Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-05-01
A BILLINGS BOOM
BUT IT rs A STEADY AND LAST
ING GROWTH.
CLAM0RING FOR WARE HOUSES
Great Demand for Renting Property
A Good Place to Live and Do Bust
ness-New Enterprises Promised for
the City-Railroad Facilities Make
It Good Distributing Point.
Especial to Inter Mountain


Billings. May 1.-The present year
bids fair to be big one in the history
of this city from the standpoint of bust
ness enterprises and improvements in
new store buildings and dwellings.
For the past four or five years there
has been splendid and at the same
time remarkable growth of the city,
which has often been marveled at by
outsiders and others unacQuainted with
prevailing conditions. 1t has not been
a boom, for no concerted movement wac
ever made by the people to initiate the
city, but rather it has been the desir.
of all to see the city grow and prosper
on its own merits.
And this is just what it has done aal
is doing today. Its own citizens take Il
just pride in it's upbuilding and advance
ment and are doing their utmost to as
sist in the good work. Several hundred
thousand dollars have been spent each
year in new buildings and improvements.
Notably among these have been the new
dwellings, and despite the many that
have been erected in the past two or
three years there is still a great demand
for rentable houses, and rent still cons
mands the highest price of any city in
the state outside of Butte. Many of the
houses are being built by persons who
have become tired of paying rent and
are DESTROYS of owning their own prop
erty.
"a Per Cent on Rentals.
Those who build and rent out their
properties are realizing between Is and
"A per cent clear on their investment.
/ Several properties are known to be pay
! Z,
amount invested Store buildings are
equally as good investments as dwell
ings, and there is dearth in this par
! tcular. During the past few weeks
there have been no less than six outside
parties who We're DESTROYS Of locating
here, but were prevented from SO doing
owing to their inability to get locations.
Billings now has commercial COM
mittee which is affiliated with the BIZ
lings club, and it has already started out
to secure new enterprises for the city.
A diamond drill test is TO be made OF
the sandstone in the bluffs near here,
and if the stone proves to be of the
desired quality, an establishment FOR
the manufacture of grindstones will be
secured at once, which will probably
employ at least 100 men. There is every
that Is necessary for such manufacture
and proving to be such it will mean a
big thing to this city.
Flour Mill and Ice Plant.
Billings is also promised two new job.
bling houses, another flour mill and ar
ice plant The Omaha wholesalers havs
had longing eyes on this territory ever
since the Burlington railroad entered 1
some six or seven years ago, but fol
some reason they have never been abb
to get in, being crowded out by the St
Paul and Minneapolis jobbers. Believ
ing that they are in position to over
come this animosity toward Omaha, on
large house of that city. which ha
ample financial backing, will shortly es
F tablish a branch house in this city am
+ will erect a fine large brick building il
l which to do business. Yegen Brother
| have about completed arrangements TO
/ the erection of two-story brick an
stone building, with basement, whicl
will be $50 by 100 feet, in which the
will establish wholesale business
| Yegen Brothers are also arranging t
! remove their Touring mill to Billing
| and will locate it on the Northern Paclh
! railroad right -of-way, just west of Il
| NJ. Allen & Co.'S lumber yard. This mi
/ at present is located at Allendalt
| about fourteen miles west of Billing:
| but for the past year has not been run
| ming. The building is a three-stor
| frame structure, but will be added to o
j it's removal to this city. The mill has
capacity of IS barrels per day. This fry
will also establish an ice plant, while
is to have a capacity Of 20 tons per da,
the plant to be run in connection wit
the MILL The two enterprises will EN-
ploy about % men.