The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-03-19
THt NEW MILL.
An Interesting Letter From Hon.
Paris Gibson on the New
Industry.
A Few Pointers on Northern Montana
as Il Wheat Producing
Country.

The TRIBUNE is 10 receipt of an in
teresting letter from Hon. Paris Gibson
relative to the new Touring mill to be
erected here this summer and the pos
sibilities it opens up to Great Falls and
northern Montana. The letter is here
with given:
The citizens of Great Falls are to be
congratulated upon the arrangements
lnlil at this place. That the enterprise
Will be a paying one, mi be doubted,
and it is equally certain that it will con.
tribute much to the prosperity, not only
of this town but of the surrounding
country.
The time is not far off when Great
Falls will become one of the most i'm
portant flour producing towns in the
west. | base this statement upon three
following reasons: First roo Its great
water power. Second-The vast area Of
/ wheat producing country tributary to it.
Third-The railroad facilities for con
centrating wheat at this point and for
shipping flour to navigable water on
on Lake Superior.
~ ''"h 'hh ~ u
more cheaply by water power than by
steam. the value of our water power for
this branch of manufacturing can be
readily appreciated. 1t will never be
necessary to employ steam as an auxi-
lIar!, at this place AS is the case at Min
neapolis and other places where the
water power is small or very variable.
While / am aware that many persons
will doubt the capacity Of Montana to
produce large quantities Of wheat. yet |
am thoroughly convinced that Great
Falls is in the center Of what will prove
TO be one of The z catest wheat-produc-
ing sections Of the continent. With and
without irrigation the valleys and bench
lands Of Montana can be made to pro-
ducc. annually, from forty TO fifty mil
lion bushels of wheat. Give Montana
farmers a steady market and fair prices
for their wheat and they will demon
stratc the accuracy my statements.
Now as to the transportation of wheat
and flour, ! undertake to say that we
shall soun witness a great and. for Mon
tana, a most important revolution. Rates
to Lake Superior will be established
That can nor fail TO stimulate wheat
growing in all the valleys and upon all
llI' btbNi iulI'4S vi llllH h'ilitlN. ilt
freight on flour will be SO adjusted that
our millcre will ship their product TO the
Atlantic coast or TO London. Glasgow,
and Pans. ! will not undertake TO state
what these rates will be, but they viii be
sufficiently low to make wheat raising
and flour manufacturing among the
leading industries of Montana. The
reader should not forget that the wheat
growing belt rs constantly moving west,
and that the supply Of wheat for the
mills Of Minneapolis and Duluth must
now he hauled from the west an average
Of 500 or GOO miles. DO You suppose all
the wheat Of this great productive u
try. embracing Montana, idaho, and
western Washington will be shipped to
| Minneapolis and Duluth? Will not,
rather, a part of it be milled in transit at
Great Falls, where is afforded abundant
and never falling power: No candid
person who will give this subject proper
consideration can resist the conclusion
that at no distant time the manufacture
of -four will become one OF the great in
dus,rics of this place, We of Great Falls
have been Sc much interested in the es-
tabliehment Of great smelling and re-
timing plants that we have overlooked
the possibilities of our town as a flour
manufacturing center. From this time
we must adopt Il policy that will ron
tribute in the greatest degree to the de
vcl0pmento of the grain growing resources
of this region. PARIS GIrsoN.
Great Fails, March II, 1892.