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About The Sanders County Independent-Ledger (Thompson Falls, Mont.) 1918-1959 | View This Issue
The Sanders County Independent-Ledger (Thompson Falls, Mont.), 08 Aug. 1918, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn86075282/1918-08-08/ed-1/seq-3/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
SANDERS COUNTY INDEPENDENT -LEDGER MAN TO WHOM THE STATE OWES MUCH THOMAS CAMPBELL HELPED TO CARVE MONTANA OUT OF IDAHO TERRITORY Was it Young Lawyer in Hanneck When It Was Proposed to Organ- i\ New Territory; Was Sent to Washington as hobbyist for Terri- torial Measure and Succeeded. Hew many people are there in the state of Montana who have heard of James L. Campbell, the man whose acquaintance with President Lincoln, helped bring about the creation of the Treas- ure State? For, the past half century Campbell has lived In Chicago and Salina, Kansas, forgotten by the people of the state he helped to create. He is now approach- ing 80 years of age, but notwith- standing his advanced years, is hale and hearty, and takes keen interest in affairs. Campbell came to what is Montana before the civil war days. He was an attorney and practiced law in Bannack. He took an active interest with Con Orem, champion pugilist of the gold mining country, Sidney Ed- gerton, afterwards first governor of Sidney Edgerton, Who, With James Campbell, Went to Washington to Bring About Enactment of Law Creating Montana. the territory and Colonel Wilbur F. Sanders of Vigilante fame, and who later was to serve the state as a sena- tor, in helping to organize the miners In their fight for the segregation of Montana from Idaho. The work ac- copplished, honors came to Edgerton and Sanders, and counties in the new state were named for them, that of Edgerton being afterwards chang- ed to Lewis and Clark. Was Sent to Washington Campbell wait one of the men who took the initiative in calling a con- vention of the miners of Bannack, Virginia City and the Deer Lodge country with the idea of forming the new territory. At a great mass meeting, held in the open at Ban - neck, and which was attended by re- presentatives of all the mining camps, Campbell spoke so vigorously In favor of the creation of the new territory that he was made Governor Edgerton's colleague as the miners' delegates to congress. The two delegates were well equip- ped for the undertaking of carving out a new territory, and the talking points were all in their favor. It was in 1863, when the civil war was at Its height and had wrought havoc with the paper currency of the Uni- ted States. A paper dollar was worth about 50 cents and gold was scarce. Here was a new territory which was turning out millions in gold dust, just at a time when the government needed it most. The supply seemed inexhaustible, and the current opin- ion was there was more wealth In the \Land of the Shining Mountains,\ as what is now Montana was then poetically called, than all the rest of the territory of Idaho, then a place of wide wild area, the only source of wealth of which was then a few small placer camps, not to be compared with either Bannack or Virginia City, and the furs that men went into the wilderness for. Friend of Lincoln Then, too, Campbell had known Lincoln in the early days in Illinois before his election to the presidency. He knew him so well that he could talk to him intimately. Edgerton, too, had the advantage of an ac- quaintance with the great Liberator, and, as a member of congress from Ohio, had done him some congres- sional services. The two delegates spent the win- ter of 1863 and 1864 in Washington urging the claims of Montana for or- ganization into a territory. The dork on the bill necessitated many visits to the White House and con- ferences with President Lincoln. Many times the map of the Rocky Mountain region were spread out over the knees of the president as Mr. Campbell presented the claims of his constituents. Mr. Lincoln was finally convinced of the merits of the measure and with his approval the bill went sail- ing through the hobse. Then Mr. Campbell began his fight to secure its passage by the senate, but much time passed and the senate billed to act. The time for the republican na- tional convention drew near. A sen- ato l l- finally told Campbell that the bill Was being held up by the presi- dent until after the convention. He WAB a candidate for renomination and he did not want the bill to affect his candidacy disadvantageously. \I learned this important news late one evening,\ said Mr. Ramp - bell receptly, In discussing the mat- ter. \and by 8 o'clock next morning I was at the White House, but it was HOW THE crops OF HIS FORMS CONVIICTIED BUNCO STEIERIER WHO SWINDLED MONTANAN RIGHT THUMB INDEX FINGER MIDDLE FINGER RING FINGER !Wm.