The daily star-mirror., 1923-12-12


{ you is easy to solve. When you cal
the senate to order at the time set
tell the clerk to call the roll. He will
record those present who answer
: when their names are called. Their
you tell him to record those members
as present who failed to answer al
though plainly visable in the cham
Der, but before calling the senate to
order take two of the members in
whom you place confidence, aside and
inform them as to what you proposed
doing and instruct one of them to
arise Immediately after the secretary
has made his record and move the
election of a certain candidate as
chief clerk. This motion, after re-
ceiving a second will be put viva
voice and carried. The other Senator
will then move the election of a
Sergeant at arms. That too will pre-
vail in the same manner. You are
| then organized and all the courts in
the country cannot disorganize you.
You responded that "You believed
was right" and declared you would
do it, You then departed. The
next morning l informed Sanders of
your determination, and at the hour
| for convening we occupied seats
| where we could witness the adoption
of a new rule in obtaining a quorum.
Object Is Accomplished :.
The next morning having accomp
lished the object of my visit to Hell
ena, / returned to my home in Idaho.
Several years later while passing
through Montana l met Senator
Sanders in Great Falls and we had
dinner together and while at the
table we discussed the difficulty ex-
perienced in organizing the first ses-
sion of the Montana state Legislature,
and he asked me if l realized that
II was the man who gave
Speaker Reed national reputation.
| replied that I was aWarer Of that
fact, but did not care to deprive either
Reed or Governor Richards of any
part of the credit they had received
by adopting in their respective posi-
tions the method Of counting the
members to ascertain the presence of
a quorum. Reed was in a position to
advance or retard legislation and
Idaho seeking admission, needed his
support, before and after admission,
therefore being a citizen of Idaho l :
could not afford to appear as If try
ing to gain his we'll earned popu-
larity. Speaker Reed merely adopt
ed the rule which authorized count
of the members in parliamentary
body to ascertain the presence of a
quorum. But he did not claim to be
the author of the rule, he merely ac-
cepted the popularity and abuse the
rule brought him.
Some years later my mind recalled
the conversation with Senator Sand
ers at Great Falls, and l resolved 10
write to you and ask you, for the
preservation of the history involved,
to write me letter giving your YER
sion of the incidents involved during
the prolonged deadlock in the Mont
ana legislature, giving the details Of
the method you acquired the new rule
which enabled you to break the
deadlock which prevented organiza-
ton of the Senate for so many days
and weeks
You acknowledged the receipt of |
my letter but failed to give any de- |
tails of that historic event. You mere
ly stated that l was mistaken in the |
duration of the deadlock, it was only /
a few days and that you remembered
very we'll the help I gave them by
coming to Helena at that time with
my breezy western way.
Your letter was ample proof with
out other evidence that you had been
posing as the author of the rule
which enabled you to break the dead
lock; and cleared the way for organ
zation for the first session of the
Montana legislature. First: If the
deadlock had continued but a a few
lays, how could l arriving at so late
/ day help you with my breezy west
srn ways? Again: If the deadlock
continued but few days the time set
,y the Revised Statutes for electing
If U. S. Senators had arrived and
passed without action. If other tes-
imony is required to show the mis-
statement you have made the journal
# the senate, if consulted, will re-
ute your claim that the deadlock
Continued but a few days. At that
ime I did not care to engage in a }
controversy with you, which might
nvolve and humiliate some of your
Iotana friends, but further delay IN
ecording the stirring events which !
ollowed the convening of the first
ession of the legislature of the in
ant state of Montana may result in I
he loss of an amusing and interesting
risode of the early history Of that
tate the attempt of a minority to
revent the organization of the first Z
ate legislature by creating a dead
'ck in the senate, which resulted, af-
n the loss Of several weeks, in the J
1option of a new rule in parliament
Try procedure, by yourself as Lieu
nant Governor.
You displayed great moral courage .
adopting a new rule, which was the =
oposite to all parliamentary pre- 4
ndent, and by using it broke the u
adlock in the Montana senate, and .
once became the idol of your con- y
ituents, who were allowed to be- n
we that you were the author of the .
lie, which broke the deadlock. AS l =