The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-08-21
BUTTE News.
It ALL COMES OUT NOW
Why Main Street Was Refused
an Electric Car Line.
THE REASONS THEN GIVEN
The . Reason las ust Appeared.
How the People Were Fooled The
Whole Scheme Of Freight Traf-
&c Wa Planned Long ago.

At last IL has transpired why the
street railroad company was 30 per-
eistent in its refusal to run It's electric
line down Main street, as desired so
earnestly by the people Of Walkervilie
and Centerville and by the business
men of Main street. Very many ex-
cuses were given by those interested
In the street railroad company as to
why the road should not follow the
Main street route, but the real reason
has just appeared.
1t was just about q year & that
the old cable line was abandoned and
the track torn up. For years that line
had run straight up the hill by Main
street to Ce~nterville and Walkerville
and straight down the hill by the same
route, passing all the Main street bust
ness houses. But with the abandoning
OF the cable line the company an
nounced that it was going to substitute
electricity for the cable system, and
instead OF running up Main street
would run over into Dublin gulcb, then
cross Main street and go nearly to Mis-
soula gulch. and finally reach Center
vile by a very circuitous route.
The business men protested against
this change and the people OF the
suburban towns protested against the
direct route to Butte being abandoned.
But the protests were of no avail. Mr..
Wharton, nag OF the company,
commended that Main street was too
steep and he feared for human lifj
IL he were compelled to run his cart
down Main street. Yet 1t was shown
that he was already running electric
cars on sleeper grades. Mr.. Wharton
also claimed that he could make more
money by running up Anaconda hill
n into Dublin gulch than he could by
running direct to Centerville and Walk
erville.
The line was built. Instead OF run
ming up Anaconda road to accommo-
date the miners on the hill, ii only ran
a short distance up this road and then
look a curve into Dublin gulch. But II
did not even go into Dublin gulch far
enough to accommodate many of the
people of that section. 1t passed the
edge of Dublin gulch and then swerved
back toward Main street.
TIE route selected by the street rail-
road company was a mystery until the
ordinance was introduced last Wednes-
day night by which. IL passed, the
street railway company obtains a fran
chise to haul ore, wood, timber. etc,
over any and all of its tracks. That
shows the whole scheme. as planned,
evidently. long before the Main street
people made their protest.
A closer examination of that Center
vile line shows that Ii runs up the
Anaconda hill road just as far as the
Colusa-Parrot mine. which is owned
by w. A. Clark. who is also the prin-
cipal stakeholder in the street railroad
company. Leaving the hill road at this
mine. the line turns over into Dublin
gulch. reaches the Stewart mine. also
owned by w. A. Clark. passes close to
that, and then turns toward Center
vile.
c. +ha ,,Ytio,o+o ob3aot - Tho straa4
railroad company in switching It's Cen
terville line from Main street to Dublin
guich was in order that they might
haul wood and timber to these mines
and haul ore from the mines to the
smelter in the southwestern part of the
city. regardless of the nuisance to bust
ness men and people alike n the
danger to human life from these cars
running through Butte's crowded
streets.
II is true that the mines can send
their ore to the .smelter cheaper by
using the street railroad tracks TIM
by using ore teams. Instead of paying
the money for transportation of ore
from the mines and for transportation
of timber to the mines TO teamsters, as
at present, mining men can nay a much
smaller sum to the street railroad com
pany.
But there is a growing feeling IN
Butte that this is no longer a petty
mining town. where petty operations
may be expected. It is getting to be
the opinion that IL this Is the greatest
Of mining towns, mining operations
should be carried on on a scale com
mensurate with its greatness. Most Of
the big mining companies build their
own railroads between their mines and
their smelters. II would seem that
mining operators who are unable to DO
this should continue to employ the old
ore haulers rather than to impose on
the people of Butte by blockading the
public thoroughfares with cheap freight
cars.