The Billings gazette. [volume], August 24, 1909, Page 2, Image 2

About The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
SBIt.iNGS GiAZETTE
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Nuisance to Be Abated
W HATEVER may be said of the college fraternity, but little
can be said regarding attempts at similar organizations in
the high schools and the efforts being made by educators in
general and school superintendent in particular to stamp out the
fraternities and sororities should be generally commended.
The college fraternity undoubtedly has its uses. The young
man who is far from home and the social influences of his own
town would be doomed to many lonely hours were it not for the
associations afforded by his "frat" and so long as loyalty to his fra
ternity is not allowed to encroach upon loyalty to his school, but
little can be said against the fraternity. The college men, bound by
tradition, hold that a man cannot be any more welcome to the fra
ternity than he is in the athletics of his school, unless his scholarship
is up to the standard.
In the case of the high school fraternity, there are to be found
none of the reasons that can be quoted in support of,the college fra
ternity. The youth is at home and all of the ordinary social ad
vantages of the town are at his command. Even the excuse that the
fraternity operates to prevent the seeking of relaxation in possibly
questionable ways, cannot be urged in the case of high school fra
ternities.
The fraternity and sorority are simply instruments for the
cultivation of snobbery. They are destructive to the true democracy
upon which our common school system is based. In practical ex
perience it is found that in the majority of cases, the callow youth
feels that his first duty is to his "frat" instead of to his school, and
naturally the result is destructive to the discipline upon which the
school must depend.
The absurdity of a lot of fledglings, who do not know the Greek
alphabet, assuming to adopt a Greek letter for the name of their or
ganization is obvious. When high school girls talk cf their organ
i7ation as a "fraternity" it would lead one to think that it was time
that an end to the snobbish nonsense should be put at once.
The steps being taken by the Chicago school authorities looking
toward the abolition of such organizations in the city schools, are
to be commended and it is to be hoped that the example will be
generally followed throughout the country. While it might be re
garded as harsh to order the exclusion from the schools of any memn
ber of a fraternity or sorority, still if that is the only way to abate
a nuisance, that mode of procedure should be pursued.
Senator Carter in calling attention to
Great the difference between the settler of today
and the pioneer of a score or more years
Advantages ago, and the tremendous advantage pos
Of Today sessed by the man of today, gives to those
of the newcomers who are disposed to
grumnble because things are not as might be
looked for in the thickly settled portions of the east, something to
think about.
The pioneer of twenty or thirty years ago, came into the wilder
ness. He found trails where now exist well-kept highways; he
freighted anything which he had to sell, for long distance on wagons,
and in the main he depended upon his claim to produce for him only
a living, with incidental feed for his stock which when grown and
fattened, he could drive to a remote market for sale. He seldom got
any mail and it was only occasionally that he saw a newspaper.
Today the settler has rail communication close at hand; he finds
market points convenient; cities and towns with their amusements,
their churches, schools and libraries. Uncle Sam's mail carriers
drive past his door delivering the daily paper and the mail up to
the minute. lie has the benefit of the telephone and in many in
stances, of the electric light, while all about him lie finds the pioneer
w ho is ready and willing to give to him.the benefit of experiences
that are worth much to the settler.
There is today no wild west. The farmer in Montana has all
of the advantages of the farmer of any other section of the country,
advantages in fact that are greater than those enjoyed by the urban
dwellers of two decades ago.
The man who comes to Montana to settle upon its rich lands,
need not fear that he will be called upon to endure any of the
hardship and trial incident to pioneer life.
Contracts have been let for the construction of two powerful
battleships to cost more than $(,000,000 each. Montana does not take
as much interest in this announcement as it does in the declared
intention of the owners of the Rosebud ditch, to extend their system
in order to bring another slice of rich land near Miles City into
cultivation.
Canada will be decidedly welcome to the coming Dry Farming
congress, and Montanans will be pleased to inspect that carload of
exhibits from Canadian dry farms. Montana can show some good
things in the way of dry land products, and if Canada can make a
better showing, we will all take off our hats to her.
Some of the marine officers mixed up in the Sutton case are
censured for neglect of duty Ibut are excusedl because of youth and
inexperience. Youth and inexperience as excuses for big "jags" is
a new one even in naval circles.
Harry Thaw thinks that the justice who sent him back to ani
asylum, has poor judgment. That ought to keep Justice Mills and
District Attorney Jerome "hitched"' for some time.
Growth Has Been Healthy
A CCORDING to the very conservative estimate of the direc
tory people, Billings now has a population of 15,160, an in
crease over that of two years ago of 2,500. Every one of th(
people who have been added to the citizenship of the commercia:
metropolis of the valley during the time mentioned, is a permanent
resident who has found that Billings is the place in which he desired
to establish a home.
