The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-08-06
BY JOHN STAHLBERG


project had at least slim chance t
accomplish something worth while, s
long as it's supervision remained part
ly in the hands of people who re
garded it as a job to be done rattle
than as a cross between a picnic an,
a pension. There were few sucl
people in the Washington office,
few more scattered among the states
1t was their devoted labor and moth
| ing else that kept the American Guide
series evolving into something no
altogether stupid and contemplate
The Idaho guide, pushed to compile
ton by Woodworking Yards Fisher
was the first state guide to reach
print. 1t displayed a hundred faults
but each one served as a warning to
the writer's and editors in other
states; and in general 1t was mag
nificently written.
In July 1897 the Washington staff
ordered a sweeping revision of the
accumulated copy in state files. The
Montana book was at that time more
than 100000 words too long; was in
correct in form; was full of startling
inaccuracies. | was appointed editor
and ordered to cut wordage without
losing anything essential; to achieve
raciness and color in the copy; to cor
rect the form and make the book
factually accurate; but, above all, to
get it done.
| took the assignment seriously
and learned at once that | was the
only person on the Montana staff who
did. Even the new director was in
terested chiefly in the final three
words of our instructions. The i'm
portant thing to him was publicity
getting the book on the market, with
his name in it. Accuracy in such
publication, he argued amusedly-in
the presence of the staff-was merely
a dream of Washington editors who
had no conception of western reali-
ties.
There were 10 people on the project
in Montana-13 people to cover an
area of nearly 100000 square miles
and check, without error, all facts of
its history, geography, industry, cul-
Lure, physical appearance, and so on.
All important motor routes land they
made up more than half the subject
natter of the book had been covered
once; no money was available for
irving over them again. Convinced
If the futility of further attempts at
ield work, the director discharged our
'emaining field writer's and hired Of
ice help in their places.
Now, it is easy to ascertain and re-
,ort the date when Lewis and Clark |
,amped at particular spot, or when
party Of prospectors discovered this
IT that famous deposit of gold, for |
hey left some sort of record of their
LONGS. 1t is not so easy to write a
'ivid, convincing description of a
landscape which one has never seen.
The tours therefore were hardest to
write; they required mass of color
ul details about the countryside. |
such details, when lacking in early
opy, could be obtained with diff
ulty If at ALL | wrote several descrip-
ions from photographs or drawings
n few instances as in the treat
lent of the farming country around
levna (Tour II, PIP. 1867 of the
uide), | was reduced to writing de-
criptions from memory of places
ctually known to me which, | de- |
Ided after careful study of available {
alta, closely resembled the areas in
lestion. And throughout, | was
amstrung by two convictions shared
y the director with the whole staff:
ID That the standard l insisted upon !
as impractical and out of reach; (2)
hat nothing worth telling about {
tisted east of Great Falls anyway {
The second objection | met by con-
antly repeating that twothirds of
Ir area was east of Great Falls, and 9
lat it was our job to describe what /
cd had put there, not to decide what G
might be worth. But the first one
as tougher baby, partly because "
was nursed by the director, my '
Iperior; partly because it supported !
I'd encouraged the natural inclina- /
on of our writers" to dawdle end i