The Topeka state journal., 1899-12-05
CLARK IS BITTER.
The Montana Senator Severely Scores
the Authors of Bribery Charges.

IA0 00bAOIS u oI1D6EY OA6L
New York. .Dec.5.-The Worlds Wash
ingtOn correspondent telegraphS the
following statement dictated by Sena-
tor W. A. Clark of Montana:
1t may seem remarkable to those
who do not know our Populist governor
that he should sign such a protest, haV-
ing signed my credentials after all the
developments in the senatorial contest
at Helena More than this, the creden-
tials were signed after thorough in
vesugatiOn had been made by q. legis-
lative committee and by a grand jury
and after the findings OF both had been
reported. Since then no new evidence
has been ELECTED. To those who knew
Governor Smith. however, his action
gives no cause for surprise.
"As to the story of the $50, 900 ex-
poSUre, the circumstances as related
are too absurd to be credible to any
reasonable person. The evidence given
in the recent disbarment proceedings
against attorney Welcome before the
state supreme court of Montana by
Whiteside and States Senator Mark,
is so conflicting and contradictory as
compared with that which they gave
before the grand jury as to entirely dis
credit and make their statements
nugatOry and, besides the evidence of
a number of the most prominent and
honorable men of the state was pro-
duced to impeach the character Of these
men for veracity.
''Whiteside is now under bond to ap-
pear before the district court in which
he lives and will be arraigEed on We'd
nesday to answer a charge of having
attempted to bribe the deputy county
clerk to give him access to the vaults
in which ballot boxes were stored in
November, 1898, al which time he was
a candidate for state senator and be-
lieved he had been defeated. Over
Whelming evidence will be produced in
substantiatiOn of this charge against
Whiteside.
After Whiteside had made his
charges of bribery in the state senate,
demanded that a grand jury be called
to make d. most searching investiga-
tion. The presiding judge charged the
jury fully to leave no stone unturned
in their efforts to reach the guilty per-
sons, if an attempt at bribery had been
made. A large number of witnesses
were examined during an investiga ton
lasting two weeks. The grand jury re
ported that there was no evidence upon
which an indictment could be found.
There is another thing which has
been misunderstood, and that is that
in all these cases of bribery, it has
not been shown in a single instance by
any evidence that any of the parties
so charged at any time voted for me.
1.-The statements circulated to the eff
feet that a preacher named Warren
testified that I had authorized him to
pay 100000 to a friend who he alleged,
stood ready to vote for me for a con-
SideratiOn, has been falsely reported.
All that he did say, and that was an
infamous lie, was that could not con-
slider any proposition of that kind my
self, but would see that it was attended
to-
This divine during his talk with me
asked for contribution for his church at
| East Helena I gave, him a check for 800.
He was very careful to have the check
made payable to him instead of to the
trustees of his church. After, examining
the Endorsements upon the check I am
quite confident that he pocketed the
money himself and, that the church did
not profit any by the contribution.
This contest instituted today is the
elimination of an unprovOked, pernicious.
malicious and bitter warfare which has
been waged against me for twelve years
/ by parties who have used every means to
control not only the politics, but the exc
cutive judicial and legislative depart
ments of the state and to monopolize the
vast public business interests of the state
I am quite willing to leave this mat
ter in the hands of United States senators
knowing that upon a fuQ Investigation /
will be acquitted of every suspicion of
guilt