The Ronan pioneer. [volume], April 27, 1917, Image 5

About The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
GOVERNOR NAMES
DEFENSE COUNCIL
PURPOSE IS WAR PREPARATION
AND CO-ORDINATIONS OF
STATE'S RESOURCES.
Will Work in Connection and Under
the Direction of the National
Council of Defense; Is Result of
the St. Louis Conference Called by
the Government.
The Montana council of defense
has been created by Governor Stew
art. The state council will work in
corporation and under the direction
of the national council of defense,
of which the secretary of war is the
chairman. Those nc.med to serve on
the council are as follows:
B. C. White, Buffalo; Norman B.
Holter, Helena; Charles J. Kelly,
Butte; Charles D. Greenfi hi, Hel
Mrs. Tyler B. Thompson, Who Has
Been Named by Governor Stewart
on the State Council of Defense.
ena; J. E. Edwards, Forsyth; Will
A. Campbell, Helena; Mrs. Tyler
Thompson, Missoula; Edward C. El
liott, Helena. Governor Stewart is
ex-officio chairman.
Its Purpose.
The council is created for the pur
pose of war preparation in the co-or
dination of the resources and ener
gies of the state and nation. The na
tional council is ready to co-operate
and advise the state council and the
latter is to be made up of represen
tatives of the various resources of
the state.
To Advance Farm Products.
The council will likely consider the
means necessary to advance the
farming projects of Montana; how
more acreage may be planted, trans
portation of seed and how production
may be stimulated.
The council was appointed after a
report of the conference at St. Louis
with Secretary of Agriculture Hous
ton had been made to Governor
Stewart by President Hamilton of
the Bozeman Agricultural college
and Commissioner Greenfield of the
department of agriculture and pub
licity.
LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY'S
BANNER YEAR WAS 1916
The year just past was the banner
year of the livestock industry, ac
cording to the report of D. W. Ray
mond, secretary of the state livestock
board, made at the Miles City meet
ing of stockmen. Over 30,000 head
more cattle were shipped to eastern
markets than in any previous year.
Tax records accounted for 1,042,006
head of cattle in the state, and 8,200
new brands were recorded during the
year. . Mr. Raymond is of the opin
ion that livestock losses during the
past winter have been exaggerated,
and estimated the loss at seven per
cent, which is four per cent in ex
cess of normal. The loss was heavi
est in Dawson county and among cat
tle shipped into the state last fall.
INSURANCE COMPANIES
DISCUSS WAR RATES
Life insurance companies of Amer
ica are confronted with the necessity
of adopting means of protecting
themselves from possible heavy war
losses, without impeding the enlist
ment of men who wish to serve their
country in the present war with Ger
many. The various companies, all
of whom are vitally interested in
finding a solution to the problem, are
co-operating and through the nation
al association of insurance companies
have addressed queries to the many
firms throughout the country, in
cluding the Montana insurance men,
asking for suggestions.
A German Republic.
Count von Reventlow, writing to
an Amsterdam newspaper, says that
unless Germany wins the German
monarchy cannot endure.
WHY PAY MORE THAN
60c PER ACRE FOR YOUR
HAIL INSURANCE?
This Company wrote a larger line
of HAIL INSURANCE last year
than any other Company operating
In Montana. We wrote over $2,00.
000 for more than 2,000 farmers
They are satisfied. WHY PAY
MORE?. Write for full Information.
MONTANA EQUITY
MUTUAL HAIL & FIRE
INSURANCE COMPANY
27-28-29-80-81 Tod Block.
GREAT FALLS MONTANA.
Sun River Hoped to Rival Minneapolis
Pioneer Town Laughed at Pretensions of Great Falls to Become Even a Village,
and Saw Itself as Mighty Milling Center of a Vast Wheat Growing District.
Thirty-three years' ago Sun River
was one of the livest towns of north
Sern Montana, and its citizens
laughed at the pretensions of a vil
lage which had just been planted by
Senator Paris Gibson and named
Great Falls. "A good range for cat
tle," they said, "but who would want
to live there whn they can come to
1 Sun River."
The idea of buying property there
was considered by the Sun River folk
as a joke. They considered that
i there was room for only one good
town in that district, and they had
no doubt that that town was going
to be Sun River.
