A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 20

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

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"In 1892, less than four years from his first appear- ance on the stage of local politics, Senator Carter was selected chairman of the Republican national committee, the highest position attainable in the management of na- tional party politics. This was a most remarkable tribute to his abilities as an organizer and a mark of the confi- dence reposed in him by the great party leaders. It is to be doubted if in the annals of our political history there is another instance of such a rapid rise from com- parative obscurity to political and national prominence. The Senator retained this office four years and was suc- ceeded by Hon. Marcus A. Hanna, of Ohio."

At the close of the campaign of 1892 Senator Carter resumed the practice of his profession in Helena, but the people of the state had too profound an appreciation of his ability and loyalty to permit him to remain long in private life. In 1895 he was nominated as candidate for the senate of the United States. Concerning this period in the career of Senator Carter the writer of the present article had previously written the following es- timate: "The ensuing campaign was most spirited and political enthusiasm ran high in Montana, but the re- sult was favorable to Mr. Carter, the honor accorded him being a fitting crown to his brilliant career as representative of the interests of his state. In the senate he assumed a position of no less relative importance than he had held in the house. He was an active work- ing member, as a matter of course, for he was essentially a man of action. During his first senatorial term he served on a number of the most important comittees, among which may be noted the committees on census, appropriations, military affairs, postoffices and post roads, public lands, territories, forest reservations, and pro- tection of game, besides others of scarcely less import- ance. His brilliant and long sustained efforts in oppo- sition to the passage of the river and harbor bill at the close of the Fifty-sixth congress will ever be remembered in the annals of our political history. It is an undoubted fact that the defeat of this extravagant measure was due to him. It is unnecessary to recapitulate the cogent and forceful arguments he brought to bear in his famous ten-hour speech, which continued in the last session of that congress, which expired before the address was completed, for the same are a matter of record and have been duly exploited in the public press of the nation, his course having gained to him the hearty commenda- tion of a great majority of the people of the country,

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irrespective of political affiliations, and stamping him as one of the zealous advocates of fairness and true econ- omy in the administration of public affairs. The con- test on this bill was a notable one, and Senator Carter scored, without fear or favor, a measure that was 'fos- tered by corporate greed and marked discrimination against the West in an unwise expenditure of public funds for the benefit of the East."

The great West, and Montana especially, owes a per- petual debt of gratitude and honor to Senator Carter for the results of his action in connection with the defeat of the bill to which reference has just been made and which carried with it vast appropriations for river and harbor improvements of questionable value and in dis- tinct discrimination against the demands of the West for federal aid. The Senator's antagonism to the bill was not primarily because he opposed the demands of the eastern section of the country but because of the fact that the East was opposed to the legitimate demands of the West. The defeat of this bill, appropriating millions for river and harbor work, made the East take cogni- zance of the fact that the West also had claims upon the national government for federal aid in the reclamation of its vast tracts of arid lands. By the action of Senator Carter the ultimate success of the reclamation move- ment was assured. Further reference to this matter is thus made in the article from which previous quotations have been taken:

"Appropriations followed, and soon thereafter the initial steps were taken in the construction of those stupendous irrigation projects which are today the won- der and admiration of the scientific world. To Senator Carter, next to Theodore Roosevelt, must be given the place of honor in securing this great constructive legis- lation which is bringing such vast benefits to Montana and to the West in general. He was one of the pioneers, the very ablest champion and advocate of the movement that led to these mighty undertakings, which have since transformed into smiling fields and fruitful orchards millions of acres of barren soil, and, in very fact, made the desert to blossom as the rose."

It may be further stated that it was due to the efforts of Senator Carter that Montana obtained a greater amount of federal aid in reclamation work than did all of the other western states combined, and it was through his interposition only a few months prior to his death a special appropriation of several million dollars was made by congress in 1911 for the completion of the Milk river irrigation project, one of the most important in Montana. The Glacier National Park, in Montana, destined to rival the Yellowstone Park as one of the wonderful natural resorts of the country, was created through the earnest labors of Senator Carter, and in recognition of his efforts the highest peak in this great reserve is known as Mount Carter and the largest of its glaciers as the Carter glacier.

