The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1901-12-28

| rest of them, will have reached the
! point where the season suggests retro
! spect, says the Anaconda Standard in
| its annual Christmas edition. Not
/ many words are required wherewith to
| tell the story of the commonwealth 5
! career during the new century's first
tWelvemonth. 1t has not been an era
| especially eVentful in any of it's as
poets. yet it has been d season dis
! tinguished by the evidences of thrift
and prosperity in every sphere of in
dustrial life within the state. 1t is a
! famous fact that physical Montana is
| noteworthy for the number of days,
each calendar year. during which it is
| favored with clear skies and bright
! sunshine. The like of this is true, for
| the year soon to close, with respect to
| Montana social life, its industrial eff
forts, its business record. 1t has been
year of immunity from evils. To be
sure. there prevails in Montana's min
| ing circles, even at this hour, a feeling
of concern in respect to the things that
the future is likely to bring. Possibly
there has been more or less warrant,
of late. for a feeling akin to uncertain
| ty, yet the Standard believes it to be
the whole truth that there is no war
rant for anxiety or unrest. If the
| ClOSlllS WEEKS OI TIE year WITNESS re-
duction in the number of men usually
employed in the larger mining proper
ties or smelters, still it is a fact that
for the year the payrolls have been
largely beyond precedent. Passing con-
ditions in the worlds markets, invOlv-
ing the supply of copper. furnish no
! reason whatever for distrust among
Montana's working forces and business
men. For the year 1901 the average of
prevailing prosperity can be marked
with conservative estimate and yet be
marked high.
That result is especially noteworthy
in view of the fact that this year Mon
tana's wage-working forces moved
into the eight-hour era. The practical
tests do not show that eight-hour shifts
equal the old system in respect to prod
uct actually turned out. The contrary
is true. The experience of the year,
however, has put on trial the PROPOSE
ton that the industries of the state,
taken all in all, can reasonably adapt
their operations to the eight-hour sys-
tenn. This experience certainly does
not furnish negative to that PROPOSE
| ton; on the contrary, the inference is
the other way. For the success of all
classes within Montana's industrial
range the sustaining Of copper's price
is absolutely essential To that policy,
VIGOROUSLY those who manage Mon
tana's great mining properties are fully
committed, and, meanwhile, a passing
| lull in the activities of production, dis
| appointing as it may be and grievous
| in its operation on some of the wage
workers, as confessedly it is, should
not be exaggerated into an ominous
portent of dark days to come The re-
rIS q hla or ic, 10 ho -
prevailing prosperity for Montana
turks not in wage questions or supplies
of ore or the demands of the market
The real threat to activity is found.
strangely enough, in the tangled lot of
litigation which has, in very recent
years, involved the states greatest
mining properties. 1t is a mass so
confusing that only those directly en-
gagged in handling it have any idea as
to how it runs or where. 1t has come
much nearer, within recent times, to
bringing industrial Montana to a dead
halt than any other agency. 1t is
baneful business which may prove to
be far-reaching as we'll as bad. The
Standard is not able to discern the
faintest indication that the end of it
is in view, or even the approach toward
the end.
VI CiAS blilllS' NIOIAIdId lIldhCS d
shining showing in the census returns
that were officially summed up this
year. 1t is perfectly we'll known that
for many, communities in the state the
taking of the census was work per-
formed in a shabby way-in some of
the cities and towns the school popu-
latlOn and the lists registered voters
make ridiculous the census returns pre-
pared under the authority of the fed
eral government. But even at that the
gain in population for the decade end
ing in 1900 was gratifying. Beyond a
doubt. Montana is the home of 300 900
people. The census report sets down
the population of the state at 243, 329
That is an admirable advance: the of
fetal records gave Montana 20. 595
white inhabitants in 1870. There was
an increase to 39.159 for the census of
1880. In 1890 the count was 1928. 1t
is next to impossible to show the gains
for the past ten years by counties,
since many of these, in the process of
the states growth, have received new
boundaries, seven counties appearing
in the census report now for the first
time. Spite of this carving, the official
figures, practically finished this year.
show gains in population for all the
counties except three, which were
heavily drawn upon for the setting up
of new counties. AS for minerals.
Montana has the official figures of last
year and its immediate predecessors to
go by. They give to her the mag
nificent mark of seventy-million-
dollar annual production, that splendid
total recording, in round numbers. the
value of the gold, silver, copper and
lead which Montana gave to the world.
last year. in the form of new wealth
dug out of the earth's depths. There
will be no material change in the fig
ures that will sum up this years prod
uct
That the year about to end has been
one of material progress in Montana
is shown in the increased valuation Of
the taxable property of the state. There
has been gain all along the line. The
total assessed valuation of the prop
ertv of the state this wear was 1885,
593. as compared with $153, 4O1, 594