Big Timber Pioneer 1911

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VOLUME XXIII, NO. 6   ^  ft H b
BIG TIMBER. SWEET GRASS COUNTY, MONTANA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 5. 19ll
F
PRICE $1.50 PER YEAR
LOSES FIRST ROUND
IN FIGHT FOR TOGA
Walsh Fails to Carry His Point for Caucus Nomination
of Senator—McDowell of Silver Bow Elected
Speaker—Donlan Heads Senate.
Personnel of Twelfth Legislative
Assembly in Session at Helena
Although he made a game fight,
Walsh lost the first round of the battle
he is waging for the United States sen-
atorship. ' A defection in what may be
called his own family contributed to the
defeat. McDowell of Silver Bow was
elected the democratic caucus nominee
for speaker of the house, a choice that
met with opposition from the Helena
gentleman,   although from the start it
[ to be committed to no one in particular.
i Standing  with  them  were the Conrad
! men.    They  said   they did not want to
! mix  up  in   the  speakership  fight and
i held that it was improper and illadviscd
for any open candidate for the senator-
ship to become entangled in  something
purely an affair of the house.
How It Happened.
By grooming several  candidates  fa-
seemed certain his opposition would  be i vorable to himself, Mr. Walsh hoped to
useless. i stem the McDowell tide  and   so  divide
Mr.   Walsh   had  nothing  personally ! the vote that the man from across  the
against the Silver Bow man. What he
demanded was that the caucus in addition to deciding the speakership should
also agree upon a candidate for senator. ,
To this proposition the .Silver Bow del- i
egation was unfriendly, as it is well
known that the Butte men do not want
range would be defeated. Accordingly
he caused Word of Helena and Woody
of Missoula to be prominently mentioned several weeks ago. More recently at least two of the Lewis and Clark
delegation gave it out that they would
vote   for   McDowell.     This   caused   a
n.
MUST ANSWEI
MURDER CHARGE
WROTE   AND   BROWN  HELD
KILLING INDIANS.
FOR
Walsh  for  senator,  although claiming, change of  plans and Woody was  drop-
i ped, leaving only Word  and  McDowell
in the field.
The caucus was  held   Sunday  night.
Woody having withdrawn, he nominated
Word,   while   McNally of  Silver  Bow
named    McDowell.     The  'latter   was
I elected on the first ballot, receiving  25
! votes to 16 for Word.
i    Although the ballot was secret, it has
1 leaked out that Lewis  and  Clark  cast
j four votes for McDowell.     Of  course,
he received the solid support of his own
\ delegation.     Some feeling  is  said   to
[ have   developed,   but   this  gave   way
• speedily  as  the  result was announced
■ and when the successful candidate arose
t and nominated Word as speaker pro tern
l a love feast followed.
i Mcltca Is Rewarded.
;    Finley McRea, who was  a  candidate
i before the state convention for clerk of
the supreme court,  was elected chief
clerk.    He received 22 votes as against
TWO BILLS AGAINST EACH
Carbon   County  Ranchers   Who
Crows   Find   Themselves
Serious Predicament.
jhot
in
Michael Wrote and Toots Brown will i
have to answer to  the charge  of mur- !
der as the   result of the  energetic and
effective manner in  which they object-t
horse*  which ' Ma.vwell, also a Helena man, and
| 8 for Pond.
| J. L. DeHart of Cascade was elected
; sergeant-at-arms. He was given 21
! votes, while Dan McLeod of Ravalli re
ed   to the  driving Off  o.
they claimed by Crow Indians last November.    The two are in jail   at Helena
and will have their trials in the federal
court at that place, having been indict-
JUiT
ed by  the  United  States   grand
which recently convened there.
Two Idictmcnts Against Each
Two indictments have  been returned
against each of the men.    One charges ' wh0 wanted die place  also,   was   later
| ceived 20. It required three ballots to
arrive at a result, after four other candidates had been eliminated.
James Harmon was elected  assistant
chief clerk.    Oswald  Cohen of Butte,
At noon last Monday the twelfth
legislative assembly of the state of
Montana convened for the session, the
fact that it happened to be a legal holiday made" no difference. No provision
was made by the framers of the constitution for such an emergency; the
law simply declares that the legislature
shall convene bi-ennially at noon on the
first Monday in January. Consquently
no adjournment could be taken, as the
members had no voice and could only
obey.
How It Is Made Up.
