The Bowbells tribune. [volume], March 05, 1908, Image 6

About The Bowbells tribune. [volume] (Bowbells, Ward Co., N.D.) 1899-1969

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NEW MONEY
MILESTONE
CONGRESS WILL SET SEVENTH
MILESTONE THAT DEVELOP
MENT OF U. S. REQUIRED
THE WEST ABSORBS ENORMOUS
ISSUES AND IS RAPIDLY OVER
TAKING THE EAST
Washington, Feb. 25.—A new mon
ey milestone of the nation, the sev
enth since George Washington was in
augurated president, which will be
set up by I his congress, like the oth
ers will point the way to prosperity
—in this case to more assured pros
perity.
Currency legislation has right of
way in congress, a new page of Amer
ican history will be turned. It is so
gravely important that prolonged de
bate and consideration are due—and
there will be plenty of both. Each
previous milestone lias been as slow
ly and laboriously set. up, but each
one, with one exception, marked a
.step forward or, as now, a readjust
ment to new conditions, pulling the
financial affairs of the people upon a
sounder basis than before. After the
country had crossed a rought. and per
ilous path of panic, each new mile
si one, hut one, has shown the way to
firmer, smoother roads.
The development of the United
Slates during the years which have
elapsed since the Civil war exigencies
caused the creation of the present
currency system is probably most for
cibly shown by the existing evidences
of funded debts—the municipal and
railroad bonds now outstanding. At
the outset of the present discussion
of currency reform Speaker Cannon
took steps to secure these figures,
which they were not available.
The results show that there is at
present the enormous total of $3,516,
1S4.000 of railroad and municipal
bonds in the country which would
comply with the terms of the Aldrich
bill, as a basis for emergency circula
tion. These figures are authoritative
and were furnished to Speaker Can
non at litis request by N, W. Harris,
SeiTiOr partner of N. W. Harris & Co.,
of New York and Boston and presi
dent of the Harris Trust and Savings
bank of Chicago, an authority on
bonds among the bankers of the coun
try. The detailed figures are as fol
lows: railroad bonds, $1,873,000,000
municipal bonds, $1,543,184,000. This
includes the indebtedness of counties
as shown by the census report of
190tf. 4. statement of actual county
'VndeTtedliPss
to date, if it could be
had, would inci.
past* the municipal
total still further.
Nation's First Fiscal Milestone
The first money milestone was the
establishment of the first United
States bank, in 1791, as the result of
Iks efforts of Alexander Hamilton,
then secretary of the treasury. Prior
to this time and in the colonial days
banking in. th? modern sense was
hardly known. Massachusetts had a
bank as early as 1714, which iflsii«»d
notes secured on real estate And oth
er "imperishable commodities." This
bank failed, but some of its success
ors succeeded althought they were
under no proper legal regulation and
engaged in many hazardous ventures.
The founding of the United States
bank and the chartering of banks in
the various states put an end to in
discriminate and unregulated banking
and laid the foundations for a stable
and adequate currency system. The
bank was capitalized at $10,000,000
and was allowed to assume liabilities
to an amount not exceeding its capi
tal. As deposits were not reckoned
among its liabilities, it was enabled
to issue nearly 10,000,000 of notes,
but in practice it kept about half that
amount outstanding.
The first bank was thoroughly
successful but its charter was not re
newed in 1811 and for five years the
government had to depend upon the
State banks. This was a period of
trouble and disorder, brought about
largely by the War of 1812. Banks
suspended specie payments, except in
New England, and business was dis
organized until as a way out of the
difficulties the second Bank of the
United States was established in 1816,
marking the second milestone in the
country's financial history.
1
Jackson Smashed Milestone No. 2
This bank was run on similar lines
to its predecessor and while it began
its existence under a cloud it was
soon put on its feet by the executive
genius of Langdon Cheves, of South
'Carolina, and brought order and pros
perity out of the tangled financial sit
uation. The respite granted the
country in this way lasted until 1829
when President Jackson made his
famous attack upon the bank and
plunged the country into a bitter po
litical contest which only ended with
the defeat of Henry Clay for the pres
idency in 1832 and the expiration of
the bank's charter in 1836.
