Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A . C O M 77 their politics, or for the politics of anyone in my employ so long as they are good workers and good guards; otherwise I tie the can to them in a hurry." Certainly this contradicts his implacable attitude towards the unions. When it came to ro- mance, Conley expressed his opinions without reservation. Writing to a social worker regarding a former girlfriend of an inmate, he recommended, "…if this young lady is rid of him, she had better stay rid of him." And to a woman whose husband disappeared as soon as he was paroled, he wrote, "I would advise that you get a divorce from him as I don't think he is much good." is somewhat jaundiced view of romance may in large part be due to the defection of his first wife, a high-spirited charmer who ran off with another man. It didn't sour him on marriage forever. He shared the rest of his life with his second wife, and the pair died within weeks of each other, in 1939. ough there was really little choice in the matter, he was op- posed to putting first offenders with hardened criminals. "It is always productive of evil results to have habitual…criminals associ- ate with young first term men who owe their violations to the drink habit or having given way to a sudden temptation." Even stronger than his dislike of putting first time offenders in with the general population, he opposed putting boys in with the general population. Apparently Conley's faith in the prisoners was not always justi- fied. Writing to Frank DeLea, to whom he had loaned eight dol- lars, he noted, "Your letter … received and also order for eight dollars for which please accept thanks. I wish to state further you are the first man I ever loaned money to who paid it. When I received it I felt like getting it photo- graphed." He lobbied for financial assistance for the families of prison- ers, and objected to the inmates being released with nothing more than a suit of clothes and just enough money to get to the next town where, jobless and friendless, they would have little alterna- tive but to turn back to crime. He sent dozens of letters to people who owed money to inmates, especially those who had accepted responsibility for selling hitched horsehair items which inmates were allowed to make in their non-working hours. Conley's long tenure at the Montana State Prison could be said to have come to an ignominious end when he was fired by the newly elected Governor Dixon. ere was no ignominy in the hun- dreds of well-wishers who descended on Deer Lodge to show their support for the long-time warden. He continued as mayor for many years, and even today, a few old-timers in Deer Lodge recall how he would receive a standing ovation when he entered the stands at the county fair. Frank Conley: Bigot or benefactor? Perhaps he was simply too human. e jury is still out. IT WAS INITIALLY ECONOMIC NECESSITY, WHICH LED TO THIS USE OF INMATE LABOR, BUT AS THE YEARS PASSED, CONLEY BECAME CONVINCED OF THE IMPORTANCE OF LABOR IN THE HEALTH, MORALE, AND REHABILITATION OF THE CONVICTS. The town of Deer Lodge and the Montana State Prison grew up together. Men, horse-drawn wagons, graders, and hard labor built hundreds of miles of roads which would eventually be travelled by carefree tour- ists in horseless carriages.

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