Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1907-03-20
THE MINES OF MONTANA
A DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT MINERAL
WEALTH OF THAT STATE.
Letter Written by J. j. Trzcinski Of Boze.
man to His Father. Containing Interest.
ing Facts Concerning Montana.

Dear Father:
In the letters have written to YOU
in the past. have occasionally men,
toned the livestock resources and the
agricultural possibilities possessed by
this state, but have never had much
to say about the mining interests.
There is nothing very surprising in
this inasmuch as / am no miner and
know nothing about the business from
actual experience, but it would hardly
be natural that / should live out here
for seven years without learning some
thing about this great industry.
Mining has always been the most
important of all the industries of the
state and will continue to be so for a
number Of years to come, although it
is only question of time before agri-
cultural pursuits will take first place.
Many people passing through this
state and especially those who stop at
the state capital, get wrong impress
sions regarding our mining interests
There is no denying the fact that
placer mining-washing sand and
gravel for gold-is not what it once
was. Helena along with Diamond
City, Bannack, Virginia City and
dozens of other less important camps,
enjoyed great boom when placer
mining was at its height. but when it
was found that the gravel banks would
not continue to yield the yellow metal
indefinitely the city began to decline
and is today only one-fourth as large
as it was once supposed it would be.
Owing to other advantages. however,
it is very gradually recovering from
it's shock and will. perhaps, at some
/ distant day. be the city its most loyal
citizens would like to see.
But while placer mining has prac-
tically ceased, quartz mining has, on
the other hand been steadily growing
in Importance as is evidenced by the
numerous, busy mining camps scat
tered throughout the state. Since
mining operations first began in this
state over one and one-half billions of
dollars have been dug out of the earth
and today the mineral output exceeds
eighty millions per year. Fifty of
these eighty millions come from the
biggest mining camp on earth"-
Butte. Seventy-five thousand inhabi-
tants are now claimed by this enter
prising city which means, suppose,
% population of about sixty thousand.
All of these people depend primarily
for their support on the stuff that is
brought up from the bowels of the
mountain. The pay roll of the city
now amounts to million dollars per
month. Ordinary miners get 1915 for
a day of eight hours, the humblest
laborer gets not less than 23. 90 per day
and wages for mechanics range from
ST. 90 to SS. 90 for an eight hour day.
The future of the city has been much
discussed for it is a matter of con-
siderable moment to business men and
investors to know how long present
conditions will continue. Because of
it's location on the side of a mountain
and at very high altitude, with no
large farming or numbering area sur
rounding it, Butte is not natural
commercial center and must depend
on its mines for its existence. have
heard it repeated number of times
that there has already been enough
ore located to keep things going full
blast for another hundred years. How
much there is beyond that, nobody
knows, / don't know whether or not
these statements are true but the fact
that business men and capitalists are
investing so much money in real es-
tate and in expensive and permanent
improvements and the fact that the
Milwaukee railroad has chosen a very
difficult route in order to run by way
of Butte. would seem TO indicate that
those most likely to know of the pros.
pests of the place have plenty of faith
in it,
The second best mining district ID
in the central part of the state. neal
Lewistown. This is very prosperous
section and unlike Butte has plenty
of other resources in the way of stock
raising and farming
There are of course, dozens of Other
less important camps in the western
and central part of the state but what
I promises to be the second best district
aud one which some people predict
will be a second Butte, has as yc,
been practically untouched. This il
near Cooke City down near the Wyom
, ing line. Poor transportation facili
J ties have heretofore retarded develop
ment but railroad is now being bull
{ in there which will overcome that OBJ
stacle.
The reduction of the ore after beinl