It must be remembered that two years ago Billings was under
going the only semblance of a boom that it has ever known in its his
tory. The great Huntley reclamation project was just being opened
and a large number of people had been attracted to the west by th.
chance to get land. A large proportion of these homeseekers mad(
their headquarters in Billings and were counted in the city's popula.
tion. Then again the great sugar factory had just been established
and people had flocked here in the expectation of a boom.
There is no question that a fair proportion of the people whe
were counted in the population of Billings two years ago were merel.
transients, and the fact that the permanent population of the city to.
day shows material increase over that of two years ago with the tran.
sients counted in, would indicate that the growth of the city has beer
relatively larger than would appear from the figures quoted.
Billings has but entered upon its era of growth, and that growth
is a decidedly healthy one, for there have been no causes to provoke
a boom. With the constant accretions to the population now in prog
ress, there is every indication that when the federal census is taken it
will be found that the figures given out by the directory people will
be considerably increased.
That advertising pays, no one in this
Lar.e age doubts. Advertising, however, must
be thorough, in order to be effective. A
Advertisers horse traveling five miles an hour will
Succeed carry a person 100 miles-but when one
.wants to travel that distance, one takes a
train, and covers the same distance in three
hours that would take the animal twenty to travel.
So with advertising.
The men who have made the biggest success have been the big
gest advertisers.
The only method merchants may employ to reach direct into the
homes of the people is through the newspaper advertising columns.
Different systems have been followed, and all have been tried, but
for results, the newspaper has no equal.
The men who transact the largest business in New York have
built up trade through the advertising columns of the daily press.
An idea of the amount of money expended may be gained from the
following compiled table which shows the amount of money spent
each month for newspaper advertising for eleven of the largest
business concerns in New York:
The Siegel-Cooper Co............ ...........................................$32,052.31
John W anam aker ........................................................................ 30,273.83
The Simpson-Crawford Co.......................... ............ 20,406.96
The Fourteenth Street Store ................................................ 25,402.24
R . H . M acy & Co...................................... ........ 21,193.03
H earn .......................................................... 20,412.45
Bloomingdale Bros. 18,677.28
The Adams-O'Neill Co ...................................... 17,499.14
E hrich B ros ........ 14,201.23........................................
Saks & Co.......................... ........ 13,912.97
Rnthanhprer & Co . .................................... 12.488.84
.., .lV 1 .,.=,.tL.g C . . ........................ ...... . . . . .., . ..
If one will pick up a New York newspaper, one may pick out
the largest stores without having seen them, by searching through
the columns of the papers to ascertain which firms carry' the largest
advertisement.
Some of the firms in New York have been in business for a
period of time greater than the span of an ordinary life, and each
year they increase the advertising appropriation.
There are likewise some firms that have only been in business in
the metropolis for compartively few years, and these firms in some
cases transact a larger volume of business than some of the older
ones. The secret of the success of the new concerns lies in the fact
that they have been the heaviest advertisers-that they have kept
their goods before the people constantly, and they have devoted
greater space in explaining not only Iwhat they have 'to offer, but
the prices for which the goods may be purchased.
As in New York, so in Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Boston
and Denver.
It is the same everywhere.
Advertising pays, for the most successful men are the largest
patrons of the newspapers.
There is no question of the correct
Complaint ness of the remark made by Secretary Bal
linger that so long as there are public lands
May Be to be administered there will be complaints,
Lo ed , and the reason for this is not far to seek.
Many of the settlers upon the lands of the
west are from the cities of the land, or at
the best from the small farms of the eastern and central regions of the
country. The small eastern farmer has been accustomed to plowing
his land at a certain time, not that he understands why the land
should be plowed then any more than at any other time, but because
his father did that before him. lie then planted his seed and waited
for his crop to grow and mature, when he harvested it and sent it to
market. Naturally the scientific preparation of the soil, the irriga
tion of the crop at the time when moisture was needed, and the with
holding of the water when moisture could best be dispensed with,
are all new things to him and it may be expected, unless he is more
reasonable than is the average man, that things will appear wrong
to him.
Nothing but the knowledge born of experience will put an end
to fault-finding and when once the settler learns how to irrigate he
will become one of the most enthusiastic boosters for that method of
agriculture that could be found.
Public sentiment in favor of good roads is being made and
although this has not crystalized to the point where the hoped for
results are manifest still something has been gained. Keep up the
agitation until Yellowstone county has the best system of highways
to be found in the west. There is money in good roads for both the
farmer and the merchant.
