The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-12-08
Tuesday, December 8, 1903.
NONRESIDENT REPRESENTATION

ueSoay, OeCemper 8, 1SUo.
NONRESIDENT REPRESENTATION
Even though nothing has been heard
of open transoms and no member has
staggered to the speakers desk under
the weight of a wad of greenbacks
said to have been offered to him for
the purpose of corruption, the present
session of the Montana legislature will
not be permitted to go into history
unmarked by any unusual or anoma-
lous circumstances. In respect of this
it will sustain the reputation of the
body. The distinction it has gained
lies in another direction than any
of the others that in the past have
made a name for it.
1t is probably the first legislature
that has met in the state in which
as is occasionally done by members
of the English acknowledgement
counties of which they are not resi-
dents. The humor of the situation
thus given rise to has struck the pom
derous legislative mind to such an ex-
tent that it has been made the subject
of humorous resolutions and brilliant
badinage in the house, where the proxy
representation of counties is made.
AS BELTS it's dignity, the senate goes
the house one better. While the latter
is satisfied with permitting men re.
siding in one county to act in the
capacity of representatives of another,
the senate actually permits a man not
a citizen of the state to participate in
it's deliberations and accords him all
the rights and privileges belonging to
one who legally and validity repre-
sents n of the senatorial districts.
The distinguished gentleman who re-
spends whenever the name of Daw-
son county is called occupies his seat
by virtue of far fetched senatorial
courtesy. By no method of reasoning
or argument can Mr.. Cullen claim to
be longer a resident of Montana. For
over a year past he has made his home
in California and even is no longer
a taxpayer in the county he p%retends
to represent, or any other county in
the state of Montana, for that matter.
The last time he is known to have set
foot in Dawson county was for the
purpose of disposing of his holdings
there and when this was done he
jauntily boarded the train for the west
and announced that he was no longer
a citizen of that county, but called a
city in California his home and legal
residence. No reason existed for
doubling his word, for it was known
that for a long time prior thereto he
had been employed in that city and
that all his interests were there. And
there was no public meeting called
for the purpose of adopting resolutions
OF regret, popular as Mr.. Cullen may
at one time have been in the COM
munity he was leaving for good and
all.
Why he has sen fit to return and
take part in the present session can
only be surmised. When the former
extraordinary session was convened
by Governor Toole for the purpose
OF making an appropriation so that the
state might be properly represented at
the st. Louis exposition, Mr.. Cullen
did not consider the matter of sufi-
cient Importance to warrant him to
ask for leave OF absence to enable him
to be present. He was content to.
remain in California and permit the
other fellows to do the work. The object
OF that session was but little less i'm
portant than that Of the present, but he
could not see it in that light and re-
NAMED away that the interests of his
employer might not suffer because OF
his absence.
In view Of the excellent means OF
communication between Montana and
California. both by mail and tele-I
graph, 1t may not be said that Mr..
Cullen was laboring under a misappre-
hension Of the nature Of the present