Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1894-08-23
GALLATIN FOR HELENA.
A True Montanian Tells Why the Capital
Should Stay Here.

A True Montanian Tells Why the Capital
Should Stay Here.
Letter to the Bozeman New Issue.1
] see by reading your excellent paper that
Helena has your support for the capital.
/ a IN glad to find at least one of our papers
that is willing to take up the cudRel for
Helena and against "a corporation com
posed Of soulless foreigners whose strongest
love for American institutions is in the OPP
portunities they offer to obtain wealth. /
think | know whereof I write when make
such broad assertion. The human family
is too apt to forget evildoing in high life.
and not forgetful enough in regard to those
who are driven to evildoing by IA combina
tion of circumstances.
The Avant Courier of July %. attempts
to answer your query Of will some one
please tell the people of Gallatin county
what Anaconda has done Tor it, They are
anxiously waiting to know" In it's reply.
the Courier tries to draw the inference from
your query that the people of Gallatin
county "have been placed under important
material or moral obligations, or both, to
Helena" | don't think that any sensible
supporter of Helena thinks anything Of the
kind, hut so far as consumer OF Gallatin
county produce goes, Anaconda is not end
never was to he compared To Helena. But
we do not owe Helena any obligation he
rnuse she purchases our products any more
than We are under obligations to Bozeman
merchants for furnishing us with goods.
They wanted our produce. and we wanted
to sell il. The esteemed Courier seems to
entertain the correct idea of reciprocity
hut after telling ns that 1.-THE wise man
said answer fool accord ne to his folly"
Before taking up his demonstrating Gala
tin county's obligation to Helena will
make another quotation from the same
wise man" 1t is true: when n fool
speaks, let wise men keep still" But some
times foolish remarks are entitled to re-.
spectful answ.
First he gives the flour episode: "Gala tin
Hour makes sour bread" For arguments
sake we will presume Helena guilty. There
is nodoubting the fact that old ma Brain-
ard did GO through this valley with such
an inscription ON his wagon; but does any
sane man for one moment suppose every
person in Helena engaged in the work OF
hiring that old fool to make such a dis
play? The fact is, nine-tenths of her pres
ent population were not in Helena at that
time. But the real fact is, Helena parties
are not the guilty ones, as George Cope and
others are ready to testify to. They know
the whole circumstances and that Virginia
City citizens were the guilty parties. 1t
was done to antagonize the people of Gal
latin county against Helena for IA purpose.
So much for that fool talk.
Now for the cracker episode What is
there in it, The Helena cracker factory
pronounced the flour made at the Helena
mills better than that made at the Gala
tin valley mills. The fact is the Helena
mills grind thousands of bushels OF Gallatin
valley wheat. Possibly the wheat the noted
-four was made from came from this val
ley. repeat, what has Helena, as a city
to do with that?
Next, he attributes the loss of Fort Ellis
| to- Helena's manipulations. am not IA
miliar enough with the circumstances CON
nected with that matter to enter into II
controversy over it, but am content to he
lieve the loss Fort Ellis to this valley was
owing to the inability OF Bozeman people
to present satisfactory evidence to the war
department Of it's further usefulness.
| The next charge is, Helena knocked
Bozeman out i'm the first legislative efforts
that were made to locate the Agricultural
college, and IL was not by Helenas help
that the second effort was more success
fuI"
| am not familiar with the first attempt
to locate the college, hut ! am with the Sec
ond. Every representative from Lewis and
Clarke county voted for it's location at
Bozeman. These are the plain facts. as
the journal Of the legislative assembly will
show. do not doubt that Helena would
have been an aspirant for the prize had she
not been a candidate for the capital. l do
not see anything wrong in a city or village
aspiring for such prize. IL is certainly
Iandahle IL Was generally conceded by
the ia-t legislature that Gallatin county
was entitled to the college, aud her only
competitors were Miles City and Great
Falls. Miles City was soon con WINGED tina
she did not stand u ghost nf "A show, AN,
was content to take any al the pnhlic insti
tution-.
Next he deals us out IA little ''gu-h" or
Anaconda, and winds up by at y ling it as M
adjunct of Butte, the greatest minin,
camp on Garth" Why not call Great Fall