The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-30
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 80, 1899.
TWELVE PAGES.
"The Honor of the State"

1ERY well wisher of the state
must deeply deplore the scan
dial connected with the election
of w. A. Clark to the senate of the
United States. That it casts a serious
reflection upon Montanas good name
is undeniabe Official corruption, and
especially when it involves a consider
able number of persons elected to hon
orable and responsible positions Of
trust, is g. very different thing in Its
bearing upon the reputation of a state
from cases Of wrong doing by private
individuals. 1t Is taken for granted
that every community will make some
thing of an effort to elect its best men
to office, and when a scandal attaches
to many members of state legisla-
fure, almost of necessity 1t affects the
public estimate of the people who
elected them.
There is just one way in which, I'M
der such circumstances, a state can
either restore or preserve its good
name. That is by exposing and in
some proper way Furnishing those
guilty of official malfeasance. 1t Ger
aainly cannot be done by covering up
or condoning the crime and allowing
the guilty beneficiary to enjoy the
fruits of it, Neither can it be accom-
plished by dealing with it in a par
tisan spirit and endeavorlnS to turn it
to the advantage of the party out Of
power.
The party in control can only, in fair
ness, be held responsible, when, Tor
the sake of holding its power, it at
tempts to obstruct the course Of JUS
tice and screen the guilty. There is
no pretense of any such desire in the
present case except on the part of the
very small faction that is intimately
connected with the alleged bride giver
On the contrary, the only complaint ON
this line is that an overwhelming ma
jority of the democratic party insist
upon probing the matter to the bot
tom, and not allowing man to wear
a senatorial toga which they believe
he acquired by the corrupt and crinl-
inal use of money.
If it is true, as claimed by the Nc
Kinley press, that there can be no
remedy save in turning the democratic
party out of power and giving the
reins to the republicans, then, indeed,
is the case hopeless, and such plea
tends to place an indelible stain upon
the good name of the state. 1t is
equivalent to declaring that a very
large majority of the people are either
shamefully lacking in moral sensibili-
ty or sadly deficient in point Of intelli-
eence, But the very persons thus i'm
pugned are intensely anxious to put
an end to such political methods, which
as before stated, can only be done by
exposing the perpetrators and bring
ing them to the bar of justice.
incidentally, it may be remarked
that if the republican members OF th'
last legislature are fair samples O
what we might look for in a repuo
Iican majority, it is not easy to SCI
how a change from democracy to re
publicanism would work out the poilt
ical or moral regeneration of the state
The fact is notorious that three
fourths Of them voted for the MAJ
who is charged with bribery, and di'
# under circumstances tinged with III
deepest suspicion, They not only vote
for a man of the opposite party, bu
some of them did it in defiance Of sol
emn pledges to their own nominating
conventions. They were guilty both o
party infidellty and Of violating direc
and solemn pledges.
1t should be noted further, tina
these republicans not only cast thei
votes for Mr.. Clark, but made them
selves decisive factors in his eleclor
Clark had gone the full length of nj
string. in securing democratic vote:
and without the support of several re
publicans his election would have bee