The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-06
MONDAY, MARCH 6. 1890.
TEN PAGES.
The Senator From Sweet Grass.

TT is to be feared that the state of
Montana is permitting the sixth leg
1slatiVe assembly to pass into his
tory without doing adequate justice to
the character and attachments of the
Hon. Rev. William H. Hannah, A. NJ,
Phi. B., state senator from the county
OF Sweet Grass. Not since Julius Gaze
sar, perhaps, has there lived a man of
SO wide range of intellectual enter
prise and activity. Senator Hannah is
a man of parts: a soldier a statesman,
political economist. a social reformer.
clergyman, a holy man of God.
When duty calls, he responds with
alacrity in any one of these capacities
that the eNigencies of the occasion de-
mand him to appear in. Once the
necessities of the case are known, no
circus acrobat is capable of displaying
greater nimbleness and agility in turn
ing somersaults until he lands suuarely
in front Of them. At the first call from
Washington, Hannah,few to the Philip
pines to fight for his country. At the
first call from Butte, Hannah flew back
again to fight for Clark.
tnmerited and unjust are the criti-
cisms that have been passed upon the
senator from Sweet Grass for coming
home just before the real fighting at
Manila began Graver duties, more diff
ficult tasks. more serious responsible
tiles awaited him in Montana than any
he laid down in the island of Luzon
LAS Leland Stanford, jr, post-grad-
uate in political economy his revenue
views We're absolutely necessary to
claims. Let no man say that Senator
Hannah did not establish a reputation
as warrior before withdrawing from
Manila. His presence alone overawed
the enemy. 1t was not until after he
had gone, not until the American army
had been crippled by his absence, that
the F'ilipinos rlucked up sufficient
courage to give battle. AS soon as they
had satisfied themselves that the Big
Man from Big Timber was no longer
in front of them, the Filipinos turned
loose with an audacity that appalls 1t
will always remain a theme of wonder
and admiration that the American
forces, attacked as they We're in their
weakened. Hannahless condition, fought
and hed as nobly as they did Their
success. possibly, may be largely at
trihuted to the prayers and benedic-
tons with which Hannah, in his char
acter of minister of the gospel, favored
them on the eve of his departure Al
though Hannah was gone, Rudyard
Kipling must admit that the Lord God
of hosts was with them yet, was with
them yet.
Senator Hannah, as professional
purifier of politics, was peculiarly
qualified to take up the Clark cause
and be its champion and defender.
Other Clark members were more dis
Greet, conciliatory and tactful: none
were more Jealous, violent or bitter.
With all respect to the genius of Swede
Murphy, Senator Hannah came nearer
being the perfect type of the Clark
push as it was found in the city of
Helena during the recent senatorial
campaign. To assume in the face of
evidence that no bribery was going on,
required hypocrisy of the very highest
and sublimest order. AS an ordained
minister, Hannah more than any other
member of the legislature was the man
Clark needed to give his candidacy an
outward show of responsibility. Han
nah made the very prince and paragon
of Clark defenders. We call him chief
and we do well to call him chief who
for two long months has stood in the
state senate upon a pedestal of moral
and intellectual superiority and done
the Pecksniffian act as il was never
done before. All acts and parts of
acts in conflict with Senator Han
nahs rendition of that act were there
by repealed. 1t took a remarka BILE
man TO strain at the boxing contest
bill and swallow the Clark corruption
campaign, but Senator Hannah is never
anything but a remarkable man. He