The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-08-13
THE CAPITAL QUESTION.
Various Comments From the Press of tn
Slafe


State.
Why change the location of the CAPT.
tai? None but real estate spectators
could hope to profit by the change, any
way. Surely, the people could not
Glendive Independent.
The energy with which Butte is push
ing her claims as a candidate for the
permanent capital is equalled only by
the inactivity on the part of the citizens
of Helena. Our sister city over the
the range has entered upon a campaign
which enlists the best energies Of her
citizens, and an organization is being
effected which contemplates the liberal
distribution Of official honors in both
parties for votes for the great mining
camp.-Helena journal.
1t is barely possible that some citizens
of Butte favor the location of the capital
at some other point. 1t is one of the un-
accountable freaks of Butte citizenship
that to a large degree it lacks the selfish
ness which characterizes other com
munities. In the development, progress
and enrichment of Montana she has
been the one great controlling force.
From her i~nexhaustible stores she has
filled banks and erected residences in
Helena, built the smelters in Anaconda,
contributed TO the wealth and solidity of
Deer Lodge and touched with her magic
wand the slumbering possibilities of
Great Falls.-Butte Miner.
The Deer Lodgers are out for the CAP
ltal in earnest and from this time on pro.
pose to make every honorable effort to
capture the much coveted prize. Beauti-
fully located as Deer Lodge city is,
right in the heart of one of the most fer
tile valleys in Jul state, it stands, as far
as west side cities are concerned. prac-
tically without a rival, and as every fair
minded person will agree as to a valley
city being the only proper site for the
location of a permanent capital, it will
therefore be the best of news for Butte
ties to learn that Deer Lodge city, our
old time friend and neighbor, is in the
race to stay.-Butte People.
1t is stated that the alleged immoral
lty of this city is to be urged as an ar
gument against it's selection as the cap
ital. In proportion to its population
Butte is no more immoral than Missoula,
White Sulphur Springs, Twin Bridges,
or any other town in the state. Com
pared with Helena it has every advan-
tage. Butte has more churches and
t"ICC oo lhuIN CONFERENCE.-The dlu DfDIC
and hymn book sales here are 30 per
cent greater than in Helena. Let that
town which is without sin cast the first
stone at Butte.-Butte Inter Mountain.
The capital location question, which
promises to be an interesting and lively
topic in connection with the coming
campaign, has been brought prominently
to the front the past week by the formal
announcement that Butte is to enter the
race for capitalistic honors. 1t was not
supposed that Butte, which for many
reasons is unsuited to become the seat of
state government, would urge it's claims.
its most formidable advantage being a
large voting population. But with
Butte in the field the fight seems
between that city and Helena. leav-
ing the other aspirants with little to rely
upon except the comparatively insigniti-
cant vote that can be secured through
local pride. Livingston Enterprise.
For several reasons it is unfortunate
that there are SO many candidates in the
field. the principal one being that it pre-
cludes the probability, if not possibility,
of determining the question at the FIRST
election; which fact will render more
difficult an intelligent and equitable dis
tribution of the other state institutions
by the next legislature, such for instance
as the agricultural college, the state uni
versity, the school of mines, the peniten-
tiary, insane asylum, deaf and dumb
asylum, etc. For, although there is
nothing in the constitution prohibiting
such action. it is not likely that either
the people or the state legislature sup
npcaJe m ranraconf than, will Iofnrpcn
to locate more than one or two such in
situations in any II town or city,
Bozeman Avant- Courier.
The opinion of the Helena Independ-
ent is that the capital question ought to
be settled this year in d decisive way
that is to say. our contemporaries judg
ment is that there ought to bc one city
in the state which will be able to com
mand, next November, a majority of all
the votes cast. Under the law. this
majority is essential for the final settle
ment of the capital question.
We know of but One way whereby the
capital question can be settled in the
first encounter is by the union of
west-side forces. The plan would fix the
talk Of action to that end. Ii would de-
ICul II may Nti CDilc " dl
agreement whereby the counties of west
ern Montana will settle the issue through
the concentration of forces. -Anaconda
Standard.
The voters of Montana are able to de-
eide the capital question for themselves
without having "boom" arguments of
ambitious towns ceaselessly dinned in
their ears or giving thought to baseless
%prejudIces and %jealousies. There is only
one thing they should continually bear
in mind and that is the Importance of
settling the question once for all this
year. Every interest of the state de-
mands it. An indecisive vote on the
capital question this year would mean
two or more years Of delay in all these
things; it would mean the loss of hun
dreds of thousands of dollars to the peo-
pie of the state, the retarding of our
growth as a commonwealth, the stagna-
nation OF enterprise in many a commun-
ity which would derive immediate and