Fergus County Democrat. [volume], September 02, 1913, Page 2, Image 2

About Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
Fergus County Democrat
The Official Paper of Fergus County
Published by
FERGUS COUNTY DEMOCRAT, Inc.
Tom Stout ____________________—President
Harry E. Lay.............................-..........Manager
E. G. Ivins ........................................Editor
Entered at the postoffice at Lewis
town, Montana, as second-class matter.
Subscribers, Notice—In ordering
your paper changed to a new address,
mention old address also, to insure
prompt delivery. Subscribers failing
to receive their papers will please
notify this office. Make checks and
money orders payable to Fergus
County Democrat.
SUBSCRIPTION:
One year___________________$2.50
Six months----------------------------1-25
Three months............—!------.75
For foreign subscriptions add postage.
MAKE LEWISTOWN A
BETTER
PLACE IN WHICH TO
LIVE.
Lewistown, Montana...............Sept. 2, 1913
A DEFINITE POLICY.
At last the United States has a defi
nite policy with regard to Mexico
while the present turbulent condition
continues in the southern republic.
This could not have been worked out
earlier because of the changed condi
tions from day to day and the ab
solute uncertainty as to what would
happen next. But having submitted
to Mexico, or the Huerta administra
tion, certain considerations, together
with proposals calculated to restore
order and to give the troubled country
an administration that would have
standing and be entitled to the full
moral support of the people, and these
having been rejected by Huerta, Presi
dent Wilson is at last In a position to
define a definite policy. First, the re
fusal to recognize the Huerta adminis
tration is affirmed. The stand taken
by President Wilson on this has been
given hearty approval from one end of
the country to the other. There is to
be no armed intervention. The pos
sibility of such a step has been long
discussed here and in Europe and the
definite conclusion set out will like
wise meet with popular approval.
Strict neutrality is to be observed in
the matter of exporting arms from
the United States and this neutrality
is extended to cover the whole situa
tion. All Americans now in Mexico
who can possibly get out are urged to
leave the country immediately. If
those who cannot leave are subjected
to losses, are maltreated or murdered,
Mexico will be held to a strict
countability, and Mexico is given to
understand that there will be a day
of reckoning. Finally the way is left
open for the friendly mediation of the
United States at any time.
This policy does not suit some of
the powers, notably Germany, if the
press comments indicate the feeling
in that country.
All that will be necessary to carry
out this policy will be a watchful and
strict patrol of the border and the con
centration there of sufficient troops
to meet any unforseen situation that
may arise.
In Germany and to some extent in
England an attempt is being made to
give the impression that President
Wilson's stand has brought about a
grave crisis for the United States, but
that is sheer nonsense. We have
troops enough now to most effectually
guard the border and Mexico has nd
navy at all worthy of the name, so
that our task Is an easy one. Inter
vention at this time would not be jus
tified, nor is there anything in the sit
uation to indicate that it will become
necessary.
The idea is to just keep Mexico
cooped up in its own yard to fight >t
out. In all probability it will not be
long before the Wilson policy is warm
ly endorsed by all the powers and it is
not unlikely that within a compara
tively short time the Huerta adminis
tration will be calling upon the United
States to resume the effort to bring
about peace in Mexico through friend
ly mediation.
The close of President Wilson's spe
cial message is especially fine and able
and sets forth the attitude of the
united States in a tone of sincerity
that cannot be doubted. The presi
dent says:
"I am happy to say that several of
the great governments of the world
have given this government their gen
erous moral support in urging on the
provisional authorities at the City of
Mexico the acceptance of our pro
fessed good offices in the spirit in
which they were made. We have not
acted in this matter under the ordi
nary principles of international obli
gation. All the world expects us in
such circumstances to act as Mexico's
nearest friend and intimate adviser
Inis is our immemorial relation to
ward her. There is nowhere any seri
ous question that we have the moral
right in the case or that we are act
Ing in the interest of a fair settle
ment and of good government, not for
the promotion of some selfish interest
of our own. If further motive wer
necessary than our own good will to
ward a sister republic and our own
deep concern to see peace and order
prevail in Central America, this con
sent of mankind to what we are at
tempting, this attitude of the great
nations of the world toward what we
may attempt in dealing with this dis
tressed people at our doors, should
make us feel the more solemnly bound
to go to the utmost length of patience
and forbearance in this painful and
anxious business. This steady pressure
of moral force will, before many days,
break the barriers of pride and preju
dice down, and we shall triumph as
Mexico's friend sooner than we could
triumph as her enemy—and how much
more handsomely, with how much
higher and finer satisfaction of con
science and honor."
