The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1924-10-10
WHEELER SCOURGE
OF CORRUPTION
Vice Presidential Candidate
Drove Daugherty From
Office.
BY JOHN QUINN

4 Washington, D. C.-The dominant
quality Of Senator Burton Kendall
Wheeler is his magnificent courage,
blended with personal amiability and
guided and directed by a brain of alert
intelligence.
Outside OF Montana, the public
knows little Of the story Of Wheeler's
~ years Of struggle and achievement.
Wheeler was born at Hudson, Mass,
a small New England village, on Feb
ruary 81, 1882. His father was the
village shoemaker. His mother traced
her lineage back through three cen
turtles of distinguished New England
ancestry. Wheeler's fOrbears, in fact,
were on American soil before "the
LOwells who speak only to CabOts,"
and "the CabOts who speak only to
God" had made Massachusetts the
scene Of their aristocratlc and exclu-
sive activities
Young Wheeler spent no time adj
miring his family tree. He was am
bilious and energetic, and early set
out to earn his own way in the world
The youngest of ten children, he
pieced out the meager family income
by cultivating a strawberry patch and
selling his produce at Hudson. He
peddled pop corn and peanuts at base
ball games, sold newspapers and man.
aged to support himself by other odd
Jobs while he finished high school.
He determined to go West to study
for the law. He went to Michigan and
entered the law school at Ann Arbor.
He had less than $40 in his pocket
when he enrolled for the school year
and 1t was necessary for him to wait
on students tables and do stenOgraphic
work in order to pay his tuition and
his living expenses.
Wheeler entered a law Office at
Butte, Mont, and after few years
his twO-fsted fighting ability won him
a big practice. In 1910 he entered
politics as a candidate for the legisla-
ture and was elected Thomas J.
Walsh, then one of the leading law
yers of Montana, was a candidate for
the United States senate at that ses-
sion Of the legislature
Z Wheeler led the fight for Walsh.
Through the tense days Of that session
he stood up manfully, giving blow for
blow, and went down lighting when
the copper interests finally t1iumphed.
Later he helped in the campaign for
the adoption of a constitutional
amendment providing for the direct
election Of United States senators in
Montana and had the satisfaction of
seeing Walsh elected by a direct vote
Of the people in 1912.
~ In 1920 he won the Democratic nom
ipatiOn for governor. Every Repub-
1can and Democrat newspaper and
most of the weeklies opposed him.
Nevertheless, in the November election
he ran 1900 votes ahead Of Governor
Cox the head of the Democratic ticket
Chosen Senator by ProgressIves.
In 1922, the Progressives Of Mon
taHa called upon him to become a can
didate for the United States senate.
= Early in the session, Wheeler pre-
pared a resolution providing for an in
lvestigation of the Department of JUS
'tlce. He received little announcement
from the members of his own party
but the Progressive Republicans gave
him their active support and a COM
mittee to conduct the inquiry was
elected from the senate floor, on mo-
tlon Of Senator LaFollette.
The story Of Wheelers conduct Of
this case against corruption and mall
feasance In the Department Of Justice
Is already well known to the public.
Single-handed, he carried on his fight,
pursued every step Of the way by spy
Ing agents detailed by Daugherty and
Burns to shadow" him and to "get
something on him"
- Il am a Democrat, but not a Wall
street Democrat" In these words,
voicing the sentiments Of the progress
slves OF his own party, Senator Burton
X Wheeler accepted Endorsement as
9 candidate for vice president on the
Independent Progressive ticket