Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-04

selves up as the supreme regents of the
destiny Of the ST. ate.
There is but on e way for the voters OF
this state to get out from under the dis
gushing and disgt aceful bossism and the
unholy use of mi ney in the Management
of political affair IS. that have turned the
wheels of progress IS backward in Montana
and detected pop ulation to other mount
ain state where such conditions do not
exist. The independent self-respectins
%populace. regardless of party ties. or pre-
vious conditions ,f servitude, must arise
as one nan and demand that hereafter
there shall be no bulldozing or bribery
at the polls. and that the laws passed in
the interests of an honest ballot shall be
enforced. Law ma not be able to trans
form dishonest men into honest men
with any greatel ease than a musician
can be created out of a pigs ear. but it
can be made to punish the men who UNI
blushingly conver 1t the sacred rights of
the ballot into a bowling farce.
-
The people of Montana care little for
the false pretend les paraded in the coll
umns of the subsidized democratic press
of this state. They are for or against
the protective tariff, according to cir
cumstances: and blow hot or cold on the
silver question. as conditions may sug-
gest. On other issues they likewise veer
nh, r-a,+b, ,n,1- IL, :, vol, nf vtn1
and their positid in to-day on a public
question is no guarantee where they will
stand tomorrow. Their editorial opin-
ions are shaped tD meet the financial in
chinery Of the democratic party. \ few
months ago, they We're bowling uproar-
ously against the trusts; but suddenly
word was passed along the line to let up,
ana now none of the influential organs
Of the democracy in this state attempt
to further discourage such great combi-
nations Of capital. The reason is OBJ
vious.
When wool is high under protection
they deny that they are free traders. but
when something occurs to temporarily
depress the price, they Immediately at
tack the protective tariff laws. When
the democracy in the east that a fusion
with it is desired by the silver wing,
the cooperative plans of 1896 are ADAM
doned and free coinage is cheerfully fore
al i,tn tha haal-urnunI tO mako rOpm
for some question upon which the two ma
lional factions can agree. Some of the
so-called silver democratic newspapers
even 60 50 far ais to take the advanced
single standard ground that the ratio
Of values between gold and silver should
be liked by the worlds exchanges.
But after the deal between the eastern
and western leaders has matured. and a
mutual understanding has been reached
that free coinage shall be ~relegated to
the rear, as an inconsequential factor
in the next campaign. word is sent out
among the demo cratic organ of Mon
tana and other silver states to tWhoop
it up for the white metal, and if pos
Siptt l1tttlit lIE Nol'iS 4 l AlAS otAiN
tina the democra tic party is sincere, af-
ter all, The only way the democratic
party could carry Maryland was by
spurning the silver question and showing
it's utter detestation of the principles of
free coinage, but different tactics are re-
quired in Montana,
Intelligent voters in this section of the
country are not blind to the duplicity
and hypocrisy Which we have pointed
out. and it is unnecessary to inform them
that the sole aim and purpose of the
democratic leaders in Montana is to use
politics for personal and business ends
at the expense Of the people. But the
one thing that should be seriously con-
sidered by the public is the question of
honest elections. in which coercion, brib-
cry and bulldozinG should cut no figure.
The campaign of 1898 was sufficiently dis
graceful in such respects to last a life