Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 2 114 SETTING THE STAGE Montana was a maelstrom of turmoil during this era. On April 2, 1917, Jeannette Rankin, the first female earn- ing a seat in the House of Representatives, stepped into office the same day President Woodrow Wilson called for a declaration of war against Germany. She stood firm against the action, yet her voice from Montana was not enough to stem involvement. Following the vote, men volunteered and were draft- ed, resulting in 17 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 44, approximately 40,000 in total, sent to serve. "Montana had a huge impact on the war," said Ken Robison, historian and author of World War I Montana: The Treasure State Prepares and Montanans in the Great War: Open Warfare Over There, explaining that an inaccurate pop- ulation count skewed numbers. "We wound up with a draft quota over 25 percent of what it should have been." To complicate matters, roughly two-thirds of Montana's population was made up of immi- grants or children of im- migrants. "A lot of them were native Germans," said Megan Sanford, archives administrator at the History Museum in Great Falls. "Some of them wanted Germany to win." Finnish social- ists and Irish nationalists also wanted no part in the war. Labor issues, which had bubbled over for years surrounding the mines in Butte, added to the tension. Strikes and strikebreak- ers, whether in the mining and smelting industries or dealing with timber in the Kootenai Valley, were common. By 1918, the first wave of the Span- ish flu, named as such because jour- nalists in the militarily neutral country of Spain were free to report on the ep- idemic, was reported in Scobey, quick- ly spreading throughout the state. By the end of the war, more servicemen died of the flu (369) than from battle, and approximately 5,000 people, one percent of Montana's population, suc- cumbed to the illness. And while no one realized it at the time,1917 was the first year in a five-year drought cycle resulting in losing nearly half the home- steaders and ranchers in eastern Montana, totaling over 200,000 people. And on December 31, 1918, Montana opted for Prohi- bition a year earlier than the federal ban on alcohol, further harming farmers. "An entire industry that took wheat and barley suddenly did not exist," said Sanford. Although the war effort helped bridge this gap for grain crops for a couple of years, by 1919, Montana farmers and ranchers were in dire straits. Sanford said that was the year that almost killed Mon- tana. "WWI came in a particular time that was the start of a cascade of issues that were tough for Montana," she said. MONTANA SENDS ITS YOUNG MEN U n d e r s t a n d - ing this background creates a better un- derstanding of the sacrifices of families throughout Montana, including my hus- band's family. While Royal Caulfield re- ceived the glory, even having the VFW Post 1087 in Great Falls named in his honor, it's arguable that his parents, Helen and A.E. Caulfield, gave the greater sacrifice with all four of their sons serving. In part of the WWI exhibit at the Great Falls Museum, "Remembering the Doughboys of Cas- cade County," the section, "The Caulfield Fam- ily Waits," features the headline from the Great Falls Tribune, "Four Stars, One of Gold," which tells the story of all four brothers and their con- tributions. As with many soldiers during this time, Royal Caulfield regularly wrote home, yet it took nearly half a year before the confirmation of his death during the Battle of Chateau Thier- ry in July 1918 reached his parents. His honor is not necessarily because of his personal sacrifice Royal Caulfield before going to war. Photo courtesy The Grisak Family. Mike Mansfield Jeanette Rankin

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