This may be called the third mile
stone, though in a way it marked ret
ropgression rather than progress
After several attempts at construc
tive legislation the so-called "inde
pendent treasury system" was estab
lished, by which the government made
its collections and disbursements in
specie only and kept its funds in the
This left
to the development ol the business
along many new lines, some of them
hazardous, and paved the way for the
fourth great change, in the establish
ment o fthe national bank system in
1863.
Reasons for Present System
Like all of the great changes be
fore it, this was an emergency meas
ure, calculated not to establish an
idea] system but to meet a critical
situation. The government was faced
with the necessity of finding a new
market for the enormous bond issues
of the Civil war and at the same time
of establishing a solid currency as op
posed to the flood of depreciated legal
tender paper which seemed to threat
en. The national banks incorporated
under the new la wwere granted the
privilege which they now possess of
issuing notes secured by deposits of
government bonds, and the notes of
the state banks were taxed out of
existence.
Since that time the turning points
of importance have been the Sherman
bill of 1S73, the free silver agitation
of 1896 and the amendment of the
national bank law in 1900 reducing
the minimum required capitalization
of national banks from $100,000 to
$25,000.
The Aldrich bill, if passed by con
gress, will not cause any such radi
cal readjustment of the monetary
system as did the oilier great changes
just reviewed for example, the crea
tion of the national banks or the
founding of the United States bank.
On the other hand it is aimed, as an
emergency measure, to put an end
forever to any possible recurrence of
such a financial panic as the country
has just, weathered, due to the im
possibility of securing enough cur
rency to meet a sudden demand. The
attitude of both houses toward this
proposition is epitomized in the fol
lowing unpublished statement of one
of the leaders of congress:
"The bill is not intended to yield a
profit to the banks, but is intended to
render it unnecessary to even take
tlie currency out. I may go farther
and say to render it impossible for
the national banks of the country to
suspend payment to their creditors
and at the same time escape the ap
pointment of receivers to wfnd up
their affairs. If auch a law had been
on a statute book in October there
would have been no suspension of
payment by the banks."
BOnd Holdings Underestimated
•Many new facts regarding the finan
citI work of the country have been
unearthed as a result of the present
investigation. One of the most sur
prising of these is the fact that the
west has parted company with the
east insofar as municipal loans are
concerned and now finances its own
public improvements. The N. W.
Harris report to Speaker Cannon
again serves a? authority.
"The west,is a much larger owner
of bonds than is generally supposed,"
writes Mr. Harris, "and is increasing
more rapidly than the east and will
undoubtedly continue to do so. Mu
nicipal bonds issued in the west are
now nearly all purchased by western
investors, while New York investors
have always favored railway bonds,
so that New Yorw has never been
much of a market for municipal
issues. Of course municipal bonds
originating in the state of New York
are bought by the New York Savings
banks. However, I am sure that of
late years there have been more mu
nicipal bonds which were issued in
the state of New York which have
been bought by and are now owned
in the west than there have been
western municipal bonds bought by,
and owned in New York. Hence, so
far as the market for municipal
bonds is concerned, their value is by
no means controlled by Wall Street."
This statement, coming from one
whose leadership in municipal bonds
is as real, though silent, as Morgan's
in industrial issues, explains the sup
port liich many western bankers are
giving to the Aldrich bill in spite of
the assertions of its opponents that
it is drafted in the interests of east
ern institutions.
Views of Western Financier*
One of these bankers writes:
"There is no doubt but we need
some form of elastic currency and
with this properly secured by mu
nicipal, state and county bonds as
originally proposed there is no doubt
it would help a great deal during thfe
period when more currency is need
ed. If the public could feel that
$500,000,000 could be issued it Would
have a wholesome influence land ail
lay the fear that the hanks ic'annot
furnish a sufficient amount of cur
rency during a panic."
custody of its own officers. This left. Reverting again to me in. w.™
the country dependent on the state ris report, as the most authoritative
banks for banking facilities and led and dispassionate analysis of the sit-
Another signiffcarit extract from
the unpublished correspondence on
the question which is rapidly accum
ulating here at the capitol is the
statement "Of a western hanker that
he would get what bonds were need
ed if they were not already on hand.
