The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1937-07-09
Portland Oregonian States
Butte Not Quite Wide Open
i'm Article ON Montana Citu

Butte has won the spotlight again,
this time n . western publication, the
magazine section Of the Portland Ore
CONAN. The statd old Oregon publ
cation recently devoted a page to the
lustrates its story With a five column
view of the business district, and a
four column view Of Park Just east of
Main, and g three and one-half COL
umn view Of venus alley" Like every
other story about Butte that has found
its E;ns way imfS print I'll i i touches esq q h BStts's
ging-but those who have read the
story generally agree that it is the
fairest story eve written about this
Butte. it has been said, differs from
eastern, and many western cities in its
lack Of hypocrisy, subterfuge and shams.
Local writer's have pointed out that
eastern and western coast cities harbor
hidden wickednesS of SO vile q mien
that it would not be tolerated in Butte
BECAUSE everything in that city is open,
thrives in the very heart of these
larger cities which hide their filth be-
hind a Sanctimonious expression.
Capt, l.. p. Sanders, who visited New
York about the time an eastern mag
azine, of national circulation had pub
as a vast gambling house, declares that
he saw more depravity in a few hours
while awaiting his train in New York
than could be found in Butte in a
lifetime.
The title Of the Oregonian article
is: Butte, Montana, Not Quite Wide
Holbrook,, well-known magazine writer
and free lance of the newspaper world,
who spent two days in Butte collecting
material. Holbrook learned many in
teresting facts about Butte that have
1nothing to do with vice, gambling, or
an individuality ali its own, that its
setting is an appropriate one for a
mining metropolis, but regrets the city
fathers in naming the streets departed
from the plan of mineral designations
and named one street Broadway" He
visit the outskirts where Sampson"
Sheridan" and other notable Ameri-
cans are being honored with never a
mention of metal.
He found that even the chamber of
commerce has individuality. Instead of
Holbrook says. he found it fathering a
display of art. He found gambling
tributed it to the fact that a grand
jury was in session.
THE jury" he says, was discharged
after Y days without having returned
q single indictment. That's what Silver
jury" He found hicky games in opera
ton, such as they have in Portland"
He learned that Butte gamblers quit
every time the legislature assemblies
and that to close o a grand jury wa
nothing remarkable: Liquor is being
account of the fight that is being made
on liquor laws nobody knows whether
or not it is legal to sell at retail"
Butte" he says, "haS nothing at all
that can be called a vice problem-just
one short alley past which n might
Of the "deni7ens of the district" The
district. he learned, "is very orderly,
well policed by plain-clothes men, and
a squawk about being rolled is almost
unheard Of"
Copper is the very life of Butte,
even more than timber is the very
life of Portland" he states. The price
wages which were sailing merrily up
ward"
There are sights on the streets of
Butte, Holbrook says, that are not met
with elsewhere outside the movies
tanned oldsters astride broncos, signs
announcing that cash is paid for gold"
and altogether a fine western flavor
hill runs straight through to China
and is solid copper all the way" He
also learned that Butte has a
churches, an airport, two hospitals, 275
school teachers, six civic clubs and 20
garden ,clubs;"' that the town has a
"new-million-dollar high school, an ex-
cellent public library" and that a local
florist does some very fine sculpture
work. 1.-THE Montana School of Mines,
the Butte Business college, II parochial
schools" are also complimented.