The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1920-12-10
KEEPING FAITH
WITH THE PUBLIC
NORTHERN PACIFIC II. II. co.
STILL MORALLY OBLIGATED
no DEVELOP COUNTRY

10 DEVELOP COUNTRY
Keeping Faith With the People, q
the caption of an article appearing in
the current issue of the Baker Senti.
mel which takes to task the Northern
Pacific Railway Company fer its dila-
tory policy In regard to the public
veal. Practically the same conditions
obtain in Powder River county as ex-
planned in Fallon county.
The Northern Pacific Railway COM
pany has title to approximately 145,-
900 acres of land in Powder River
county, a direct gift under the railroad
grant, on the provision that the rail-
road would develop the country thru
which it crossed. About the cnly BEN
eft to accrue so far as the result of
this land grant is from the sale Of the
land By the railroad cOmpan. at prices
ranging from $3.50 to $l2 an acre. The
railroad was originally granted land
within a 40-mile limit from the rail-
read. but this distance was subsequent
~ increased to so and then 60 miles
so that Il considerably territory in the
northern portion of this county went
to the railroad. The Northern Pacific
Railroad company has Just completed
the payment of county taxes for this
year in the sum of S4..7S.2S on land
and $4SS.2S on mineral reserve. 1t is
significant that no taxes were paid to
an appreciable sum on improvements.
The Baker Sentinel article in it's en-
tirety is as follows:
ION July 2, 1864, there was passed
by congress Of the United States an
act granting lands TO aid in the con-
structiOn of the Northern Pacific Rail-
way company.
0'This grant provided in it's terms not
only that the purpose of the act to aid
in the construction Ct the Northern Pa
cniD Railway but its object was to pro-
mote the public welfare
without going into a lengthy review
OF the Northern Pacific land grants suf-
flee it to say. that the time the srNat
was made. the northwestern country
was undevelcped territory, and that
congress undoubtedly intended not only
to aid in the construction Of the rail-
road, but to aid the development OF the
natural resources of the territory then
latent. for the purpose Of promoting
the public interest and welfare
Many of the people or Montana win
remember how. in the early 9Os the
Northern Pacific Railway company was
ccntending that the land grant even
included within its provisions. the
mineral resources of Montana, Idaho
and Washington. At that time moth
ing was known of the possible oil and
natural sas as mipsral deposits within
the state, and the people CT Montana
for ta1
selves only in preserving to the people
the quartz and placer claims coming
within the land grant of the Northern
Pacific.
Let it be made clear at the outse,
that the Sentinel has no interest in any
particular individual or any particular
oil promoting company. but is only in
terested to the extent OF seeing the
natural resources of the country de.
veloped.
THE Northern Pacific Railway COM
pany has received patents 10 large
areas Of land which it is alleged con-
tain deposits of natutl gas ana pe1ro-
leum. From every source Of informa-
tion available to the Sentinel, it is
learned that the Northern Pacific board
of trusees have not decided upon any
prospecting these lands. Many reasons
have been suggested why this lack OF
policy upon the part of the board or
directors.
''Some have suggested tina. because
the OF! lands In til" vicinity of Baker
are along the line traversed by the
Milwaukee Railway company tnar
therefore the policy Ct the Northern
Pacific company il. to prevent develop
ment because they would not particle
pate in the profits which would accrue
from the transportation of the product
CT oil development. In view of the
fact that the Northern Pacific have a
branch line within twenty miles of the
Baker fields which was built IS miles
from Beach with the aid of the farm
crs and settlers of that country. IT
would seem that they ought to be at
least willing to build two mil es to their
own lands. if development should war;
rant the same by production OF oil
needing transportation.
I'VE cannot believe that the North
ern Pacific directors are so narrow in
their views relative to the settlement
and development OF the country that
they would reard progress, rather than
see someone else transport freight
which might arise by reason OF deyel.
opment.
Men such as Howard Elliott, who
are big and broad enough to ACQUIRE
the position in railroad circles that
they have. certainly know that you can
not develop one portion Of the coun.
try without aiding and developing the
country adjacent tc it, and men of this
character are too big, or at least ought
to be, to sit silently by and say that
they will not permit development BE-.
cause they can not secure all Of the
revenue that might result by reason
OF II.
1T has been suggested that the
Northern Pacific management proposed
to hold their oil lands until someone
else develops alongside Of them. This
OF course might be . good policy fcs
man nnRRNsA ~ thARv o~N~~ a..