Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-23
REPUBLICAN TICKET.
OUR TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY.

~HE INTER MOUNTAIN has Just
~ passed ITS twentieth birthday.
Its first issue was on March Il.
1881. since which time until the present
moment it has never missed publication
except on Sundays and holidays.
Twenty years is a long time in the
life of daily newspaper. or for the
matter of that. in the life Of an indi-
vidual or a community. Twenty years
ago Butte was comparatively small
mining camp. although even then a
camp of great promise. Copper was
known to exist, in fact green groupings
could be seen all over the eastern part
OF this district. but no mines were then
being worked for copper. Silver was the
shibboleth in those days. for silver was
then worth over a dollar an ounce.
twenty years ago the Alice silver
NINE was the great mine of this
camp and Walkervile was booming
The fear which filled mems minds was
that when water level was reached the
pay would leave the ore and the bottom
would fall out of the camp. People were
afraid to invest their money in town
lots in Butte. and thousands of them
went begging in the office of O, B.
OBannon. probate judge of Deer Lodge
county, at SIS apiece
In those days w. E. Hall was the SUI
rerintendent IF the Alice mine and lie
was also the first president of the Inter
Mountain company.
Charles T. Meader-"Old Man" Mea lers
he was Familiarity called-was the Sec
Ond president of the Inter Mountain
and he it was who first saw that Butte
was destined to be a copper camp. He
undertook the development of the copper
mining industry here. but he lacked
means. and unfortunately was crowded
to che wall. He was the pioneer in
copper mining, but. like many another
pioneer he came too soon for his own
good. At one time he had copper prop-
e:tles which have since become worth
On ttT lack of means.
The third president of the Inter Noun.
tain was Patrick A. Largely. and he re-
NAMED president until his death in 1899.
*.*
What wonderful changes have tram
spiled in Butte in twenty years! Then
mining camp of 5000 or 5000 people:
now great city of 60, 900 people, whose
numbers are increasing daily and hourly
1htn 1t was town of shanties. Today
Ii IS substantial city, containing mag
nificent buildings, and possessed of every
pubic convenience and luxury enjoyed
By any city in the United States Of ten
times its size and population. Then its
yearly output of mineral was perhaps d
million dollars or so. Now it is more
than fifty millions annually, and CON
stantiy increasing. Then the value of
all It's mines was not more than Ave
millions at the very most. Today their
value cannot really be computed, but.
conservatively estimated, are worth
from four to five hundred millions Of
dollars. The figures are so large they
stagger one to write them down, and
vet it is true
Twenty years ago Butte was scarcely
known outside the territory of Mon
tana-it was not marked on the map.
To-day there is not financial center
In the civilized world where it is not
an important factor.
Twenty years ago the future of Butte
was uncertain; doubts and fears were
upon every hand, and mining claims
could be bought for a song. TODAY
Butte's future is assured beyond per-
adventure of Doubts mines are known
to be practically inexhaustible, and 1t
takes a small fortune to purchase an
interest in sasything within seeing dis
lance of the Anaconda hill.
Wonderful indeed has been Butte
advancement and growth and phenom.
email has been her prosperity.
="
The Inter Mountain was the out.
growth Of a desire for a republican dali,
paper in the newly-born county of Silver
Bow. True. there were not many repub
Gcans hereabouts in those days. The,
were SO few indeed that it was scarce,,
thought worth while to go through tn,
kOrmality OF nominating men to b,
slaughtered. The democracy held full
sway. and the only political diversion
Was when the Missourians and the Irisl