THE WORM TURNING.
Great Falls Leader: Demonstrating
the fact of the statement that even
the lowly worm will sometimes turn
if you keep poking at him enough,
is the return of one F. H. Piercy from
another state in the hands of the
sheriff on the charge of having separ
ated a large number of Fergus county
gentlemen from their money on al
leged fake oil land certificates. The
particular charge against the get-rich
quick party amounts to $1,280, but it
is claimed that the sum is merely an
incident to the general makeup of the
play, and that while many have been
bitten, but few have called for a show
down.
According to the story as told, the
oil scheme was some raw, and illus
trates in a startling manner how easy
it is to get money if you only look
mysterious enough and lack creden
tials enough—for naturally the faker
must be a rank outsider, as from home
talent the home money only comes
through for twenty-dollar gold pieces
for every fifteen dollars invested.
As told in the Democrat, in Its ac
count of the matter, Piercy arrived in
Lewistown some time ago and let it be
known to a chosen few that he was
indirectly connected with the Standard
OH company. W. R. Fleming came
in with him or arrived soon after and
he was supposed to be a Standard Oil
attorney. Piercy's specialty was to or
ganize groups to take up oil lands in
Natrona county, Wyoming. As only
twenty acres can be taken for this
purpose by an individual, Piercy
formed groups of eight men, whose
combined entries would thus make 160
acres. After forming these groups of
eight and- collecting $20 from each
member, the entries were sent back
to Fleming, who was supposed to file
them with the county clerk and re
corder. In due time what appeared to
be the filing certificates were received
from the clerk and recorder. It is
claimed that eight such groups were
formed in Lewistown, Piercy collect
ing a total of $1,250. The special in
ducement was that the Standard Oil
company was anxious to get this land,
but could not do so itself. The lo
caters, however, leased to the attor
ney upon condition that drilling was
to begin within a fixed period, always
very short, and, with the certificates
coming in from the clerk and record
er, the scheme was an inviting one
for almost anyone to take a flyer to
the extent of only twenty dollars, with
a chance of making a big cleanup.
Suspicion seems to have been first
aroused by the remarkable difference
in the page numbers on the certifi
cates from the Wyoming county clerk
and recorder, and this led to inquiry.
Attorney C. W. Buntin took the mat
ter up with the clerk and recorder in
Wyoming. The information
he
ceived was to the effect that last f* 3
____l___± U ~ n-fv. U*1 m l ti cr rM#l
cember the wife of Mr. Fleming did
make two or three of these oil land
filings. As no others were received
it is the theory of Mr. Buntin that
this was done in order to get official
certificates, so that duplicates might
be printed and used in carrying out
the swindle. The name of the clerk
and recorder was forged to the bogus
certificates used here by Piercy, so
that a forgery charge can be brought
against the parties.
The story is worth the republishing,
as an object lesson if for nothing
more, and the Standard Oil mystery
thrown in is an artistic touch worth
while. That the S. O. should have had
to employ such agents and such
mystery did not seem at all out of
the way to those who hoped to be
come little octopussies through mys
terious aid of the S. O. incubator, nor
was investigation evidently thought
worth while—it was a question of get
ting in on the oil floor without light
ing a match.
And this is not the only thing—just
keep that in mind. For several years
past the northern Montana come-on
crop has been going some in the way
contributing easy money for the
get-rich-quick gang, even the poor
prisoner in far-away Spain, with his
buried money and lonely daughter in
the sequestered cloister, having come
in for his share of the proceeds. The
charges against the Lewistown parties
of the oil land part prove them to be
pikers in the gentle art of separating
the man who does not read the papers
from his money, but just the same trial
and publication of the game will tend
to make matters a little more rocky
and pocketbooks a little more hard
to open for the next wise gink who
comes along with a desire for easy
money—at least it is to be hoped so
THE BUFFALO IS COMING BACK
The American bison, otherwise the
buffalo, is coming back, according to
the report of the American Bison so
ciety, which finds him in increasing
numbers on the American continent,
And there would seem to be a poetical
coincidence in the fact that the an
nouncement of the bison's return is
simultaneous with that of the partial
or total eclipse of Buffalo Bill.