- There exists today, as a relic of
old Sun River, a copy of the first is
sue of the Sun River Sun, printed on
fine white silk, bearing the date Feb
ruary 14, 1884. It is the property of
Lee M. and Shirley S. Ford, having
been purchased by their father, Rob
ert S. Ford, for $100 at an auction
sale years ago, and its columns re
flect the life of the town in that day,
its business and social activities and
its hopes for the future. The editor,
*4As David B. Hall, and the business
manager Will Hanks. Mr. Hanks
was subsequently converted to the
belief that Great Falls had possibili
ties as a city, and he was prominent
in the early history of the latter
place in subsequent years. He is
still a resident of Montana.
Sun River had aspirations to be
come the Minneapolis of Montana,
and the editors of the Sun in their
first issue did not hesitate to pro
phecy that Northern Montana would
become a great wheat raising section,
with a vast flour milling industry
t at Sun River.
Saw Agricultural Empire.
This is what they saw as a future
for their community:
I "Between the Sun River and the
r Missouri, a distance of 15 miles, is
- some of the finest agricultural land
s in Montana. A company has been
organized that purposes to bring out
a ditch next summer for Sun River
at a point somewhere above Fort
Shaw, which will irrigate all the best
of this immense tract. Another
company will take out an immense
e ditch from the North Fork that will
e irrigate all that plain bounded on the
- north and east by the Teton, and on
f the south and west by the Sun and
Missouri rivers. This great stretch
of fertile land is destined to become
the chief grain producing region of
0 Montana.
e "Thousands of acres of this land
V have been located this winter, and as
soon as the spring opens scores of
n land hunters will be there locating
homes, so that in a few years we may
a expect to pass through a succession
s of wheat fields on our way from Sun
River to the Teton or Fort Benton.
r It will be the same between the Sun
f River and the Missouri-wheat
e fields on every side. Sun River will
e then be the natural trade center of
- all this agricultural wealth. Flour
ing mills will then be erected capable
of doing as good work as is done in
any portion of the United States. And
with the wheat grower and miller
will come the consumer. Factories
of various kinds will be built along
Sun River, utilizing its tremendous
waterpower.
"Our retail merchants of today
r will become wholesale dealers and
- will supply the country stores that
- will spring up in every direction.
0 Sun River will become the seat of a
- new county that will rival its sisters
1 in prosperity and wealth."
nasuory 01 muL nixver.
Something of the history of the
Sun River valley is told in article
contributed to this issue of the Sun,
which is worth reprinting:
"The beautiful stream that flows
through this valley is called by the
Piegan Indians 'Natoe-osucti,' which,
according to Lewis and Clerk, means 0
Sun River or Medicine River, hence c
the name which explorers gave it
and which our town and the valley
bear today. It would be impossible
to write even so brief an outline his- r
tory of this town and valley without
mentioning the names of two of the
men who have been identified with r
it from its first settlement until now.
We will give a brief sketch of each:
"Mr. John Largent, Sun River's r
first settler, was born in Virginia,
and came to Montana in 1862, and 8
entered the service of the American
Fur company at Fort Benton. Leav
ing that service he prospected some
during the early mining excitement
of this territory, and in company
with John Wren, now of Choteau,
started for British Columbia by way r
of Edmonton on the Sasketchewan
river of the north. They arrived
at the latter river entirely destitute, *
the Indians having stolen their U
horses. They bar-mined there that
season and then started back toward
Benton, having given up the idea of
going to British Columbia. They
finally arrived at Benton after an ab
sence of nearly two years of hardship
and suffering which few have en
dured.
"In 1867 Mr. Largent came to this
place and opened a general store and
lodging house for the accomodation
of travelers between Virginia City
and the head of navigation, Fort
Benton. In 1875 he sold out his
store and other property here to
George Steell, reserving only the
homesteads on which his present
dwelling stands, which was the first
building erected here. In connection
with John J. Healy, in 1867-8, he
built the present Sun River bridge,
his interest in which he sold to Mr.
Steell with his store and other prop
erty.
Story of George Steell.
"Mr. George Steell is a Canadian
by birth and came to Montana in
1857, and, like Mr. Largent, entered *
the service of the American Fur com
pany, taking charge of their trading
posts at Fort Benton and remaining
there in that service until 1864,
when he went into business with
Matthew Carroll, forming the firm
of Carroll & Steell of Fort Benton.
