Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-05-04

F<se1fNeT~~N-
in its infancy and copper was consid-
! cred more of a nuisance than an asset
] with gold and especially silver as the
! important metals.
4 a tough proposition for both editorial
workers and printers. Majors writes 7:
! @rJewspaper work Is a man-killing
( nroDosition, a few years Of which gem
/ eraily either makes an invalid OF him
/ or drives him into some other line OF
/ business. There Is much sadness IN re-
/ calling the names and what became
of many of the old-time friends, asso-
\ ciates and co-workers In the printing
4 offices. The experiences of many OF
/ them have been sad and SomDer-
some have Joined the innumerable
1 caravan that moves to the pale realms
| of shade while some few have had
/ their lines cast in pleasant places.
There is a sort of freemaSonry exlstlng
fellow feeling, regardless of the picker
ing and tits they give and take IN
public discussions and seeming quar-
rels.
when Pickets Were Unknown
ST remember well a strike which oc-
CURED In the Miner office in the fan
of 1881 1 believe, during which all
of the printers formerly employed
there refused to work unless the queS-
ton Of higher wages We're acceoe ss1 70 =.
we union printers were 'scabbed by
two sneaks from New York state, who
were out of a job, one from Deer
Lodge and a muscular pickup from a
neighboring ranch. Union sentiment
was not as strong in Butte then as
now. SO that instead of a banner car
ried back and forth IN front OF tne
rfF{ra sF4FfoiT the
regular editions came out about as
usual. beyond receiving some passing
sympathy from our several friends ana
q sfaro curtailment Of our credit Tor
beefsteak and flour, that strike ended
about as others at that time DID; some
of the boys journeyed to other fields;
I went prospecting and flat.oroke az
one and the same stroke, and the Miner
pursued about its usual Jalmt. mat
Settled my typesetting In that ofIlce,
principally, I suppose because the
Tnana9ement did not take kindly TO
any Of the men who were engaged IN
the walkout. ~.-
I'm the spring Of 1882 the Miner
strikers of the fall before had an
inning ing In March of that year the
inter Mountain started as an evening
dailv. and those Of the old crew stu
in town were allowed to hold cases
in the new office Among others ]
manipulated the diminutive pleas OF
antinoony for many weeks; but Cd
serving that the carriers route was
indifferently handled, one day put
II; ia. an annIication to Lee Mantle, who
was its business manager, to turn the
whole proposition over TO me: He
wrestled a while longer with s. A.
Kennicott. who at that time was book
keener. 'circulator' and general facto-
ttln of the institution, but finally, with
trepidation and fear, Mantle informed
me l could take a W1irl az the propo-
sition. He gave me half OF what the
ro1yte would earn, which at the time
got it. amounted to $65 per month.
"a systematic hustle and rustic on
nv part soon trebled and quadrupled
the circulation and my earnings, winch
made my Job. much better than any
thing inside the office. In connection
with the route, / was afterwards given
the position OF coliectlng All accounts accounts
and doing all soliciting for advertising
and lob work. In the advertising line
I recall two different contracts-one
with Sands & Boyce, and the other
with T. L. Bonner & Co., the principal
dry goods stores of that time-that
made in behalf Of the Inter Mountain,
for So 600 each, running over period
both at expiration and made life
burden to the business community gen
erally, drumming up trade OF all KINDS
in the printing line.
ssT7IItte was hardly large enough for
two daily papers at that time, and
A. T. Mcmillan, who was bookkeeper
for the Inter Mountain after Kenni-
colts time, often remarked that u
was only the interchangeable and strenu-
Gus soliciting done at the period /
refer to that prevented the stockhold-
ers from voting the paper too previous
for the market and financial disap-
pointment. Certain 1t was that four
page, seven column daily was very
expensive proposition, and its field for
business was so limited as to make
its ultimate success very predetermined
Hard Row for Republicans
'sDuring that period the voters Of
Montana. and particularly Of Butte,
were composed largely of my country
men. the Missourians and the Missouri
Irish. which limited very materially
the support for a republican paper,
such as the Inter Mountain was, to
draw upon. Pike county and the Celtic
Isle could always be counted on IN
those DAYS TO make the proper showing
vember day. SO that the Inter Noun
tain had an uphill, long-drawn- out
pull to elevate its political chanticleer
to a tOpmost bough TO crow about
successes at the polls.
'Chauncey Barbour was the first
editorial writer on the Inter Noun
tain and John B. Read was at the
bat on the reporters page. in the
early history Of the paper. Chaunceys
career was somewhat brief, although
reasonably brilliant IN his position,
superseded, as he soon was, BY a Mr.
Lockley, from the Salt Lake Tribune.
sHdr. L0ckley was one of the old
school OF Journalists. whereas the
paper needed, In this unconventional,
1ree-f0r all sort Of q community, a
newspaper man Being Of advanced
Years and rigid b his adherence to