The legislature consists of 102 members, twenty-eight of whom compose
the senate and seventy-four the house.
On joint ballot the democrats are in
control politically, having a majority
of six, although it is considered as
quite likely that this will be reduced to
five. Representative Terrett of Custer
county is at present in California on
account of his health and it is very
doubtful whether he will be able to
serve.
The republicans control the senate,
where they number seventeen, and the
democrats eleven. In consequence all
of the senate employes, clerks and
officers are republicans.
It is in the house where the democrats ran things. They have forty-
three members, to thirty-one republi-,
cans. Because of this fact none of the
latter will be found filling offices or
holding jobs of any kind.
Membership By Counties.
By counties the membership is composed as follows:
Beaverhead—Senator, E. 0. Selway,
r.; representatives, Frank Eliel, r.; T.
J. Murray, r.
Broadwater—Senator, C. S. Muffley,
d.; representatives, Samuel Crouch, d.;
W. C. Whaley, d.
Carbon—W. F. Meyer, senator, r.*;
representative, J. N Tolman, r.
Cascade—Senator, J. M. Burlingame,
r.; representatives, J. W. Roberts, r.;
R. K. Holt,' r.; E. A, Wheeler,- d.;
Joesph Kirschwing,   d.; John  Hays, d.'
Chouteau—Senator, Thomas M.
Everett, r.; representatives, A. H.
Reser, r.; Henry F. Swarts, r.
Custer—Senator, Harrison N. Sykes,
r.*; representatives, George W. Burt,
r.; W. W. D. Terrett, d.
Dawson—George McCone, senator,
r.*; representative, Dan J. Donohue, d.
Deer Lodge—Senator, W. H.. Dunni-
gan, r.; representatives, C. L. Swick,
r.; W. A. Ralston, r.; H. W.   Rodgers,
cfi
r.;
r.;
r.; Harold Blake, r.;   Henry  Williams,
r.; G. B. English, r.
Fergus—Senator, Tom Stout, d.; representatives, D. W. Slayton, v.; J. L.
Ash bridge, d.
Flathead-Senator, F. M. Whiteside,
d.; l-epresentatives, G. H. Grubb, r.; J.:
E. Lewis, r.; A. D. McDonald, d.    - j--'
Gallatin—J. C. McCarthy, d.*; representatives, Nelson Story, Jr., r.; B. B.
Law, d.; E. J. Ower.house, d.
Granite—Senator. A. R. Dea born,
d.; representatives, John Hickey, r.; J.
C. Duffy, d.
Jefferson—Senator, I. A. Leignton,
r.; representatives, Marcus L. Hewitt,
r.; F. E. Nelson, r.; S. F. Tuttle, d.
Lewis and Clark—Senator, C. N.
Kessler, d.*; representatives, A. Holter,
r.; Owen Byrnes, d.; John Baker, d.;
C. B. Nolan, d.; Tom Johnson, d.;
James Lisner, d.; R. Lee Word, d.
Lincoln—Senator, James Leary, d.;
representative, P. N. Barnard, r.
Madison—Senator, M. M. Duncan, d.;
representative,    Arthur    Jordan
Charles Kamrnerer, d.; W. A. Reel.
Meagher—Senator, C. P. Tooley,
representatives, Theodore Sarter,
I. S. McQuitty, d.
Missoula—Senator, Edward Donlan,
r.; representatives, Ronald Higgins, r.;
W. W. Berry, d.; Frank Woody, d.; D.
L. O'Hearn, d.
Park—Senator, J. M. Conrow, d.*;
representatives, S. 0. N. Brady, d.;
Napoleon Ebert, d.
Powell—Senator,
d.*; representative,
Ravalli—Senator,
representatives, V/.
G. W. Johnston, d.
Rosebud—Senator, J. E. Edwards, r.;
representative, F. D. Herbold, d.
Sanders—Senator, W. E. Christopher
r.; representative, H. J. Vaughn, r.
Sweet Grass—Senator, Charles McDonnell, r.'*; representative, W. L.
Martin, d.
Silver Bow—Senator, H. A. Gallwey,
d.; representatives, H. R. Stevens, r.;
J. E: McNally, d.; G. E! Blackburn,'d.;
R.S. Alley, d.: P. C. Gillis, d.f B. K.
Wheeler, d.; W. W. McDowell, d.; P.
Duffy, d.-: ~.->e Binnard, d.; Paddy
Moore, d.; E.F. O'Flynn", d.; J. L. Do-
bell, d.
