Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-12-23
(By II L. COONEY)


DEW cities were ever as effectively OF
II quickly buncoed on a get-rich quick
scheme as was Butte in 1904. The
trick was turned in four days and
the cleanup was about S38 ,999. In some
Butte trunks I presume there are still
stock certificates, following with age,
bearing mute testimony to the credulity
of the old time Butte people. Shortly
after Marconi's success at transatlantic
messages in wireless and DeForests prac-
tical demonstration of its practicability
at the ST. Louis Worlds fair, wireless
telegraphy was attracting as much at
tention from the public as aviation is
today. 1t was good for a front page
story every day and no one knew just
what would be the extent of its posi-
bilities. transatlantic telephoning was
considered a dream and raio was undis-
covered and the word itself had not been
coined.
Unheralded, two well groomed men ar
rived in Butte, rented the best suite in
the old Finlen hotel and visited the news
paper offices. They presented cards stat
ing they were field representatives of the
United States Wireless corporation and
stated that they were visiting the various
cities giving a series of lectures n DEM
onstrations of wireless telegraphy. The
lectures were free and their mission
seemed rather plausible, exactly as 1t
seems now plausible to inspire interest in
aviation. With every evidence of afflu-
ence they also automatically purchased
some advertising space, paying in adj
vance at the current open rates. Well
such visitors were good for a local news
story In any mans country and /, In
common with the other newspaper writ
ers, f~ront-paged them.
Asked If they were selling stock in
their company they replied that Butte
had not yet been given any allotment
but that they might have permission to
sell some stock later. They carried equip
ment which they said was valued at s40,-
900. Calling at the city hall they secured
the auditorium of the public library free
for a week and l must say their lecture
was extremely interesting and educa-
tional. Their outfit seemed to consist of
two telegraph keys and some pretentious
batteries. Messages were sent by Morse
code from the back of the hall to the
stage n received without the use of any
wires. 4 fancy 1t was a genuine wireless
outfit all right. The first lecture packed
the house and after the lecture there was
a general crush to examine the mechan-
ism and talk to the scientists.
Rented Temporary Office
The program of the was to
install wireless telegraph offices in all
large cities, Of which Butte was one, and
they went SO far as to rem also tenn
porary offices on West Broadway in front
of the city hall and hired a Butte man
to a charge. They paid a weeks rent
and paid the man part Of a months sal
airy.
/ noticed the peculiarly avid In
which some of the audience wanted to
know If there was any stock that could
be bought. The matter was not preached
by the visitors themselves but by Butte
residents who thought it looked like q
good thing. The answer was that an of
ford would be made to secure a block OF
stock for sale in Butte. 1t was limited
rather covertly that in a few months
things would look pretty bad for the
Western Union and Postal and that as
wireless telephony was only another step,
and they had important patents along
that line,-the Bell Telephone company
with It's o investment was not to
be envied.
The first lecture was Saturday night
and the next day occurred the famouf
Symons fire. The public library was par
TALLY destroyed also, but the precious
wireless equipment was saved. So pleased
were the promoters at this that they
called at the city hall n presented q
check to the city. The council by unani.
nous motion ordered that books on
wireless be purchased with the money
and the city council chamber was d.
mated to the visitors for lectures and
demonstrations. In fact the Broadway
office was far too small to hold thu
crowds after a half page advertisement
appeared saying that the main office had
decided to permit $4,000 worth of stock
to be allotted for sale in Butte.
Won had 10 come early tn avoid thp
rush. The stock was $40 a share with O
minimum sale of 10 shares but no more
than 81 900 worth could be sold to one
person. I know one enthusiast who
bought a second thousand dollars worth
in a friends name. Money poured in all
day Tuesday and again at the lecture
Tuesday night and one man was kept
busy writing stock certificates, which
were unusually handsome. Wednesday
about noon an electrician came to our
news room and said bluntly, '"Those
birds are a couple Of takers" He had
examined the wireless outfit and de-
clared he could rig up a similar outfit
overnight. That got the managing edi-
tor investigating and he sent out some
kilograms. Personally, / am free to adj
nit, l was pretty well sold Oh wireless.
I had seen DeF'orest operating at the st.
Louis fair and l was regretting that I
hadn't saved q few dollars so / could get
in on the ground Hoor myself. But the
managing editor,-one of the best Mon
tana has produced, seemed to me to be
particularly ornerv.
Asked to Lay OF
GO down and tell those fellows they're
q couple Of takers and that I'm going to
blast them In this evenings ISSUE" he
commanded.