566 



MONTANA. 



absenting themselves and thereby preventing a 

 quorum, or, when present, occupying the time by 

 calling for the yeas and nays on every motion, 

 and then refusing to respond to their names. 

 Their intention was to prevent the transaction 

 of any business, until the dispute between the 

 rival Lower Houses had been settled. This 

 condition continued until Feb. 5, when Lieut.- 

 Gov. Rickards (President of the Senate and a 

 Republican), following the example of Speak- 

 er Reed, of the national House of Representa- 

 tives, ruled that thereafter the Senators pres- 

 ent and refusing to vote would nevertheless 

 be counted in making a quorum. This would 

 enable the eight Republican Senators to transact 

 business so long as one Democratic Senator was 

 present. As the Senate had power to compel the 

 attendance of absent members, the only way for 

 the Democratic Senators to block legislation was 

 by fleeing the State, Accordingly, on the after- 

 noon of Feb. 5 the eight Democratic members 

 took the first train from Helena out of the State, 

 six going to the Pacific coast and two going east 

 to St. Paul. They remained beyond the State 

 borders until after Feb. 20, on which day the 

 session of the Legislature expired by constitu- 

 tional limitation. 



Education. The following figures, showing 

 the condition of public schools for the school 

 year ending in 1890, do not include the counties 

 of Madison and Jefferson : Children of school age. 

 25,172 ; number attending public schools, 15,- 

 273 ; number of teachers employed, 465 ; number 

 of schools, 299 ; average monthly wages of teach- 

 ers, $56. At the close of the school year ending 

 Aug. 31, 1889, the several counties had on hand 

 $64,761.78 ; the total amount received for school 

 purposes from taxation and other sources during 

 the year ensuing was $569,521.91 ; there was paid 

 to teachers $215,578.02; for school apparatus, 

 $6,807.16 ; library, $276.87 ; school houses, sites, 

 etc., $88,643.50;' other expenses, $32,079.59: 

 balance on hand, Aug. 31, 1890, $244,119.97. 



During the year 47 school districts observed 

 Arbor Day, and 250 trees were planted. The 

 compulsory clause of the school law has not been 

 generally observed, but no prosecutions have been 

 instituted under it. 



Charities. The insane of the State are sup- 

 ported under a contract between the Territory of 

 Montana and Drs. Mitchell and Mussigbrod, at 

 Warm Springs, Deer Lodge County, at $8 a week, 

 'making an expense to the State of about $75,000 

 a year. The number is increasing rapidly, the 

 last report showing 200 patients maintained at 

 public expense. The contractors have received 

 nothing from the State in payment under their 

 contract since Jan. 8, 1889. Consequently $77,- 

 380.61 is due them. 



The State is also supporting 5 deaf and dumb 

 children, 1 blind child, and 5 feeble-minded chil- 

 dren, at institutions outside the State. Each of 

 these children costs the State $300 a year. 



Penitentiary. The Penitentiary at Deer 

 Lodge, formerly belonging to the United States, 

 has become the property of the State. Its ca- 

 pacity is about 140 men, but on Dec. 30 the 

 number confined therein was 240. There was due 

 at that time for its maintenance $44,901.90. 



Mining 1 . According to the report of Wells, 

 Fargo & Co., the precious metals produced in 



Montana in 1890 amounted to $34,814,455, of 

 which $2,764,116 was the value of the gold prod- 

 uct, and $32,050,339 of the silver. 



Railroads. The number of miles of railroad 

 in the State, assessed by the State Board of Equali- 

 zation in 1890 was 1.718'7, and the valuation 

 $6,484,082. Several roads in the State are wholly 

 within one county, and are consequently not as- 

 sessed by the State board. 



Political. A Congressman and half of the 

 State Senators were to be chosen at the Novem- 

 ber election of this year. No election for mem- 

 bers of the Lower House of the Legislature was 

 held, owing to an oversight of the Constitution 

 makers in failing to insert a provision therefor 

 in the new Constitution. The members of the 

 Lower House elected in 1889 will therefore hold 

 over until 1893. Each of the political parties 

 held a State convention to nominate a Congres- 

 sional candidate. The Labor party, in State con- 

 vention, in August, nominated William T. Field. 

 On Sept. 11, the Republican State Convention, at 

 Butte, renominated Congressman Carter by ac- 

 clamation. This convention adopted resolutions, 

 in which, on local issues, the following declara- 

 tions were made : 



"We demand that no patents be issued to the North- 

 ern Pacific Railroad until it shall have been established 

 by undisputable affirmative proof that the lands which 

 it claims are non-mineral. 



We insist that the lands granted to Montana for edu- 

 cational purposes shall be scrupulously preserved, 

 sold only to actual settlers, and the proceeds strictly 

 devoted to carrying out the objects of the endowment. 

 We favor stringent measures of legislation for the 

 protection of the lives of miners, and insist that the 

 statutes _ for that purpose, enacted by a Republican 

 Legislative Assembly of Montana, be made effective 

 by the appointment of a fit and capable citizen as in- 

 spector of mines. 



We claim for the Republican party of Montana that, 

 in the passage of the registration law and the Austra- 

 lian voting system, it has proved itself to be the cham- 

 pion of the freedom and purity of the elective franchise. 

 We congratulate the people of Montana upon the 

 defeat of the monstrous fraud that was attempted by 

 the Democratic party at Precinct 34 of Silver Bow 

 County. It has passed beyond the domain of discus- 

 sion or doubt that the returns from that precinct were 

 wholly fraudulent,- and the thanks of all honest citizens 

 are due to the Republican canvassers of Silver Bow 

 County, the State Board of Canvassers, the Supreme 

 Court, and the Republicans in the Senate of the United 

 States, for effecting the overthrow of this criminal and 

 iniquitous conspiracy. We declare it to be the firm 

 purpose of the Republican party that henceforth elec- 

 tions in Montana shall be honest expressions of the 

 will of the people, and that all attempts at fraud upon 

 the ballot box shall be prosecuted until the prison 

 doors shall have closed upon the offenders. 



We arraign as a tyrannical and revolutionary usur- 

 pation of power the attempt of Gov. Toole to vio- 

 late the constitutional right of the House of Represent- 

 atives of the Legislative Assembly to judge of the 

 election, return, and qualification of its own members, 

 by designating, without right or authority, the place 

 where it should meet, keeping the ball so designated 

 under lock and key and a guard stationed at the en- 

 trance with instructions to admit none who were not 

 provided with credentials issued in violation of the 

 express provisions of the Constitution. 



We applaudj with enthusiastic approval, the firm 

 and manly action of the Republican members of the 

 late Legislative Assembly, and condemn the course of 

 the Democratic members, who, tor narrow partisan 

 purposes, prevented the legislation that was greatly 