The firm gradually worked into a
heavy freighting business, and in
1871 the firm of Carroll & Steell dis
solved and they joined Ed Maclay
and C. A. Broadwater, forming the
famous Diamond R. company, which
became one of the largest transpor
tation companies in the west. In
1871 Mr. Steell sold his interest in
the Diamond R and went to Salt
Lake, where he engaged in business
until 1873, when he returned to Sun
River and bought out John Largent,
as before stated, and is today one of
our leading merchants."
It may be stated that one of these
two leading citizens of Sun River in
1884, John Largent, is still living
today at Ulm, where he has retired
from business after a long and use
ful career. Georbe Steell died some
years ago at another point in north
ern Montana.
The first settlers in the Sun River
valley came in 1867 and 1868, and
in the latter year Fort Shaw was
built by the Thirteenth United States
infantry, being maintained for many
years as a military post, after which
ADVANTAGE OF ENLHSTING UN U. S. NAVY
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MONTANA YOUTH
By Eugene Carroll of Butte, a Former Officer of the Navy, for Many Years a Resident of the State, and
now Chairman of the Montana Branch of the Navy League.
A graduate in the United States
Naval Academy in 1881, upon the
call to arms by the president of the
United States in the present crisis,
I reported to the department placing
my services at their disposal. Much
to my disgust the awful truth was
revealed to me that I had grown too
old to be of any service to Uncle Sam
in the first line. Desiring to do my
part in this great struggle, my activ
ity has been along the line of help
ing the recruiting officers of the
United States navy in their endeav
ors to bring the navy up to full war
strength, under the present call.
In traveling over the state and in
our work in Butte we find a great
ignorance of the navy throughout
this mountainous state, and my work
has been along the line of explaining,
as near as I can, the life of a sailor,
and my reasons for recommending
for the consideration of young men
who desire to go to the front at this
time, an enlistment in the United
States navy.
The life of a sailor, particularly
the life of a man-of-war's man, with
its adventures, ever-changing scenes,
new countries, new people; following
the sea from port to port, from one
ocean to another, has always ap
pealed strongly to the imaginat'on of
men of spirit. In the record of deeds
of the men of the United States navy,
from John Paul Jones to Admiral
Dewey, the young American can find
the highest inspiration; for our
navy, both in time of war and of
peace, has played a great honorable
and glorious part in the history of
the country. The navy has been,
throughout its entire existence, a
service of high ideals; its unbroken
record of great and worthy achieve
ment, of duty well-done, has been
due to the high standard set for of
ficers and men in the beginning and
maintained ever since. This stan
dard was never higher than t is to
day; and any young American who
thinks of going into the navy may
feel sure that, on enlisting, he will
enter a service in which he may, and
should, always feel a justifiable pride
and of which the uniform is a badge
of honor.
In the Flower of Youth.
Besides the chance of serving his
country in an honorable position, the
navy offers as a livelihood, many ad
vantages. In the first place the re
quirements of the navy for enlist
ments are both physically and moral
ly of extremely high character. He
must be an American citizen of good
moral character and of perfect phy
sique. A young man entering the
service, unless he has the consent of
his parents, must be at least 18 years
old. If accepted by the recruiting of
ficer and passed by the examining
physician as to his physical condi
tion, he is first sent to a naval train
ing school, here in times of peace he
remains at least six months, under
ANNOUNCEMENT
THE FAMOUS AUTO-PULL TRACTOR ATTACHMENT
Will Advance $25.00 In Price After May 10th
ORDER TODAY
The only sub-agents officially appointed In Montana at date of this issue are
listed below:
Mr. B. E. Wlillianms.... ......Whitewater Mr. W. It. Denhart .................Windham
Rt. J. Whittaker....................Missoula Bendon Auto &c Supply Co.........Syduey
Charles Comnstocic................Itoundup P. WV. Bishop..........:.........Kremlin
W. E. Thistiewoei *.......... ariowton I. E. Lintz ...........................Geraldine
Motor Inn Garage .................. Opliim F. C. Wright......................... Twodot
It. E. Hunt .......................Fort lienton (:has Scharfe ...............Cottonwood
Motor Home Garage ........... Shelby J. C. F. McLean ............... .. Jordan
C. A. HUNT £ CO. GREAT FALLS. MONTANA.
It was used as an Indian school until
less than ten years ago, when it be
came headquarters for the govern
ment engineers building the Sun Riv
er Irrigation project.
As early as 1880 flour milling on
a small scale was in progress near
Sun River, a mill owned by Ellis &
Steell being located at the junction
of the Teton road with the Benton
and Helena road. In 1883 Mortimer
Strong raised 6,000 bushels of wheat
which was ground at this mill.