Teton—Senator, Thomas Larson, r.;
representative, Martin Jacobson, r.
Valley — Senator, John Survant, v.;
representative, R. J. Moore, r.
Yellowstone—Senator, W. B. George,
d.; representative, C. S. Bell, r.
•Elected in 1908.
GOVERNOR STRONG ON
PRIMARY ELECTION LAW
Urges  Adoption  by Legislature  of So-called Oregon
System as Superior to All Others—Various
y Laws That Are Recommended.
Gov. Norris' message was read at! supplementing the report heretofore
the joint session of the two houses of ', made to the* extraordinary session of
the legislature last Tuesday. It urges j the Eleventh assembly,
the direct primary election under the : Report of the conservation commis-
Oregon plan, the commission form of j sion, recommending laws for the pre-
government for cities, the conservation j vention and extinguishment of forest
of human life, and many other matters | firesr regulating appropriations of water
of importance. for power  purposes,   and   suggesting
The Primary Election Law.
In regard to the primary election law
the governor says: •"••:   - •: (•
"I recommend tbe passage of a primary election law for t! e nomination
of all elective officers. Prima:y elections should  be held  on the  same day
certain   amendments   to   chapter   147,
laws of 1907. -fe
« "^Submitting the pi*oposed income  tax
j amendment to the  constitution  of the
i United States.
|    Reportof the commission recommend-
-
ing employers' liabitity and workmen's
throughout the state at public expense,! compensation acts.
and  attended  by  all  the  safeguards,?-'   Transmitting   estimates  of  receipts
W. M. Cockrcll,
W. J. Paul, r.
H. G. Graff, d.;
E. MacMurray, d.;
them with having shot and killed Alvie
Other Bull and Peter Paul Notch, Nov.
20, 1910, on the Crow reservation.
Other Bull was killed nstantly. The
other Indian was wounded at the same
time and died in a Billings hospital
Dec. 5.
The second indictment charges them
with assault with intent to kill Red
Star, a Crow Indian" policeman. This
alleged offense occurred at the same
time the other Indians were shot.
Trouble Over Stock.
The affray took place near the boundary line of Carbon county and was the
culmination of considerable trouble
Wrote and others have had with the
Indians over stock. The settlers claim
that the Indians have been in the habit
of driving off all loose stock they could
find in that section, claiming the animals were trespassing on their land.
Stock so rounded up was driven to the
subagency on Pryor creek and there
held for ransom, which usually was a
dollar a head.
In this particular case the Indians
say that the hoi'ses were clearly over
the boundary line and allege that the
assault made on them was without justification. Brown and Wrote had concealed themselves behind a knoll in a
bend of the trail and as the Indians
were passing opened fire on them.
At the first shot Other Bull was knock-
chosen journal clerk, and Miss Breiden-
bt'ck.of Helena assistant journal clerk.
Dan McLeod, who failed to be elected
seargeant-at-arms, was selected as as-
sistent to DeHart. For this, as well as
for the other offices, there were a number of candidates, the men looking for
easy jobs being numerous as usual.
Minor Offices.
The remaining offices  were filled as
follows:
Chaplain, Rev. I. N. Smith of Ravalli; em-olling clerk, Vincent Fortune of
Lewis and Clark; assistant enrolling
clerk, Miss Utley of Silver Bow; engrossing clerk, Mrs. Henrietta Wine
De Walt of Broadwater; assistant engrossing clerk, Miss Montana Duval of
Silver Bow; bill clerk, Frank McHaffie
of Missoula; doorkeepers, Ed. Hanley
of Gallatin G. C. Dodge of Madison,
William Brennan of Silver Bow; waich-
men, M. J. Haley of Lewis and Clark,
William Pearson of Park, William
(Continued on Page 4.)
ed out of his saddle and fell to the
ground dead. The other two Indians
attempted to defend themselves, but
because of a heavy snow that was falling at the time they were unable to see
their assailants and the shots they fired
were without effect.
W. F.   Meyer of Red  Lodge appears
for the defendants.
ENTIRELY DIFFERENT HERE
Cold Wave and Blizzards of East
Not Affect Favored Sweet
Grass County.
Do
j when they arrived here to find absolutely no trace of the arctic conditions
of the east, with the ground bare and
the sun shining bright and warm.
