The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-12-13
SOME FACTS ABOUT MONTANA
BY Guy e. Mitchell

IS BY Guy
Washington, Dec. 1.-The creamery
agitation has invaded Montana. Some
of the citizens of the state say that it
was not long since that ranchmen con-
sidered it something of a disgrace to
have a mich COW on the place and to
get any fresh milk 1t was necessary
for the cowboys to lasso a cow and
hold her tight while a few unwilling
drops we're forced from her teats.
Even today the ordinary cattle ranch
is not the best place in the world to
quench ones thirst with milk. The
canned article is found just as eff
fective to discolor the coffee. Last
year the state imported 100000
pounds of condensed milk. This re-
calls an answer l received to an in
Quiry | made Of a travelling compan-
ion as to why he drank his coiree
straight. Il adopted the plan in Cali
fornia," he said, where l had to eat
at the little frontier towns and where
the coffee was so vile that the only
way to get it down was to swallow il
red hot so that it burned your throat
and there was no possibility of tast-
ing it. Putting milk in it cooled it too
much"
Well, the first creamery of any size
so they say, and eight are now either
in operation or in process OF construc-
ton. With the finest of alfalfa hay,
an ideal dairy feed, Montana last
year imported, incredible as it may
seem, over 81, 900, 900 worth of cream
cry butter-from such states as Ne
braska, Iowa, Utah and even New
York creamery butter, in addition to
100000 pounds of oleomargarlne. The
capacity of these eight creamerles
will be 1000 cows. The alfalfa is fed
fresh or as bright green hay. Later
the farmers may learn the value OF
the silo as a dairy adjunct.
It seems strange that in Montana
no plain farmer candidate has
arisen to claim the political support OF
the agricultural vote. In perhaps no
state in the union do the farm inter-
ests stand in greater need of a cham
pion on the stump-a candidate for
governor, for instance, would pledge
himself to work for the building up
of the states farm industries. The
development of these interests has
: been in spite of the state administra'
lions. The platforms and the utter.
ances of the candidates have dwelt
: Nth all subjects other than the farm
interests. The one greatest and most
important issue before Montana today
: is her agricultural development-the
building OF a rural empire-and yet
: no one seems to realize it. The min
4 ing interests dominate politics and
= the state. 1t seems, too, that they
, are somewhat jealous OF all other IN
~terests. Silver Bow county, the seal
OF the great copper mines and smell
: tiers with their thousands of laboring
men, is the center of political strife
and looks with somewhat OF contemp1
= upon the farming and fruit counties
: Yet this is false reasoning. The de
. velopment OF agriculture will hell
> mining. l was talking with Senator
= Clark, the great copper millionaire
on this subject.
= "Why," he said, certainly mining
and agriculture should go hand il
hand. The more farms, and thu
: cheaper that living becomes, the NOR
mining will prosper. Mining proper
n ties can be then developed the cost o
working which is now too great"
The Gallatin valley, which sur
d rounds Bozeman, lying in the midst o
e the mountains and bordered at thi
Y season of the year by snow clad chain
o ten and fifteen miles distant, but az
pearing, in the wonderfully clear all
but a half-hour's walk away, is
striking example of the wisdom OF tn
homestead law with it's 16O-acre lam
restriction. The valley is we'll irri
gated by the waters of the Gallatil
river, a tributary of the Missouri, an
is a great part of the settlers took u.
1 homes under the fve-year HOMESTEAD
n act and are today living on and farm
ing them. The result is a compare
Le lively dense agricultural population
with bountiful fields of grain, alfalf
q and red clover. and the owners ar