The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-03-18
Plenty Of Food in City to
Provide for Any Pos
~sible Emergency.
BUILDING WON'T STOP
Beet Sugar Factory Con.
struction Will Continue
in Any Event.

No serious shortage of food or build.
ing supplies would result in Missoula
II general railroad strike were called,
according to the opinion OF several
business men of the city. Consider
able supplies of flour potatoes. canned
goods and other groceries are on hand
and the local flour mill could supply
the city until fall.
I'VE are well stocked. especially in
the things most necessary" said r. ID.
PuEsley. manager of the grocery de-
partment of the Missoula Mercantile
company, when asked his opinion of
| the bearing Of railroad strike upon
| Missoula.
| Prices Won't Rise.
Prices would not be raised upon our
goods as long as they lasted, and that
would be for many weeks. When the
flood occurred in 1908 and business
was congested. prices did not 20 up
ana they would not il a strike comes"
Buyers have made no rush upon the
stores, indicating that the public Join
In the belief Of the business men, that
strike is not imminent or that if it
does come it will be Of short duration,
No Green Vegetables.
Green vegetables. which are shipped
almost entirely from California, would,
| of course, be inaccessible if all traffic
| were stopped. Many of the vegetables,
however, are shipped by express and
as the passenger service would be the
last to be called off. vegetables may
be shipped for some time.
The outlying districts that depend
| upon Missoula for wholesale grocery
supplies would be likely to suffer to
some extent, although Mr.. Pugsley be-
lleves these places are protected by
stocks of necessities.
The mills of the Western Montana
FIGURING company, in Missoula, and
the Hamilton Cereal and Flour Mill
| company in Hamilton could supply
flour to Missoula and vicinity for an
indefinite period. Besides a good stock
of flour, the local mill has enough
grain on hand to keep it running until
the next milling season.
| Plenty of Meat.
Fresh meat is supplied to Missoula |
| from the farming districts only \ few
miles away and John r. Daily believes |
stock could be brought on foot or |
hauled in automobiles and wagons in !
sufficient quantities to meet the de- |
mands. Towns that depend upon Mis-
soula for wholesale meat would not |
be inconvicnced unless the express
service We're discontinued.
Creamery Would Suffer.
Butter would be the commodity most |
affected in Missoula if all train service |
were discontinued. Cream must be |
sent to the creamery almost every day |
and to get it, the creamery would be |
obliged to send trucks to the valleys |
that supply cream. The added incon-
Vlence and expense of collecting cream /
in this way would likely increase the !
price of butter. The local creamery
could supply the bulk Of the butter
demand of the city, if it could obtain |
ehouSh cream.
There is comparatively little butter
stored In Missoula at the present time.
The Missonla creamery reports that it |
has not been able to fill all orders at
times during the past few weeks.
Building Would Continue.
Building operations in Missoula
would continue If a strike occurred, |
unless it were an unusually long
| strike.
The plant OF the Great Western
sugar company, now under construc-
| ton, is receiving about six carloads of
| building material and machinery a
week. They report enough material
| on hand to keep the work going for
SIX weeks, and do not believe a strike
| Won'd delay the completion of the
| plant IN time to handle the next crop
| of bcctS.
| The Northern Pacific hospital is so
near completion that the builders be-
| lleve nothing more than inconvicncc TO
their operations would be the result OF
a strike on the railroads
Practically all the material for the
Union hall will be obtained in Mis-