More Government Needed.
According to a contributor who
signed himself, 'Taxpayer," one of
the crying needs of Sun River in
those days was a county government,
as the community was over-run with
outlaws who were traveling princi
pally through communities where
law and order were not too much in
evidence. Taxpayer says:
"Still another class of vagabonds
impose on our citizens. I refer to
the thieves and vagabonds fired out
of the cities of Helena and Benton.
The proper place for them would be
the lock-up or the chain gang, but
the city fathers deem it most expedi
ent to give them the '3-7-77' racket
and drive them from the city. It
seems that about six out of every ten
vagrants driven out of the cities
named take refuge in some part of
Instructions. At this training school
he is taught the rudiments of mili
tary rudiments ughtnTta va Nm?
Lary tactics, at the same time his ed
ucation in the common school
branches is continued. After a six
rnonths' probation at the training
station he is assigned to a sea-going
Eugene Carroll of Butte, Graduate
of Annapolis; Former Naval Offi
cer, who has a Message to the Mon
tana Youth who Would Serve his
Country in the Navy.
ship and is placed so as to develop
such ability as he has shown in any
particular line of work at the train
ing school. After leaving the train
ing school he receives special instruc
tion aboard ship in any line which he
cares to follow.
Besides the training stations, the
navy maintains an electrical school
for the instruction of electricians,
both general and radio; an articifer
school for shipwrights, carpenters,
blacksmiths, painters, etc. A yeo
men school for stenographers, type
writers and bookkeepers. A com
missary school for cooks, bakers and
commissary stewards. Hospital
training schools for men in nursing,
first-aid, drugs, etc.; a coppersmith
school, torpedo school and school for
diving.
I Farmer Sailors Sccsce l.
All the schools are conducted for
the benefit of onlisted men of the
navy who desire to fit themselves
for more responsible duty and better
the Sun River country, there to im
pose upon hte people, jeopardize
their property and make themselves
generally troublesome, and there
they stay because they know there is
no such institution as a cooler or
jail in the whole Sun River country.
I wish to say to all citizens and tax
payers residing in the country I have
described that the time has now
come when you should stand up for
your rights and demand the atten
tion of the powers that be. Some
may think and argue that the cost of
a county government would raise the
taxation too much. In answer to
that question I would state that in
my opinion the excess of tax would
not necessarily exceed two mills, and
that only for a short time owing to
the increase of immigration.
"In conclusion I would cordially
invite are residents of Chestnut, in
Meagher county, Northern Lewis and
Clark and north and west Chouteau
counties to express their views and
sentiments regarding the county
question through the columns of the
Sun River Sun. And looking hope
fully forward to the near future
when the great county of Dearborn
shall be a power in the land and
classed as one of the satellites that
illumningte tlge glorious empire of
Montana, I subscribe syself.
"TAXPAYER."
pay. In most instances, the training
obtained in these schools will stand
the men in good stead in civil life,
should they desire to remain out of
the navy, after one or more enlist
ments. Former sailors who owe
their success to the training they
received in the navy may be found
in every large industry, holding en
viable positions.
Every recruit is provided free
with an outfit of uniform clothing,
bedding and other necessaries; the
outfit, is complete in all respects, and
is ample for the needs of the recruit
during his first year of service, and
if he is reasonably careful of his
clothes, many of the articles need not
be replaced for three or. four years.
The government sells to the sailors
all the clothing they require at cost
prices, and the cost to the men In the
navy for his clothing is ridicuously
small. When a man enlists, he is
furnished by the government with
transportation to the training station
to which he is assigned, with all
meals, sleeper berths and proper ex
penses furnished. When discharged
at the expiration of his enlistment he
is furnished with travel allowance at
four cents a mile, instead of trans
portation, from the place of dis
charge to the place of enlistment.
Conduct Must Be Good.
There are many different rates of
pay in the navy, and a man enlist
ing in the lowest rating is advanced
one step at a time with correspond
ing raise in pay, as he becomes profi
cient and his conduct warrants, both
of which requirements are essential
to a man in the navy. No matter
how capable he may be in his duties
he may not expect to be advanced
unless his conduct entitles him to
consideration. The pay of the vari
ous ratings published by the depart
ment is what is known as base pay.
