The Livingston enterprise. [volume] (Livingston, Mont.) 1883-1914, 1885-10-24
CINNABAR s. COOKE RAILWAY.
The Movement to Secure the Right of
Way for This Line.

The project of building railway u
Cooke City to tap the great ore deposits
of the surrounding district is familiar
subject with the constant readers OF the
ENTERPRISE. They will remember
how over two years a company was
formed to build railroad from CHINA
to Cooke; how Congress was asked te
legislate to that end in relation to the
National Park through the northern
portion of which such road must pass
how a bill to reduce the area of the
Park and permit the passage OF such a
road came within a narrow chance OF
enactment last winter. Since that time
the urgent necessity of the road has
daily become more apparent and the
friends of this important enterprise
have counseled how the project could
best be forwarded. The result of this
counseling was meeting called at
Mammoth Hot Springs for the evening
of Saturday, Sept, 5th, at which, among
other attendants, was Delegate }. X.
Toole. At that meeting committee
consisting of J. v Bogert, chairman,
w. w. Anderson, Col. Geo. O. Eaton,
Col. D. H. Budlong and A. X. Yerkes
was appointed to draft memorial in
the premises to Delegate Toole. The
committees work having been COM
pleted meeting to consider the memo
rial and to transact such other business
as might appear advisable was called to
assemble in Livingston on the evening
of Saturday, Oct, 18th. At this meet
ing, held in the Skating Rink in Living
ston, J. V. Bogert, A. X. Yerkes and d.
H. Budlong of the memorial committee
were present, beside a great number of
business men of Livingston and vicinity
and some visiting gentlemen.
MIR. r. H. Norton called the meeting
to order; Judge j. A. Savage was elected
chairman, and A. X. Yerkes and J. E.
Hendry secretaries. MIR. j. V. Bogert
was called to the platform and after
some appropriate PREDATORY remarks
read the memorial. 1t sets forth the
necessities for the Cinnabar & Cooke
road and the comparative merits of the
proposed route with all other routes; it
recites the benefits to accrue from such
q road, and asks such relief as the cir
cumstances require. The document is
exhaustive without being cumbrously
lengthy and gives all necessary details
without burdening the subject with ex-
traneous matter. 1t was moved by Mr..
J. H. Elder and seconded that the meet
ing endorse the memorial.
In speaking to this motion
GEN. JAMES S. BRISBIN, U. S. A.,
who was present made a arattling speech
of which the following is the substance;
As early as 1875 his attention had been
called to the mining district in the
vicinity of Cooke, then portion of the
Crow Indian reservation. From that
time forward during many years of resi-
dence in this immediate country he had
given the subject minute investigation
and ascertained that district to be one
of the richest in the world, probably not
second to the wonderful camp of Butte
where over half million dollars per
month is paid out to employees of the
mines. He believed that the same state
ment would be true of Cooke in due
time, 50 great faith did he have in the
richness and extent of that district. To
those unacquainted with the facts this
might seem like an extravagent pre-
diction but in his life he had made many
strange and seemingly impossible
prophecies regarding the west and not
one of them remained unfulfilled after
the elapse of reasonable time. He
had faith in western resources, western
men, western energy and western hope
fulness and it was no hazard with him
when he made such predictions. The
railroad under consideration would ben
eft not merely the mining interests in
the immediate district that it would
reach but by building up rich and
populous mining town it would en-
hance the value of every acre of agri-
cultural land in this vicinity and add to
the wealth of every husbandman. He
could not understand how any man could
consistently oppose such an enterprise.
The congressman who opposed the
was obstructing the progress
of the country snd was false to
his trust as a representative of the peo-
pie. The development of Montana was
in the speakers opinion more important
than the inviolate maintenance Of
mere show wilderness, uninvaded by the
signs and accompaniment of civiliza-
tion. If gold or silver were found in
the Park a way would be devised to OBJ
tain it. There was just prejudice
against reducing the National Park.
The speaker shared that prejudice. He
would rather see the Park extended
than reduced. But at the same time he
could conceive no reasonable objection
to permitting the admission of this pro-
posed railway. If this road were not
built speedily railroad from the south
would be knocking for admission to the
Park and through it to Cooke City. He
knew that the Chicago & Northwestern,
soon to have it's extension completed to
the Black Hills, would push on across
Wyoming toward the Pacific and would
throw out a branch to Yellowstone