The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-13
is LEANING ON HELENA
Clark Pleads With the City to
Save Him From His Crimes.
THE EXPECTED STAMPEDE
It Failed to Materia1ize-Day's Hating
Excuse for His Vote - A Weak
Apo1ogy-Judge Stephens Re-
plies to the Attack.
Special Dispatch to the Standard,

special DlSpatch to the standard.
Helena, Jan. 12.-Once more is w A
Clark leaning on the city Of Helena and
pleading with it to save him from the
! just consequences of his crimes. Part
of the gang of bribers who have been
| oprating here for the past two weeks
| have returned to Butte and for the past
two days all the people of Helena who
can be SO far induced to lower them
selves have formed a lobby to work on
the Lewis and Clarke delegation to get
them in line for Clark in spite of the
terrible exposures which have come out
of the wholesale bribery in his interest.
| Curious indeed are the arguments used.
| Few have attempted to claim that the
| charges against Clark are not true, but
most of the people condone the crime
and seek in every way to excuse the
arch briber of the century. The Clark
| people claimed that if the Lewis and
Clarke delegation would only get back
into line they would switch the votes
| from various parts of the state they
have acquired and would create a
stampede So every Helena member of
the legislature has been importuned to
vote for Clark in spite of his acknowl-
edged crimes, importuned not by the
Clark people alone, but by any residents
| of Helena who We're thought to have
influence with any member and might
be disposed to do so.
AS a result of this lobbying on the
part of the Helena people it was an
nounced early this laorning that the en-
tire Lewis and Clarke delegation would
switch to Clark and that E. c. Day
:. himself would lead the way and would
make speech that would restore to
| Clark all his support. This seemed
! strange, for ever since Tuesdays ex-
posure Day has denounced emphati-
| cally and repeatedly the bribery of
| Clark, protesting that he had no idea
| the Butte millionaire had stopped TO
such methods to win his election and de-
| claring that he was through with Clark
and could never be induced to vote for
| him. Such statements were made by
Day to several members of the legisla-
ture, but the pressure brought to bear
| on him was too great and he voted for
Clark, giving as his reason the fact
that his constituents in this county had
elected him to the legislature on the ex-
press understanding that he should vote
for Clark and he felt bound to obey
Nevertheless the Clark people were
greatly disappointed in the stampede
they had expected, for three members
of the Helena delegation still refused
to vote for Clark. They We're Phelps,
Potting and Sweeney. Then, too, Days
speech proved a boomerang 1t was the
weakest excuse for stand ever made
His vote alone would have been strong
er, but he apologized for his vote In
his 1ukeWarm endeavor to get the stam-
pede started he criticised the members
of the investigating committee and tried
to excuse Clark, but before the mem
bers of the committee got through with
him he was glad enough to apologize
for his remarks, as he had previously
done for his vote.
There were no surprises in to-days
vote. 1t was known that all the Lewis
and Clarke delegation that could be
swung into line would go for Clark to-
day and they did. Others in various
parts of the state also voted for Clark,
but none except those who We're expect
ed to do so as soon as the button was
pressed. Several more will be added to
Clarks total probably to-day. Every
body knows who they will be: every
body knows that they are signed and
sealed This will be delivered when the
proper time comes. 1t is expected that
these few additional votes will go to
Clark to-day and when he gets them he
will have received all he will ever get
He will then have less than one-third of
the entire vote of the legislature and
he cannot be elected. Even if he should
be elected he will never be seated, for
the United States senate will never seat
a man concerning whose election there
is absolute proof of wholesale bribery.
1t is likely that some compromise can
didate will be agreed on in a short time
1t is curious to some that the larger
part of the Helena population which is
expressing itself at all, seems to con-
slider that the crime which has been
committed is not the wholesale pur-
chase of votes, but the unmasking of
the briber. In the opinion of many
here, if they gave their real opinion,
the criminals are not the bribers, but
the men who found the bribers out. The
fact that Clark is a millionaire ohscures
the fact that he is a criminal and de-
serves a sentence in the penitentiary.
The effort is being made here, while
not denying Clarks guilt, to denounce
the man who exposed him. That is an
old game.
The Hon, Fred Whiteside. the Hon.
H. L. Myers and the Hon. w. A. Clark
of Virginia City (do not forget his hab-
itaD, and the Hon. A. J. Campbell ale
to be consigned to infamy for the most