The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-09-20

NOTICE.
THE wEAINEE
AZ TO COMMERCIAL CENTERs.


II there is one thing more than an
other in which the excellent newspapers
OF Denver are strong it is in the advo-
oacy of the superiority of their W city
over all others in the Rocky mountain
region. This spirit, in fact, imbues all
the people Of C%olorado's charming
metropolis and has done not a little to
advance that city to the proud position
she now holds.
What will Denver's future be? Will
she continue to lead her sister cities in
the mountain states by as long a dis
lance as she leads them now, or will
they I'LL the gap in time and pull up
abreast Of her? These are questions
that the people of that city are raising.
The Denver Republican, which realizes
that a new era of advancement is about
to set in for all Of US, insists that Den
yer musS maintain her ascendancy and
bring the rest of us to acknowledge that
fact. 1t says:
SIT is a common thing to hear the as-
sertion that Denver is the commercial
center of the Rocky mountains. The
Rocky mountain country extends from
Mexico to the British possessions and
from the eastern boundary of Colorado
to the western boundary Of Utah. 1t is
rather a large claim to assert that Den
YER is the commercial oenterof this vast
region, but if it be taken as a prediction
Of what is to come rather than az an as.
sertion Of what already exists, it may be
accepted as true.
"Beyond all question Denver is the
largest, %wealthiest, best known and most
important city of the Rocky mountains.
Its trade is larger than that of any
other city in this part of the country,
and its influence is greater and more
widely extended. 1t can hardly be said
to have a rival. 1t has mono in Colorado,
and the cities which come the closest to
rivaling it-Salt Lake City, Utah, and
Helena, Montana-are much smaller in
both population and wealth. But as
yet Denver is not superior in Montana
w 4lSieua uol ILL Ctdil W Sdlu 1Adho
City. Its influence in Montana is very
much greater than Helena's influence in
Colorado, and We may make the like as
sertion if we substitute Salt Lake City
for Helena. But the people Of Montana
do not feel drawn particularly toward
Denver."
"Before Denver can become, in the
true sense Of the word, the center of
the whole Rocky mountain region, it
must bear a relation to Montana, Idaho
and Utah similar to that which Chicago
bears to Minnesota and the two Da-
kotas. No one will question that Chi,
cago is the great western metropolis
1t overtops all the smaller cities aver
within the limits of their own states
with the single exception of st. Louis
In the same way Denver should be
looked upon by all the other Rocky
mountain cities as their center"
With due acknowledgment for thu
complimentary reference to Helena, W,
beg to suggest to the Republican tina
there is no good reason why Helen;
should not become another and a create
Denver. Helena has not SO many rail
roads as Denver at the present time
but she started in life later and tim
will cure that defect. We shall havt
the third transcontinental system her,
next year. AS to other VIZ
have tributary to us agreater and riches
state than Colorado. We are alread,
producing moro mineral wealth with {
population Of 100000 than is Colorado
with 100000 people. Our cattle range!
are vaster in area and afford bettergraz
ing, while as a wool growing country
we are the best in the union. In tn,
western half of the state we have al
most the Pacific coast climate, will
agricultural possibilities that Colorad,
never dreamed of, to say nothing of tn
magnificent grain producing valleys Q
eastern Montana.
Within the next two years, with
dam across tho Missouri river, Helen
will have harnessed one of the grea
electric powers of the world, enough t
drive all the machinery of a great mar
ufacturing city, and at a cost that wi
enable us to compete with any easter
center.
The people Of Helena and Of Montan
are warm admirers of Denver. The
like her pluck, her progress and her en-
{cr,rioa Tbnu rrn,,l ~ 10. ...,
as illustrating the possibilities Of Tn
Rocky mountain country. They wi
trade wish her largely whenever the el
terprising men of Denver Will give |
direct railroad communication with thl
city. But, with more than six hundre
miles Of territory intervening betwee
the two cities. we see no reason WI
Denver and Helena-yes, and Salt Lal