"We do not believe in an asset cur
rency," writes this hand president,
"but believe all money should be se
cured by (bonds and issued by the
government in order to keep the cur
rency, silver and gold, on an equality
as the people wil insist on currency,
or gold. An asset currency, in my
opinion, would put a premium on gold
unless the government stands back of
the currency. We are perfectly will
ing to supply ourselves with such
bonds as the government will ac
cept."
Reverting again to the N. W. Har-
nation that yet has appeared, the in
terests of state and savings banks of
which there are over 11,000 in the
country, are given, together with
some sidelight facts on the recent
flurry that are highly Interesting. The
report says:
"During the late panic a large
amount of currency was sold at 3
per cent premium. Hence, the price
paid for the use of bonds was very
small, as compared with the amount
paid for currency. The market value
of bonds, as a class, of the kind which
were accepted by the government to
secure government deposits by the
national banks, did not advance dur
ing the panic. Many issues fell ma
terially, but perhaps they did not fall
in market value as much as they
would have done if they could not
have been used by the government
but certainly the fact that they could
'be used by the government did not
strengthen the market over a fraction
of one per cent.
When it is considered that under
the Aldrich bill the amount of bonds
in the country available for basis of
circulation is, as above stater, up
wards of $3,500,000,000, the possibil
ity of a temporary use of $250,000,00
to $500,000,000 of bonds at an average
of only once in ten years certainly
will advance their value but very lit
tle and as the municipal bonds are
nearly one-half of the total amount,
the municipalities of the country,
which so directly represent the peo
ple, will get whatever benefit there
may arise from the increase in the
market value of the securities that
they issue.
National Banks Divide Benefits
"The trust and savings banks of
Chicago own over $72,000,000 of bonds
and during the late panic we were
loaners of bonds to the national
banks, to enable them to obtain Uni
ted States government deposits. Our
rule was to loan the bonds to national
banks, we receiving, in return, one
half of the currency that they re
ceived from the government as a de
posit, and- such was the policy adop
ted by the largest trust and savings
banks of Chicago. Hence, the bene
fit of the currency obtained from the
government was thus secured to the
trust and savings banks, and other
state banks, as well as to the national
banks.
"The Aldrich bill makes no provis
ions for currency to be issued to state
banks. However, as they are large
holders of the bonds, they can secure
their proper benefit from the Aldrich
hill by furnishing bonds to thejlia
tional bands who do not own them,
along lines similar to those above
mentioned. Certainly, the large state
banks of the country should be pro
vided, in case of a naic, with emerg
ency currency, as well as the national
banks and, as indicated above, they
can secure the benefit directly under
the Aldrich bill as now drafted.
Favors Central Bank Plan
"Personally, I would prefer to see
congress provide for the organization
of. a central bank, but I agree that
the great mass of people, and their
representatives in congress are not
ready for such legislation. Hence
trust that at least some legislation
providing for an elastic currency will
be enacted along the lines Of th& Aid
rich bill. Naturally, the national bank
officials would prefer a general asset
currency legislation, along the lines
of the Fowler bill, which would yield
a good profit to the national banks."
The purpose of the Aldrich bill,
however, is not to provide a profit to
banks but to remove any further fear
of another "money pinch" panic.
While this fear is not the only cause
of panics it is such a prime factor,
as has just been forcibly demonstrat
ed, that any legilsation that will put
an end to it is regarded as of vital
importance to all sections of the
country. If history can be depended
upon to repeat itself, the action of
congress along this line will not Only
accomplish this but will point the
way for a new period of prosperity
comparable with those that in the
past have invariably followed the
establishment of new milestones in
the path of the currency system.
REPUBLICANS BEGIN WORK
County Delegates Meet at Maxbasc—
Freeman Endorsed "as Repre
sentative
Maxbass, N. D., Feb. 24.—Grant- S.
Trimble of WesthOpe received the en
dorsement by the conference of repub
licans held at Maxbass as a candidate
for senator from the newly created
forty-seventh legislative district com
posed of the territory in Bottineau
county west of the Mouse river. Hon.
Will Freeman of Maxbass was en
dorsed for re-election as representa
tive.
The conference was largely attend
ed, there being present more than
500 republicans from all parts of the
district and everything passed off har
moniously.
