Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1909-05-14

Grating the light at any time, all
that is necessary is to pull the chain
attached to the lamp at ANY hour
IN the night or day and the flame
IS lgnited.s Those who contemplate
putting i'll new lighting system are
invited to call at this Office and ex-
anime the Gloria. Mr.. Bangert's
headquarters are in I.ewistOwn and
he is prepared to answer all questions
directed to him there in regard to
this modern lighting system.
j. b. Seely, of Great Falls, superin-
tendent of the forest reserves in all
the mountains hereabouts, paid his
first visit to Judith Gap yesterday.
Mr.. Seely says he is establishing two
experimental stations for the replant-
ing OF trees from the seed, one on
Ilmber creek and the other on Willow
creek in the Snowy mountains. Vel
low pine and Douglas fir seed have
been planted. This is the beginning
OF tive-year plan to reforest the
burned over districts on the south
sides ofthe Little Belts and the Snowy
mountains, and Mr.. Seely believes
the effort will meet with success.
Miss Margaret Murphy arrived from
the East recently and is now out on
her homestead.
| MONTANA PRICES ON GROCERIES.
Much has recently been said and writ
ten to the effect that Montana mer-
chants, especially those who handle
the necessities Of life, are maintain
ing prices to al eNorbitant degree,
higher than at any time in the history
OF the state, and quite out Of proper
ton with the reasonable charges made
by those Chicago and other remote
dealers who send their solicitors
| hither to solicit the business of the
housekeeper as well as of the local
hotels, cafes and restaurants. In an
effort to get at the truth of the situa-
ton, the Helena Trading company re-
Gently took an invoice of groceries
billed to local consumer by big
Chicago mail order house. The lead
ing item was 100 lbs. of sugar, sold
t. 0. b. Chicago at S1.75. The Mon
tana price, delivered, for Billings beet
sugar is s6.25 per hundred pounds, or
nearly four times as much as the
charge of the Chicago people. That
looks bad for Montana. But as you
run down the list, about twenty
items such as soap, corn starch, chOco
late, shredded cocoanut, coffee, ex-
traits, tea, prunes, rice, yeast, cereals,
etc, you will find that the eastern in
voice is made out not only at higher
prices, but that the brands are UNI
known quantities either as to purity,
quality or any known worth. The
leading item, sugar--billed out at one
fourth the price of good Montana beet
sugar is the bait that hooks the gud-
geons, all the rest is a lot of cheap
junk, billed at top prices and unloaded
OH suckers far away from the job-lot
dealers who ship them. Opposite this
list of items billed out by a Chicago
firm to Il Helena consumer, cores
ponding items but all of standard
brands and of proved purity, have
been listed in exactly the same guam
tity but at the prices now prevailing
all over the state. After the freight
is paid on the invoice from Chicago
and the delivery charges are added,
the total of that bill is considerably
greater than the total bill for the same
quantity Of standard items of the same
sort bought right here ut home from
our neighbors, the Montana grocers.
Here then is an optical proof to the
effect that, offered juicy bait such
as a lOwer-than-cost price on some
staple like sugar, the shOrt-sighted
Montana sucker will gulp a whole
shipment of problematic stuff OF I'M
known origin, dOu btful ingredient
and 10 reputation, send his money
away to another state, wait for two
to four weeks for his goods and with
no recourse for exchange, objection
or the return of the stuff. So vOra-
cious are these Montana patrons of
mail order houses or of visiting drum
mers, that they bolt hook, line and
sinker along with the bait which, as
you will observe, is always the first
item. the ''leader" as in this case a
hundred pounds OF sugar. The writer
took occasion tn compare the prices
on bill of groceries written nineteen
years ago and of the dozen or more
items charged only two, flour and
potatoes, are asshigh or higher now.
| If the facts herein stated apply gen
orally, then, quality bring equal, gro
ceries are sold cheaper in this state
than they can be bought elsewhere in
small quantities and freighted hither.