The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-02-08
Butte Department.
FOR GREATER BUTTE
Matters of Importance to the City to
Be Considered.
IN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
There Are Many Suggestions That
VIII Be Offered. and a General
Debate Will NO Doubt
Be Had.
IN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Butte chamber OF commerce has
decided that its next meeting shall be
devoted to a consideration of what
could and should be done the present
year to make Butte greater Butte.
Each member has been asked to be
ready at that time to make his suggest
ion and to discuss the matter in gem
eral way. The plan was suggested by
Sewell Davis who thought that the
time is ripe for the citizens of Butte to
go actively to work and inaugurate and
encourage new enterprises, apart from
mining enterprises. The feasibility of
establishing packing houses, enterprises
for the curing of meats, canning fac
tories, and such enterprises which grow
up in thrifty cities should, in his opin-
ion, be considered He did not think
that Butte should limit itself solely TO
matters pertaining to the development
of the mining industry.
Whatever may be thought of the sug-
gestion made by Mr.. Davis. the sug-
gestion has already aroused much COM
ment, and 1t is likely that there will be
a thorough and doubtless very interest
ing discussion of the subject in all its
bearings al the next meeting OF the
chamber of commerce.
There is this great difficulty said
one Oid-tlme reSluent OF Butte yfSlti-
day, Ito the introduction Of enterprises
in Butte apart from mining: Wages
are too high for us TO successfully COM
pete with other cities i'm other enter
prises. l am not arguing for reduc-
ton of wages in Butte in any lines, Tor
l like to see good wages paid. But
while employees in packing and canning
esta Adjustments and manufacturing en-
terprises of all sorts get paid 81 or Sl.oO
per day the cheapest wages paid Tor
labor of any kind in Butte is SO per
day. The Eastern manufacturers can
pay freight out here and still andersen
us. Count, too, the extra cost or build
ing in the erection OF manufacturers
here. 1t would necessarily require a
great deal more to start a manufactur-
ing enterprise in Butte than II would
in other cities, and capitalists can
scarcely be expected to start such en-
terprises here when they can go any
where else in Montana and put up their
buildings cheaper and hire their help
cheaper than they can i'm Butte. That
is why cracker factories and oatmeal
mills and the like go to other places
rather than to Butte.
Freight rates also work against
Butte as a manufacturing and shipping
point A man can ship from the East
and meet Butte 200 miles distant on
equal terms for railroad transporta-
| ton.
so it seems to me that the only
| thing TO do is TO boom Butte's mining
| industry as much as possible. We can
| still afford to pay the best wages lor
| mining, because our copper is here, ana
| few places can compete with us in that.
| Rut in all other enterprises outside CT
ties of Montana and of the East can
! get out equal goods for less money, be-
| cause all cities pay less wages than we
| pay. The home industry idea might
| succeed in getting loyal support for
| Butte industries from Butte people, but
no manufactures can amount to very
much if their field is limited to Butte
| alone, and few would care to invest in
| general enterprises here for the Butte
| field alone"
Another gentleman said he thought a
| good mining exchange would do much
| good to Butte. II would give the city
| more dignity I'm the East as mining
| center than ii now has. While Mon
tana the past year furnished more min
| eral to the world than any other state
| in the union. there is not a mining eX-
| change in the state. Eastern capitalists
! undoubtedly study the mining quota
| tions, and the Denver exchange does a
big business. The formation Of an ex-
change would probably lead to the de-
| velopment of very many new properties
| and the formation of many new com
panies by local and outside capital.
Another citizen said he thought Butte
| should bend all it's energies to obtain
ing a public building. He thought that
was work enough for the present and
that all efforts should be directed &c
that object until il is achieved.
Another man thought that home in
| dustry" consistently carried out
would benefit Butte immeasurably II
Butte beer was drank, Butte cigar:
smoked. Butte clothes worn, etc. thous'
ands of dollars now sent East would re
main in Butte. and the projecting OF
other manufactures would be encOur
aged.
| Another citizen thought the watel
problem, or the solution of the same
would benefit Butte more than any
thing else Good water and plenty o.
IL, not only for domestic but for al
mining purposes and for manufactorie'
of all sorts. at cheap rates, would be Z
| great blessing To the city.
| Another suggested that paving woul,
| greatly benefit Butte and help TO deVel
| op it, He said that there Is scarcely
city of Buttes size in the United state
| which has not some paving. 1t would
give a much better impression 10 out
| side visitors If Butte could show then
| some good paving. He thought that, II
| any event, Park street should be pave
this spring from Montana TO Arizoni
| streets.
Many other suggestions have beel
heard on the street, and doubtless Their
will be many offered at the next meet
ing of the chamber of commerce.