— LITTLE FINGER LEFT THUMB INDEX FING ‘ ER Velsoi40 0 MIDDLE FINGER RING FINGER LITTLE FINGER Set of Finger Prints That Are Always Conclusive Evidence It wafi - Mark Twain who first called the attention of American criminologists to the ancient finger print system of identifying criminals in his fascinating story of Puddin' Head ,Wilson. It was only a decade ago, however, that some of the more progressive police departments of the nation began systematically record- ing finger prints of all prisoners_er- rested for serious crimes, and it has been still more recently that the Butte and Great Falls police depart- ments introduced the system, which already has proved invaluable to these cities in capturing and convict- ing criminals. Take, for example, the case of Thomas Gaffney, professional wire tapper and bunco man, known as a shrewd and resourceful confidence man the nation over. In November, 1916, Ole Hove, a Cascade county farmer, met a plausible stranger, who cultivated Hove's acquaintance. Hove and the stranger, who gave his name as Thomas Gaffney, became great friends. Gaffney, it developed, was a great horse fancier. It was the old game and Hove fell for it. A horse race was framed and Hove won $1,600, having first put up several hundred dollars as his part of the wager. He was told to go to Des Moines, Iowa, to a certain hotel, where the agent for the syndicate Thomas Gaffney, With Many Aliases, Whose Finger Prints Sent Him to Deer Lodge for Five Years; Noto- rious Bunco Man. that he won the money from would pay him his winnings. Hove went to Des Moines, but he could not find the libtel. That was not strange, for there was no such hotel. Hove awoke to the fact that he had been buncoed. He appealed to the Des Moines police, but they could not help him. He returned to Montana and began a systematic search for the swindler. Bunco Artist Captured It was not many months later that a deputy sheriff from Cascade county was in Salt Lake City, and at the police station there happened to no- tice a photograph answering the des- cription Hove had given of Gaffney. The Montana officer secured a photo- graph of the man he believed to be Gaffney, although known to the Salt Lake police by another name. He also procured copies of the finger , i prints that ivent .. ,,,witl the photo- graph. , Copies of thekpicture were sent out to the police departmehts of all the big cities of the country with the request that Great Falls be given any information concerning the man. San Francisco first responded, saying that the man was a professional wire tapper with a long record. The police sent to Great Falls a different photo- graph of the man and his finger prints. The pictures were not suffi- ciently alike to offer conclusive proof that the two men were the same, but the finger prints were identical, On October 17, 1917, one George W. Kellar was arrested in Kansas City. He was \printed measured and photographed. His finger prints were identical with those of Thomas Gaffney, wanted in Montana. A Cas- cade county officer went after him and brought him back to Great Falls. He was tried, convicted and sentenc- ed to five years in the state peniten- tiary at Deer Lodge. Had National Repntaltion Gaffneyovho had many aliases, was knownithe country over as a wire tapper and bunco man, making a specialty of fake horse races. At his trial the prosecuting attorney ex- hibited half a dozen photographs and sets of finger prints, showing him to be variously Fred Thomas, No. D688, Oakland; George Kelly, No. 6815, Sacramento; Fred W. Thomas, No. 26602, San Francisco, arrested each time on charges of buncoing. Gaffney denied that the photographs were of him, but he could not deny the fin- ger prints. They convicted him alone. The average man is greatly sur- prised to learn that the finger print system is older than the so-called civilization of the white races. It was used long before the coming of Christ; before the Romans and the Greeks developed from primeval sav- ages. Six thousand years ago the Chinese developed this system of identifying criminals. It is practical- lyC an infallible system. Sir Francis Gaiton, a noted English scien st who spent 20 years studying and c shy- ing finger prints, declared that there was just one chance in 640,000,000 of there being two finger prints ex- actly alike. The first use of the system outside of China was made by the British government in India as a means of preventing the re-employment of natives whose services had proved unsatisfactory. Supplants Bertillon System The present system, especially ap- plying to criminal identification, was established by Captain E. R. Henry, chief commissioner of police for the city of London. It has been univer- sally