The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-03-31
Senator Wheeler StumbIes

Senator Wheeler of Montana has been indicted
together with Gordon Campbell, Montana oil opera
tor, and one Edward S. Booth, known more fami-
liarly eddie" Booth, for conspiracy to defraud
the United States government of oil lands.
OF the legal merits of the case we know little
but whether Senator Wheeler is guilty of con
spiracy or not there are large numbers of Mon
tana people who would cheerfully vote for convic-
ton because of the fact of his association with
the Booth person.
The indictment of Wheeler is such an enlightening
event in the evolution of a middle class politician
that we feel some space can be devoted to it. Any
one familiar with Montana politics knows that
Eddie Booth has been for years the chief stool
pigeon and political fxer for the Anaconda Cop
per Mining company in the eastern agricultural
districts of the state 1t was his task to distribute
the slush fund where it would do most good and
line up the sons of the soil for the republican or
democrat slate-which ever the company had
chosen to put over its program in Helena the state
capital.
Eddie is quite character. For many years he
state senator from the COW counties but he
got his start in life so the story goes by splitting
with file de joie roll of a couple of thousand
dollars that she had lifted from a drunken pros
pector. Eddie was city attorney of Butte at the
time and in a strategic position in these matters
so to speak. The prospector tried to kill Eddie,
when he sobered up, but Eddie had the law on his
side was able to prove that the hard rock miner had
never possessed such sum and if he had that he
had no right to it.
Such assiduOus practice of thrift and display of
adroitness never went long unrewarded in Mon
tana in those days. The big bosses smiled on Eddie
and he fourished like the well-known green bay
tree in spite of the arid eastern Montana soil.
Came the war and Eddie was a leading patriot
He kept the kaiser out of Wibaux and Powder
River county by seeing to it that the cowhands ran
the non-partisan leaguers and other emissaries of
the enemy out beyond the skyline
He was most assiduous in assisting in the de-
nunciation of Wheeler by the state council of de-
Tense, but with the rise of Wheeers political star
Eddie seems to have patched things up Money has
odOr and business, like politics, makes strange
bedfellOws.
Wheeler and Booth once deadly enemies, are now
friendly enough to be jointly indicted for an al
legged attempt to gather to themselves some 10000
acres of oil land.
The lesson?
That middleclass politicians are businessmen
first last and all the time, that any measures they
may favor which the workers are demanding are
favored simply to gather support for their own
and the welfare of their class The Wheeers
and LaFolettes work well inside the orbit of cap
italism and their thoughts never stray beyond it,
In Montana the title of government to land is
not regarded.very highly and attempts to defraud
the state are not considered as indicating great
moral turpitude. But if Wheeler can be tried for
associating with Eddie Booth the jury will convict
and the twelve good men and true whose privilege
it will be to render the verdict will receive sub
stantial testimonials of approval from a grateful
citizenry.