At the Republican national convention of 1908 Senator Carter was successful in his efforts to have incorporated as a plank in the party platform the provision calling for the establishing of postal savings banks, and he put forth his claims with characteristic vigor, in the face of the bitter opposition of the National Bankers' Asso- ciation and other powerful influences. Apropos of this noble measure thus fostered by Senator Carter, Hon. Lee Mantle has spoken in the following terms :

"In 1905 he was elected to his second term in the senate, and toward its close he had formulated and introduced his bill for the creation of the system of postal savings banks. He had long been impressed with the absolute public need of this legislation and had de- voted a vast amount of time and labor and research to a thorough study of the subject and to the operation of the system in other lands. The bill met with powerful and stubborn opposition from the very ontset, and every inch of its progress was vigorously contested. But nothing could withstand the force, eloquence and per-

sistence with which he urged it, and none could suc- cessfully controvert the facts, figures and logic with which he so ably defended it. And finally the victory was won and he enjoyed the intense gratification of see- ing this beneficient product of his creative genius, into which he had thrown his whole heart, power and influ- ence, become a law of the land. He also lived to see the benignant system in successful operation throughout the nation and to receive praise for the great work which he had accomplished for the good of the people in general. The law has already amply vindicated the statesmanship and foresight of its author and has be- come a fixed and vital part of our government policy, one which no power or influence can ever repeal. Its enactment was the climax, the crowning act of Senator Carter's brilliant legislative career and will stand, as a lasting and worthy monument to his name and fame."

In 1901 President Mckinley voluntarily appointed Sen- ator Carter commissioner of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, in St. Louis, and upon the assembling of the board of commissioners the Senator was chosen president, a position which he acceptably filled. In March, 19II, Senator Carter became chairman of the American section of the newly created International Joint Commission, especially charged with the adjust- ment of Canadian boundary matters, and death came to ltim before he had been able to discharge the duties of this new post, which he had assumed with character- istic vigor and earnestness.

At the time of the death of Senator Carter the fol- lowing editorial appeared in the columns of the Wash- ington Post: "Former Senator Carter was one of the best beloved men in public life. His manner was so hearty, his wit was so sharp and yet sharp in such a kindly way, that all his fellows loved him. He was a big, brave-hearted fighter, unafraid and untrammeled except by his own strong principles. He went down fighting. In all his life he never sought cyclone cellars. His masterful grasp of political affairs was shown in the manner in which he brought about the nomination of Harrison over Blaine; that Harrison was not elected was no fault of Tom Carter's. His usefulness was not over .. His death, coming so unexpectedly, leaves not only Washington and Montana but also the whole coun- try with a sense of shock and personal loss." Solemn high mass of requiem was celebrated at St. Paul's church, Roman Catholic, in the city of Washington, and, in conformity with the previously expressed wishes of the deceased, the services were simple and unostentatious. The remains of Montana's loved and distinguished son were laid to rest in beautiful Mount Olive cemetery, in the national capital. He was a devout communicant of the Catholic church, as is also Mrs. Carter. Prior to touching. and with consistent brevity, the ideal domestic chapter in the life history of Senator Carter, there is all of consistency in perpetuating in this enduring form further sentiments from the memorial address delivered by Hon. Lee Mantle :

"He was one of the most affable and approachable men in public life, wholly without vanity on the score of the great honors which were his. He was born and reared among the common people,-that element of American citizenship which the great Lincoln loved so well. He was familiar with their lives; he knew their ways, their thoughts and feelings and was in sympathy with their hopes and aspirations. He was equally at ease on a cattle ranch on Montana's plains or the floor of the senate of the United States; in some old prospector's cabin in the hills or in the company of the chief justice of the supreme court of the nation. No man enjoying bis exceptional honors and distinction was ever more Democratic, more unassuming, or depended less for his prestige and popularity upon the mere accessories of official power and position. He strove tenaciously and manfully for the reward which came to him, suffering the 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,' which fre-

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quently found in him a shining mark, with patience and fortitude. He was undismayed in defeat and magnan- imous in victory, and no man was ever more ready or willing to condone a personal injury or forgive a wrong. "Senator Carter's life was an unbroken record of un- ceasing labor. His whole heart was ever in his work, and he brought to it a combination of extraordinary qualities such as are seldom found in one man. He was of a philosophical mind and gave much thought to the grave problems of life and death. He received the end of life's activities with the same philosophic calm and fortitude with which he had met all its changing fortunes and vicissitudes. He shared with the mass ot mankind that faith, hope and belief planted deep down in the human heart by an all-wise Creater, in the im- mortality of the soul."

