The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-24
LABOR MN F|GRT CLARK
SENATORIAL SEAT IN
PEACE
REVIVAL OF THE OLD CHARGE
Labor Interests Believe They Have
Been Betrayed and a Delegate
VIII Move That He
BE Rejected.

II. r. Knapp, Of Helena, en- route from
Helena to Washington, stopped in ST.
Paul between trains last night. He is
the representative of the labor party Of
Montana and is on his way to Washing
ton to appear before the senate commit
tee on elections. He expects to reach
Washington Monday night, and Tuesday
morning he will appear before the COM
mfttee and place before 1t evidence
enough, he claims, to keep Senator Clark
out of the senate.
In an interview Mr.. Knapp reviewed
the situation in Montana and told the
reasons why the leaders of the labor
party of Montana want to keep Mr.
Clark out of the senate.
Mr.. Knapp's story was one of broken
faith. He declared that almost every
ante-election promise made by Senator
Clark and his son Charles, who acts as
the manager of the Clark forces had
already been broken and the labor leaders
have given up all hope of seeing any Of
them carried out
+ Charles W. Clark and his father"
said Mr.. Knapp, agreed that If the labor
party Of the state fused with the Demo-
Gratis, an eight-hour law fould be passed
a fellow servant law enacted and an an
ti-company store bill made law
"The eight-hour bill related to the
mines, mills and smelters and the men,
instead of working ten hours, as they
do now, were to have their work divided
into eight-hour shifts.
1.-THE fellow-servant law of our state
makes every employee a fellow-servant,
and if the employees are hurt they can
not recover damages from their employ
ers. The law that Mr. Clark and his son
promised to support would define the ex-
act position Of employees and permit them
to recover in case Of accident.
1.-THE company store law that Clark and
his son promised to support would do
away with the greatest evil of the state.
AS it is now, the men working out there
never see their money They are COM
PEELED to trade at the company stores,
and when pay day comes all they get is
a bill for their provisions. We wanted
law to do away with all this.
THAT, in outline, explains the prom
ises made by Clark, and his son, and
what follows?
'In Montana the fusion forces have
majority of the legislature. Clark wanted
TO be elected on the first ballot, and the
members gave in to his pleadings.
CLARK was elected on the first ballot,
and then began the betrayal Of the labor
party After two weeks of work we sue
ceeded in drafting an eight-hour bill, and
then, when the legislature wanted TO
make it effective at once, Charles Clark
the plea of insufficient men to run on
eight-hour shifts, he succeeded in amend
ing the measure so that it will not go
into effect until May /. With our court
the labor party expects that the law will
be pronounced unconstitutional, and then
we will have to wait two years more be-
fore we can have an eight-hour law. If
the law went into effect at once and the
court pronounced it unconstitutional, we
would have chance to amend 1t before
the legislature adjourned.
''Then came the fellow-servant law,
and that was killed in the senate and
killed by Clarks men, The company
store bill suffered like fate.
after this pressure was brought to
bear upon Mr. Clark by the attorney
general and other close friends to COM
pei the introduction and passage of
fellow-servant law, which is now pend.
ing in the house.
but there is not paper in the state
of Montana that will say word against
Clark. The old-line Democrats have all
swung into line and there is little hope
for the success Of the bin.