Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-03-09


Helena where 1t now repoSes with other
precious relics in glass case so that
he who runs may read.
The authority for this historical bill
was the late Tom Baker, a talented
newspaper man who was on the early
editorial staff of the Montana Post
when it was a fledgeling paper, and
who was in the position to know the
I truth about this first attempt TO pub
lish a newspaper in these parts.
Baker reported the second session
and many following, Of the territorial
legislative assembly. He was the only
/ correspondent on the ground and was
a great friend of the chairman of the
! committee on appropriations. This
man. being unlettered, leaned heavily
I on his learned newspaper friend where
any official reports were to be pre-
/ pared. When the appropriation bill was
I drawn up near the end Of the session,
Tom Baker doing the work, inserted
a paragraph appropriating $3.50 for
the newspaper correspondent, who was
himself The chairman questioned this
proposed expenditure and Tom said to
him:
1T is done in parliament" And the
chairman, who was an Englishman,
as was Tom also, approved the item
and Tom got the money. The custom
was continued for several subsequent
sessions but newspapers began to null
tiply and when there were too many
correspondents. 1t was abandoned.
The first real newspaper established
in the new territory was, of course,
the Montana Post. John Buchanan,
who brought a modest printing plant
with him across the plains by OK team
published the first issue of the Post,
a weekly, on Aug 81, 1864. It's sub
scription price was So per year and
a single copy sold for so cents. Blu
chanan published two issues, when Ben
Tilton, a youth Of "a who had come
from New York to Virginia City to
establish a book and stationery shop,
bought Buchanan's printing plant and
newspaper, paying him $1,000 in gold
for an outfit which was worth prob
ably $500. TiltOn was good business
man and under his management the
Post proSpered exceedingly, although
he had to pay his printers around 500
per week in gold and all other ex-
penditures were high Among the dis
men who helped edit the
Post were Col Wilbur F. Sanders. hero
of the Vigilante uprising against
Henry Plummer and his bandits;
supreme court; Capt. James H Mills,
later to become famous as the editor
of the New Northwest at Deer Lodge; !
Thomas DimSdale, author of "Vigi- |
lantes of Montana" and Tom Baker.
With such men contributing to the
Post it was a bright and shining pub
lication. Money rolled IN and Tilton
sold one-tIird interest in the Post |
to Benjamin Ditties. Later when Hell
ena came up and Virginia City was |
going down. DtttieS bought the Tilton |
interest and moved the Post plant to |
Helena where he established the Tri- !
Weekly Republican. The Montana Post I
had been republican newspaper Of /
strong Union Sympathies and Virginia /
City, settled by the left wing of I
General Prices army" was strong for |
secession and the lost cause. This feel
ing helped to cut into the Posts bust
ness and was the principal reason for |
It's removal to Helena where a major
.ty of the electors were republicans
and UnionistS. The removal of the I
Post to Helena made room for a new /
newspaper In Virginia City which was
followed by a dozen more In the course
Of time The old Virginia City Madi-
Sonian gradually absorbed its COM
Oetitors and is still going strong.
But back to Tom Baker. He was an
mique character and deserves more
space in the historical archives of
Montana than his story occupies. In
he early fffties he was an apprentice,
rearing the time when he would be-
,ome tourneyman, in the composing
DOM of the London Times. In those
lays the apprentice was punished cor
)orally for any mistake or tnfraction
# the composing room rules, the most
COMMON method being flogging. Tom
lropped a page form of type, and 1t
vent into ''pi," which meant four or
i've days work to do over again. This
vas major offenSe, and young Baker
new that as soon as the knowledge
# his mishap came to the attention
+ the foreman he would be flogged
Without mercy. So he put on his coat
nd walked down to the docks, slipped
n board sailing vessel about to de-
art, and without any knowledge Of
he ships destination, sailed away for
Amer1ca, a voyage Of several weeks
uration. After few days in the hold
I the ship, hunger drove him out Of
ain and confessed that he was
towaway, and while he got flogging,
e also got to America.
He was a good printer, for the Lon
on Times school Of printing was
evere one, and he had no difficulty
4 finding employment In every city
e visited as he wandered about the
ountry. He gradually worked his way
rest and was In Denver when he
eard of the rich gold discoveries in
1ontana. He Travelled to Montana with
wagon train and arrived in Virginia
lily about the time Tilton purchased
he Montana Post, and found employ
1ent on the new paper. AS he knew
lore about the art preServattve than
ny other printer in the territory, he
peedily became the right hand of
he publisher. He could have written
much better story OF Henry Plum
ler and his bandits than did Dims-
ale, but was too busy enjoying the
elights of one Of the most marvellous
old camps of the world, which was
curing a kings ransom into the laps
f the gold miners every day, and
nost of which was spent every night.
Baker had lost an eye in his early
outh and wore a glass substitute He
an into George Ives, boisterously
runk and looking for trouble. Baker
lad published an item in the Post
hat Ives did not like, for which he
to chastise the Post newsman,
ND UCy,a lrTaovxy t1,n4 moo ooV, F-.ona koI