The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1937-08-27
NEW BUSES FOR
MINING CENTER
BUTTE ELECTRIC STREET RAIL-
WAY, AFTER HALF CENTURY,
DISCONTINUED
Horses, Gable, Steam and Electric Cars
Have Passed in Review on Streets
of THE Richest Hill on Earth" Will
Be Missed by Public.

The Butte Electric Street Rail-
way company, after q half century
of service to the people of Butte,
is about to be displaced by buses.
It is the last organization of its
kind to yield to the onward march
of inventive genius. The street rail-
way has played a most important
part in the development Of Butte,
linking Lake AvOca with Walker
vile; Meaderville with the west
side. and the entire city with Co.
lumbia gardens.
When it came into existence it dis
placed buses that piled between the
south Butte depots and VAUDEVILLE,
Centerville, Books gardens in Meader-
vile and Columbia gardens. Now the
bus has come back; the h~orSe-drawn
vehicle has been succeeded by the
gaSoiine-driven bus and The electric
ally-driven street a must retire from
n "tin-can' settlement or to be
broken up-scrapped-and its iron pos
sibly shipped to the Orient to be used
as schrapnel in war;.
The electric street railway has led
a long and useful life. Its cars have
borne thousands of workers up the
Butte hill to pursue their labors in the
mines. 1t has carried other thousands
festivities. The children of Butte have
learned to love the d~our-1ooking old
cars that bore them, free of charge,
on Thursdays, during the summer
months to -romp across the grassy
swards of Columbia gardens. to gather
pansies or to enjoy themselves in the
grove among the swings and slides.
Kindly and Obliging
1t has long been a saying in Butte
that the Butte street railway employees
are among the most kindly and oblig-
ing in the world.
Il don't want a man in my employ
who hasn't enough to break a
rule when it is necessary" was an Oft
repeated declaration of j. r. Wharton,
for years manager of the street rail-
way lines. Motormen have stretched
again. when it could be done without
injury, in order to accommodate the
patrons O.. the line.
The cumbersome old cars spinning
down the streets with their heavy load
Of passengers and their alert motor
men ready to dynamite" the car at
any point to avoid an accident, will
be missed by the Butte public, pasrticu-
starnch old cars since their childhood
days and also by Butte business men
who got their first start in Butte by
twisting brakes on a street car.
With a management of surprising
consideration for its employees, and a
loyalty on the part of the workers that
was above reproach, many OF the early
employees of the street, railway have
become old and gray in its service.
I'VE Are to Blame
whenever there is an accident we
are of course to blame" was another
OIL. R. Wharton's sayings, "but be-
fore L discipline my boys I must find
out why it is that they hit other We
hicleS with the side of the street car
instead of the front end"
The street car men appreciated the
confidence and support of the manage
ment with the result that accidents,
in which blame could attach to the
motormen, we're extremely rare.
In the month of May, 1887, Nelson
Larabie, a banker and associate Of w.
A. Clark, filed application for a street
railway franchise. At the same time
Tom and Geof Lavelle, j. F. Hyde,
S. B. Rice and E. M. Trask also filed
an application. Bennett won out. He
vas granted a franchise on May Is,
1887, and on May 20 filed the articles
Of incorporation of the Butte Street
railway.
First Franchise
On the same date that the city
granted the franchise to run On Butte
streets the county commissioners grant,
ed franchises to Meaderville, Rocker,
Burlington and to the Montana Central
depot in south Butte. Anticipating the
action Of the county commissioners,
the Meaderville line was started on
May 10, five days before the city fran
chise was granted. On June 9, 1887, the
Butte Miner stated: THE survey of
the line of the Butte City Street rail-
way started today at the corner of
Main and Park"
On July 9 the Miner quoted Bennett
in connection with the power to be
used. The. item reads:
ELECTRICITY will be. the power on the
new street railway, it is announced by
horse and mule days are ended on
street railways. We plan to use cleo
tricity elsewhere except to VAUDEVILLE
and possibly on that part of the road
also" he said. 1.-THE rails for the road
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