A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 3

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

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Since 1901, a pleasure resort of the very first class has been accessible to the people of Butte. Across the valley, and three miles East of the city, one of the num- erous cañons common to the Rocky Mountains has been utilized for this purpose. It has been preserved almost as nature made it, with additions only of such character as would enhance its inviting rusticity. The groves of the little, picturesque valley have been extended by the additional planting of several thousand trees each year. As the water from the springs and melting snows high up the mountain side start upon their downward course they join with others coming from different directions, and long before the bed of the cañon is reached, a de- lightful stream babbles along over a pebbly bottom, and gurgles over an occasional rock into inviting pools. Luxuriant foliage fringes the banks of these tributary streams long ere their confluence in the more level sweep below, and as they emerge into one, a perfect Eden of green is massed about them. Willows and alders, with here and there a lonely pine, have formed inviting bowers and cosy nooks. Here, Nature has been aided in pro- viding for the comfort and entertainment of man by the supplementing of rustic seats, the creation of shaded parks, the construction of little bridges, and endless paths and other embellishments. A great pavilion occupies a commanding position in the centre of the grounds. Within its walls are cafés, banquet-rooms, smoking- rooms, refreshment-booths of all kinds, and a dance floor of gigantic proportions, upon which 2,000 people may dance at a time, with balconies for guests and orchestra. Surrounding the whole structure are broad promenade verandas, and an open band-stand. The landscape-gar- dener has given help in completing the scene, by creating attractive flower-beds and parterres, the erection of charming pagodas, and the creation of a delightful lake, on which glide many boats at the will of the pleasure- seekers. There is also established large green-houses, where thousands of flowers, comprising all the various varieties, are grown, throughout the winter season. Also, a fish hatchery has been provided for the inspection and enjoyment of pleasure-seekers. The resort contains also a collection of wild animals, consisting generally of those found in the Rocky Mountain regions, as well as a large collection of birds of beautiful plumage, all of which is particularly interesting to children. This resort is pecul- iarly charming by reason of the fact that the citizens of Butte are there brought into close communion with Nature, not only the thousands of people belonging to the laboring-classes, but also those of higher estate, have been quick to accept and enjoy the privileges of this bountifully-endowed mountain retreat, so gratuitously thrown open to them, at no further cost than car-fare. The gardens are under the control of the Butte Electric Railway Company, but Senator Clark is entitled to the honor of having provided so necessary a public institu- tion. As President and owner of the Railway Company, he was the instigator of the plan for providing the Colum- bia Gardens, which are accounted to be the greatest pub- lic play-grounds in the country, and he has been the

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generous and enthusiastic patron of the enterprise from its inception. The Gardens are provided with electric light, fire, sewerage, and water-systems. The affection which Mr. Clark has ever shown for children has been signally exemplified in connection with these Gardens, and on May 8th of each year, and every Thursday fol- lowing, and during the entire summer school-vacation, he provides at his individual expense for the entertain- ment of the children of Butte and its vicinity at this beautiful resort. Free transportation is given on special trains over his own electric lines, as well as from the sur- rounding country towns, and at the gardens, the little ones find endless sources of entertainment.

The grounds are furnished with all sorts of equipment, such as swings, slides, roller-coasters, teeters, giant strides, and so forth. On these days, there are present 6,000 to 10,000 children, who enjoy his hospitality. To see these children at the Gardens, well dressed and well- behaved, most of them the children of miners, is one of the most beautiful sights to be seen in the world.

In no one direction does Mr. Clark find greater pleas- ure or satisfaction than in aiding or contributing to the happiness of children, who ever appeal to the kindly in- stinct of his heart.

