The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1867-07-20
MATERIAL ooNsnDERArIoNs.

MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Herald has column or two of
nothing, on the apportionment and the
capital question. 1t starts off with stale
phrase, plagairizcd from the Cork opera,
and ends with disgusting, babyish
familiarity better suited to the nursery
than the columns of a newspaper max
ing any pretensions to respectability. If
any man who has read it, can find either
a fact set forth or an argument advanced
having directly or indirectly any bearing
upon the subject in question, or any
other, they are gifted with finer per-
ceptives than falls to our lot. There are
some assertions, however, that from
courtesy alone, we will answer. 1t
speaks of mutations in the editorial de
partment of it's cotemporary." The
Herald will, no doubt, remember that
the present incumbent of the Herald
office came into that position since any
change in the editorial department of
the Posi-, and that both the heavy C2) and
light editors of the Herald have less
than SIX months connection with it. 1t
quotes from the PosT of October %, 1866,
at which time the Herald was not in ex
istence. This paper did not assert that
the annual report of the Territorial
Treasurer was inaccurate, and no such
Inference" can be justly drawn. The
Il. ~
wealth, business and population of Ed
gerton county Madison paid for the fiscal
year, nearly 100000 more property and
poll taxes, and that either Edgerton Co.,
was making great ado on a very small
capital, or that the officials had GRIMM
ally failed in the performance of their
duties. We concede yet that Helena has
more business houses than Virginia,
three to one. Madison county has, how
ever, 80 ,49S acres of land under culti
vation, with $435 ,22O of improvements
thereon, while Edgerton has but IL ,412
acres cultivated, and $3S, 1888 of improve.
ments. Nearly, or quite, double as many
leads are recorded and developed, and a
larger number of mills are in actual
operation in this county than in Edger-
ton, while Alder; Browns, Bivens, Need,
and Norwegian gulches, Meadow Creek
and others are yielding rich tribute to the
miners. In every material interest, ex-
cept that of merchandising. the odds are
against Edgerton. Before Helena was,
the capital of this Territory was located
at Virginia There is but little value
accruing to any place by the location in
it of the capital, and Madisonians would
probably not be tenacious" on the sub
ject were it not for two things: A de-
sire to prevent the permanent location
and erection of expensive capital build
ings, before the development of the Ter
ritory has established the proper location
for it, and an unwillingness to submit
to the very selfish, ,gobbling propensities
manifested by certain enthusiastic citi-
zens of Helena. We are not in partic-
ular need of the capital, and would, no
doubt, be able to get along very comfor-
tably without it, but, let it stay
where it is until a better place is
found, and then remove it if desirable,
in accordance with the laws, and by all
means ascertain what county the place
is in before it's removal. Helena now
has the Surveyor Generals Office, and
Land office, the Collectors Office of In
ternal Revenue, the Custom Office, United
States MarshaPs Office and an appropri
alton of $37, 500 for an Assay Office, and
is erecting buildings for the Territorial
Armory Last winter she made super
human efforts for the capital, and now
proposes, through the Herald, to violate
the statutes TO obtain it. Two weeks
ago it asserted that aPportionment
should be based on population. One
week ago, on the amount of taxes assess
ed. Either is in direct violation of the
law. The next week it will probably
base it on the amount of supplies pur-
chased by the "Quartermaster" at Helena
and the prices paid The assertion. by
the Herald that our figures are correct,
we do not take as q compliment. We
have carefully reviewed them since read
ing that statement. We did not give
them as basis of ofrepresentation. and they
were not for four months. An editor
that cannot count five, is poor authority.