The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1894-03-15
The Dedication of the Montana
State Reform School at
Miles City.
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS PRESENT.
Reception, banquet, speeches ana Dane
ing Garry the Anair Into Broad
Daylight of Morning.


School at Miles City-the rirst of the
state institutions contemplated by the
enabling act under which we became a
state is a notable exempliiication Of the
truth Of the scriptural injunction. The
first shall be last. and the last first
When the subject Of state institutions
came to be topic Of conversation and
their location a matter Of conjecture,
Miles City, in ITS earnest and independ
ent way of doing things set out to So
cure the agricultural college Cause
why: We could raise more kinds Of
garden sass, and could give 1t better
flavor than any other section of the
state. by the application Of water to
our extensive sagebrush plantation. We
had discovered that the Almighty had.
in rough and uninyiting disguise. left
a veritable promised land in our keep
ing and with cnmmendable energy We
proposed to improve the GIFT. reasoning
that the natural advantages Of soil, eli
mate and length OF seasons would prove
unanswerable arguments N our favor;
but though man may propose in such
matters az these. legislatures must dis
pose, and it was our misfortune To run
against Legislature that was too seri-
ousiy engaged in the manufacture ot
United States senators To care a tinkers
imrrecatiun whether the agricultural
college was located above the timber
line or in the valley of Canaan; in fact
they seemed to prefer the former, and 20
when a chosen band Of boomers for the
agricultural college at Miles City. hied
themselves To Helena about year age.
To unload their cargo Of enthusiasm,
local pride and cold facts facts on the
solons % the state. they found a syme-
trical and thoroughly cohesive com
bine" m existence. which had in advance
Of any investigation. disposed Of all the
state institutions, the agricultural col
Iege included. aud the Miles City men
were courteously 10y firmly informed that
they we're not in IL" The statement
that all the institutions we're 81 dis
posed Of, is perhaps mis- statement.
There was one poor. foriOrn item IN the
catalogue that nobody seemed la want.
Ii was the Reform school In order that
At might not appear that the legislature
was overlooking anything. a gentleman
from Lewis a Clarke had introduced a
bill providing for State Reform school
but he cared 80 little for his questionable
offspring that he omitted in his bill TO
assign IL to a location. and this hybrid
piece of legislation was in an arrested
period Of CESSATION. when a spasm OF
generosity swept over the house, and its
members, counselling among themselves.
said, Let us throw this Reform School
bone to the MilesCity dog. who is growl
ing at our heels, and 50 shut his mouth.
And. 10. it was done. The Lewis 4
Clarke man was glad to throttle his ex.
perimental BARN. and its place on the
files was quickly taken by bill framed
by the Custer county delegation, which
was complete in every particular. wisely
embodying a sufficient appropriation to
give the school a substantial start. Al
il was separate from the omnibus bill
that carried all the other institutions
and was in itself an inoffensive appear
ing measure, our members found but
little difficulty in having it taken up and
passed in advance Of the appropriation
bill. and 80 it's appropriation OF s25OOO
was prior claim upon the funds OF the
. state. II fortunes in the house were
looked after by Representatives Mcka,
and Huffman, and in the upper body
Senator Swift saw that it did not tarry
and once passed IT was promptly laid be
fore the governo: and as promptly re
ceived his signature. All this was dom
while ethe"combine" was putting the Hour
ishes on it's omnibus bill and arranging
70 follow with bill Of appropriation fo
the support Of the various institution
which wsses ssgasded ss being wortl
having-but the delay was fstal-not h
the locations. for they got them all rieh
bat the appropriations bill was 90 q
sstern Of any possible balance in u
treasury that il might % we'll. neve
have been passed. and 80 It happens tha
while the agricultural college and tn
eastern penitentiary and the universit,
and school Of mines, and the rest Of tn
plums were located. the communitie
that were favored ~ gaze with vacsn
eye into theempty space that surmount
the .site", and wonder when their am
bitions will be realized. Miles City 70
A.. a-4, =xa;rna 4ho diafinuuiahad xoonl