The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1916-09-22
MORE THAN SIXTEEN MILLION
ACRES OWNED BY GOVERN
MENT IN MONTANA.
EDUCATORS ARE INSTRUCTED
Heads of Four State Institutions Al.
tend AIl-day Conference with Chan
celIor EIIiot-Record Attend
ance Assured-70o Students
Expected at MissouIa.
Helena.

There are 16,649,725 acres of sur.
veyed and unsurveyed government
lands in Montana today, a large pro-
portion of which is of such charac-
ter as to be suitable for settlement
by home builders. But if the rate
at which this government land was
taken in the year ending July 1 last
continues for five years at the end
of that time there will be none. The
total open for settlement now is g.
100000 acres less than it was on July
1, 1915.
Dawson county contains the largest
body of government land, 2,0S5,974
acres. Other counties within whose
borders there is more than a million
acres Of unappropriated land are Bea-
verhead with 1,129,561 acres, Custer
with 1,323,S40, Fallon with 1,293,280,
Phillips with 1,896,964 and Valley with
1,516,188.
The county having the smallest
amount is Ravalli, with 3,461, while
Lincoln has only 4,270 acres.
X X X
Big College Year Seen.
Final instructions to the heads of
the four departments of the state edu-
cational institutions, in preparation of
the biggest college year ever expert
enced in Montana, have been issued
by Chancellor E. c. Elliott after an all
day conference. In all four places, at
the State university in Missoula, the
State college of Agriculture and Me-
~ 4I4 +a+4 Il
school at Dillon and the State School |
of Mines at Butte, preparations have |
been made to take care of record en- |
rollments, but no crowded condition |
is expected except at Missoula, where !
the schools officials face a difficult |
problem in handling the expected en-
rollment, which according to Acting
President F. C. Scheuch, will be full
700 students.
Report on Railroads.
An interesting compilation has been
made by Secretary Rhoades, of the
state railroad commission, showing the
number of cars loaded and the COM
modities transported, at Montana sta
lions, for the year ending June 80 last.
The data is official, having been fur
nished by the various railroads operat-
ing in the state. The total number of
carloads shipped was 403,464, and of
that number almost ons-third was ore,
it totaling 124,9O9 carloads.
There were 1887 carloads of con-
centrates; 75,645 carloads of coal; 49,
127 carloads of grain; 19,445 carloads
of lumber and lumber products; 1928
of slags and tailings; 6.4OO of flour
and millstuffs; 435 cars of farm imple-
319 cars of beer; 6,4S0 cars of
hay; 1926 cars of hogs; 20,061 cars of
livestock; 1858 cars of potatoes; 1,116
cars of sugar; 1898 cars of sugar
beets; 3,133 cars of copper. rick and
clay products, fruits and vegetables,
lime rock, logs, poles, sand and gravel,
cement, stone, cord wood and miscel-
aneous make up the aggregate of
I03, asa carloads.
Governor Offers Reward.
Candidates and measures to be vot-
ID for at the election November
re enumerated in proclamation just
ssued by Governor S. V. Stewart. He
'ers a reward of 100 for the arrest and
Of any person violating the
lection laws. Rewards to be paid I'M
il the total aggregates $4,000. There
will be submitted to the electors two
roposed amendments to the state con-
one to create a county board
equalization and a state board of
qualization; the other relating to ex-
mption from taxation. A referendum
leasure on prohibition also will be
oted on.
fficial Returns In.
Official returns from the primary
lection have been received by Sec
stary of State Anderson from every
)unty In the state except Fallon, Fer
is, Meagher and Dawson. These re-
lrns show that Harry B. Mitchell,
candidate for congress,
ads William Cults by 746; that w. D.
enner, republican candidate for aud
Or, leads James M. Rhoades by 754
i'd that Charles T. Stewart, repub-
IAN candidate for secretary of state,
ads Frank IIazelbaker by 229. IN
fetal returns from the four missing
unties add to the leads of Mitchell,
,nner and Stewart.
X X 4
an School Debates.
All Montana accredited high schools
e urged to begin early with their
operations for this years interschol-
tic debate. DR.. George R. Coffman
the State university, president of /,
g High School Debate league, has s
mpleted the annual bulletin of in
'uctions to high schools and this doc /
ent is ready for distribution. Though :
: debates do not occur, even in their
Summaries, until November, local