After serving four years' enlistment
he is sent home and must re-enlist
within four months, after the date
he is honorably discharged, to re
ceive bounty. lie can re-enlist within
the next day, or remain out of the
service for four months, but if he re
enlists within four months, he re
ceives a bounty for four months' pay
at the rate he as paid on discharge.
For each re-enlistment his base pay
is increased for honorable discharge.
Recommendation by his captain se
cures for him a good conduct medal
and for each such medal his base
pay is increased.
The law provides for the appoint
ment of 100 enlisted men each year
to the naval academy, the require
ments being that the applicant must
pass a competitive examination, must
be under 20 years of age at time of
appointment, and must have been in
the navy at least one year at date of
entrance to the naval academy. Ex
aminations for entrance to the naval
academy are conducted on board all
ships and stations wherever there are
GROW POTATOES
SAYS P. CARNEY
MOST SUCCESSFUL GROWER OF
TUBERS IN STATE HAS
PATRIOTIC IDEA.
Big Crop of Potatoes Would Help
to Solve Food Problems; Advises
Use of Winter Killed Alfalfa
Ground, and Suggests Planting
Between May 1 and May 15.
Patrick Carney of Waterloo is one
of the most successful potato grow
ers in the state. He has a fine ranch
in the Jefferson valley, and he de
votes a considerable acreage every
year to potato culture. He has been
doing this for years and his potatoes
are the finest grown in Montana. He
has taken the first prize at the state
fair so frequently, that while he ex
hibits his products, he declines to
enter into competition with other
growers. Few men in the state have
Patrick Carney of Madison County,
Foremost Potato Expert of State.
as intimate knowledge of potato
growing as does Mr. Carney, and he
is of the opinion that those who
know how to grow the tuber, should
plant all the potatoes they can this
year, from patriotic 'motives. M~r
Carney has addressed the following
open letter to his fellow farmers of
the state:
"Farmers of Montana:
"We are confronted this year by
an unusual condition of affairs, and
it is up to us to meet the emergency.
"Our country is at war and food
supplies are light. The one solution
of the problem is the production of
more and better food on every acre
of land on which crops are grown,
especially potatoes.
"A potato shortage is apt to result
in this country any year when wea
ther or soil conditions are unfavor
able in our principal producing dis
tricts, but we must put forth~e great
er effort to grow more and better
potatoes.
"There are good, undeveloped dis
tricts that can produce a large ton
nage and by better methods of prop
agation and cultivation the yield on
acres now in the crop can be very
greatly increased.
"Also I would suggest that winter
killed alfalfa ground be used for po
tatoes, planting between May 1 and
May 10, cultivating three or four
times during growing season. The
more you stir the ground the less
need of irrigating. Unquestionably
thorough cultivation will mean more
labor to the acre but it will mean
more to the bushel.
"So, as Lincoln once said, 'The
most valuable of all arts will be the
art of deriving a comfortable subsis
tence from the smallest area of soil.'
"We must arouse ourselves be
cause the question of food supply is
the most pressing and important be
fore us, and the men who raise the
food to supply our people and our
allies are ust as patriotic as the men
who enlist."
Orange is the fashionable shade
for women this spring. And a whole
lot of lemons will wear it.
applicants. Young men have a chance
to prepare for this examination, as
classes are formed on all ships and
stations with special instructors and
the free use of necessary text books.
The candidates who have the highest
standing on the examination are ad
mitted to the naval academy on ex
actly the same terms as midshipmen
who are nominated by members of
congress.
In the naval service a man's pay
goes on just the same, sick or well,
and he has the free benefit of skillful
medical attention, trained nurses,
medicine and well appointed hospit
als.
Rewards for Heroism.
Any enlisted man who distinguish
es himself in battle or displays extra
ordinary heroism in his line, shall
upon the recommendation of his
commanding officer receive a gratu
ity of $100 and a medal of honor.
Numerous medals are issued for mer
itorious service, all of which aside
from the honor obtained inure to his
financial benefit.
Any disableed person is entitled to
a pension, and enlisted men who have
served 30 years may be placed on the
retired list at three-fourths pay at
the time of retirement. All serv
ices in the navy, army or marine
corps are credited for retirement.
The above are a few of the reasons
which appeal to me as recommending
the navy as a vocation. I do not
hesitate in advising any ambitious
young man who wants to serve his
government to enlist in the naval
service. It is my intention at some
future time to write further on the
variety of scenes and other advan
tages which a young man gets while
learning a trade or educating himself
for higher advances.