Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-10
THE DVyy OF TIE CITIZEN.

SU6 w. W "
Whatever may be the outcome of the
senatorial investigation now in progress
in Washington. the fact remains that
Montana has suffered ~irreparably in rep
utation and in business, and that the re-
s~ponsibility for these misfortunes lies
at the door Of the democratic party.
Each wing of that political organization
is making a effort to prove
that it's own linen is free from pollution,
and that the faults which smell to
heaven are the property of the opposing
faction. The fact that in the present
controversy one wing Of that party
stan in the position of an accuser.
while the other is forced to assume an
attitude of defense, does not alter the
joint responsibility of the factions for
the conditions that exist today.
For many years past this democratic
feud has been in operation. Behind the
political efforts Of each faction was the
intense bitterness Of personal hatred.
m the willingness to %squander money
in unlimited quantities to achieve the
end in view. Sometimes one faction
would control the machinery of the DEM
ocratic party, and sometimes it would
fall into the hands Of the other faction.
All the tricks now to past-masters in
political intrigue have been resorted to
by each wing in it's efforts to get its
hand upon the party lever, failing in
which it stabbed its more successful rival
at the polls.
unlimited wealth on both sides. could
not fail to demoralize the party which
depended upon them. Democrats whose
personal and business habits We're above
reproach, became politically demoralized.
The old saying that everything is fair
in owe and war, took on an abiding sig
nifcance in the democratic politics of
this state. To align oneself with either
faction was to place a price upon political
effort and expect a substantial reward
The recognized leaders of Zach wing sur
rounded themselves with political re-
tanners, like the feudal knights of old,
and to all intents n purposes the demo-
cratic party became segregated into two
gigantic conspiracies struggling for SUI
pre,nacy.
Fol years their contentious have been
characterized by a growing holiness in
the illegal use of money. in the coercion
of employees. in the political schooling of
hoboes, in the packing of primaries, and
in the practice of every device calculated
to further the chances of success. Such
practices became SO common, m were
engineered upon so large a scale, that
honest elections ceased to ever figure
in the hopes of our people. While it was
known that a free and untrammeled
ballot would make democratic ascend
ancy an impossibility. the millions of
wealth behind each wing of that organf-
zation made the dream Of honest politics
in this state a vision that could not be
realized.
Both factions have repeatedly shown
their ability to control large bodies of
men. in the support of propositions that
were foreign to honest politics and the
inherent rights Of the citizen. It was an
evolution from the ancient days of WOOL
ley's Ranch and Wilder's Landing. when
the ballot-box had no rights which any
democratic leader cared to respect, up to
the more modern system of forcing a
conclusion against the will of the people.
In the nature of things, the demoraliza.
tion resulting from the course pursued
by the democratic party in this state.
led from n r~ottenness to another. as
the fight between the factions grew in
size and intensity.
If this condition of affairs has finally
led up to the ruin Of the reputation Of
the state. and to the permanent injury of
Its business interests. the fault lies with
the democratic party and it's schools of
crime. The people Of Montana must
hold the democracy to a strict a~ccounta-
bility for the evils inflicted upon our
state. Never again should the persua-
sive eloquence Of either wing of that or