twain, mark
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</div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Clark yearned to be a statesman and used his newspaper, the <i>Butte Miner</i>, to push his political ambitions.</b> At this time, Butte was one of the largest cities in the West. He became a hero in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena,Montana" title="Helena, Montana" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">Helena, Montana</a>, by campaigning for its selection as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States" title="List of capitals in the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">state capital</a> instead of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaconda,Montana" title="Anaconda, Montana" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">Anaconda</a>. This battle for the placement of the capital had subtle Irish vs. English, Catholic vs. Protestant, and non-Masonic vs. Masonic elements.<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Clark's long-standing dream of becoming a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">United States Senator</a> resulted in scandal in 1899 when it was revealed that he bribed members of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana_State_Legislature" class="mw-redirect" title="Montana State Legislature" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Montana State Legislature</a> in return for their votes. </span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">At the time, U.S. Senators were chosen by their respective state legislators. The corruption of his election contributed to the passage of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" class="mw-redirect" title="17th Amendment to the United States Constitution" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">17th Amendment</a>. The U.S. Senate refused to seat Clark because of the 1899 bribery scheme, but a later senate campaign was successful, and he served a single term from 1901 until 1907.</span> <b>In responding to criticism of his bribery of the Montana legislature, Clark is reported to have said, "I never bought a man who wasn't for sale."</b> Clark died at the age of 86 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A.Clark_House" title="William A. Clark House" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">his mansion</a> at 962 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Avenue(Manhattan)" class="mw-redirect" title="Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">Fifth Avenue</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">New York City</a>. His estate at his death was estimated to be worth $300 million, (equivalent to $4,186,338,000 in today's dollars)<sup id="cite_ref-inflation-US_5-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A.Clark#cite_note-inflation-US-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup>, making him one of the wealthiest Americans ever.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A.Clark#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup> <sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A.Clark#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a 1<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">907 essay, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain" title="Mark Twain" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Mark Twain</a>, who was a close friend of Clark's rival <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_H.Rogers" class="mw-redirect" title="Henry H. Rogers" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Henry H. Rogers</a>, an organizer of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalgamated_Copper_Mining_Company" class="mw-redirect" title="Amalgamated Copper Mining Company" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Amalgamated Copper Mining Company</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A.Clark#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[8]</a></sup> portrayed Clark as the very embodiment of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age" title="Gilded Age" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Gilded Age</a> excess and corruption:</span></font></p><blockquote class="templatequote" style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); overflow: hidden; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 40px;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He is as rotten a human being as can be found anywhere under the flag; he is a shame to the American nation, and no one has helped to send him to the Senate who did not know that his proper place was the penitentiary, with a ball and chain on his legs. To my mind he is the most disgusting creature that the republic has produced since Tweed's time.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A.Clark#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup></font></p></blockquote></div><div>==</div>