Still, there isn't cause for more than
sentimental joy in the optimistic re
port of the Bison society. The fact
is that a good deal of manufactured
sentiment has existed concerning the
disappearance of "the lord of the
plains," when as a matter of fact his
disappearance was natural and even a
benefit. The buffalo had to give way
to make room for the long-horn, and
the long-horn had to take his perma
nent conge to give the adipose short
horn a chance to graze. Now the
short-horn is vanishing to meet newer
economic conditions and new uses for
the soil.
As a typical species of American
fauna, the buffalo had his place in
our history, but, take him by and
large, he was a rather useless beast
with no adaptability for civilization
He served his purpose on the plains
when men led a nomadic life there
and existed on his rifle; but as soon
as the range land over which the buf
falo "roamed in countless thousands'
became fit for settlement the buffalo
was decidedly fie trop.
Very little of him was fit to eat. He
was worth a bullet when there-was no
other meat to be had, but a people ac
customed to modern steaks and roasts
would find him not overappetizing,
once the novelty wore off. In a word,
the buffalo was economically unfit, and
he went the way of the unfit. Had he
been conserved he might now be af
fording opportunity for big game hunt
ers to enjoy themselves in moderation.
They are really the only persons who
have suffered by his disappearance.
To preserve the buffalo as a specimen
in our zoos is proper. He is a curiosity
and has a historical value. But en
tirely too many tears have been shed
over his destruction. One steer was
and still is worth a dozen bison.—
Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
COUNTY FAIR PLAN.
The discussion regarding the plan
to combine the annual Farmers'
Picnic with the county fair, to be held
at the experiment station, is still go
ing on, although no steps have really
been taken to bring about any definite
conclusion. Why would it not be a
good idea to hold a general meeting
here under the auspices of the Cham
ber of Commerce and devote an eve
ning to a full discussion of the whole
subject?
The Moore Inland Empire, in its
last issue, commented editorially on
the subject as follows:
The proposition of continuing the
Farmers' Picnic at the experiment
station as a county fair is still un
settled, though current sentiment
seems to favor the movement if the
necessary funds can be provided. The
question of disposing of the present
county fair grounds property at Lew
istown is still pepding and it is doubt
ful if anything can be accomplished
until this phase of the matter can be
adjusted agreeable to all concerned.
Officials in charge of the experiment
station work in Montana are said to
favor enlarging the work at the sta
tion to include animal husbandry, and
if this is done it will require more
buildings for such purpose. The work
of animal husbandry would no doubt
serve to interest more Judith Basin
farmers in engaging in raising stock.
PACKERS KNOW THE LIMIT.
Boston Transcript: Whatever other
articles of consumg£ion may be lower
during the coming winter, beef will
be higher if the department of agri
culture officials are prophets. The
available supply of beef cattle has
fallen off 30 per cent since 1905,
drouth has parched the corn belt and
the packers are not in business for
their health. Here is a combination
of circumstances all favorable to an
advance. The prophet-officials, how
ever, ridicule the Chicago report that
sirloin steak will sell at half a dollar
a pound this winter. They well may
ridicule this Chicagoese prophecy, for
when steak approaches such figures
abstinence necessitated or adopted
from steak eating will have its effect.
The big packers are too shrewd men
to allow the price of beef to become
positively prohibitive. They know that
. . ,, , . _, A
there is a price limit which the rich
consumer will not pass and the poor
consumer cannot.
MISSES THE GOOD OLD DAYS.
Helena Independent: Speaking of
whine, could anything be more annoy
ing to newspaper readers than to have
a paper complaining because another
paper is now getting the federal legal
business? Tom Stout's Fergus County
Democrat is publishing land office no
tices, and the Helena evening paper is
sore, just as sore as when the Inde
pendent secures from 4,000 to 5,000
more inches of display advertising
each month than the evening paper,
and without selling advertising space
on tne front page either. No wonder
tnere's a whimper, and a wail and
whine.
