Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-22
AROLAND ron An OLIVER.

The claim Of the Inter Mountain that in
po.rt of political purity the two factions
Of the democratic party are practically a
stand-off, and that the present contro-
yersy is merely illustrative of the an
Gent fable of the pot calling the Kettle
black. fnds fresh confirmation every
'day. No one can read the Anaconda
Standard and the Butte Miner with re-
ligious zealand a frenzy Of some sort IS
necessary on the part Of the subscriber tc
get his moneys worth-without reaching
the Mathematical conclusion that 1t is six
OF one and half a dozen of the other, when
the two bourbon wings are measured by
the .tySct rules of political propriety. This
fact is brought out so forcibly in the
Miner this morning that its editorial is
herewith reproduced in full. Under the
caption, Lets All Purify" it addresses
itself to "the other wing" as follows:
II will not knowingly receive, directly
or indirectly, any money or other valua-
BILE thing for the performance or nom
~ SIN ~ $40 ~ ~ ANNAp oSAASA
than the compensation allowed by law"
This extract is from the oath taken by
the members of the legislature of Mon
tana. 1t is quoted by the Anaconda
Standard in ar effort to how that be-
cause Sena tor Clark saw fit, after the ad-
journment of the general assembly, to
iTecognIze the services of one Of the Lewis
and Clarke members who had worked in
dustriously in his interest during the SEN
latorial fight, that this member had vio-
lated his oath.
Now, it will be noticed that the oath
refers to the reception directly or indi-
lrectly. not alone Of money, blu of "other
valuable thjng'-not alone for the per-
formance of some specific act, but for the
non-performance Of some specific act.
We'll, so he 1t. ~
How about the gold watches and other
valuable things given after the adjourn
,ment Of the legislature of 1893 to MEM
,,bers who refused to break the senatorial
deadlock and vote for w. A. Clark, the
democratic caucus nominee, and the
choice Of not q few of the republicans?
lHow-coming down to six years later
fhow about the gift to one of the anti
Clark senators OF a half interest in his
home Newspaper? How about the gift to
lanother anti-Clark man, a member of the
Ehouse. Of an attorneyship for one of the
branch corporations of the Anaconda
company? O about the gift Of various
and sundry other things Of value to var
lous and sundry other men, who were al
lied to the Daily forces?
All this was for the non-performance OF
Some specific act. The specific act for the
non-performance of which these other
valuable things were given was to vote
for w. A.. Clark. No one will deny the
.pon-performance-they didn't vote for W
"A. Clark. For the non-performance Of
this actor not voting for w. A. Clark
some of these men got one thing, some got
another; some got promises Of political
preferment; some got business prefer
ment: some got good paying jobs in the
corporations controlled by Marcus DAILY
some. 1T is understood, got more substan.
tlal testimonials Of recognition for theil
services. But whether it was one or the
.other-whether it was gold bricks or 500,
.edelivery-whether 1T was hard cash OF
,halos-the principle is the same. These
men violated their oaths. They should BIZ
punished.
While we're purifying, let's purif,
a-pleEty. $3.50
1t must be conceded that the Miners
points are we'll taken. It is just as Grim.
inal to reward a member of the lesisla.
ture for services rendered in that bod,
with "other things" as with spot cash
The nature of the gift is immaterial. In.
sofar as his oath of Office is concerned
the legislator who accepts a valuable con.
sideration of any kind, as a reward TO,
having done or failed to do a certain thine
in his official capacity, is just as culpabls
as he who accepts a consideration in cash
As an original Clark man-as a persona
friend to the senator-it will be exceed
ingly difficult for Mr.. Day to reconcile tn,
acceptance of a gift Of IS, 900, at the clos
OF his Legislative duties, with his oath q
office. The consciousness that he was do
ing his duty by the state in helping t,
down the "one-man power ought to hay
been ample reward. On the other hand
the Anaconda democrats, who have bee
receiving all manner OF gifts, from choic
lots in the graveyard up to brass watche
and an honorable mention in the Stand
ard. have subjected their consciences t
just as violent a strain as has Mr.. Day.
The suggestion OF the Miner that tn
democratic party ought to purify a-plent
while 6t 10 a-purifying, is directly to tn
point. To do this successfully, howeve
1t ought to go into retirement, after til
usual manner of lepers.