The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1885-03-18
Some Strange Facts.


whole country, have caused much COM
ment and have been attributed to many
and different causes. Many assert that
it is stagnation in business. that always
follows the completion Of a railroad
through any country, particularly one
line Of road without competition; others
maintain and opine every other reason
imaginable, some apparently tenable,
others without any foundation in fact;
and in our little community, many are
the schemes that have been concocted,
plans laid and sought to be carried into
effect to remove this stagnation in bust
ness, which has become oppressive and
alarming, at least to the nerveless. For
instance, there was scheme on foot to
lave the present Legislature pass an en-
aiding act to allow the County Commits
sioners to issue bonds in aid of the Boze-
man and West Gallatin canal and water
ditch company. Whether or not this
project had any merit, or should have
been passed or defeated by the Assem-
bly,, are questions we will not stop here
to discuss; let it suffice that the measure
failed, Next came the proposition for
railroad from Bohemian to Butte, which
only differed from the first in the magni-
tude IF subsidy asked for. This PROPOSE
ton, as to its merits, We will also leave
undiscussed; but, like the first, it went
the way of all the world,
Now, as a matter of fact, are the rea-
sons expressed the true reasons for the
hard times in Bozeman, or were the
remedies urged panaeea for the times
complained Of? Let us express emphat-
ically that neither are true The first
amount to just as much as the story
about the old woman who stationed her
self behind tree, and with an axe killed
a bear passing by in quest of food, and it
is told as true story that the said old
woman maintained the same station
awaiting the appearance of another bear
until she starved to death. So it is be-
cause railroad passed through another
country, with no advantages, and left
some little way station out in the cold,
fursooth the rule is good one and must
not fail. Hence the citizens of Bozeman,
rather than violate this old saw, have
quietly sat down and allowed the rule to
work, with much growing but with little
effort to change it; and as to the reme-
dies proposed, we have to say that while
they may have been honestly urged by
their projectors, yet they were not the
true remedy, and seemed to us to be an
attempt to imlnerse the county in
heavy Indebtedness with but little hope
of fair remuneration to the people and
without any lasting benefit to either
Bozeman or the people of the county.
From our knowledge of the different
towns in Montana--nay. even in the
West-we can and do assert without fear
Of successful contradiction, that Bozeman
is surrounded by and has more natural
advantages than any other town in Mon
tana. First it is surrounded by mines
rich in gold and silver, as appears from
assays True, these mines are not in the
immediate vicinity, but are within easy
distance and over good roads. Then we
have within seven miles of the city our
inexhaustible coal fields, from which
hundreds of tons of coal are being taken
daily and used all over the country, and
which is good article of coal (anything
that Butte or its papers may say to the
contrary Notwithstanding, and should
this fail our mountains are covered with
timber, from which an abundance of
good wood can be furnished for any pur.
pose. Besides this our valley produces
everything necessary for the consump-
ton Of man or beast, except what are
termed family groceries. We raise our
own horses and mules, produce cur own
beef, pork and butter, from our own re-
sources. We have plenty of men with
brains, energy and muscle. Yet, with all |
these natural advantages, with all these |
means ut our hands and with all the |
ability we possess at home, we are petit
TONERS to the powers that be or to some
one else for aid, dependent upon others
to tell us the quality Of our coal, and |
must tamely submit to their Judgment |
and sentence, whether it is entered and |
passed in good faith or for purpose. 1t
matters not, we submit, and Micawber
like wait for something to turn up.
Now, as suggestion, why not mass
our own means, form joint stock COM
pany, and erect sampling works in Boze-
man. There viii be no trouble about
getting the ore, for there are hundreds of I
men in our midst who own the mines
and have the teams to freight the ore
Should this succeed and our ore turn out
well, reduction works would
follow, together with other manuiac-
tories. Thus we would bring our own
resources into play, develop our own
mines, and demonstrate the fact that our
coal was good and could be used for any
purpose that our coal fields are mex
and after we had established
.hese facts, and thereby created bust
ness in our midst, il the Northern Pacific
failed or refused to furnish us transpoT-
alton. the Union Pacific or Utah &
Northern would come to us without ask
ng any subsidy, and the canal project
would come too.
We submit this suggestion with much
.imidity for the reason that Bohemian,
ike other towns. has its croakers, who
ire always ready to kick at any PROPOSE
ion that smacks Of change for the bet
er. Don't kick before you are spurred.
We only hope by this article to direct
public thought into channel that will
inally or when consnmmated be Of ben
fit to the whole community.
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ROEnman Rne0gnfzad.