Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1924-07-19

Burton N. Wheeler Nas born NJ IIud-
SON. Mas. n lS>2 Youngest " family
" eight children. ILL father MAS "a
tarnrf and liksNisr thc village shoe
maker. though Nil mother was " Hale.
AND member Wy Nrw England family
,oi note. An ,vrn'fuI youth prrsnnils
brought ont ihr hos as q graduate of
business training N, hoD and II stcnog-
ral'her who got JOB IN Boston and went
10 work ~ it
lie had huMevrr. nm ambition NV study
law. which WA little eucuur. gca Ly liS
,ldrr brothers, and an ambition ia gn
West which Maa even less rn outraged.
With his savings of hiS HtcuoEraphir cin-
riuymrn', hr cur himself loose from
Massachusetts. went \. Annarhor. Aiieh
ani entered The University 0f Nirhigah
law school. liz waited table. cn' lawns
and tended furnaces uut- side of lecture
hours ai thr University. ara in SUMMER
secured the rural sections of the middle
west selling books 80 engaged. hr
stopped one dav "a. an Illinois farm house
and met the daughter WI the family. Miss
Lulu White. HOW his wife. aud mother ~
Z His fur children.
Through school ana pussrSScd w the
legal education ~ had snnghi III spite n
lhe advice of relatives aud friends.
Wheeler started un again West. aiming
for san Fran isgo. nv had WY little
money aS when Er landed ai Annarbnr
ana when H. gnt to l;mife. Mont. h. had
~ stop ~ earn some more.
Tie great Montana copper city was 4
difficult town III the carA years of the
presest century. when thc future senator
landed there. minus friends anu money
and cursed vitI lAe combination " nasal
and siruac voweiled Yankee accent which
III those Times always prickrd up Sus-
4 nicipr-ly ihp western ear.
Hrf somehow nv young attorney got
~ hiS frfi. Az pushing forlern hope
damage suits M injured miners against
the big mining companies. hr began to
attract attention III hs profession and a.
the same time waS drawn into alignment
with liberal poliii IA element a. "a
Z spokesman M which nv waS sent w lhv
Montana State senate. IIe aided there
ii the election NJ Senator Walsh. Mon
tana. and later senator Walsh pro urcd
\ for him tile appointment AS federal dis
triyI attorney w Montana III 1919.
i The frucmlcnt hard rctk miners 0f the
Butte undergo ound were stirred ~ pretty
constant activity from thc time thc Ser
man kaiser tried ont hiS war machine
against the world The soaring price uf
rcprr which registered the munitions de-
mand was temptation fur agitation. and
there Was constant claShias between cn-
r.nyrr and cmrioyc. and between L. W.
/ NJ aud trade. uIiuuist- When The
United States was drawn into thr war,
ihr struggles grew more deadly. and
4 Wheeler was accused hy his enemies 0l
booking with wv friendly and tolerant
cxe upon all ihe miners and their lead
erS In 1915 President Wilson settled
the issue hy refusing ~ rrAppuiut him as
district attorney
Il Gut of the sciiism grew n fight inside
the demo ratio parity. I'm 1870 Wheeler
was nominated far governor against thc
opposition w most w Ihc regulars of AiS
l,artv- hut with thc Endorsement of ihe
nnn partisan league. Defeated IN this
campaign. ic was promptly nominated in
+, 1g3. fur the Senate. with the same
hacking, ana swept thc field, coming
down to Washington to align himself
with the senate I.aFnIlritr group as one
of iis most oui spoken adherents.
Taking charge " lhe aitnck MI former
attorney general nangheriy hc waeed n
war as unrclcutiug a~ aAy vi the Mon
iana campaigns ous w which ~ emerged
Sto Seuaiorshin.
lu iis midst hc WAS Indicted In his
home state MI Y charge oi accepting n
fer for aiding "A legal client 10 sei oii
land permits from the departmcnfspf I'M
terror The senator ANA his friends aS-
serted thr charge was entirely false,
: framed up to diScrcdit his invesii-
gatinn. The senate after "a special ii-
quiry adopted almost without dissent a
committee report finding Linn innoreat
of any law violation. either In letter of
Ia spirit The indi tmcnf still IN pending
Tar nan=hcrty Investigation meantime
continued with undiminishcd vigor. and
onlS dropped temporarily when cuHgres
adionrned early in June.