Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-03

decision, and some go SO far
as to say that the governor
now stands before the. people
for what he really is-"a be-
trayer of friends, the persona
fication of selfishness incar-
nate.
The Bozeman Chronicle (dem.) re-
views the political aspects Of the case
as follows: When Governor Dixon
decided to let Conley out as warden
and replace him with Warden Potter.
there was no question in the minds of
both the friends and enemies Of Frank
Conley that it was purely politics on
the part of Governor Dixon. The sen
ator from Powell county-Senator VIII
liams-as well as other senators who
were known to be friendly to Conley,
could not be handled by Governor Dix
on, and so Conley had to go. Had it
stopped there, Governor Dixon might
not have been censured for his position
except by his political enemies. But
Governor Dixon was not content to let
it stop there. Urged on by foolish
friends who thought they saw an OPP
portunity to besnirch former admins
trations, a so-called investigation was
started. The report made by the in
vestigator placed a stain on the reputa-
ton of Frank Conley in the eyes Of
those who did not know him. 1t was
then that he demanded that there be a
full and fair hearing. II he had been
guilty of doing any criminal things, he
wanted to be prosecuted. If he had
taken a penny that didn't belong to
him, he wanted it established, and he
| WAS willing to take his punishment.
The Conley trial followed. 1t was an
expensive trial. 1t cost the state OF
Montana and Mr.. Conley many thou
sands of dollars. The result shows
that the charges against Frank Conley
never should have been made. II is
evident that somebody Numbered. The
taxpayers of Montana must lay for
the blunders. Those thousands Of dol
lars expended could have been used in
many useful ways. There will be Il
day of reckoning and it is not far dis
tant.'
"Resorting TO the most Inscriptions
| and undetermined methods. Governor
Dixon instituted the prosecution of
Frank Conley," says the Dillon Exam
iHer tdem.1. He was discharged as
warden Of the state prison within "A
1 IcbLo tlOAtAt uI4i 1IANi AZ htA abANA'
the 30 best years Of his life in building
up that institution of which we Mon
tanans are all SO justly proud. And
| all without proyocation. And what is
| the outcome: The taxpayers will pay
the price. That political whim Of GOV
| ernor Dixon has already cost the tre-
mendous sum of 100000 and before ii
is entirely cleaned from the legal cal
endar of this great state 1t will cost
| thousands of dollars more. The vari-
Gus branches Of our state government
have been used as a personal means
By which to accomplish the downfall
and humiliation Of one of our leading
citizens. Dixon has danced, now let
him pay the fiddler"
Politics of the vicious and inexor-
ably unfair type was the occasion for
the entire Incident says the Ana
conda Standard, (dem.). For some time
if had been runored that the Dixon
administration was going to get Con
lev. He was persona non grata to
those in control Of the new machine
his office was TO become a section of
the political pie to be distributed to
the victors. But in order to Gust him
it was necessary TO biacken his char
acter. AS Judge Horsky points in his
decision, the special investigator, who,
it was heralded. was conducting an
impartial examination, devoted much
Of his time to securing testimony from
convicts. men who would naturally ex-
pect that their testimony might shorten
their prison sentences and that the
men who composed the successive
! state prison boards, men of the highest
character and integrity, were not even
interviewed with reference 10 the mat
ters with which they. more than any
body else. were cOnverSant. The plan
worked we'll enough as far as removing
Conley and supplanting him with one
of the ~ple-counter applicants was coa-
cerned, but the effort to ruin the
former warden and to bring all his
official career into disrepute was a
miserable failure and one which is
bound TO react"
ut has frequently been intimatcd
that personal animosity was the com
| pelling force behind the governors
| action, and certain phases Of the affair
lend color to this belief" says the
Kalispell interlake, (rep.). BE it as
it may. the state has been doubly
unfortunate. It has been forced tc
spend thousands Of dollars on the in.
~vestigation and court trial at a tlmt
when it could i'll afford it, and it has
lost an official whose work III connec-
ton with the state penltentiary has
placed that institution among the best
equipped and administered in The
United States, and by his fairness ant
sympathy with the prisoners in hi
charge Mr.. Conley built up an hone
system among them which gained {
nationwide reputation. His appoint.
ment under successive governors, boil
republican and democratic, for Il periot
Of over 90 years, is evidence of merit
orious service rather than politica
patronage. But the state is not alone
in it's misfortune, for the governor ha!
suffered loss of prestige; has injured
his political future, and has all Blu
disrupted his party by his action
After pointing out that most OF thu
daily newspapers Of the state refraine'
from commenting upon the case dur
ing the progress of it's trial, willin!
that the questions at issue should hav,
fun. fair and impartial investigation
the Billings Gazette (rep.) says: Hoy
different the course Of Governo
Dixon. II the political speeches HI
made during the summer he lost III
opportunity to try the Conley case
In every county in the state he shoutet
to his hearers that the state 'pait
umpteen thousand dollars for hay ant
owned not Il hoof Of livestock AM
other and similar things, too numer
| Gus to mention. Half truths. all o
xL- Man EbnE - - IA..