PATERSON ENDS PINClUOT
CONTROVERSY IN CONGRESS
His Resolution Passes
Trans-Mississippi
Congress
DIVISION OF LAND
Demands Law for Division of Agri.
cultural, Mineral and Forest Lands
-Income Tax Favored-Answer to
Rate Question Lies in Making Navi.
gable Inland Waterways.
E'NVER, Colo., Aug. 20.
The agitation over the Colo
rado forest reserves and the
activities of Gifford Pinchot broke
into open fire before the trans
Mississippi congress this after
noon and after a hot debate a res
olution calling on congress for a
law declaring for a division of
the agricultural, mineral and for
est lands, was passed.
The resolution was the one pre
sented by former Senator Patter
son of Colorado. It has been in
committee for two days and the
feeling was abroad in congress
that it was an overt attack on
Pinchot and this assertion was
made on the floor by Frank Gow
dy of Denver, who opposed the
action. Mr. Patterson said he had
no intention of attaching Mr.
Pinchot and wanted merely a
statement once and for all of the
Pinchot controversy in which it
had been charged that Mr. Pin
chot had overlooked technicalities
in reserving forest lands.
Instantly the floor was alive with
prospective speakers for and against
the resolution and it continued to be
so until Mr. Gowdy offered an amend
ment commending the forestry poli
cies of the administration. This was
accepted by Mr. Patterson and in turn
Mr. Gowdy accepted the Patterson
resolution. Both were passed and this
effectively, it is believed, stopped the
forestry dispute which has been the
factor most feared through the ses
sion.
The resolutions committee present
ed a partial report and the clauses
on the following subjects were
adopted:
That the income tax measure be
come a law.
That a tariff commission of experts
be placed in service.
That congress pass a law regulat
ing the use of grazing lands.
That Alaska be given territorial
government.
That congress pass a law prevent
ing the collection of a federal liquor
revenue in prohibition territory.
That aid be extended to American
shipping.
The principal speaker of the after
noon was Governor Hadley of Mis
souri, who dealt with the rate ques
tion in his state. Governor Hadley
declared that the railway rebates and
not the tariff is the mother of the
trusts. He said that one man was
responsible for placing the blame
where it belonged and for putting a
quietus on the rate evil with such
force that it has not shown its head
since, and that man was Roosevelt.
He said he was not in favor of gov
ernment ownership of railroads but
he said he had rather see government
ownership of railroads than the gov
ernment owned by the railroads.
He closed his address by declaring
that he believed the answer to the
rate question lies in making navigable
the inland waterways.
tne inzanu waLertwaye.
No Complaint Heard
in Sun River Section
Senatorial Committee Continues on to
the Milk River Country Where
Improvements Are Planned.
HELENA, Aug. 21.-A special to
the Record from Culbertson says
that the senate irrigation committee
arrived there in its special train this
morning after having covered 120
miles in an automobile yesterday in
making a personal inspection of the
Sun River projects, where it was
found the settlers were highly pleas
ed with the operation. Bountiful
crops are being raised and no com
plaints were registered.
Today is being spent in the Milk
River valley between Culbertson and
Havre. This stream is to be aug
mented by the flow from St. Mary's
river and the committee received
numerous delegations at Glasgow,
Chinook, Harlem and other cities who
urged the hasty completion of the
great undertaking. Conditions in the
Milk River valley proper were found
most favorable. The commnittee will
reach Havre tonight and thence pro
ceed westward, visiting St. Mary's
Lake.
KILLED BY LIGHTNING.
LIMA, Mont.. Aug. 20.-Under a
high hill beneath a pine three Stephen
Cook, a sheepman, 12 miles from
Lima found the dead body of one of
his herders yesterday. The man evi
dently had been struck by lightning.
M.f name is -1-W.nm
CENSUS SH1OWS A
LARGE INCREASE
According to Figures of B. L. Polk
Directory, Billings Has Over
15,000 Population.
IS FIFTH IN THE STATE
Mipsoula Has Outstripped This City In
Growth During the Past Two Years
While County of Yellowstone Is
Ahead of All Others.
From Saturday's Daily.
The work of taking the city census
for use in the new directory of R. L.
Polk & Co: is now completed and in
a few days the Billings office of the
concern will be able to announce the
exact figures. Yesterday the work of
classifying the names was begun and
it is expected that within a week the
list of names will be ready for the
printer and that the new directory
will appear shortly afterwards.
According to estimates based on the
number of individuals whose names
begin with "A," and this method has
never failed to get a result within 100
of the actual count, Billings has a
population of 15,160; a gain of over
2,500 during the past two years, and
fully in keeping with the estimate
made by C. X. Thompson of the com
pany when the work of taking the
census was first begun. The com
pany will, however, be able to an
nounce the exact number within a
week.
