Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-09

superintendent Carleton, that paper.
with a recklessness of expression that
seems to be indigenous in Flathead coun-
ty. made the statement that a poem con-
to the governor and was a revolving case
of political nepotism, intimating that his
excellency was using his official power to
bring a relative to the front in a literary
way. by putting the production on the
same page with a quotation from Shake
speare. The poem, which was signed Wv.
L. Smith, read as follows:
There is beauty in the forest,
When the trees are green and fair;
There is beauty in the meadow,
Where wild flowers scent the air;
There is beauty in the sunlight,
And the soft, blue beam above;
Oh, the world is full of beauty,
When the heart is full Of love!
Now, there is nothing wrong about the
been no reflection on the governor had it
been written by his cousin or his uncle
or even his typewriter. 1t is much more
cheerful than THE Beautiful Snow"
which ought to nave been used for a
frontispiece of an Arbor day pamphlet
this year. But his excellency resents the
statement of the Flathead paper that it's
author was his cousin, and wrote a strong
letter of remonstrance that will forever
set at rest the imputation that the politi-
cal branch Of the Smith family is given
to monkeying with the muse. The COVER
nor wrote the editor of the Libby News
as follows:
It is not often that I take issue with
anything a paper says or pay any atten-
ton to their criticisms. for as a rule they
ruthlessly made, without any knowl-
edge of what they are writing. The in
clipping cut from the last issue of
The News proves this. I have not read
the pamphlet issued by Mr.. Carleton on
Arbor day and 10 not kno it's contents,
but your statement that a cousin of mine
had written a piece of poetry which is
to be in the pamphlet is false in toto.
I have no cousin or other relative, X
brothers, by the name of Smith. and
not one of them ever aspired to the muse
Of poetry. While 1 have brothers and
in the state, during two and a
half years Of my administration I have
not given any one of them a public place
to draw one dollar of the public fund.
Your whole article is false and insulting
IN the highest degree to me and If you
have any particle of manhood left you
will apologize for the unwarranted and
false accusation. because it is sent
broadcast over the state to do me harm,
there is not an idea or word Of
in the article so far as it refers to
me or any relative of mine. 1t is true.
that my composition of the
does not compar with the
of the immortal Shakespeare:
but for this l should not be damned.
When did you ever write anything to
with las You Like It?"
The Inter Mountain reproduces this
to the Flathead Philistine, from
the columns of the Libby News, because
it is Arbor Day and as we cannot set
out any trees, owing to circumstances
over which we have no control, it seems
TO be a duty to make an exhibit of some
thing else that will in some respects
serve the same purpose. 1t is, we be-
lieve, the first time in the history of the
United States that a governor has felt
called upon to deny that he was a poet,
and to protest against being damned be-
cause he couldn't knock the socks off,
the immortal Shakespeare as a writer.
Mr.. Smiths letter fills a long-felt want.
1t is a warning to newspaper men to re-
frain from ''cousining'' his excellency.
AS a rule, according to the governors
statements, newspaper men are without
about. and their assertions are ruth
lessly made. To prevent his excellency
from exposing other weaknesses of the
press we trust the newspaper men of this
state will hereafter keep their distance
and not try to break through the halo
that is at present revolving around the
executive office like the rings of Saturn.
The Libby editor, however, makes an eff
fort to rescue himself from the crack Of
q loom by publishing the following explain
alton Of how it all happened:
OF course the charge of nepotism in the
above, on such trivial grounds as the
publica ton of a few lines of doggerel, is
an absurdity, and was not intended to be
taken seriously. The News sincerely re-
grets that the governors feelings were
hurt by it. A politician ought to have a
thicker rind. 1t has since transpired that
The w. l.. Smith who is responsible for
the poetry is our w Billy Smith, the
popular mixologist at Jack Clark's head
ache ~dispensary. He claims direct de-
scent from the protege of Pocahontas,
and feels confident that the governor is
not in his pedigree at all, especially after