ASlkENOVICEVIEWSIT
Washington, August 21st
If President Woodrow Wilson keeps
on in the way he has started, he may
yet become the most popular man in
Washington. It must not be inferred
from this that he has not always been
popular here since taking up his abode
at the nation's capital. On the con
trary, he has been favored by having
a large circle of friends, but since the
end of the first week of his official
residence here, there have been quite
a sprinkling of gentlemen who have
held themselves somewhat aloof from
the White House and who have
grimaced quite acridly when the presi
dent became a topic of conversation
It perhaps may be surprising, but is
nevertheless a fact, that in more than
one direction there was a distinct lack
of cordiality in the reception which
the people of Washington tendered the
new president. For one thing, it was
an innovation to have a democrat
break in on this particular job. Wash
ington is the home of thirty-five thou
sand government employes. Ninety
five per cent of them are, of course,
under the civil service. Most of them
have become connected with the gov
ernment service during the long re
publican regime and, chemelion-like,
they have taken the political coloring
of the party in power. They knew
not whether the change from a repub
lican to a democratic administration
boded well or ill for them and were
naturally uneasy. Many of them wno
had always had a friend at court to
whom they could always apply when
they felt an acute need for a promo
tion and it was disquiting to know
that, in all too many instances, those
friends had been retired, or would be
retired to priv ate life. Under such
conditions, it is not surprising that
their greeting to the new chief magis
trate was a trifle lacking a whole
hearted and effusive friendliness.
* * *
Then there were the exemplars and
guardians of the social usageB and
destinieh of the capital, the simon
pure Washingtonians, who were
strongly inclined to look askance up
on the terrifying possibilities of a re
The
Bank of Fergus County
LEWISTOWN, MONTANA
Organized 1887
Takes pleasure in inviting your attention to the following
statement issued under call from the state examiner at the close
of business, August 9 , 1913,
RESOURCES:
Loans and Discounts..............$1,470,516.53
Overdrafts ___________________________ 1,989.49
U. S. Government, School
District Bonds and War
rants _________________________________________ 59,030.86
Real Estate Owned..................... 33,500.00
Cash and Sight Exchange... 431,367.51
$1,996,404.39
LIABILITIES:
Capital Stock ...........................$ 250,000.00
Surplus and Reserve..........- 295,574.45
Interest Reserve ..._................. 29,182.98
Deposits _________________________________ 1,299,196.96
Dividends Unpaid............... 4,550.00
Rediscounts _______________________________ 117,900.00
The deposits of
$1,996,404.39
$1,299,196.96
evidence the confidence of the public in the stablity of the bank.
The loans of $1,470,519.53
indicate the policy of the bank to take care of every legitimate
demand of its customers.
It is prepared to meet every demand and extend every ser
vice consistent with sound banking
May we not serve you?
Bank of Fergus County
JNO. D. WAITE, President F. E. WRIGHT, Vice-President
AUSTIN W. WARR, Cashier T. T. TAYLOR, Assistant Cashier
P. J. OSWEILER, Assistant Cashier
DIRECTORS:
THOMAS A. MARLOW
President National Bank of Montana
RALPH W. REYNOLDS
President Cook-Reynolds Co.
JAMES B. ELLIOTT
Stockgrower
GEORGE H. KELLY
Farmer
JNO. D. WAITE
President
F. E. WRIGHT
Vice-President
L. H. HAMILTON
Capitalist
L. E. TORINUS
President American Ln. & Inv. Co.
JAMES E. LANE
President Montana Lumber Co.
GEO. J. WIEDEMAN
President Montana Hardware Co.
AUSTIN W. WARR
President Montana Flour Mills Co.
T. T. TAYLOR
Assistant Cashier
turn to an uninteresting era of Jef
fersonian simplicity. These arbiters |
of fashion were gravely shocked by
the announced intention of Mrs. Wil
son to limit her expenditures for
clothes to one thousand dollars per
year. They felt that with the first
lady of the land setting such an ex
ample as this, the entire fabric of
Washington society would speedily go
to pieces. With the coming of the
Wilsons, these aristocratic members
of the so-called smart set braced them
selves for a series of shocks and whis
peringly bemoaned the passing of the
Tafts, who, for four years, had catered
to and entertained the social lions
and lionesses of Washington in truly
regal style. They welcomed the new
president and his family with smiles
on their faces, but with bitterness
commingled with the emotions of
dark, dank forebodings in their hearts.
* * *
Again, and at the very beginning,
President Wilson aroused the veiled
hostility of a lot of well-intentioned
and quite powerful members of his
own party by stating that he did not
intend to devote all of his time to
questions of patronage. They felt that
his unwillingness or inability to play
practical politics" would prove a
serious handicap to the administration.
For several weeks there was quite a
lot of growling and grumbling in and
about the congressional cloak rooms.