All that has been accomplished by Mr. Clark in the handling of business affairs of the broadest scope and importance, could not be told in a volume, and it may well be said that he stands as an admirable type of the world's productive workers. But not thus has been taken the full measure of the man, for in the midst of the manifold exactments of his great industrial and financial interests, he has not denied to the State and Nation services of high order,-services which Time is proving to have been of greater value than were shown by con- temporary estimates. To one who has achieved so much in the world of practical affairs, there must have come a natural broadening in mental powers, intellectual capacity, and general appreciation of the duties of citi- zenship. Senator Clark has manifested a high stamp of civic stewardship, is admirably fortified in his opinions touching matters of governmental and economic polity, and his loyalty as a citizen and as a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Democratic Party cannot be impugned, the while popular appreciation of his public service must continue, cumulative with the passing of years.

In 1876, Governor Potts appointed Mr. Clark official orator to represent the Territory of Montana at the Cen- tennial Exposition, in Philadelphia, and the brilliant address which he there delivered did much to attract at- tention to the magnificent natural resources of the terri- tory for which he appeared as sponsor. In 1877, Mr. Clark was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of Montana, and in the same year he was one of the first to respond to the call of Governor Potts for volunteers to repel the invasion of the Nez Perce Indians. He received commission as major of the Butte Battalion and led this gallant organi- zation to the front against Chief Joseph, one of the greatest Indian military leaders the country has known. In 1884, Mr. Clark represented Silver Bow county as delegate to the first State Constitutional Convention of Montana, and he had the distinction of being made presi- dent of the convention, in which he made an admirable record as a presiding officer and parliamentarian as well as a citizen of the most aggressive loyalty and public spirit. In 1884, he was appointed by President Arthur to represent Montana as a commissioner to the World's Industrial & Cotton Exposition, in the city of New Orleans, and there he again rendered valuable service to the state of his adoption.

In politics Senator Clark is primarily and emphatically a Democrat, and his leadership in the party ranks in the West has been creditable to the state which he has repre- sented as well as to himself as a broad-minded and patriotic citizen. The compass of this article renders possible only the briefest review of his political career, the record of the greater part of which has become a very part of national history. In 1888, he was nominated by his party as delegate from Montana Territory to Con- gress, and after a most brilliant and spirited canvass he was defeated, owing to treachery within the party ranks. At the time of the second constitutional convention, in 1889, when Montana was finally admitted to the Union, Mr. Clark was elected president of the convention, in which position he rendered most effective service of entirely non-partisan order.

To Mr. Clark's senatorial aspirations national interest attaches. Upon the first legislative assembly of the new state, convened in Helena in January, 1890, devolved the duty of electing two United States senators to represent the new commonwealth. Political misunderstanding re- sulted in the election of two sets of senators, following the organization of two distinctive houses or representa- tives. The Democrats elected William A. Clark and Martin Maginnis, and the Republicans chose Wilbur F. Sanders and Thomas C. Power. Mr. Clark received the unanimous vote of his party both in caucus and in the joint session of the two houses of the legislature. All four presented their claims to the United States Senate, and, as the Republicans were in a majority, in that body, the issue did not remain long in doubt, Messrs. Sanders and Power having been recognized as the duly elected representatives of Montana in the Federal Senate. It is a matter of record that on this occasion Mr. Clark re- ceived from his party in the state the highest honor in its gift, and he is as proud of this distinction to this day as he would have been to enjoy the full honors of what he regards as just and legal election.

In 1893 occurred Mr. Clark's second contest for the office of United States Senator. The legislature con- vened at Helena to elect a successor to Colonel Sanders. Three Populist members held the balance of power. Again the caucus nomination was given to Mr. Clark, but a contingent of the Democratic members refused either to participate in the caucus or to abide by its action. During the entire legislative session of sixty days, the senatorial contest continued, and at the last joint session the gavel fell with no election. During several ballots Mr. Clark came within two votes of an election, having received the support of one Populist and several Repub- licans in addition to the twenty-six Democrats whose fealty had continued without interruption. Mr. Clark headed the Montana delegation to the Democratic national convention of 1892, in Chicago, and during the ensuing national administration he wielded due power in connection with federal affairs in Montana.