adopted all over the world, even supplanting the French Bertillon sys- tem of anthropometric measurement. At present it is used by the United States government in the army, navy, marines, customs houses, immigra- tion and civil service departments. It is also used by insurance companies, banks and large firms where the em- ployment of undesirable men is es- pecially guarded against. Leave Finger Prints It is a mistaken idea that the fin- ger prints of a criminal must be of record before he commits a crime to make the system effective, for in many of the most famous cases where conviction has been obtained through the comparison of finger prints the criminal left his tell -tale prints be- hind without knowing it. A burglar, a murderer or any other criminal may touch a brass jar, a metal rail, a smooth surface of almost any kind and leave a clue that will easily prove to be toe only thing necessary to his conviction. , Crooks Avoid Bureau It is a significant fact, related by many of the best police officers of the country, that a city equipped with a bureau of identification is avoided as much as possible by professional criminals. In explanation of this It is atated that a man committing a crime in a city where a bureau exists has a limited chance to get away for any great length of time and if they are caught conviction is sure to follow. A criminal, confronted in court with his past record, is a fair- ly uncomfortable person and he has but little patience with a city that employs this means of safeguarding the property of its citizens. A great advantage found in the use of the finger print system is the disposition of criminals to admit their guilt when they are confronted with this form of evidence. In fact, the economic feature of the system is considered of importance second only to the matter of establishing identity. In Great Falls, since last January, when the local bureau was established, estimates based on the average cost of prosecuting a crimi- nal show that $4,000 has been saved to Cascade county by criminals who, realizing the futility of denying their finger prints, have entered pleas of guilty and received their sentences without standing trial. .Ray Gaunt of Great Falls, finger print expert for Great Falls and Cas- cade county, is probably the best known specialist in his line in the northwest. He has sent many crim- inals to the penitentiary. He de- clares that every town of any size in Montana should have a finger print registering system. A small outfit can be obtained for $115. There is no cost attached to getting finger prints registered and classified correctly, as the government expert at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, does this work free. The government even pays the postage. The larger towns, such as Butte, Helena. Great Falls and other cities, have their own ex- perts. Ray Gaunt, Finger Print Expert of Great Falls and Cascade County. 10 o'clock before I got an audience with the president. I told him of my information and said: 'Mr. President, there is not the slightest chance of you not being nominated. Why is It that you hold this matter up?' \Them we sat down with the maps and went over the whole proposition again. We were sitting close toge- ther at right angles. Mr. Lincoln's great awkward legs were crossed and stretched out in front of me. Sud- denly he reached out in front of me and grasped my knee, which he gave R kindly twist and Raid: 'Campbell. there Is no reason In holding the bill up. Leave this to me!' The Rill Was Panned \Next day, the pages placed pamphlets that I had prepared on the desk of every senator just before the senate convened. The bill for organizing Montana into a territory went through.\ The time for the Baltimore conven- tion had arrived and during that con- vention Mr. Campbell won a signal victory for himself. He appeared before the convention committees and urged the claims of territories to representation in the national nom- inating convention. Territories had never been 'represented before, but so well did Mr. Campbell present his CASA that the convention acted favor - ably on the proposition, and to him has gone the honor of securing for all organized territories this privilege, which still prevails and has spread to other national political parties. When the conventioned opened Campbell and Edgerton had seats among the delegates, although with- out ,the right to vote. Mr. Lincoln, as is well known, was nominated. Prominent in Illinois Then Campbell started back for Montana, to which place he was fated never to return. He found his way blocked by an Indian war. The hos- tiles had practically wiped out the stage line across the prairies. He re- turned to his home in Chicago and took up the practice of law, and