In the year 1886 was solemnized the marriage of Senator Carter to Miss Ellen L. Galen, of Helena, and she survives him, as do also their two sons. Mrs. Carter is a daughter of the late Hugh Galen, one of the well known and highly honored pioneers of Montana and a resident of Helena at the time of his death. Mrs. Carter is a woman of distinctive culture and marked social graciousness, and is possessed of much musical and liter- ary talent. She has been a leader in the representa- tive social activities of Helena, a city endeared to her by many hallowed associations and memories, and has been a prominent and popular figure in the social life of the national capital, where she still passes much of her time. She is specially active in connection with religious and charitable organizations in the city of Washington, where, she is vice-president of the Christ Child Society, a member of the board of trustees of Providence hospital, as well as that of the Children's Guardian, a municipal organization, and that of the Work for Poor Churches. In 1912 Mrs. Carter was elected president of the National Federation of Catholic Women's Charitable Organizations, and she is also president of the auxiliary board of Trinity College, in Washington. In the national capital she is a member and liberal supporter of the Catholic parish of St. Paul's church. John Galen Carter, the elder of the two sons, was born at Helena, on the 18th of January, 1891, and he is now a member of the class of 1914 in George- town University, at Georgetown, D. C. In 1912 he re- ceived his first political honors in Montana, by serving as a delegate to the Republican county convention of Lewis and Clark county, and as a delegate to the state Republican convention. Hugh Thomas, the younger son, was born at Helena on the 18th of August, 1892, and he likewise is a member of the class of 1914 in Georgetown University.

JOHN WALKER STANTON. During more than a quar- ter of a century of active connection with the bar of Great Falls, John Walker Stanton has attained a dis- tinctive position as a lawyer and easily stands among the leaders of his profession in the state of Montana. His career has been one in which his own ability has played a conspicuous part, and he has always relied upon the forces of his own mentality and character rather than upon artifice or pretense for his advancement, and the recognition of these qualities brought him to his high place of esteem among the people of Great Falls and many other sections of Montana.

John Walker Stanton was born on a farm near Cover- dale, Indiana, on March 31, 1861. His ancestry, originally English and Scotch Irish, goes back in America to the time of the Revolution, in which one or more of his family took part as soldiers in the Continental line. His parents were Thomas and Mary (Walker) Stanton. His grandparents came from Virginia, locating in Ten- nessee, where Mr. Stanton's father lived until moving to Indiana. The mother was born in Ohio. Her death occurred when the son John W. was seven years old, and he was still in his teens when left an orphan Vol. 11-5

by the death of his father. Fortune thus laid upon him at an early age, the necessity of providing for him- self, and preparing for a larger career of usefulness. His education was attained in the Indiana public schools, during a brief attendance at high school, and he studied in short hand and business and normal colleges for brief terms, but was always his own chief instructor in books. Brought up on a farm, he had the wholesome and vigorous environment of country life, and perhaps the most satisfactory accomplishment of his whole career has been the fact that from boy- hood he has done more than pull his own weight. While on the farm he performed the chores and other duties while attending, high school two and a half miles away, a distance which he walked every day.

In April, 1882, Mr. Stanton then twenty-one years of age made a trip up the Missouri River by steam- boat to old Fort Benton. It was this visit which de- . termined him to make Montana his future home. Re- turning to the central states he took up the study of law in Indiana and Missouri, and was admitted to the bar at Sedalia in the latter state January 30, 1886. On August 13, 1886, having arrived in Montana, he was admitted to practice before the supreme court of the territory. Some months later, in March, 1887, Mr. Stanton opened his law office at Great Falls, and has been continuously identified with his profession in that city ever since. When Great Falls was in- corporated as a city in 1887, he was elected the first city attorney. From May, 1905, to the same month in 1911, he again served in that office. In politics he has voted the Democratic ticket, since the early eighties, and was an influential factor during the campaigns of Mr. Bryan and Mr. Wilson for the presidency.