Montana Rapidly Forging Ahead as Nation's
Premier Winter Wheat Growing State
Although they know that a constant- ] Great Northern railroad, from Glasgow
ly expanding area of wheat is being
seeded in the state, the people of Montana, however, have no idea as to the
immensity of the acreage given over to
the production of that particular grain,
nor how the state is being regarded
elsewhere as a factor in the country's
wheat production, present and prospective. Because of climatic and other
natural conditions Montana will always
be the premier winter wheat state.
The area sown to wi ter wheat in
Montana the present season is greatly
enlarged. With the exception of a strip
of country along the main line of the
westward to beyond Chester, says the
Dakota Farmer, the rainfall has been
fairly abundant during the autumn
months. Rain fell somewhat freely in
September and also later. The farmers
got busy vnd improved the opportunity,
and the result is that very large areas
of winter wheat have been sown. The
plentiful supply of moisture in the
ground has brought up the wheat and
given it a start that augurs success of
the crop of the next harvest season.
A Few Sample Fields.
The amounts sown are in some in-
continued on Page 3.)
Before it could reach this section the
predicted cold wave seems to have become lost or spent itself. Only a reminder of what the people to the east
have been compelled to endure occurred
locally.
Saturday night the mercury began to
decline and reached 18 below zero before Sunday morning. With the coming of day it rose rapidly and the weather since then has been warm, although
windy. Tuesday the change had become so great that the ice that had
formed during the two days before was
melting, which continued all of yesterday.
Tuesday afternoon a snow storm
threatened with a wind that for a short
time had shifted to the east, and a few
flakes fell. But the wind worked back
to the west again and the storm spent
itself in the Crazies. Yesterday opened
warm and bright, the sun was shining
with the brightness of May and only
the snow covering the mountains to the
west and north suggested the presence
of winter.
Bad To the East.
Beginning at Billings and thence extending east, the weather has been intensely cold. At the first named place
the thermometer registered 22 below
zero Monday. At Miles City it was
still colder, with the tempei-ature getting lower across the eastern part of
the state and the Dakotas. Trains
have been arriving from that direction
all the way from four to eight hours behind their schedules, caused by heavy
snows and blizzards. To the west conditions apparently were but little better, as the train service from that
direction was also sadly demoralized,
although not so badly as that from the
east.
Travellers coming from the east imported that in some portions of the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and
Colcrado regular trains had been abandoned awaiting subsidence of the storm.
j They could hardly believe their senses
CHRIS YEGEN ARRESTED
Prominent Billings Banker and Stockman Charged With Illegally Fencing Government Land.
Charged with unlawfully fencing
1,460 acres of public land in Yellowstone
county, Christian Yegen, the Billings
banker, stockman and merchant, was
placed under arrest this afternoon by
Deputy Marshall George McKay, says
last Saturday's Helena Record. Mr.
Yegen was taken immediately over to
the federal building,where, after a discussion with Judge Rasch in his chambers, the defendant appeared in open
court, and'entered a plea of not guilty.
Mr. Yegen was conversing in the
lobby of the Grandon hotel when Deputy Marshall McKay appeared and
notified the eastern Montana banker
that he had a warrant for him. Mr.
Yegen submitted quietly, but when he
reached the federal building he was in
such a rage that he was white in the
face.
Becomes Greatly Excited,
He excitedly demanded that the special agent on whose report he had been
indicted should be sent for, and, according to the attaches of the federal
court, Mr. Yegen threatened to do all
sorts of things to the aforesaid agent
for daring to bring in such a report.
Then he rushed into the judge's
chambers. In a few minutes he reappeared and was still expostulating with
the court, when Judge Rasch cut him
short by demanding to know what plea
he wished to enter. He then entered a
plea of not guilty.
This afternoon Mr. Yegen was released on a bond of $500.
Mr. Yegen is one of the most prominent citizens of eastern Montana, and
in addition to being a banker, stockman and merchant, he has for a number of years been active in politics in
Yellowstone county, having been at one
time elected state senator from that
c.untv. '
provisions and penalties that  obtain at
regular elections.
"Many states have used the primary
system of nominations for many years
and your discriminating judgement will
enable you to select the most satisfactory and reject the unsatisfactory previsions of such laws.
"From time to time charges have
been openly made that individuals and
corporations have unduly influenced
convention nominations. If there has
been any basis for these charges, and,
in fact, whether there has been or not, -
future security demands the elimination of the primary system of nomination for all elective offices.
"The present method of electing
United States senators is condemned
by an overwhelming sentiment. For
years the election of United States
senators by direct vote of the people
has been advocated by all political
parties in Montana and by the voters
generally.
