The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-09-17
CHAT ny THE WAY.

Great Falls is in the center Of a regior
. which is going to be in the course OF time
the granary of Montana. Mr.. Washburn
a member of one of the big milling firms
Of Minnesota, has been here for about &
week looking over the farming country
and expressed himself as more than sat
listed with what he has seen. He was
astonished with the amount of wheat
and oats produced to the acre, and with
the fact that the high bench lands can
be cultivated without irrigation. To the
north, south. east and west of Great Fallr,
he found farmers who are raising splen'
did crops every year on these lands with.
out irrigation by planting their grain
late in the fall, and cultivating their
ground in a thorough manner. His OBJ
servation of this years crop convinced
him that these lands are improving from
year to year. and the confidence and pros
perity of the farmers show that they are
fully alive to the advantages of the coun-
try. The valley of the Sun river alone
extends over 10 miles in a northerly d.
%rection from Great Falls and is a region
of untold richness and beauty. TO the
eastward and westward extends the val
ley of the Missouri, which is equally fer
tile and attractive, and to the southwark
lies one of the most fertile plateaus that
was ever available for the habitation of
men. Mr.. Washburn's inquiries con-
vince him that the farmers here have
reached d stage in the development of
their property which requires that they
shall have an active market at Great
Falls. His Investigations will undoubt-
edly lead to the establishment of great
Touring mills here, and it is probable
that another year will not pass without
seeing these works in course of erection.
Like most other people Mr.. Washburn
had supposed that this portion of Mon
tana was a r~ainless region and that
nothing could be raised on these table
lands except by irrigation. and that irri-
cation was an lmpossibility on account
of their elevation above the streams.
There are so many people laboring under
this delusion that 1t is not surprising
Mr.. Washburn was almost dumbfounded
when he learned the facts.
Agricultural development must be the
foundation of permanent prosperity in
any country. Great Falls will be bene-
flied to a certain extent by her relations
with the mining regions, but her w
prosperity and the extent to which she
can benefit the districts where men are
delving for mineral, will depend upon
the development of her agricultural re-
sources. She is supremacy blest in the
fact that these are almost boundless.
There is probably no city on the cont
nent 80 superbly situated to profit by
the development of Il vicinage of untold
wealth.
While more provision has been made
by Great Falls than by any other city in
the state for parks and pleasure grounds,
there is still room for acquiring even
greater advantages in this direction. The
superb point of land lying or the west
side of Sun river at it's junction with the
Missouri is one of the finest sites ever
afforded to a city for a park for it's peo-
pie. 1t would be a matter of compare
lively little expense at this time to at
quire this land with a frontage of about
two miles on these beautiful rivers. A
bridge from a point a little south Of the
Montana Contra! depot would place
this park almost at the doors of the citi-
zcns. and it could be improved gradually
while serving even in its present state as
a place of recreation, and as a driving
park. blessed is the city that adopts a
far-sighted policy when it is young, be
cause by 80 doing it not only secures Il
thousand benefits for posterity, but it
also places many advantages within the
reach Of its own generation. Nobody
will deny that the setting apart OF the
bank of the river nearest the city was
one of the wisest things done when a
townsite was located at this point, and
it will be clear to anyone who will give
the matter a moments attention that it
will be an equal advantage to secure the
opposite bank for the same purpose.
T*
There is going to be a Columbian cele-
bration of all the schools of the country.
on the 2lst of October. which promises
to be something decidedly unique and
interesting. The president of the
United States has approved OF the plan,
and it has met with a hearty endorse
ment on the part Of governors of states,
superintendent OF schools, editors of
newspapers, mayors of cities, and other
prominent men who have given it their
attention. Great Falls must not be be-