made that city his home for 60 years. lie became prominent there, serving sev- eral terms in the city council and the legislature of Illinois and declined a nomination for congress. When he went to Chicago it was the home of but 15,000 people; in fact, there were not as many people there as there were in Virginia City at the same time, but when he left it, a few years ago, it contained a million. In his old age he was called to Salina, Kansas, by the Illness of a brother. He liked the climate so well that he concluded to retire from the practice of law and locate there. War Time Advertising The Chicago Tribune recently pub- lished as a cable message from Charles N. Wheeler, London corres- pondent. a remarkable interview on advertising with Harry Gordon Self- ridge, proprietor of an American -plan department store in London. The in- terview includes the following state- ments: \The day after war was declared, I increased our advertising space. From that day I have been buying all the advertising space available. \I would do more advertising to- day if I could get the spare. We are limited by the limitations of our newspapers. \We are taking, right now, every inch they will give us and at rates that would make us in the states turn somersaults and fall over back- ward. \The first four months of this year have been the biggest four months in our history. \Now more than at any other time, It Is necessary to push the dis- play advertising.\ • Silver Bow's Vote It is estimated that there are 28,- 000 persons in Silver Bow county, who will be eligible to vote at the forthcoming primaries. RECALLS WORK OF THOMAS MERRILL AN EMPIRE BUILDER WHO DID MUCH FOR MONTANA IN THE . PIONEER DAYS Started Litigation Which Blocked Northern Pacific in Attempt to Ac- quire Wholesaie . Mineral Rights. Among the First to Go Into Quartz Mining; Silver's Friend. The old Legal Tender mining prop- erty at Clancy, of historic memory, which has been closed down for many years, is to be operated again, a company having been organized to reopen it. In the old days ore from the Legal Tender was shipped by bull team to Fort Benton, floated down the Missouri river to New Orleans, and sent to Swansea. Wales, for treatment. The reopening of the famous prop- erty recalls the activities of Thomas Gale Merrill, now almost forgotten, but who, a quarter of a century ago, was one of the very prolninent min- ing operators of the state, and play- ed a man's part in the business and political world of Montana at that time. Fought Northern Pacific Incidentally, it should be mention- ed that Merrill rendered a signal ser- vice to the state, by starting the fight which blocked the Northern Pa- cific from acquiring title to the min- eral deposits on land granted to it as Thomas G. Merrill, Who Saved the Mineral Resources for the State. a bonus for the construction of a railroad through Montana. By this action he saved for the people wealth running into many millions of dol- lars. If the fight had not been started in all probability the railroad would have acquired rights to all the min- eral deposits in the land covered by the surface of its grant, which in- cluded every other section for 50 miles on each side of the right of way of the railroad from the eastern to the western boundaries of the state. Butte, with its fabulous deposits of rich ores, gold, silver, copper, zinc, manganese and other metals, was in the heart of this land grant. Merrill commenced the movement which blocked this design 31 years ago. Much mining property in the Butte district on which development work has since disclosed large values, was open to location 30 years ago. Was It Pioneer Mr. Merrill came to Montana in the early 60s. He located the farm on which East Helena now stands. Then he went into placer mining and was very successful. He obtained the charter for Montana City, and was one of the leading men of that busy place when it was one of the large centers of the territory. He organ- ized and financed one of the first companies to operate in quartz In Montana—the Monarch Gold and Sil- ver Mining company—which built a mill on Clark creek, a few miles southeast of Helena. This company was only a moderate success, but out of it grew the Hecla Consolidated Mining company, which built the town of Glendale, in Beaverhead county, constructed one of the first smelters in the state, and extracted millions of dollars. His Discovery Company In 1882 Mr. Merrill organized the Merrill Discovery company, which was financed by St. Paul capital. The purpose of the company was to locate mines in Montana. Under his ener- getic management the company ac- quired 64 promising properties. It was during his management of this company ,that he started litigation against the Northern