The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-04-05
HELENA LEADS THEM ALL
What People Who Have Visited
Other Cities Think OF Mon
tana's Capital.
More and Better Business in Hell
ena Than in Any City in
the Northwest.
What Col. Broadwater's Visit to the East
Means-The Congregational and
Catholic Colleges.

"Helena is the best city to-day between
Chicago and San Francisco" said Jas. H.
Buchanan, of Baltimore, yesterday. Mr..
Buchanan has been travelling for pleasure
and business in the western and north
western country the past three months. and
is now on his way east from the sound. II
passed through Helena about four years
ago. he continued, ION my way to the
coast, and stopped over a day. AS a rule,
I do not care for investments g. far from
my home, but at that time l made up my
mind that if eyer l did put any money in a
northwestern state, Helena should get
some of it. When I gent back home I told
several of my friends to keep their eyes on
Helena and Montana, because l believed
that city and state would surprise the coun-
try in the next ten years. Well, we have
heard a great deal about Helena in the
past year or two, but it has been principal
ly in a political way. Your senatorial
troubles attracted a great deal of notice,
but whether this was beneficial or not l
cannot say. Once in a while we would hear
back there of a mine sale, but the booming
news from your %neighbors on the west and
from st. Paul and Minneapolis on the
other side seemed to quite overshadow you.
just before l left on this trip, a gentleman
who had purchased a little property in
Helena on my say SO, asked me to ooh it
up and see how much he had lost on it. !
will have a great surprise for him when l
return. He also has some investments in
Spokane and some in Minneapolis. We
have heard Spokane, Seattle and Tacoma
and the whole state of Washington talked
ahcut an much cDun aout {bo% WV cr;o,l
thought that for business Helena could not
compare with the sound cities. Well,
things have been lively on the sound, but
this can not be truthfully said now. Every
thing has been oyerdone. Too many people
with no money went there, and where there
was employment for five people ten were
ready for it. In the matter of building the
same thing of OVERRIDING it ia noticeable.
Travelling men whom i met on the road
told me they did 80 per cent. more business
in Helena than in any other city in the
northwest this season. WASHINGTON ia n
great state and the sound cities are filed
with enterprislng men, but they went a
little too fast and the monetary
stringency in the east is pushing them
very hard. Here in Helena the situation
is quite different. Your folks have not
done a great deal of blowing, but have gone
ahead in a conservative manner. fully
meeting the requirements for public i'm
provements. without over doing the thing.
The result is that you feel the bad times in
the east, but slightly in comparison with
other western cities. Now as to the sur,
prise I have for my friend. His property
in Spokane, which is improved, ia worth
just about what he paid for it. But his
Helena property, four unimproved lots. fol
which he paid $l5a foot, he can now sci
at $40.
''There is n thing you people in Mon
tana should do" continued Mr.. Buchanan
land that is endeavor to get practica
farmers to locate in the state. I was read