The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-01-02
From the Daily of Tuesday,
Fl NEW YEAR..
Satisfactory Resume Of the Fast,
and Bright Prospects for
the Coming Year.
Solidity of Our Financial, Mer-
camille and Mining
Interests.
Butte the Permanent Metropolis
of Montana.

Butte the Permanent Metropolis
of Montana.
At the close of the old year and The
beginning of the new, the citizens OF
Silver Bow county are to be congrat'
ulated upon the prosperity which has
attended them in the past, and felici'
tated upon the bright prospect
which opens out before them for the
future, in every material interest OF
the county. After the era of excite
ment and inflated values through
which the county passed in 1882, ii
was expected that the settling down
| of values to a normal basis and the
readjustment of mercantile interests
according to the conservative and le-
| ultimate laws of trade, would result in
a great diminution of the valuation
Of property for purposes of taxation.
But the result has proven that the
mercantile, financial and mining in
terests of the county are on a founda-
ton too solid, to be materially ef-
fected by any mere transitory inf1u-
ence; and our merchants report a
steady increase in the volume OF
trade, the trial balance of our banks
show a heavy business, and a profita-
BILE year for stockholders and the out
put of our mines, mills and shelters
has been unprecedentedly large;
while the county assessment roll for
the year shows taxable property val
ued at So, G65, 1O!; an increase Of 1884,
ST. over that of last year, and second
in the Territory only to that Of Lewis
and Clarke, with five times the area
of Silver Bow. OF the tax levies in
the several counties Of the Territory
Silver Bow was the smallest, being
but 13 mills on the dollar.
During the past year the expansion
of trade and the increased number OF
mercantile firms in the city Of Butte
have caused a remarkable outspread
of the business center, so that West
Park street has become Second only
to Main as a business street, and the
overflow of trade is steadily building
up o business thoroughfare on West
Broadway.
Although the number of buildings
erected during 1883 was not so great
as in previous years, the structures
erected were of a much better class,
and in brick and stone buildings
alone, the aggregate cost exceeded
$3.50, OOO, while the frame and smaller
buildings erected during the year are
estimated at $lOO, 900. Among the
new structures erected are the court
house and Jail, which in its dimen-
sions and ornate architectural design
will compare favorably with the pub
lie buildings OF any county in the
United States and is unequalled on
the Pacific Coast; the magnificent
mercantile establishment of E. L..
Bonner & Co., and the mammoth
amphitheatre erected by J.
D. Thomas, on West Park street.
buildings are all of brick and
stone and would do credit to any
metropolitan city in the world.
One of the best evidences of the
magnitude of commercial operations
the year was the volume of
receipts over the Utah &
Northern Railroad, which consisted
exclusively of merchandise
and mining machinery, and aggre-
gated $4,000 tons. The outgoing
treights, consisting principally of
copper matte and ore, amounted. in
round numbers, to 10000 tons, show
ing the gigantic proportions to which
the industry of mining for foreign
shipment has grown. The total ton !
mage Of Butte for the year was up
words of IS, 600 tons, which will near
ly equal the tonnage of the entire
outside of Butte.
MINING INTERESTS.
Although little OF no new capital
from outside sources has been in
vested during 1888 for the develop
ment of Summit Valley mining
property, the experience of the year
has demonstrated the fact that min
ing interests in Summit Valley Dis
trict have acquired a momentum
which place them far beyond a con-
dition of dependence upon outside
for the operation of our active
properties or the development of new
mines, and it is now a matter of con-
graduation that any owner of a
ledge which will yield f%orty-ounce
ore, or upwards, can secure all the
required for its development
from local capitalists. AS a result of
this condition of things, not only is
every property which was worked
year ago in C cessful operation to-
day, but more than a score of new
properties have been opened up dur
ing the year, which are now being
worked and developed, with all the
modern appliances of scientific min
by local capital.
OUTPUT OF THE MINES.
The difficulty Of obtaining exact
data upon the output of district in
which the operations r upon so
In ROE a scale as thOSo of Summit VAL |