The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-10
At THEIR JUNE SESSION
County Commissioners Are Hard
at Their Work.
BOZEMAN'S HIGH SCHOOL
The County at Large Does Not Appear
to Take to the Proposed Change.
A Case at the Land
Office.

Special Correspondence of the Standard
Bozeman, June THE county COM
missioners commenced their June ses-
sionn on Monday of this week and have
been quite busy with the affairs of the
county ever since.
The most important piece of business
transacted so far has been the de-
cision of the commissioners to put to
vote of the people on the 9Th day of
next July the question as to whether
the Bozeman high schools shall be
transferred to the county's charge or
not. The citizens of Bozeman are
quite anxious to have it changed to a
county institution, but the people of
the valley do not seem to be quite in
the same frame of mind. However,
sufficient put their names to petition
to justify the commissioners ordering
a vote to be taken on the proposition,
and the test will be made in one
months time
One Of the first cases over the coal
lands of Trail creek district is being
tried in the land office. The trial COM
menced on Wednesday morning and
Will probably last the whole of this
week The contestants, A. B. Cook and
Viola Cook of Helena and sallie v.
Bell of the same city, are disputing the
rights of Sherman G. Phillips, May
MaXey and Fannie f. Ferris of Boze-
man to enter upon and obtain patents
from the government to two eighties
AS the coal deposits of Trail creek are
valuable property, the case is an inter-
estlng one, and each side is making a
determined fight for their rights Ad-
joining the land in controversy is the
property now being worked by the
Trail Creek Coal Company, upon which
the company has placed machinery and
other mprovementsamoun to about
100000. On the two eighties the con-
testants claim to have done a large
amount of work in sinking shafts and
making tunnels. and by SO doing have
made the property valuable, especially
as they have discovered good coal on
them They claim that Sherman Phil
lips and others have made no i'm
provements, as required by law. and
that they are attempting to hold it
soley for the benefit of one Daniel
Maxey. and that by improving the ad-
Joining property the contestants have
made it extremely valuable. The case
will be watched with interest, as the
case has a number of fine points in it
important to claimants of coal lands.
Pending this suit the Trail creek mines
are closed.
Three capitalists, H. c. Davis and
A. A. Houstman,of the banking and
broker firm of A. A. Houstman & Co.,
New York, accompanied by one Of the
officers of the Westinghouse Air Brake
Company. Mr.. Scarbuck, took in the
city on Tuesday under the guidance of
Senator G. w. Hoffman and Captain
Ponsford. The two Bozeman gentle
men showed them the beauties of the
Gallatin valley as much as possible in
the short space of time they stopped
over and then accompanied them to
Livingston on their special car These
gentlemen are on tour Of inspection
or the weston country and combining
business with pleasure. Mr.. Davis
was formerly general agent of the N.
T. Railway Company, and is quite well
known in Bozeman.
The work on the Montana paper and
pulp mill at Manhattan is being hur-
rled along, and the contractor is
now on the ground