Also, the manifest purpose of the
president to take an active hand in the
shaping of legislation was resented in
some quarters as an unwarranted in
tereference on the part of the execu
tive with the rights and sacred con
stitutional prerogatives of the legisla
tive department of the government.
But this spirit of hostility, such as
it amounted to, has been gradually
dissipated by the president and his
very sensible family. Mrs. Wilson
quickly demonstrated that she is
lady of great culture, refinement and
fully equal to the task .of fulfilling in
a charming and dignified manner all
of the delicate and onerous social re
quirements of her exalted position and
of doing it without any violence to her
democratic idegs. The president grad
ually justified the program which he
had mapped out for himself, and as
the weeks passed by, the snarls and
growls became fewer in number.
When he made his first precedent
breaking visit to the capitol to read
his message upon the convening of the
extra session, there were many mis
givings as to the propriety and pos
sible effects of his course. He was
received politely, but with no great ex
cess of cordiality. His second visit
was more successful in that respect,
and upon the occasion of his third
visit yesterday, he received an ova
tion which was joined in by republi
cans, progressives and democrats
alike. He has abundantly accom
plished that which he set out to dem
onstrate, that he is a human being
rather than merely a department of
government situated on some distant
"island of authority," and has proven
that it is not only practical, but en
tirely natural, that he should come
before the members of congress and
talk to them as man to man about
the great questions of government
without lessening the dignity or en
trenching upon the authority of either.
* * *
By his great message on the Mexi
can situation, President Wilson has
effectually silenced his critics and
proven the high quality of his states
manship. It has been a most critical
situation, the most critical, perhaps,
since the days when Grover Cleveland
threw down the gauntlet to England
over the Venezuelan controversy, and
the manner in which Wilson and Bryan
have handled the subject sets a high
mark of disinterested diplomacy. The
position which our nation occupies in
the eyes of the civilized world has
been immeasurably exalted during the
past week and the fears of all of our
Latin-American neighbors that this
country entertains acquisitorial de
signs toward all of the lands between
the Rio Grande and the equator must
,now be forever set at rest.
Summing up, President Wilson has
not only constantly enhanced the af
fection in which he is held by the
country at large, but has also accom
plished the almost impossible task of
winning for himself the confidence and
friendship of official Washington. He
has done this by pursuing an un
deviating course of honesty and frank
ness and by demonstrating his great
capacity for handling vast and intri
cate problems of government with
tact and acure discernment. Let him
continue throughout his four years ln
office as he has begun and at the close
of his term he will stand as one of
the towering figures in the history of
American statesmanship. T. S.
No Glass Needed
to determine the character of
our lumber. Anybody with half
an eye can see how sound and
straight grained it is. And we
guarantee its thorough season
ing. To buy lumber here is to
buy safely. Better be sure at
first than sorry afterward.
Basin Lumber Co.
"THE HOME FOLKS"
Human Nature and Divine Nature.
"So long as humanity exists there
will always be tears," said the rector.
"But it is a false Christianity which
does not bid us work for our fellow
men to relieve their suffering and
make the world brighter. It is becom
ing clear that the way to do this ef
fectively is through communities, co
operation—through nations and not in
divi'uals. And this, if you Hke, is
practical, so practical that the men
like you who have gained unexampled
privilege, fear it more and more. The
old Christian misconception that the
world is essentially a bad place and
which has served the ends of your
privilege, is going by forever. And
the motto of the citizens of the future
will be the Christian motto, 'I am my
brother's keeper.' The world is a good
place because the Spirit is continually
working in it to make it better. And
life is good if only we take the right
view of it, the revealed view."
"What you say is all very fine,"
said Eldon Parr. "And I have heard
it before from the discontented, the
socialists. But it does not take into
account the one essential element, hu
man nature."
"On the other hand, your scheme of
life fails to reckon with the greatest
factor, divine nature," Hodde rreplied.
Montana's Wool Clip.
Butte, Aug. 7.—Montana's wool clip
fell short 7,000,000 pounds this year.
The state's clip totaled only 30,
000,000 pounds, which Is less than it
has been for many years.
Of that amount 20,000,000 pounds
was sold directly, and 10 , 000 jj 00
pounds was consigned.
The highest price paid for wool in
Montana this year was between 21
and 22 cents, and the average price
paid for Montana wool was around
15% and 15% cents per pound.