During the legislative session in 1898, Mr. Clark was again a candidate for the United States Senate, and was again elected. On his application for permission to take his seat, partisan politics again intervened, and at the request of the Republican majority in the Senate, the question of his seating was held in abeyance. In the meanwhile he resigned his office, to which he had been elected, and he was thereupon appointed, by Lieutenant Governor Spriggs to fill the vacancy, but he never pre- sented himself to take the oath of office. This term, how- ever, could continue only until the next meeting of the legislature, 1901, and at this assembly Mr. Clark was for a third time elected to the position he so honorably sought and to which he was most eminently entitled. Of

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his service in the United States Senate it is not necessary to give details in this article, for his record has become a very part of the history of that body and one which redounds to his credit and honor.

Fidelity has been one of the dominating traits in the character of Senator Clark, and with the passing of time has come a fuller appreciation of the sacrifices he has made and the exalted service he has given in behalf of the state to the development of which he has contributed in prodigious measure. He has merited every confidence reposed in him, and has been true to every trust, whether great or small. The city of Helena is indebted to him for the location of the state capital within its borders. In 1894, the permanent seat of government was to be estab- lished, after a contest which had left Helena and Ana- conda as the sole competitors. Temporarily Helena was the capital city, but the choice of the powerful Anaconda Company was Anaconda, whose star seemed much in the ascendancy. The Helena forces were without leader- ship or proper organization. In this connection, it should be noted that the residence of Senator Clark was in sight of the Anaconda mines and that there were many large inducements for him to throw his influence in favor of Anaconda. But conditions appealed to his sense of justice, and he accordingly became the aggressive cham- pion of the cause of Helena. Through the columns of the Butte Miner he made his position known, without reference to political or personal ambition, and from that time forward he was the recognized leader of the Helena forces. He eloquently urged the claims of Helena on the stump and contributed liberally to the campaign fund. Concerning his efforts in this connection, the following spirited account has been given and is well worthy of perpetuation in this review :

"Never, in the history of this or any other state, was a battle more intense and exciting ; never did the people more keenly feel that their rights and liberaties were at stake; and never did a citizen receive a greater or more spontaneous ovation than that which Mr. Clark enjoyed when, after having unquestionably snatched victory from defeat, the people of the state gathered in thousands at Helena to do him honor.' The citizens bore him on their shoulders from his train, placed him in a carriage, and then, detaching the horses, took their places at the pole and triumphantly hauled the vehicle to the city as a victor's chariot. It was a battle never to be forgotten, and the unprecedented expressions of gratitude which were showered upon Mr. Clark formed a climax such as rarely rewards the efforts of man. It was a victory which easily gave Mr. Clark rank as the leading citizen of the state and as one of the most com- manding figures of the West."

Senator Clark is still making history, and it is uni- formly conceded that he has played no unimportant part in national affairs. That he is entitled to a place in the first rank of the brave, determined and energetic men of the great West will be readily admitted, and his career offers both lesson and inspiration. As a good citizen, patriotic, broad-minded, Senator Clark has thousands of warm personal friends, regardless of political lines or social gradations. With many of them he has mingled as a pioneer, and had experience in connection with con- ditions and influences of the formative period in the history of a great commonwealth. To many he has given a helping hand and a cheering word of encouragement. His heart has been attuned to sympathy and tolerance, and those who know him best are they who will most earnestly attest to this. His has been a wonderful suc- cess in temporal affairs, but the generous, kindly heart

of the man has shown itself above all and over all his activities, with the result that he merits the high regard in which he is held in the state of which he has been essentially one of the founders and builders. He still passes considerable time each year in Montana, and he is proud of the state and of her sterling citizens, glad of the part which he has been able to take in her develop- ment and upbuilding, and appreciative of the esteem which he has won through the long years of association with this favored commonwealth.