Billings is, according to Mr. Thop
son, the fifth city in the state. It has
been a question for some time as to
whether or not Billings was larger
than Missoula, but the new Missoula
directory which has just been pub
lished and a copy of which is now
filed in the directory library at the
Chamber of Commerce, credits the
town to the west with 20,250; a fig
ure nearly as great as the estimate
of the population of Great Falls. Mis
soula has made a gain of greater per
cent than any other city in the state
during the past two years.
Butte is of course the largest city
in the state, having a population of
75,520; Helena comes next with 24,
246 and the estimated populations of
other cities are: Kalispell, 10,000;
Livingston, 8,500; Miles City, 7,800;
Bozeman, 7,500.
According to Mr. Thompson every
section of the state has grown at an
astonishing rate during the past two
years and the prospects are that the
eastern part of the state will about
double in population during the next
five years. The greatest growth by
counties has been in Yellowstone
county, which is largely accounted for
by the way in which Laurel, Broad
view, Huntley and Hardin have pros
pered, and by the number of new
settlers who have made their homes
in the Lake Basin country and on the
ceded portion of the reservation. Car
bon county has shown the second
largest percentage of growth and oth
er counties of the eastern part of the
state have made more progress than
those of the western.
The taking of the official United
States census will begin some time
next month but the population of the
various cities and counties will not
be determined for months to come.
CLARK REFUSES TO TALK.
HELENA, Aug. 20.-Former Sen
ator W. A. Clark is a Helena visitor.
He was asked last night if he was to
be a candidate for the United States
senate again, but refused to talk poll
tics.
COME TO
BILLINGS
W E HAVE a bargain for you at the
right price and on easy terms.
Things are moving again, more sales in
the past ten days than in six months be
fore. 1 his means an advance in values
very soon and you cannot afford to de
lay. Let us sell you some town lots,
acre tracts, a home, business building
or a farm. We are buying and selling
real estate for everybody all the time,
adding value to your property and would
like to have your business. Come in.
NORT INVESTMENT COMPANY
Opposite Court House Billings, Montana
NOVEL FEATURES
FOR CONGRESS
Chorus of Children Will Have Im.
portant Part in Opening of
* Great Gathering.
CAREFUL SELECTION
Director of Musie in the City Schools
Will Pick Voices from the Several
City Schools.-A Living Flag Has
Been Suggested.
From Sunday's Daily.
With the voices of 200 Billings
school children blending in the har
monies of a patriotic anthem, the
fourth Dry Farming congress will be
opened next October 26 with an
unique feature, arrangements for
which were made yesterday by Sec
retary John T. Burns.
Miss Hildegard Palmstrom, super
intendent of music in the public
schools of this city, who has just re
turned from Silesia, Mont., to pre
pare for the opening of the new
school year, will begir selecting the
children who are to take part in the
chorus as soon as school opens and
will start training the chorus imme
diately thereafter.
The chorus will be made up of 200
children in the grades up to and in
cluding the eighth. Miss Palmstrom
has had great success in training and
conducting children's choruses and is
confident that, with the voices to se
lect from in the Billings schools, she
can develop a juvenile musical or
ganization which will be a source of
pride to the city.
Superintendent Nye of the Billings
schools, has been deeply interested in
the work of the Dry Farming con
gress and desired *to have the school
children have some active part in the
entertainment of the distinguished
visitors who will be the guests of
Montana during the week of the con
gress. He has held several confer
ences with Secretary Burns recently
and as a result the children's chorus
idea was developed.
There will be two numbers sung by
the chorus at the opening session of
the congress on the morning of Octo
ber 26. They will be "America" and
"The Star Spangled Banner."
A number of details have been sug
gested for the chorus, such as hav
ing the children dressed in the na
tional colors and arranged on the
stage so that the colors of their gar
ments would combine to form a liv
ing flag; having all the children car
ray small flags with which to lead
the audience in giving a patriotic sa
lute to the officers of the congress as
they appear upon the stage, and other
ideas for adding to the striking ef
fect of the appearance of the chorus,
but these details will be considered
and worked out or changed under the
direction of the conductor of the
chorus.
HEAD.ON COLLISION.
From Saturday's Daily.
Northern Pacific train No. 1 was
about seven hours late in reaching
this city yesterday as the result of a
head-on collision which occurred a
few miles east of Glendive yesterday
morning. It seems that a stock train
carrying cattle to the eastern market
disputed the right to the main track
with the result that he limied crash
ed into it.. No one was seriously in
jured.