"So far a method has not been
agreed upon. Personally I favor and
urgently recommend the adoption of
the Oregon system. This method
seems to be superior to all others heretofore used or pi-oposed without an
amendment to the constitution of the
United States. It does not seem possible to secure such an amendment."
Legislation Governor Favors.
The governor favors legislation regarding the following:
Raising of livestock, food inspection,
examination of private banks, the commission form of government for cities,
that the governor or some other state
official be given power to remove from
office any officer of the law who fails
to enforce the law; a law making it a
felony for a man to desert his family
without sufficient cause.
He also recommends an investigation
of the mines of the state in regard to
sanitation and ventilation, an appropriation for publicity purposes, and
urges that something be done, if possible, to lessen the terrible death rate
in the mines and on the railroads of
the state. The assembly is also advised to use discretion in the matter of
making appropriations.
Reference is made to the discovery
of embezzlements in the office of the
state boardof livestock commissioners.
Assurance is given that every effort
will be put forth to get at all of the
facts, and recommendation is made that
ample assistance be provided by the
legislature to make the investigation
begun complete. Promise is also given
that "every effort will be made to recover these embezzled funds."
Special Messages.
Special messages will be submitted on
the following subjects:
Report and recommendations of the
state board of  prison   commissioners
relative to the state prison.
Report of   the   capitol   commission,
and expenditures for  the next biennial
period. ^_
Report of  highway commission,  recommending a comprehensive road  law.
•R1EDS SHOW
THEIR ESTEEM
COMPLIMENTARY    BANQUET    TO
REPRESENTATIVE MARTIN.
EVENT  A   HAPPY   ONE
Democrats  and   Republicans   Join   in
Shewing   Respect   to   Most
Worthy Gentleman.
Complimentary to Hon. W. L, Martin, Sweet Grass, county's representative, a very pleasant affair was arranged rather hurriedly last Saturday
by a number of the gentleman's democratic friends and admirers. It took
the form of a banquet to which several
republicans also were invited.
Mr. and Mi-s. Martin  arrived during
the  afternoon  from Melville, en route
to Helena, for which  place  they  left
Sunday.   It  was   then   that   Herman
Utermohle,   A.   G.   Hatch and a few
others conceived the idea of the  testi-.
monial.     Although  the time was short
in  which  to prepare for the affair, it
could not have been better or more successful had days been given to its preparation.    The spread the Grand served
was  all  that could have been asked,
both as regards variety and excellence
of quality.   The Five Piece orchestra
discoursed   delightful   music and   Mr.
Hatch,   who  presided,   did so with a
grace and ease that charmed and delighted.   The presence of ladies added
to the tone and pleasures of the occasion.
Will Represent AH.
Mr. Martin as the guest of honor was
the first speaker called on. He had but
little to say, but promised that while
he would always be found a democrat,
he would endeavor to represent all the
people of Sweet Grass county and do
his very best to further their interests.
H. S. Magraw, chairman of the democratic county committee, was asked
how he had managed it, but modestly
disavowed any claims to the honor implied by the toastmaster's call, saying
that he had done little more than clerical work and that the men who had
stumped the county and borne the
brunt of the struggle were the ones
who had made victory possible.
Dr. Claiborne, also a member of the
committee, was equally modest in claiming credit,   and made a few happy remarks of a general character.
(Continued on Page 8.)
Federal Courts Sustain Department's Authority to Prevent Grazing on National Forests
Washington, Jan. 2. —(Special.) The
authority of the secretary of agriculture
to prevent the grazing of livestock on
the national forests without a permit
has been sustained in New Mexico by
action of the federal courts in three
cases- in which the defendants had
caused or permitted stock to trespass
upon the Alamo forest in defiance of
the regulations.
Because of the belief which has been
current among stockmen of some localities during the last year that the regulations of the secretary of agriculture
with regard to grazing on the national
forests   ar«   unenforceable,   the   New
Mexico cases are regarded by officials
of the department of agriculture as
particularly timely and valuable. The
recent disposition to question the validity of the regulations has evidently been
due to the entirely natural desire of the
stockmen to assert what they supposed'
though mistakenly, to be their rights
under the law as interpreted by the
courts. Secretary Wilson considers that
the effect of the action taken in the
New Mexico cases will be to clarify the
situation materially, and to promote a
better understanding of the legal rights
of the department.
(Continued from Pags S.)