The Anaconda standard., 1899-01-05
THE WHOLE DOODLE GANG
Now Running It's Crooked Game
at the Old Stand in Helena.
AND THE STUFF is ON TOP
Clark Has Arrived to Take Personal
Command in & Brazsn Effort to
Buy One OF Montana's Seats
in the Federal Senate.
Special Dispatch to the Standard.

| special 10 the STANDARD.
| Helena, Jan. 4.--And W. A. Clark
| came also. He arrived on this even
| ing's train from Butte, accompanied by
his friend, Jack Hoy. Backed by such
an able lieutenant as Jack Hoy, w. A.
| Clark is now prepared to make the
fight of his life, the same old fight of
| his life that he has made on several
previous occasions and always with
the same result. In addition to the
Butte talent enumerated, several promi-
nent gamblers and influential sports
| and heelers of the city of Helena are
| Jealous workers in the Clark vineyard.
| They are burning with the desire to
| purify politics on the Clark plan.
In fact, nearly all Helena is uniting
| in that grand, sweet song and dance,
'We Won't Lose You, Willie" Not
withstanding that the thermometer is
three degrees below zero, there's hot
time in the old town tonight The
leading saloons are all doing thriving
business. Hacks are mysteriously
speeding through the city, some of
them in the direction of Upper Main
street. Men are running about and ex-
citedly whispering to other men. Dis
trict messenger boys have actually got
gait on them.
The hotel lobbies are thronged with
shifting crowds and the incessant hum
of eager, low-voiced conversation
swells at times almost to a roar Up
and down the elevator is flying Just as
fast as the elevator boy can open the
doors, discharge one load and receive
another Bell boys are seen hurrying
to and from the bar, taking on their
outward passage bottles of champagne
in ice. The telephone and telegraph
lines are kept hot. Strange appoint
ments are being made and strange in
vitations sent out to strange midnight
parties.
Everywhere in Helena there is hustle
and stir and excitement. The Helenese
are beside themselves with the delight
There is joy in Helena, for w. A. Clark
is here and the good old days of the
session of 1893 have returned. They
won't lose him, Willie On with the
song and dance, let Doodle be uncon-
fined
Meanwhile, men who are still sober
enough to reason are asking them
selves and one another, what is it all
going to amount to; whether w. A.
Clark makes this style of campaign any
more successful than his f1asco of 1893.
You hear all sorts of sensational stories
about this Mats man or Conrad man
being picked off by the Clarkites If
you choose to believe the Pat Meaney
aggregation, Clark has already secured
enough democrats to gull off caucus
and make him the caucus nominee
But that is rot. If Clark could hold a
democratic caucus he would call one in
an hour. He simply can't do it, or come
anywhere near doing it,
As it looks at present there is not a
possibility of a caucus before the vot-
ing begins next Tuesday Mr.. Conrad
has eight or ten men that he defies the
devil and all his works to pull away
from him. Joseph X. Toole has six or
eight men who swear that Clark and
Rockefeller together haven't money
enough ITO buy one of them. The Mats
contingent. some so odd men, as true to
Mats as steel Notwithstanding that
the price of votes is said to have gone
up to $4,000 apiece.
The most uncertain quantity are the
IA republican votes. Nobody takes any
stock in the assertion that they are
going to stand together for Tom Mar
shall or any other republican candidate.
Some of them openly admit that after
the first ballot they are going to scatter
to the various democratic candidates.
Once the scattering begins Clark, of
course, will get the scatterers but even
if Clark got every one of the Ia repub-
l1cans he would still be long way shy
of majority in the joint ballot Peo-
pie who have seen w. A. Clark in his
grand and lofty tumbling acts before
are not seriously disturbed by to-night's
SenSa tlOnal pro- Clark features