor Of the state
again. This threat they carried out.
for Mcconnell Is a dead letter in Idaho
politics. / started the paper. a frst-
class anarchist sheet. that more than
pleased the leaders of h federation,
and everything went smooth until two
weeks before election. Two days before
going to press / had written a strong
editorial article exposing all the work.
ings of the order. denouncing Sweet.
lauding Mcconnell. and making a COM
plete flop Of the paper. 1 put II in a
drawer of my desk and was going TO
show IL to the political powers the next
day, but 1 never had the chance, for
when the Spokane Review came to
Moscow the next morning my editorial
article was a double-leaded slug-head-
ed article on its front page. credited
as a special dispatch from Moscow.
and the head lines said that ] had got
out an extra edition that morning with
the article in.
II got a copy of the Review early
in the morning; in fact. before i got
out of bed-some hot-headed fedora
ton member wrapped II around a brick
and fred IL at me through my win
dow without taking the trouble 70
raise the sash. The brick reminded
me the IL was time to get up. i start
ed down town. but the fellow who pre-
sented with the morning paper was not
the only brick thrower on the street.
In fact. the way to my Office was lined
with them, and before / had gone a
block I had become an expert dodger
of a miscellaneous assortment OF brick
bats, eggs, rocks and other handy c b
jects that seemed to come from every
where.
II managed to reach my Office with
only a few bruises. and to get a few
OF the leaders inside and show them
that / had no such article set up In
the Office. and to prove that 1t was
put up job to ruin their paper. Thi!
was necessary on my part, for there
was a rope I'm the crowd outside, and
unless i could pacify them the chance:
were tha / would have occupied al
undignifed place on n end OF IL
while the other end would have beer
made fast to the cross arm Of a con
venient telegraph pole.
my talk was good, for II had thu
desired effect. and the ONCE was no
pied, neither was I hanged: but tn
premature publication of my editoria
made my flop so weak when IL az
come that IL did no good. and the frs
and last newspaper venture OF BIZ
Mcconnell failed. for though he wa
elected. the county ticket he had nam
ed was left so far in the lurch tina
there was little use of counting tn
ballots.
THE way my article got into prin
was this: I a a young friend visit
ing me Who was a practical Joker. an
he had read the copy and he though
it would make a little fun for the boy
to send the story out. He sent Ii, an
his sending 1t came near costing IN
life New York Sun.