The Irish standard., 1901-08-31
Great Falls and Anaconda are
Passed in Review by a
Very Genial Critic.
Editor Of The Irish Standard
Makes Mention of Many
Prominent Men.
Special Correspondence Irish Standard.

One of the neatest and best laid out
cities in Montana is Great Falls. II
has a Minneapolitan air about it that
is quite striking. Its broad streets and
avenues are numbered and named after
the Minneapolis style, and many of it's
people formerly resided in the city
that has become SO noted for it's flour
and lumber industries. Amongst the
first settlers here was Paris Gibson,
of Minneapolis, now United States
senator from Montana, and to him is
naturally credited much of the work
that has resulted, in manner, in
fashioning Great Falls after the big
st. Anthony Falls city. Great Falls is
the county seat of Cascade county, is
located on the Missouri river and has
a population Of about $4,000 people.
It is up to date in municipal improve
ments, has a splendid water system,
electric street railway and Il number
of public parks. Two daily news
papers are published here, besides
number of weeklies. There are many
fine church editiccs and the city's
schools rank among the best in the
west.
The Catholic population of Great Falls
is quite large and influential. The
need of q larger building having be-
come apparent, a new church edifice
is now in course of erection, to cost in
the ncighborhood of 100000
The Columbus hospital, under the
charge of the Sisters, and mentioned
in these columns before, is one Of the
best institutions of it's kind in the
state and will compare we'll with sim
liar institutions in many of the older
states of the Union. Owing to the
large number Of patients received here
it has recently been deemed wise to
build an addition, thus giving addi-
tiOnal ROOM
Some 1,5OO men are employed by the
Boston 4 Montana Copper Smelling
and Refining plant, located here, and
large silver smelling plant gives EN-
ployment to hundreds more. Then
there are the railroad shops, iron
foundry and other industries, not over
looking the wool industry, Great Fails
being considered one of the largest
markets in the United States. There
are two flour mills hero. also, and great
coul fields abound on the outside. Back
of all this is Il magnificent water DOW
er that some day will be utilized. and
this in itself means much for tle city's
future. In the matter of railroads the
Great Northern, Montana Central, and
Great Falls & Canada railway come
in here, the latter connecting with the
Canadian Pacific. All indications point
to a splendid city from whatever
standpoint of observation.
About % miles southeast of Great
Falls is Belt, a thriving town noted
particularly for it's bituminous coal.
large fields of 1t being ill close prox-
unity. This product is shipped prin-
cipally to Great Fails, Anaconda and
Helena. From 500 to 1000 men are
employed in the coal mines and the
pay roll for each month has become
quite extensive. Belt has six church.
es, one Of these Il neat Catholic church.
and newspaper, the Valley Times.
Having finished our work in Great
Falls and Belt, we push on to Ana
conda, the widely known Copper
City" of the west. 1t is in Deer Lodge
county, almost 1900 miles from Min
neapolis and is terminus Of a branch
line Of the Northern Pacific railroad.
Anaconda is about thirty miles north
west of Butte. Here is located the re-
.duction works of the Anaconda Copper
Mining Company, the largest in the
world, their full capacity being placed
at over 5000 tons of ore per day. The
much talked about new works, with
all their vast improvements over the
old, will soon be ready for operation.
and it is said that 1000 tons will then
prove small average per day. If the
old as well as new works are to be
continued, and there seems every rea-
son to believe they will be, it will in
crease the number of men very ma
terially and the pay roll, already Of
vast proportions. will be swelled to an
enormous figure. Thousands Of men
are employed here on three different
shifts of eight hours each, and no city
in the United States for the same kind
Of employment pays better wages.
That is a self-evident fact.
Splendid graphite deposits exist near
Anaconda. The city has magnificent
free library, known US the Hearst
library, and is maintained by Mrs.
Hearst, wife of the late Senator
Hearst of California.
The great smelters, mills and con-
verters here produce over $2,OO0,000
I worth of metal per month. There are
L in the neighborhood of $4,000 people
living in Anaconda. 1t is an incor-
porated city, orderly, we'll governed,
has complete water works system,
an electric light plant, street car sys-
tenn. two opera houses, one Of them,
! the Margaret, seating 1,20O people. It