Eight persons were endorsed as del
egates to the republican state con
vention at Minot, subject to the action
of the republican county convention
The list follows:
F. M. Tyler, Eckman Charles
Grape, Hurd G. W. Baker, Westhope
F. A. Rinkle, Antler Ole Bjorgo, New
berg D. H. Cook, Langsford R. J.
Murphy, Russell F. J. Lillie, Max
hass.
The following resolution was adopt
ed on motion of Representative Wil
liam Freeman:
Whereas, for the purpose of bene-
fitting himself personally it has pleas
ed Chas A. Straton, editor of the
Antler American, to sever his con
nection with that paper, now we, the
republicans of the forty-seventh leg
islative district, in convention assem
bled, do hereby testify to the fact
that we recognize in Mr. Stratton a
good citizen, a strong and honest re
publican, and trust that the new affi
liations that he may make will not on
ly be financially beneficial, but per
sonally aceptable to him and we ten
der to him the thanks of the party for
the services he had rendered.
BOY'S HEAD IS CUT OPEN
Pulsations of Brain Were Seen
Through Opening Made in Head
Linton, N. D., Feb. 24.—Last No
vember Abel, the ten year old son of
Antony Compaan, was Injured by be
ing thrown from a horse that he was
riding. It was supposed that the
wound he received in the head would
heal in time. But, as it did not do so,
Dr. Shockey thought it best that the
boy be taken to Eureka, where Drs.
Shockey and Gerdes would perform
the operation known as trephining.
This was done, the doctors removing
two pieces of the skull e^-h about an
inch long and half an incu wide, mak
ing an opening through which the pul
sations of the brain could be seen.
The little patient is getting along
as well as could be expected, con
sidering the serious nature of his in
jury. Young Abel is having more
than his share of suffering. About
two years age he had a severe attack
of blood-poisoning in one of his arms
and it took careful work by the doc
tors to save his arm.
DISCUSS CONTROL OF CORPORAT
Prominent Men of Willow City Lose
in Lively Discussion at County Seat
Bottineau, N. D., Feb. 24.—Bot
tineau's debaters won over Willow
City, the decision of the judges stand
ing two to one in favor of Bottineau.
The question for debate was "Re
solved, that such corporations as tel
ephone, telegraph and express com
panies and railways, except street
railways, be created and controlled by
the federal government." The Willow
City Debating club had chosen the
affirmative and was represented by
Wills Smith, principal of the Willow
City schools Rev. John G. Reinhardt,
pastor of the Presbyterian church,
and George Sunberg, cashier of the
Merchants National bank. The Bot
tineau Literary club's representatives
were Atty. A. G. Burr and A. Bes
ancon and Iver M. Brandjord, county
auditor. The judges were A. E. Coger
and W. C. Fraine of Rugby, and Matt
Johnson of Omemee. Mr. Johnson was
chosen by the affirmative and Mr.
Coger by the negative.
DE PARIS DIES FROM FREEZING
Both of Lakota Man's Feet Were Am
putated in an Effort to Save His
Life—Suffered Terribly From His
Injuries,
Grahd Forks, Feb. 24.—Arthur De
Paris, who was terribly fozen in his
shack in Lakota, where he went on a
spree of a week with a case of whis
key, died at a local hospital. Both his
feet were badly frozen and were am
putated after his arrival here in an
effort to save his life. His condition
has been critical and his death was
not unexpected. He was a carpenter
in Lakota and a good worker.
DeParis has no relatives so far as
known and* was peniless when death
came. His body was removed to Nor
man's undertaking rooms.
The deceased narowly escaped be
ing frozen to death in his shack. He
was found helpless in bed by H. J.
land Fred Smith. They were obliged
tp break into the shack to rescue him.
The body will be shipped to Lakota
ifor burial.
MAKE BRISK CAMPAIGN
Johnson, Twitchell, Skulason and Hel
geson to Make Addresses With
in Next "Few bay*
Grand Forke, N. D., Feb. 28.—M. N.