Reverting briefly to the political career of Senator Clark, it may be said that at the opening of the state campaign in 1900 it was at once evident that his candidacy for the United States Senate was to be the principal issue. Cer- tain well-known and strong corporate interests threw large sums of money into the state, ostensibly for the defeat of the Democratic state ticket, but in reality to defeat his senatorial aspiration. Newspapers were es- tablished, and others founded, enlarged and improved. In the equipping of these extensive plants, and for their editorial supervision, immense sums were expended, the while there was established in Butte an extensive art plant, apparently for the sole purpose of supplying poli- tical caricature directed against him. His personality was the target for every possible projectile to be thrown by his powerful antagonists, but they found in him a foeman more than worthy of their steel, and the result of the election was a sweeping Democratic victory-a most flattering vindication of Mr. Clark in connection with the action of the United States Senate following his election to that body in 1898. The election of Mr. Clark was practically settled on the night of November 6, 1900, when the votes were counted throughout the state. On the 7th of January, 1901, the Montana legis- lature assembled. Until the 15th, at which time the formal ballot was taken, each house voting separately, the senatorial question was the absorbing topic. On January 15th, at noon, the first ballot was taken. The result showed a clear majority of two for Senator Clark, after the distribution of a number of complimentary bal- lots to other persons. The legislature then adjourned. On the next ballot, at noon of the following day, Senator Clark received the solid vote of his party, fifty-seven to thirty-six, in both houses, for the long term, this being seven more than necessary for his election as successor of the late Senator Thomas H. Carter. This was as com- plete a vindication as was ever accorded anywhere to any man, and it remains a source of profound gratification to Senator Clark. He entered upon his official duties as senator on the 4th of March, 1901, and by his democratic and affable manner, his familiarity with state and national issues, and his ability as a dialectician and orator, he added materially to his prestige as one of the national leaders of the Democratic Party. He retired from the senate on the 4th March, 1907, and though he has now passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, the years rest lightly upon him, and he has the vitality and alertness of a man many years his junior. He main- tains a close personal supervision of his vast interests, and shows no diminution of his marvellous business powers, his mental and physical strength, being the re- sult of right living and of constant touch with the activities of life.

From many other pleasing and consistent estimates the one here presented is considered worthy or reproduc- tion :-

"Mr. Clark, though an unusually active man in the supervising of his great and diversified interests, has found time for the gratification of various other dominat-

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ing instincts-artistic, scholastic, social and political activities having their quota of time and thought. He is a gentleman almost delicate in appearance, refined and cultured, capable of versatile conversation on subjects of wide range. Whether as a humble wage-earner, as a man of growing means and larger ideas, or as a giant in the mining world, he has ever been the same frank, courteous gentleman, easy of approach, considerate of the feelings of others, and always ready to lend his gen- erous aid and kindly counsel in connection with move- ments which promised good for the state or the people thereof."

In March, 1869, was solemnized the marriage of Sena- tor Clark to Miss Kate L. Stauffer, a most gracious and accomplished young woman, whose home, at the time, was in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Clark and this young lady were school children together in their child- hood years. On their wedding-day, the young couple set forth for their home in the territory of Montana, going by rail to the western terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, which was then near Ogden, Utah. From this point, they went by stage-coach, which required five days' constant travel day and night. They arrived at Helena, which was to be their home for a time, and on the 25th day of January of the following year, their first child was born-Mary Joaquina Clark. After their re- moval to Deer Lodge, four other children were born to them, and their youngest child, Francis Paul, was born in the year 1880, in the city of Paris, France, where the family resided during three years, in order that the children might receive educational training in the French language, as they did later in Germany, where they passed two years in the city of Dresden, Saxony. During these five years, Senator Clark passed his winters in Europe, and he and his family travelled extensively there, besides visiting portions of Asia and Africa. Mary, the eldest of the children, is now the wife of Charles Potter Kling, a representative lawyer of New York City; the eldest son, Charles Walker, was graduated in Yale Uni- versity, where he also took a course in mineralogy, and metallurgy, in the year 1893, and he now resides in San Mateo, California, but is closely associated with his father in extensive mining interests. He married Miss Katherine Roberts, of Helena, Montana, who died a few years afterwards, and, in the year following her death, he was married to Miss Celia Tobin, of San Francisco. Katherine L. is the wife of Dr. Lewis R. Morris, who is engaged in the practice of his profession in New York. Jessie, twin-sister of Katherine L., died at Deer Lodge in April, 1888, at the age of three years. William A., Junior, graduated in the Law Department of the Uni- versity of Virginia, and practiced his profession for several years in Montana, but is now engaged in ex- tensive mining operations in association with his father. He is now a resident of Los Angeles, California. He married Miss Mabel Foster, of Butte, who died soon after the birth of their first child, William A. Clark, Third, and several years afterwards he was married to Mrs. Alice Medin, of Sacramento, California. Francis Paul, youngest of the children, died at the age of sixteen years. Reference has herein above been made to him, and the memorial constructed to perpetuate his memory. The devoted wife and mother, Mrs. Katherine L. (Stauffer) Clark, was summoned to the life eternal in New York City, on the 19th day of October, 1893, having only a few days previously been infected with the deadly germs of typhoid fever, at the International Exhibition at Chicago. Her memory is revered by all who came within the sphere of her gracious and gentle influence.