At Great Falls, September 17, 1891, occurred the marriage of Mr. Stanton to Miss Lulu Burghardt, of Chicago. Her father was George H. Burghardt, a veteran of the Civil war and now deceased. Her mother is Lucy A. Burghardt, now a resident of San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Stanton have a most felicitous home life, and through twenty-two years they have rejoiced in the beauty of an undimmed matri- monial sky. His home has been the object of Mr. Stanton's first thought and care, and to the companion- ship existing between himself and wife have also been added the blessing of four chldren, who are still living: Misses Pansy, Lucy, and Viola, and Willard Quincy Stanton. In the winter of 1912-13 Mr. and Mrs. Stan- ton traveled extensively in Japan, China and the Philip- pines. The family are members of the First Congrega- tional church of Great Falls. Fraternally Mr. Stanton is well known in the Orders of Masonry, Woodmen of the World, Modern Woodmen of America, the Maccabees, and especially among the Knights of Pythias. In 1910 he attended the convention of the Supreme Lodge of the Knights of Pythias held at Milwaukee, and again at Denver in 1912, as supreme representative from Montana. He was a member of important committees, and took an active part in the affairs of the order, especially in framing legislation for an order which comprises seven hundred and sev- enty-five thousand members in the United States.

JOSEPH N. IRELAND. With the exception of the ac- counts of exploration and discovery, the operations of the old fur-trading companies and similar activities, the history of Idaho's substantial and real develop- ment might well be condensed in a period of half a century. Fifty years ago there were only a military and trading post and a few mining camps and prospectors in all the territory of Idaho. It is remarkable, how- ever, that only a very few living men have been per- sonal witnesses and actors in this half-century era of historical progress. Those who sought fortune and adventure in Idaho during the early sixties were the pioneers of pioneers, and it is with more than ordinary

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interest that the modern reader will peruse the details of a career which has continued from that time down to the present. One of these old settlers whose con- temporaries were the gold-hunters who were first at- tracted into Idaho was Mr. Joseph N. Ireland, now vice-president of the First National Bank of Pocatello, but in the main living retired after his long and active career. Mr. Ireland knew practically all the early men of this country, and there is no better informed man anywhere concerning the history, the resources and the general character of southern Idaho. He lived and had his part in those stirring days, which were so remarkable for their individualism and also for their helpful cooperation, . and he not only wit- nessed but took part in the formation of those agencies which were preliminary to the establishment of formal Civil government in the northwest country.

Mr. Ireland was born in Calvert county, Maryland, May 15, 1839, a son of Thomas and Rebecca (Wilson) Ireland. The old homestead where both father and grandfather were born was in Calvert county, some sixty miles below Baltimore, and now belongs to Philip Ireland, a nephew of Joseph N. Ireland. The earlier members of the family gave service during the Revo- lutionary war, so that the stock is long established in America. The father died in 1847 at the age of fifty and the mother also a native of Maryland died in 1857, aged fifty-seven. Joseph N. Ireland attended the district school near his home, and at the age of fourteen was sent to Baltimore to learn the saddlers' trade. Eight years later he resolved that the West should furnish him his opportunity and by a long trip across the Middle West reached Omaha, Nebraska. That was then the frontier outfitting point for travel into the Northwest. As soon as possible he joined an immigrant train, which left June 14, 1862, and which was three months enroute. When it arrived in what is now Bannack county, Idaho, the party split up and Mr. Ireland, with H. Hendee and his wife, the latter having been the first woman to go into the mines of Montana proceeded to the new diggings. When Mr. Ireland and his companions reached Beaver Head, Mon- tana, a man named William Gibson came to the camp on trail to advise them of the discovery of gold by himself and others in a creek they named Grasshopper, which is now Bannack, Montana. His object in coming to the trail was to induce immigrants to come to the camp, this he did by posting a placard on the trail giving the direction to the mines. The destination of immigrants was Oregon, particularly Florence on Salmon River and Frazier River, B. C. Buffalo Gulch in the Bannack region was named by Mr. Ireland, and he and his companions got some gold there.