Johnson will invade the southern sec
tion of the state next week. Monday
evening he will speak at Gynner, Sar
geant county. Tuesday afternoon he
will make an address at Rutland, Sar
geant county. He will be in Lisbon
Wednesday evening for an address
and will talk at Ft. Ransom, Ransom
county, Thursday afternoon at
o'clock. Other progressive republican
speakers will also be active. Twitchell
speaks at several towns along the
Soo line in Walsh county this week
B. G. Skulason will make an address
at Auburn Friday evening and at Ar
doch Saturday evening. H. T. Hel
geson i® making addresses in Nelson
county. He will speak at Tolna, An
eta, McVille and other places.
DIED FROM INJURIE8
Young Man Succumbs As Result of
Frightful Wounds.
Wahpeton, N. D., Feb. 24.—Edwin
Sether, the young man who was in
jured in the elevator at Mooreton last
week, died at St. Francis hospital. It
was thought that he would recover
but the shock and great loss of blood
was too great. The body was taken
to Mooreton for burial. A brother of
the deceased met death by accident
about four years ago, a heavily load
ed wagon running over 'him and kill
ing him almost instantly.
LABOR WAR
PREDICTED
REDUCTION IN WAGES IN CHI
CAGO MAY BRING ON
FIGHT
RAILROADS SAY THAT WITH
RATE REDUCTIONS THEY CAN'T
PAY OLD WAGES
Chicago, Feb. 26.—These are anx
ious days for the 42 railroads having
terminals in Chicago and for the rail
road labor organizations which have
headquarters here. Both sides are
nerving themselves for the contest
over the wage scale which will take
place this spring and which may pre
cipitate the biggest labor wax against
which this country has ever known.
A year ago at the wage conference
held here the men were granted ad
vance in the scale amounting to
$100,00,000. Since then rates have
been lowered in many states and tra
ffic has fallen off to such an extent
that railway managers declare they
will be unable to continue the "pros
perity" scale of wages. Labor lead
ers on the other hand declare they
will fight to the last ditch rather than
consent to a cent's reduction in pay.
This premises some lively sessions
for the wage conference which will
take place in Chicago in April.
Headquarters are already being estab
lished here by the engineers, firemen,
conductors and trainmen and word
has been sent to all the local unions
to select delegates to a convention
which anay be held at a later date. In
the meantime matters will be further
complied by the investigation into'the
question which will be undertaken by
the interstate commerce commission,
at the recent request of the president.
The seriousness of the situation may
be realized when it is remembered
that there are now 1,640,000 men em
ployed by the railroads of the country.
If any large portion of these men
were called out on strike it would
paralyze commerce and probably lead
to another panic, more disastrous
than that of last fall.
"Twenty-four years I have watched
these men and never, not once in all
that time have I known one of them
to evade an obligation on a mere
technicality," remarked Secretary
George F. Stone of the Chicago Board
of Trade, now entering upon his
twenty-fifth year of office. "When one
realizes that the transactions on the
Chicago Board of Trade reach up in
value into hundreds of millions a year,
and that sales and purchases, of
course, cannot be set out in agree
ments such as are used in real estate
transactions, such a record is re
markable, isn't it. Those men in
there," he added, pointing to the
shouting brokers on the floor busy
buying and selling grain and provis
ions, "would not thank any man to
show him a technical point by which
he could evade the obligations of a
contract. Time and again during these
years I have seen these men strip
themselves of everything in order to
meet their obligations. Men take
pride in meeting their contracts at
whatever cost within a quibble, pride
in a clean record. Show one of these
felows who buy the farmers' crops,
for either immediate or future delivery,
a chance to back out of a contract,
and he will tell you—and I have heard
them—'no sir, not for the whole
Board of Trade." These are the men
who have relentlessly fought the
mere gambling of bucket shops. Dur
ing the dark days of the Civil war, the
Board sent several regiments into the
field, aiid whenever some calamity or
emergency calls for prompt action,
the man with a subscription paper al
ways goes to the Board of Trade first.
Within the week $6,000 was collected
within a short time for the relief of
the unemployed and their families in
the city of Chicago.
Faith in the commercial future of
the waterways of the country and es
pecially of the Lakes-to-the-Gulf Deep
waterway has just received striking
justification in the announcement that
the Corn Products Manufacturing Co.,
the so-called "glucose trust" is about,
to invest $5,000,000 in a manufactur
ing plant and a model city on the
banks of the Chicago drainage canal,
the first link in the deep waterway.
