The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1882-05-31
HELEN a.
The Enterprising Business Men Of Men
tana's Capital 0lty-Their Growing
Interest in Benton Politics
and ''sioh.'

Huu oIols
Arriving in the capital Of our Territory.
the first thing which strikes the mind Of one
who las been absent fnr some time is the
number of new faces to be seen on her streets
and in her hotels and business houses. Hell
her charac teristics than any city Of her sizs
in the i nited States. She is the central point
to which all the principal stage lines of the
Territory converge, and almost every new
conner to Montana finds his or her way to
Helena before making permanent home
Some of them, of course, remain to swell her
population, but the majority seek homes in
the country and the outside towns Helena
has q vast area of agricultural country and
numerous mining camps within days drive
of her, of which she is the market and to
which she furnishes supplies Of all kinds,
and the amount of business done there every
year is surprising. The business men of
Helena are among the most enterpFislng and
far-seeing of their class IN any country al
ways on the lookout and ever ready TO take
hold OF and push to a successful Issue any
thing, of whatever nature that holds out
fair promise of q profitable return. Most of
the leading merchants have branch houses in
the principal towns of the Territory. For
instance, Murphy, Neel & Go. have houses
in Benton, Butte and Deer Lodge; Klein
schmidt & Bro. in Benton, Butte, Bozeman,
Deer Lodge, Boulder, and number Of the
smaller towns Sands & Co have branch
in Butte, as also have Pafchen & Co, Fred.
Gamer and Kinna u Jack Raleigh & Clarke
have several branches; Clans aud Klein have
branches in Benton and Butte, and Green
hood, Bohm & Co. in Virginia City, while I.
c. Power s. Co., although the parent house
of r. C. Power & Bro. is located in our own
town of Benton, have, beslLes their large
store in Helena, branches in Bczeman, Dill
lon and White Sulphur Springs. These are
by no means all of the Helena firms which
have thrown out branches, and are only sptss
cialy mentioned because Of their being some
of the most prominent onts. and to show
the spirit of enterprise which ch iracterizes
the metropolis of Montana. In addition to
their various business houses, many OF them
have capital invested in mines, cattle, horses,
Sheep stage lines, etc.
The newspapers Of Helena are worthy
repres ntatives Of the progr'sa md enter
prise Of the capital city The Herald is the
property o. r. E, D. w. and A J. Fisk,
and is the best paying new-ptper property IN
Montana, and, b lieve, the oldest now IN
existence. The business flee and editorial
rooms are fitted up in elegant style, and the
composing and press rooms lack f'r nothing
TO facil tate the turning out OF brs class
work The news type is almost new, as is
nearly all Of the type. In the press room
are Campbell two-revnlutian cylinder news
paper press, Potter cylinder j 10 press, ar
improved G ,rdon jobber aud a folding ma
chine all run by powerful engine. The
Herald is the les ding Republican paper OF
: the Territory. The Independent, formerly
owned by Voolfolk, Nj. @ laid s. L,Crolx,
was last fall purchased by stock com
$ pany, the former owners retaining one-hal
of the stock The new company put in
new dress and new jpDtype, new Campbell
two-revolution cylinder, an improved Cor
|, don, a folding machine and y new engine
) and now have one of the most complete Of
i fees in the West. The Independent is 'h
. recognized organ of the Montana Dsmoc
racy.
Helena has grown considerably since m
last visit, though scarcely aszmuch as | ex
!, pected to see when the rapid approach OF IN
n iron horse to her doors is considered.
! number of new private residences have bee
erected, and several new business houses
Prominent among the latter are the new ,w
story stone building of Kleinschmid' s. Bro
on lower Main street just below Grand. th
three new brick stores on the site OF the OF
le ST. Louis Hotel front and occupied by FREQ
g Gamer. Morris Bros and Clarke, hckober,
a Co. and the new brick store on Bridg
street erected and occupied BY d. Reinil
Another noticeable improvement IS the q
s s sence Of the posts, awnings and proJectln
le signs. the removal of which makes MAI
a a street look great deal wider than befor
10 This is one result of Incorporation, a is all
e the general cleanliness of the streets, an e
ample which Benton would do well to follo'