The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1909-11-19
Pledge Ten Thousand
Dollars in Fifteen
Minutes
WARM CAMPAIGN
Montana People Resent Attempt to
Break Down One of the Industries
Of the State-W. b. George Makes
Proposition to Citizens of Entire
State-GeneraI Protest Voiced.
lSpeciaI to The Gazzette.l

Especial TO The GaZZettes)
COLUMBUS, Mont, Nov. 1S.-At a
Hlass meeting of the citizens of Co.
lqmbRs, held this evening, for the pur-
pose of discussing the matter of the
choice of stone for the wings of the
capitol building in Helena, the sum of
$1O,2S0 was pledged in less than 15
minutes for the purpose of making
up the difference in the cost of the
local and the Indiana products.
! The meeting was attended by every
business man and property owner in
the city and the raising of the money
was but the matter of few minutes
The. people Of Columbus are fully
aware Of the benefit to be derived by
keeping the contract for the stone of
home, and the action of the Billings
Chamber Of Commerce and the press
of the state in making fight for
native stone was heartily Endorsed.
uN company with Senator ]. G. Nc
Carthy of Bozeman, w. B. George
of this city visited the sandstone
quarries of the Montana Sandstone
company at Columbus in order to as
certain whether or not the statements
made by Attorney General Galen in
regard to the amount of the deposit
of sandstone at Columbus, were cor
rect. Senator Mccarthy and Mr..
George returned to Billings yesterday
evening more than ever convinced
that great injustice will be wrought
if the wings to the new capitol are
built of any other material than Co.
lumbus stone. Senator Mccarthy has
pledged himself to exert all his influ-
erence to create public sentiment
against the use of Montana stone and
will personally canvass Gallatin coun-
ty and the central part of the state in
behalf of the Montana product
In speaking of the matter Mr..
George said:
"The statement that the Columbus
quarry only shows vein of seven
feet in width is absolutely false. Sen
ator Mccarthy and myself personally
inspected the Columbus workings, and
found a vein of the finest stone on
earth which is 16 feet in width at
it's narrowest place and which is
over 1000 feet long. There is enough
stone there to build hundred capt.
tol buildings.
I'VE talked with Mr.. Jacobs, super
intendent of the quarry, and we are
convinced that the figures he submit
ted are positively the lowest for which
stone can be produced and the quarry
make expenses. We are also con-
vinced that this quarry, opened up
several years ago for the express pur-
pose of supplying stone for the main
building of the statehouse, is fully
able to furnish the stone for the COM
pIetion of the structure, and that a
body blow to the quarrying industry
in the state of Montana will be dealt
if any other than Montana stone is
used
There is a difference of $4,000 in
the price asked for the additions in
Columbus stone and in Indiana. Mr..
Jacobs has offered to make good $4,000
of that difference; he cannot further
cut the price and keep his quarry in
operation; the loyal citizens of Co
umbus have expressed their willing
ness to make good another $4,000.
every county in Montana is vitality
interested in this matter. 1t means
no more to- Yellowstone than it does
to any other section of the state, and
| believe that is is up to the loyal
citizens of Montana to see to 1t that
the S31 900 difference is made up.
"I would suggest that representa-
tive men of each county place in es-
crow their notes to an amount sufi-
cient to make up this difference. There
4 s but very small chance that they
will ever be called upon to make good
the money, for no assembly elected
bv the people of the state of Montana
Will refuse or can afford to refuse to
make good that $31 900. 1t will sim
ply be a matter of waiting until the
next meeting of the assembly and