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The River Press Published every Wednesday Morning by the River Press Publish ing Company. MUST REDUCE RATES. When the news was flashed west ward a week ago, that the court of commerce bad upheld the constitution ality of the long-and-short-haul amendment, there was rejoicing. It was good news. It was news for which the west had waited long. It is true that the court's deoision, while upholding the law itself, tends to up set the ruling of the interstate com merce commission made under that law and affecting the freight rates of this intermountain country in which we live. But appeal has been taken to the supreme court and the question is to be passed upon by that, the high est judicial body of the country. Upon the outcome of this appeal much depends, says the Missoulian. When congress amended the original interstate commerce act, something more than a year ago, by the pro vision that the railroads should not oharge more for a short than for a long haul, it was hoped, by most peo ple, in Montana, that the railroads would not contest the plain and equit able provisions of the new act. Its provisions were so fair and equitable that even traffic managers of the roads themsHv. * v. a compelled to admit the justice of lac law. Their argument had been that they were compelled to make lower rates to the Pacific coast terminals, because of water competition, which was in fact, largely mythical. But the argument of the railroads as to water competition could not ap ply to merchandise and commodities shipped from the great points of dis tribution in the Mississippi valley and westward, where there was no possible water competition in sight. The truth was that the populations of the interior mountain states were numerically weak, and their few rep resentatives in the halls of congress could not muster sufficient strength on roll-call, as against the heavy mem bership from the eastern states, back ed up by the senators and congress men from the Pacific coast states. The selfishness of the extreme eastern and western portions of the United States, as reflected by their members of congress, at Washington, permitted their own immediate territories to be beneficially affected, at the expense of the interior country and left (the rail roads in complete control of the sit uation. Freight rates and transportation cost enter into the daily life of every citizen of Montana. The cost of every article used, whether food, clothiDg, building material, household furniture and commodities of every kind, is largely controlled by the cost of trans portation. So long as Montana dis tributing points are charged freight, rates equal to the full freight rates to the coast, with the additional "back haul" charge added, it is impossible to build up cities in the interior of the country. If the supreme court of the United States sustains the appeal from the decision of the commerce court, it will mean a new dawn of prosperity for all the inter-mountain region. It will mean a million dollars a year lifted from the burden now borne by the citi zenship of Montana, on present freight charges alone. When Senator Dixon first introduc ed the amendment prohibiting trans continental roads from "charging mora for the short haul than for the long haul," Senator Aldrich, who was then leading the opposition to the measure, sneeringly remarked on the floor of the senate, that "Dixon was trying to substitute Missoula for Chi cago." No act of congress can work a miracle in the matter of the upbuild ing of communities, but the passage of the "long and short haul" amendment, and the final upholding of its pro visions by the supreme court of the United States will mean that Missoula, in common with other cities and towns of the west, will distribute commodities to its own people instead of depending upon the distribution from Chicago and other great oenters of the east. ROOSEVELT ON TRUSTS. Freedom from the harassing de mands of publlo office and leisure to devote himself to studious contempla tlon of public affairs combine to pre sent Theodore Roosevelt in a new and attractive light. Evidently the former president has given much thought to the problem of trust regulation, for from his pen come some intelligent and statesman-like suggestions that cannot fail to illuminate the subject According to the opinion of Colonel Roosevelt, embodied in a signed arti cle in the Outlook, the present method of trying to eradicate trusts by means of supreme court prosecutions is hope les9 from the standpoint of working out a permanent, satisfactory solution "Such action is harsh and mischiev ous," he says, "if the corporation is guilty of nothing but its size." That