The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1914-12-23
COMMERCIAL CLUB NOTES

SSSSN SlO val several new
DIVISION counties have been ere
ated in the state, though
it must also be said that many schemes
of county division came to grief in the
preliminary stages and were not SUBJ
mitted to the will Of the electors.
A feeling is now growing that the
law referred to has granted too many
facilities for the creation of new coun-
ties; that it has been the cause of un.
settled and uncertain conditions in
the political economy of the state: that
it has diverted the attention of the
people from other and more promising
lines of development and has fostered
communities.
Envy and jealousy between towns
and communities" is not a pleasant
phrase to use but it describes exactly
a condition that does exist and it's ex.
istence in some quarters of the state
has had a good effect in preventing the
subdivision of Montana into numerous
small counties of an assessed valua-
ton of between three and four million
dollars. Incidentally it has also been
the means of preventing a boom in the
building of court houses, though, to be
sure, the cost of a courthouse and a
bran-new set of county officers to adorn
it's mahogany are items of expenditure
that are discreetly kept in the back
ground by the average county divider.
During the past week we have been
interested spectators of the proceed
ings at Choteau where a petition pray
ing for the formation of Pondera coun-
ty was considered and after three days
of deliberation was cast into exterior
darkness, amidst much weeping and
gnashing of teeth. We were interest
ed because the proposed new county
included within it's tortuous lines $40
square miles of ChOuteau county, that
being the area of the Is townships en-
braced in Townships "a to % inclu-
sive, Ranges l, 2 and 3, East.
Naturally, the Fort Benton CONNER
cial Club did not look upon the idea
with favor and expected at least that
the promoters of the Pondera scheme
might have consulted with them prior
to the filing of their petition and thus
have left the door open for a possible
compromise that would have been sat
isfactory to all concerned.
The opposition, however, that Fort
B%entonites were prepared to offer was
found to be unnecessary owing to an
interesting development in the situa-
<son <ho< ror,,iroc c0rno ovn1o n ofi0r DC
showing the prevalence of the county
division bug.
The people of Chester are making
a bid for a county seat and have de-
signs on that portion of ChOuteau
county included in the Pondera petit
tion-and some more. They must have
that territory in order to secure the
assessed valuation required by law and
accordingly, when they found that the
Pondera people had beat them to it,
they got busy. Chester, we take it,
has been named after the old English
city that has been referred to from
time immemorial as Sleepy Chester
but the term sleepy a be applied
in no sense to the Inhabitants of Chest
er, Montana.
They invade the disputed territory
to the number of fifteen good men and
true, camped on the ground in zero
weather and proceeded to interview
the amazed populace who had the
temerity to sign the Pondera petition.
BY dint of much persuasive %eloquence
they even induced a large number of
them 10 withdraw their names and to
plug for Chester.
We have considerable sympathy
with the registered electors in the dis
puted territory in respect of the fact
that they have been embarrassed with
petitions and counter-petitions, and if
the truth must be told. many Of them
as we can vouch for from personal
Observation-Disclosures positively and
steadfastly refused to sign another
blamed petition of any kind whatso-
ever, We're it to insure their ultimate
entry to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The activities of the Chester people
and of the opponents of Pondera coun-
ty-and their name was legiOn-was
AMPLY SulllNlclI W lluhS al IN VI ~,
which they did. 1t is the fourth at
tempt of the people of Conrad to form
a lev county and they ought to be
admired for their persistence. any
way, but we think we are right in say
ing that unless the towns of Conrad
and Waller get together and pull to-
gether for a new county, leaving the
question of the county seat to the de-
cision of the electors. they never will
have it in II day.
Both Conrad and Waller are good,
progressive towns. only about twenty
miles apart-and the rivalry between
them-to call it by no worse TERMS
sufficient to keep either from plotting
through a county division scheme to a
successful issue without the c%o-opera-
ton an acquiescence of the other.