The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1882-08-16
THE BENTON BBAN CH.
Repors If Col. Sweet before the Board Of
Trade.

LID pursuance with the call made in
yesterday mornings issue of the RIVER
| PREss the Benton Board of Trade met
at the office Of the secretary Thursday
evening at 8.o'clocll. After some in.
formal talk the meeting was called to-
order by the president, il Collins,
who stated that the objectof tlse meet
/ ing was8to receive the report Of the sec
retaIy, Col. e. nv. Sweet, who had late-
+ - returnea from a visit made to the.
oora1nereial and railroad centers Of the
east in the interest Of the town, and to.
take such action IN the premises rs the
sense Of the meeting considered proper
and advisable.
The secretary then presented bis re-
port, and also q copy Of the letter pre-
sented to Cen. lIaupt, general manager
Of th& Northern Pacific r. r. III regard
to tlle early completion of the Benton
branch, Of that road The report and
accompanying letter are as follows:
Bnsros, August 1st, 1862.
70 nc Boer5s of 1Fade. Benton, 1fo1s.::
(ffNqI4 4E3fFss:-In accordance with in
structions fros4l your committee, on the.
Sd Gay Of June last calledupon General
Manager IIaupt Of tho Northern Pacific
Railroad Company al his office III St,
| Paul, at the time President Willard was
passins through that place on his recent
/ tour inspection, and having been ae-
Ic0rded an audience ! urged upon The.
management the Importance of an early
II completion Of q branch Of their road
from the Yellowstone to Benton, and in
confirmation of my statements as % the
resources o4 the country tributary to
4 yoar town, exhibited d large collection
ol4sas from The Barker, the Montana,
aaa gVarln Spring Districts, Together
with coa1 and iron from Bet and Otter
creeks besides gypsum and marble from
the foothills Of the Belt mountains.
At the request 81 Gen. Haupt ta
The data i'll shape 10 be laid be.o
i Board Of Directors, addfessedtls yla4-
H munication u which u copy " thereto
appended which / presented Nltha map
of the proposed fstate accompanying IT,
Upon the return of tie party from The
west, 4 Was Informed by the General
Manager, that the branch would be
pushed through to an early completion,
Should the season prove favorable q
portion Of the line will probably be
graded during the fall and winter
While in St. Paul made arange gements
! with the Dotty Pioaoer Press, to con-
tribute to lis columns articles upon
Northern Montana, and az that paper Is
doing more to build up our section Of
! country than any other sheet and has L
larger circulation thanany other west Of
:. Chicago, / would advise our business
men to give it a liberal patronage.
Having completed the business in st.
Paul I went to Washington, and after
consulting with our Delegate, Maginnis,
/ drafted a bill for i new land district ii
Northern Montana, which having laid
before the Commissioner t,f the General
! Land Office, with the reasons for the
passage Of the bill and on an assurance
from him that lie would favor and re-
commend the same gave it into the
hands Of our delegate to Introduce at
the proper time. While 1T will not be
nassed ut this session on account Of the
early close Of the session of congress, i
will be III position to be tilken up and
passed early IN the next session.
ALLOW me III passing to pay q lnefited
tribute to the uniting devotion Of dele
gate Maginnis to everything that per-
tains to the interests Of Montana.
~ He can always be found iii his place,
and his standing with the various de-
partments of the government and with
the other members Of congress- is such
that he can carry through measures foi
Montana that no Intercollegiate could
attempt with any reasonable hope q
success.
In conclusion [ beg leave to say that
your town and its mammoth mercantile
establishments has a reputation abroad
for. enterprise and mercantile probity
that older and larger towns 1nay vel
envy, and your Board Of Trade, BY prop.
er management, should Become pow.
lerfuk factor in the outward march &c
that supremacy in the business OF The
northwest, which belongs to the loca