The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-04-25
FUTURE.

MoNTANA's- FUTURE.
Anaconda Standard: With a pes
simism that is remarkable and an
ignorance that brings that newspa,
per into discredit, the Chicago Inter
Ocean recently made some statements
regarding the western states and ter
ritories that are SO absurd, SO illogi
cal and sc far from the truth that
they cannot pass un~challenged. The
Inter Ocean is conducting a bitter
campaign against the admission OF
New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma
into the union. It maintains that the
admission Of those territories would
work an injustice to the larger states,
that the territories have not grown
to the normal stature Of the average
states, and that some sort Of rule OF
averages should be set up as a pre-.
requisite Of admission. It points out
that the average population of the ex-
listing states is about 100000 each.
Proceeding in this line the Inter
Ocean said:
I'VE have now % states below the
average. OF these Arkansas, Colo
RADIO, Maryland, Nebraska, North Da.
kota, Oregon, South Carolina, South
Dakota, Washington and West Vir-
ginia may have the natural resources
or commercial advantages to bring
them up to the average. That Con-
necticut, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Mon
tana, Utah, or Wyoming will reach
that average is very doubtful. Del.
aware, New Hampshire, Rhode Is
land and Vermont are too far behind
W to catch up. Nevada is hopeless
ly distanced."
Why is it very doubtful that the
states held in such contempt by the
Inter Ocean should be able to catch
up to the average? No state in the
union possesses richer or more varied
natural resources than Montana-the
other states in the Inter Oceans
blacklist can speak for themselves
and the capability of maintaining q
large population is found here to a
greater extent than in many Of the
states enumerated by the Inter Ocean.
The mining industry-now only in its
infancy, as all mining men agree
alone is sufficient to give employ
ment, when developed, to support a
in excess of the present
average that is set forth by the Chi
cago newspaper.
True, the last census gave Montana
. population Of only 243,3 1923, but it
should be kept in mind that the agri-
cultural resources of the state never
have been doomed, that no concerted
effort ever has been made to induce
immigration and that, until this year,
the railways did not attempt
to settle up the unused lands of the
state, preferring to carry the home
seekers further west. Montana has
an. area of 146,0SO square miles, or
80, 491,200 acres and no square miles
Of water surface. To quote from the
seventh annual report Of the state
of agriculture, labor and in
dustry:
"The arabic lands of the state are
greater than those Of New York, Penn
sylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New
Maryland and Delaware, all
and from this fact the flu
ture possibilities Of Montana as an
state may be easily and
prophesied. It's every moun
tain peak stands as a sentinel over
rich mineral wealth.; its rolling foot
hills pasture great herds Of cattle
and sheep, and it's broad acres of
prairie car be made to provide
homes for tens of thousands of agri-
No one familiar with the resources
Of the west can doubt for an in
slant that the day is not far off when
will outstrip in point Of
many of her sister states
that now are in the Inter Oceans ia
vored class.
"vIEwED WITH SURPRISED