On the 21st day of May, 1901, Senator Clark contracted a second marriage, having then been united to Miss Anna E. Lachapelle, whose parents, of Canadian origin, lived for many years at Butte, Montana. Her father, an able physician, with a very promising future, while yet a young man, died of heart-disease, and Senator Clark, a warm friend of the family, recognizing the remarkable talent of the daughter for music, sent her to Paris to be educated. She was a pupil of the great harpist Hassel- mans, at the Conservatoire of Music, at Paris, for several years, and acquired wonderful proficiency on the harp. To them has been born two children, Wilhelmina Andrée, in 1902, and Huguette Marcelle, in 1906. Both of these children have inherited the musical ability of the mother, and having lived abroad until recently, have acquired a knowledge of the French and other languages, and have recently learnt the English language.

The above is a brief record of some of the most im- portant events and achievements in the active life of a notable Montana pioneer.

HON. LEE MANTLE. The name of Hon. Lee Mantle, of Butte, Montana, former United States senator from this state, has been inseparably identified with the his- tory of Montana from early territorial times, and through the days to come there will be accorded him a tribute of honor as a man of dominant force and integrity, and as one who has contributed in no small measure to the progress and prosperity of the state, more especially with that rock-ribbed part which is rich beyond compare with its wealth of hidden min- erals.

Lee Mantle was born in the great manufacturing city of Birmingham, England, December 13, 1853, and is a son of Joseph Mantle, who died shortly before his birth, and his wife, Mary Susan (Patrick) Man- tle, who had six other children. To be left a widow with narrow means and seven young children to rear alone was a future heavy with responsibility and only a woman of unusual force of character and innate courage could have so calmly and resolutely accepted conditions and through resourcefulness and expedients known only to herself have guided the little flock through the ten succeding years. Their future became her main thought and it was in the hope of finding a wider field of opportunity for them that she severed old ties and embarked with them for America. The long voyage was safely accomplished, and the still longer journey from New York to Salt Lake City, Utah, and there she remained for some years, finding not only work for her children, but also employment for herself. But in compensation for the hardships she then endured, the time came later when life was not only made easy for her, but when every comfort was hers, and in closing her record it is not out of place to refer feelingly to the devotion of her youngest son. Early in life he willingly assumed every responsi- bility in her behalf and as long as she lived his first thought and greatest care was for her happiness, and in his later achievements it was to her he carried his laurels. In the beautiful residence he erected at Bitte, Montana, he installed this beloved mother as the head of his home, and here it was his delight to anticipate her every wish. Together they lived in the closest affection, and when, in old age, she passed peacefully away in February, 1901, at the age of eighty-nine years, this devoted son was at her bedside, tenderly minister- ing to her the last, the busy world of affairs, upon which he had made his impress, entirely forgotten.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 3

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