Pacific involv- ing the mineral rights of the railroad grant. He financed the litigation himself, and after carrying the case to the supreme court of the United States, a five year contest, finally won. e Following this dtcision, the fed- eral government appointed a com- mission to classify the lands in the grant as mineral and non -mineral, the company being given title to the non -mineral bearing lands. Was Siever'a Champion He WAR a republican but left the party when William Jennings Bry- an committed the democracy to the free coinage of silver. He made a vigorous fight for Bryan; as did many other republicans in the state, and helped to carry Montana for the Ne- braskan by an overwhelming major- ity. Governor Sidney Edgerton, Mon- tana's first executive, appointed Mr. Merrill the first clerk and reeorder of Jefferson county, which then em- braced the territorY from the summit of the continental divide to the east. PROHIBITION LAW TO AFFECT DRUGS COOKING PREPARATIONS AND EXTRACrS MAY BE SHUT OUT OF STATE Druggists Will Meet in Helena This Winter and Endeavor to Modify Law So As to Permit of Sale of Certain Well Known Proprietary Remedies. Montana will be hermetically seal- ed on January 1, it appears, to all beverages, cooking preparations, ex- tracts and liquids of all kinds con- taining more than two per cent alco- hol. How about drugs? This question exercised the aggre- „gate mind of the Montana Pharma- ceutical Association at its convention Louis Driebelbis, President Montana Pharmaceutical Association. held a few days ago In Butte. The visage of the association in conclave blanched at the thought that the state prohibition law in its enforce- ment will seriously interfere with the drug business, both from a financial viewpoint and from a: consideration of the relative value of alcohol in patent medicines. Ask For Modification After long discussion the druggists decided to consult Attorney General S. C. Ford and ascertain the exact scope and intent of the Montana dry law. Under the leadership of their re-elected president, Louis Dreibel- his, of the Newbro Drug Co., Butte, members of the association will, if necessary, meet in Helena during the next legislative session and make re- presentations to the state law mak- ers urging a modification of the law. It is noteworthy that only recent- ly has sincere attention been paid to the actual provisions of the prohibi- tion law in this state. When the con- stitutional amendment was put up to the people in the election of 1916 the prevailing opinion was that prohibi- tion did not have a chance of pass- ing. Little attention was given the wording of the amendment by those whom it would most seriously affect. let alone the voters of the state. The polls registered a knock -out for John Barleycorn to the tune of more than 30,000 majority. Since then Montanans have roused themselves, rubbed their eyes, and begun to review the havoc they wrought in the little ballot booths. Indians Are Interested It is said that Indians on the vari- ous reservations are keenly interest- ed in the move to include in the pros- cribed liquids certain cooking pre- parations containing a large percent- age of alcohol. Information from of- ficial sources indicates that Montana will follow the lead of South Dakota in taking under government posses- sion all lemon extract in the state. It is said lemon extract has been in great demand on Indian reserves where liquor has been prohibited. What One Montana Soldier Does The question of what an enlisted man in the American army does with all his money has been answered by a disclosure of the financial affairs of a Montana man, a member of a machine gun company. The soldier receives $33 a month. Of this $15 is sent to his mother, $5 is paid on a Liberty bond and $6.50 is deduct- ed for insurance, leaving a balance of $5.50, or approximately 21 cents a day. As Uncle Sam provides him with everything he desires and the 21 cents is idle wealth he has decided to open a savings account. Thirty-four students and graduates of the University of Montana are in the flying service. ern boundary of the state, an area larger than all of Great Britain. Governor Rickards named Mr. Merrill commissioner for Montana at the world's fair in San Francisco, and Mr. Merrill spent many thou- sands of dollars from his private purse in advertising the resources of the Treasure state. On Montana day at the fair, Mr. Merrill distribut- ed 28 pounds of Montana sapphires and rubies, every visitor calling at the Montana building receiving an uncut gem. • • - . Great Falls Bruck & Tile Co. CHEAT FALL/. MONTAN Malltlfarturers of LIGHT. BUFF AND DARK PAM BRICK, FIRE BRICK. IWILDIRG TM* HOLLOW BLOCKS, 111111 CROOFINO, DRAIN TILII ernes, INS lit Natiord Raub Delia a