It will be much more interesting to follow Mr. Ireland's adventures in the new country through the medium of his own reminiscences covering the time he started West, until about 1874 or 1875. These recol- lections of an old pioneer present a very vivid account of social conditions and law and order as maintained in the early mining camps, and this history of Idaho con- tains no more illuminating factor in those few years than the following account from the words of Mr. Ire- land. He says :

"I crossed the plains in 1862, left Omaha, June 14, and arrived at a place about twenty miles from where Bannack City, Montana, now is on the twenty-ninth of August. They had just discovered gold there. One of the discoverers came out to the immigrant road and struck our camp telling us of the find, and Mr. and Mrs. Hendee and myself left the outfit and went to the camp. Montana did not exist, and Washington terri- tory at the time extended as far east as the Nebraska line. The men who discovered the gold on Grass- hopper were Colonel McClain, first delegate to congress from the territory of Montana, Washington Stapleton, William Gibson, a man named Root and another called

David, and another whose name was Dance. Within the next thirty days about thirty more men came in. About that time the Bannack Indians came in on us, about four or five hundred warriors, with Winnemutta as their chief. He was the great Piute chief. The most of the Indians wanted to drive us out of the country or kill us, but Winnemutta prevailed on them to let us go and told them if they killed us more white men would come out to avenge our deaths than there was grass on the meadow where we were then. We parleyed with them about three or four days, and they agreed to let us stay, providing we dig the gold and leave the country the next year, and not raise any wheat which meant farming with the Indians. We had to give them the larger portions of the supplies we had. We invited them to come back that way in the spring, and trade their furs with us. During the parley with the Indians, the peace-pipe was smoked, Indians and white men taking their turn at the pipe as it was passed around the circle. There were two or more circles smoking at the same time. The Indians were then going on a buffalo hunt in the Yellowstone.

"In April or May of 1863 they came back, seeming friendly, and camped about four or five miles from Bannack. In the meantime Bannack had grown to have a population of about five hundred, principally men, among them many tough characters. Instead of leaving the country as we had promised, a band prin- cipally of these toughs was organized to attack the Indians in the night and kill them all and capture their ponies and furs. The attack was to be made between twelve o'clock and daylight, while they were asleep in their wickiups. A half-breed Indian and a Frenchman learned of the plan and told the Indians, and they were lying along the Creek waiting for the at- tack. The leader of the attacking party and most of his men got drunk before the hour set for the attack and the plan fell through. The next day the Indians were a little shy, but some of them came into town, Buck Simpson, Hayes Lyons, Skinner and others of the same kind (these men were hung by the vigiliant committee the next year) fired into the Indians on the street and killed two or three of them, and the Indians left the country, killing one man by the name of Guy on their way out.

"The winter of 1862-63 was a very dreary one in Bannack. One of the first men who came in after the Indians had taken our supplies was Mr. Woodmansee of Salt Lake, with three or four wagonloads of pro- visions, principally bacon, beans, and black flour. Al- though of poor quality, the people bought all he had. We built a few log cabins and fixed for the winter. We were snow-bound from the last of November until about April. A man named Hod Conover agreed to go to Salt Lake and take the mail, if we could assure him of two hundred and fifty letters, at two dollars and a half per letter. This did not seem an exorbitant price. During the winter a few stragglers came in. Poker playing was the chief occupation. Beans were used for chips, and gold dust was our money. The monotony of the winter was broken by the killing of a man named Cleveland, by Henry Plummer. It was reported that Cleveland was a horse thief, so nothing was done with Plummer. But only two or three weeks later a man by the name of Kossuth was killed and three wounded, John Burnett, Sam Ellis and another. The trouble came over an Indian squaw that a man named Moore had bought, making payment in a pair of blankets. The squaw went back to her father, but the blankets were not returned. Moore and Reeves went in the night to the Indian camp and fired at the tent and killed a white man, and wounded three others who had gone into see what the trouble was about. Before morning Moore and Reeves found that it was best for them to leave the country, and Plummer got alarmed and went with them. Walker Lear and a

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 20

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883- Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002