The Dillon tribune. [volume] (Dillon, Mont.) 1881-1941, 1883-12-08
Political Condition of Non tana.
Special nrresls'n.icn,e.
HELENA. Montana, NV. IS. 1851

vote letter to the present l,s.litm al posi-
ton ct this vast Territory, which Is so >eor
to cut a figure. as one Of the largest and
most powerful Of the Northwestern States
Territory Il. great in extent as New
York. Penns.y lvania, Maine, Vermont
Massachusetts and Delaware thrown in
and possessing every element Of attract ton
and all the material forces that can con.
tribute to the wealth ani prosperity Of it,
people. its mountains, plains and valleys
being rapidly gridironed with railroads,
some of them spanning from ocean to
ocean. who can even conjecture the future
of such a domain: 1t is no wonder that
the Montanians go into rapture> over This
richest Of possessions. She has .ithin Ter
bosom the untolc wealth Of inc xha,,,ibl,.
veins Of gold and silver, a single mine
Welding three millions Of dollars in the
first three years Of its working. She has
Ii'nitiess resources in the production OF
coal Of the best quality, but above all she
has resources to feed the cattle from which
the world may receive its beef supplies
She has the natural attraction. Of scenery
which no other part Of the world can ex.
Gel, either in its sp.e ,dor or the mighty
majesty Of natures hanliwork, as present
ed by the terrible upheavals Of Mother
Earth; and these attractions. amid the
mountains, will in time make her the r..
sort Of the thousands who now haunt the
fashionable watering places on the sea
shores.
have wondered what Massachusetts or
New York could have accomplished in
their contributions to the worlds material
prosperity had either Of them Possessed a
tithe Of the natural resource, Of Montana.
The Yankee Of New England, who rarely
gets sight Of patch Of growing wheat
at home, Is no less amazed at the enor.
'nous production Of this cereal in Montana
and Dakota than he il astonished that the
same region Of country should send forth
its gold and its silver, its coal and its iron,
It's lead and its copper, in the production Of
all which there seemed to be direct re.
proof to him who chung 10 the sterile
wastes Of Yankeedon, here people sim.
ply exist by living upon each other. With
all the opportunities for speculation afford.
ed In Montana, the principal spec ulators
and the principal men Of enterprise to
whom the county owes It's rapid progress,
are not, strange to say, New Englanders,
nor are they men who come from the East
ut ALL They are, on the contrary, men who
have always lived in the West-men from
consin, and as far East as Ohio and Mich.
igan. These are the bone and sinew of
Montana, mixed, as have before said. with
the heavy ingredients from Sweden, Nor.
way, and the frozen regions beyond.
With this character Of population, which
will be sufficient in number to cntitle Mon
tana to take her place in the sisterhood Of
States within the next two years, want to
See her swing into line and invest her peo
pie with the right to govern themselves as
they ought to be governed. The laxity Of
the Territorial laws is a practical license
for the preparation Of all conceivable
crimes, and makes every citizen depend.
ent on his own resources for that protec-
tion which the law should guarantee
While in recent years there has been no
necessity for resort to the relentless of.
tices Of a vigilance CO nmitiee, save in the
immediate vicinity Of mining camps, there
Is recklessness in the commission OF all
crimes that has become alarming. because
Of the failure OF Justice in the due punish
'nent Of offenders. The British Posses.
sions, which for c4o miles run along the
northern border, afford refuge not only
tor the white yiOlators Of the law, but they
constitute the shelter Of the Indian, who
boldly commits his predatory offences
against society while near the boundary,
knowing that his escape to British soil ex-
cmpts him from n.olestation OF his pursu.
ers. Yet cannot say that crime either by
the whites or Indians, is any more rampant
here than In any other new country; nor
can the nature Of the offences committed
daily TRANSPORTING in the States that pretend
to more complete civilization. Much has
heen done in Congress in the way OF legis.
lation for the material interests Of the peo- |
pie Through the efforts Of lion. Martin Ma.
gi"nis, whose popularity among all classes
Of the people is evinced by his unanimous
selection AS the Territorial delegate to Con.
gress ut every succeeding election. MIR. |
Maginnis Is Democrat. withou: political |
venom; good fellow generally, and all
Mountainous say will surely go as the first
Of Montana's United States Senators as
soon as she has a chance to send him.
&. l..
AristOcratic Gamblers.