there are good trusts as well as bad ones, and that merely because a business is big it is not necessarily iniqltious, is the conclusion of the former president. Be continues: *'The effort to prohibit all combina tions, good or bad, is bound to fall, and ought to fail; when made it merely means that some of the worst combina tions are not checked and that hone9t business is checked." Colonel Roose velt declares that the present situation is unsatisfactory and cannot be put on a permanently satisfactory basis unless "we put an end to the period of groping and declare for a fixed policy, a policy which will dearly define and punish wrongdoing, which will put a stop to the iniquities done in the name of business. We demand that big business give the poople a square deal; In return we must insist that when anyone engages in big business and honestly endeavors to do right he shall himself be given a square deal; and the first kind of a square deal is to give him in advance full information as to just what he can, and what he cannot legally and properly do." There is still another paragraph in this remarkable utterance that de serves close attention, for it contains the very essence of the case. He writes: "To sum up, than. It is practically impossible, and if possible it would be mischievous and undesir able, to try to break up all combina tions, merely because they are large and successful, and to put the busi ness of the country back into the mid dle of the eighteenth century of intense and unregulated competition between small and weak business concerns. We need to formulate immediately and definitely a policy which, in dealing with big corporations that behave themselves, and which contain no menace save what is necessarily po tential in any corporation which is of great size and very well managed, shall aim not at their destruction, but at their regulation and supervision." Surely here is as masterly a contri bution to trust discussion as has come from the opposition, and it is-consist ently wise and conservative. It is a full swing about from the entire "re form" propaganda of destruction and disruption of all large businees. It Is a frank acknowledgment of the necessity for stability and protection to the business interests of the coun try, and from such a source It should have weight.—Kansas City Journal. NORRIS BOOSTSMONT ANA. is In a symposium of booster articles contributed to Northwest Farmstead by the executives of several western states, Governor Norrls speaks for Montana In part as follows: In its infancy Montana was chris tened the "Treasure state" because of the vast wealth of mineral deposits. Untold millions have been taken from her mines and the industry is still one of monumental proportions, promis to remain so for years to come. If at that time the (nickname was ap propriate, it is quite as fitting today, but in a broader sense. This is indeed "Treasure state," but the treasure that lies near the surface will in the coming years prove of far greater alue than the riches that have been garnered from the greater depths. Ten years ago the term "agricultur al Montana" caused many a smile. Men who were familiar with the state could not believe that a land that had been given over almost exclusively to mining and stock raising would ever take rank among the sections that are classed as contributors to the world's supply of food stuffs. The farmer is here, and here to stay. He is here because experience has demonstrated that the productive soil of the states gives him comfortable returns for his expenditure of labor and money, and his experience is attracting friends from "back home" who are anxious to better their condition. What has Montana to offer the settler? There is a large amount of public land that is open to entry under the federal government's liberal home stead laws. A great area of land heretofore con sidered valuable only for grazing pur poses, is now known to be of value as agricultural land, and this may be purchased on reasonable terms. The state owns a very large acreage and this can be had at a reasonable price and on favorable terms whenever public sales are held. There are thousands of acres that have long been held by private indi viduals as grazing lands. The changed conditions In the stock raising indue try have made it advisable for owners who cannot cultivate their large acre age to cut It up into small tracts and offer it to the homeseeker at a fair valuation. There are lands being reclaimed by the state under the terms of the Carey land act, and lands embraced in the new government irrigation projects These all may be hsd on fair terms with payments extending over a long period of years. As a general prop osition the soil is very productive, the yield being from 50 to 100 per cent greater than that of the soils of the older states. The school system is admirable, its institutions, both public and priveate being maintained at the highest point of efficiency. The state supports In addition to its university and kindred institutions, a splendid agricultural college, and through its central and branch experiment stations it is con tinually Kiving the farmer object les sons in the best method of cultiva tion. SEATTLE HAS WATER FAMINE Flood Caused Breakage in Pipe of Municipal Plant. Seattle, Nov . 