The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1884-01-02
V AND
T. P. Baker, General Agent of the
Fort Benton Transportation
Company (Benton"P"
Line, Interviewed.
The Prospects of the River Business Next
Season, and Some Sensible
Railroad Talk.

Season., and Some Sensible
Railroad Talk.
A RIVER PRESS representative "cor-
rallied" Mr.. I. p. Baker, general agent
of the Fort Benton transportation COM
pany, yesterday afternoon and succeeded
in getting some interesting vie WIS from
him on subjects in which our people are
deeply interested. In answer to an in
quiry as to the prospects of the river
business next year he said 1.-THE outlook
is very good indeed. No further in
roads on the territory of the river has
been made by the railroads since the be-
ginning of the boating season last year,
SO that the business of the coming year
at any rate would be as good as the last.
But we "a reasonably expect that it
will be much better, because of the
largely increased settlement Of the
country tributary to Fort Benton and
at points lower down the river. Then
if this Indian reservation is opened to
| settlement it will add in no small way
to the business of the boats-and alto-
gether, I think the prospects of the upper
Missouri for 1884 are fiattering in the
extreme"
Evil not the loss of the Big Horn
and Butte last season cut off two crafts
from the upper river feet?" inquired
the reporter.
"Their places can be easily supplied
if there is business to warrant it. Be
sides the six boats of the Benton "Pn
and Coulson lines, the Bachelor, Behan,
Eclipse, two Northern Pacific boats and
others could be drafted into the service
if there is business for them-and all Of
these are liable to make trips tothe head
OF navigation next season :
"In what condition are the Benton
line boats to ocgin The siege:.h
"Thev were never better. We have
expended over S.. 5000 on the Helena, and
the Black Hills and Benton are just IS
good as new. You can count on these
boats doing their sull share towards sup
plying Fort Benton with goods next
season.
Changing the subject rom river 10
rail, do you think, Mr.. Baker, chat our
town would be greatly benefited by the
advent of the iron horse?n
II most certainly do-if you get the
right railroad"
(Which one is that:n
"A connection with the Canadian Pa
cific. Such a road would make Fort
Benton the best town between St. Paul
and Portland, and if your citizens are
awake to their own interests they will
leave no efforts undone to secure its con-
struction as soon as possible. A connec-
ton with the Northern Pacific might
give you a temporary boom, but what
advantages in the way OF freight rates
will it give you, or what fields of
Billings or Helena could undersell your
merchants, and the dealers in til Judith
Basin (if the road came that way would
be independent of Benton. But it
WOu1u UC allOSCGu01 ulllGIcIG Will d
Canadian Pacific branch. That would
make Fort Benton again the entrepot Of
the northwest territory, and your whole
sale merchants here would sell goods in
every town in that large field FROM
Regina to the summit of the Rock
les. I'll tell you why. They could af-
ford to sell them cheaper because of
more favorable freight tariffs. The large
shippers of Fort Benton can get goods
laid down here from Chicago, under
favorable circumstances, for $1.25 a hum
bred; / have never known better rates
given from Chicago to Winnipeg than
So. Fort Benton has, then, to start with,
an advantage of rs cents per cHt. over
Winnipeg as a distributing point. The
distance from Fort Benton to the North
west territory is something over 100
miles from Winnipeg to the samep point
ever 800 miles, SO that there could be no
comparison of rates. With such IN
doubted advantages of transportation
the northwest would again look to Fort
Benton, and its growth and progress
would be only equaled by that of St.
Paul and Minneapolis. The building of
this road would shortly bring you others
and would hasten more than anything
else the great future / believe there is in
store for Fort Benton.n
Mr.. Baker, who is an A / boomer, had
much else of interest to say about our
prospective railroads for which we have.