21.—-After fifteen days of almost continuous storm, fine weather prevailed in western Wash ington today, with no rain io sight. In a financial way the damage done by winds and floods was small. The railroads expect to have all their lines in operation tonight or tomorrow morning. The greater part of the city of Seattle will be without water, how ever, until Saturday night, owing to the breakage of the pipe that carries the city water supply across the river. Seattle's water famine, at first a subject of jest, has now become alarm ing. All of Seattle's principal resi dence section is deprived of water. The schools are closed and hospitals, apartmeut houses and fashionable hotels on the bills are without water and steam heat. Water is being hauled to the hotels and hospitals in street department wagons. Private householders can obtain water by go ing to the reservoirs which still hold a few days' supply for the downtown district. Mayor Dilling has requested manu facturers to discontinue the use of city water. The water in the reser voirs will last three days, and the city engineer promises that before the ex piration of that time the pipeline from Cedar river will be repaired. Orders were given today to connect the old Lake Washington pumping station with the main pressure pipes. This is inadequate to supply the city, but would be of great value in case of Are in the downtown district. Flood Excavates Canal. Bellingham , Nov. 21. —A freak of the flood in the Skagit river has done work contemplated by the United States government at a cost of a mil lion dollars and a year's labor of big engine crews and it was done in 24 houra without a cent of cost. The storm cut through Sterling bend, about Mount Vernon, Skagit county, where a channel now runs 300 feet wide and 20 feet deep. For 17 years the federal government has considered this improvement and many surveys have been made. The cut off Is through a neek of land 80 rods wide and shortens the distance from Mount Vernon to Sedro Wooley three and a half miles, giving a good steamboat channel where a long and dangerous one existed before. Packers Seek Delay. Chicago , Nov. 21. — Counsel for nine Chicago packers Indicted for criminal violation of the Sherman aw, prepared to seek delay in their trial today when they appealed to the United States supreme court on an order of United States Circuit Court Judge Kohlsaat quashing their pleas for writs of habeas corpus. With the trial of the indicted meat packers set for tomorrow in District Judge Carpenter's court, government lawyers kept close watch today for any surprise counsel for the defend ants might reveal. That there was a surprise in store was the belief of the government counsel. District attor ney James H. Wilkerson announced that the government was ready to proceed with the trial. "We will try to defeat any further plans for de lay," he declared. Want Pure Clothing. Salt Lake, Nov. 20.— "What is all wool?" may take precedence over the time-worn question, "What Is whiskey?" if congress heeds the de mand about to be made upon it by the dry goods dealers. The attention of local merchants has been invited by influential persons in the trade to a movement for a "pure textile" law. It is proposed that an "all wool" suit that cannot show direct descent from the back of a sheep and "silk stockings" whose lineage cannot be traced unbrokenly to a cocoon shall bear the bar sinister in the form of a label showing the exact materials used in their manufacture. This legislation is suggested by the success of the pure food law, and it is argued that the consumer of textile goods is as deserving of protection against adulterated and mlsbranded goods as the buyer of chlckory coffee and cottonseed olive oil. Shot Up the Church. Muskoobb , Okla , Nov. 21.— The congregation of the Presbyterian church at Parkhlll, with one accord, dropped to their knees last night in the midst of the closing prayer, some even going so far as to completely prostrate themselves between the pews, but the action was not caused by the earnestness and eloquence of the min ister. It followed the arrival of two unknown men who whooped into the church, shot out the lights and sprayed a rain of bullets over the beads of the congregation. When the fusliade ceased, the con gregatlon rushed home for firearms and pursued the two men, but they escaped without being identified. The Natural Home of Alfalfa. Billings, Nov. 21.— In a world of competition, Dr. W. X. Suddutb of Broadview, exhibiting Yellowstone valley alfalfa, won the 11,000 cup offered for the best display of alfalfa and its products at the great Ameri can Land & Irrigation exposition held at Madison Square Garden, New York, which closed on November 12. This was one of the nine large prizes given. For the winning of this prize by the Yellowstone valley, Montana can feel justly proud, as alfaifa is grown the world over and is the chief forage crop wherever grown. The Yellowstone valley is the pion eer in alfalfa raising in the northwest. It was first grown here as an experi ment about 1882 and today there are hundreds of thousands of acres In this valley alone, and it is grown in all parts of Montana and the entire northwest. Alfalfa is absolutely the greatest forage crop known, and the Yellowstone valley Is its natural home. It is a natural fertilizer and prepares the ground ideally for sugar beets. Here we get three cutting's per year, yielding from five to seven tons per acre, and leaving good pasture, yield ing good returns on $300 an acre land. Benton "Stables. If", 1 HILAIRE LABARRE. Prop'r. Livery, Sale and Feed Stables. Light and Heavy Tnrnonts by the day, week or month. FINE TEAMS A SPECIALTY. Horses, Wagons, Baggies and Harness on hand at all time*, and for sale at reasonable prices. SLENTEBPR18E .. .RESTAURANT LOUIE & CO.. Proprietors Front 8tr««t - Fort Benton C. C. CHAMBEKS & Co GRAIN MILL FEED SCREENINGS We have had twenty years experience in the grain business, and can get the top market on all consignments. 304 CORN EXCHANGE MINNEAPOLIS, :: MINNESOTA COMING TO FORT BENTON FAMOUS TRUSS EXPERT SPECIAL IST WILL BE AT THE CHO TEAU HOUSE WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 ONE DAY ONLY Remarkable success of this talented expert in Atting and retaining ruptures OFFERS HIS SERVICES FREE RUPTURE IS CURABLE says Seeley of Chicago, the noted rup ture expert who fitted the Czar of Rus si a with a Seeley, Spermatic Shield TRUSS. The SPERMATIC SHIELD TRUSS i now used and approved by the United States government will not only retain any case of Rupture per fectly affording immediate relief but Closes the Opening in Ten Days on the average case. The peculiar anatomical construction of the Sperm atic Shield Pad adopted by the noted Rupture Expert, Dr. F. H. Seeley of Chicago, will gladly be shown free of charge and fitted if desired by the ex perienced Truss Specialist, Mr. A. R. Goodale. Many original references open to any one for inspection. No matter what others may have told you, no matter what experience you may have had with the common trade trusses, it will be to your advan tage to see him at once. Have it for ever settled in your mind. If your case is incurable he will give you such advice as may relieve and stay the rupture. Do not put off this duty you owe yourself or friends or relatives who are suffering because of your trouble, as a visit this time will help you. Remember, this free offer is for day only. Married ladies must come with their husbands and minors with their pa rents. All charity cases fitted without charge. Lady assistant. Hours a. m. to 8 I WERE KING "I would tell every housewife and every maid, every baker and everyone* of the goodness of REX FLOUR. I wou Id order them to try it next bak ing day that happi ness and content-' ment might reign in the kitchen, the dining room, all over the house and in the shop J For Sale by All Grocers Has been made practicable by the recent improvements in elec trical machinery and lamps. You can produce electricity on your ranch cheaper than you can buy it from a public service company in town. The price of the equipment is within reach of all. Call and let me quote you price of plant installed, and you will be convinced that you cannot afford to be without one. <*» Made by The Royal Milling Company Great Palls, Montana ELECTRIC LIGHT FOR YOUR RANCH BUILDINGS GENERAL AUTOMOBILE REPAIR WORK W. F. WILFORD, Fort Benton MM THE NEW MODERN AND UP-TO-DATE CHOTEAU HOUSE JERE SULLIVAN, Prop'r MM FORT BENTON, MONT r - In a hurry it saves your time À Mfk. «TED At your leisure it provides a social diversion The Mountain States Tel. & Tel Co. MINAR'S DRUG STORE First Established in 1881. The celebrated Squibbs line of Drugs and Medicines used in com pounding Prescriptions. WHEN SICK YOU WANT THE BEST Send us your Mail Orders