This is significant as the first move
on the part of industrial interests to'
take advantage of the low rates of
fered by water carriers as opposed,
to the railroads. The Corn Products
Co., it is rumored, will close the
Peoria plants and as miteh as possible
of the company's manufacturing will
oe done at the new plant on the drain'
age canal. Dockage has been rented
from the sanitary district for a per
iod of 99 years and land has been
bought for the factories arid the em
ployee's quarters. The new town
will he known as Argo arid will be
modelled somewhat after the United
States Steel company's industrial city
at Gary, Indiana.
Legal searchlights turned back1
ward upon the primitive transporta
tion methods during the pionefer days
of Chicago and vicinity, last week
discovered old Shabbona, chief of the
Pottawottamies, and his descriptions
of Indian travel and portages In days
even before the white man came, in
depositions taken concerning the act
ual navigability of the
.{.x's
river, in the state's light upon a dam
in that river built by the Economy
Light & Power company it was re
lated by a pioneer of Ottawa, D. H.
Raymon, that Chief Shabbona lived
at his home for years and often had
described to him as a boy how the
Indians carried their birch canoes
around the rapids in the Desplaines
river as they had to do in going from
Lake Michigan to the Illinois river.
Old settlers have testified that be
cause the Desplaines was not naviga
ble, goods were commonly brought
from St. Louis to the people in the
Desplaines and Illinois river valleys
until the Illinois and Michigan canal
was completed. The river's current
is very rapid at the point where the
dam in controversy is being built and
provision has been made for water
way locks and a pool, making in fact
a $500,000 link in the waterway chan
nel from Chicago to the Gulf, approv
ed by the war department. The state
however, is seeking to secure for it
self the waterpower in the river, if
its constitution be amended next No
vember as is necessary to permit it
to do so.
A desperate plot to overthrow the
present King of Servia and seat an
American claimant on the throne is
Chicago's latest contribution to the
gaiety of nations. That the conspir
acy is not taken seriously has in no
way dampened the ardor of "Prince"
Theodore Max Strew of Iowa, the
claimant to the throne, and his gen
eralissimo and chief of staff, Dr. Ben
L. Reitman, who recently achieved
fame by leading an "army" of .the
unemployed through the streets of
•this city. Dr. Reitman now plans to
turn these men into an actual army,
with which to besiege Belgrade and
seize the reins of government. The
money for the expedition is to come
from anonymous wine merchants in
this country who are represented as
casting covetous eyes on the rich vin
yards of the Balkan provinces.
"Prince" Strow, the wouldJbe founder
of the Iowa dynasty, claims descent
from Obilitch, the hero king of Ser
via, whose descendants were banish
ed fro mthe country in 1704. Strew
is at present, it is said, employed by
•the Rock Island railroad at Numa, la.
Dr. Reitman plans before long to
equip a ship and recruit 3,000 men
in his cause. Meanwhile the conspir
acy continues to conspire, in spite of
the activity of the host of Servian
secret agents and their remorseless
system of surveillance over the ex
Servian population of Numa, la., and
middle western states.
The center of the fight over the
national question of prohibition has
suddenly shifted for the time being
from the South to Chicago and Illi
nois. Both the prohibitionists and the
liquor dealers and brewers realize
that the future spread or checking
of the prohibition movement is vital
ly dependent on the issue of the
April elections which will be held
throughout the state. The prohibi
tionists from their headquarters in
this city are straining every nerve to
carry the day. The liquor dealers on
the other hand have caused general
surprise and commendation by the
new stand which they have taken. At
a special meeting of the National
Wholesale Liquor Dealers' association
held here a few days ago, a majority
of the leading liquor dealers came
out in favor of putting an end to any
abuses now existing in the liquor
trade. At the same time they ex
pressed their intention of "coming
out into the open" and inviting dis
cussion of the entire question. This
is the policy which has been pursued
by the prohibitionists for fifty years.
The liquor dealers claim that they
have more facts on their side than
the prohibitionists and that while the
fifty years' fight has been waging,
prohibition in actual practice has
proved a failure wherever it has been
tried. Their evidence should prove
interesting and the facts will show
whether they are right or wrong. The
significant point is the appeal to facts,
for it marks the passing of the old
days when silence rather than facts
was regarded as the proper answer
to any public attack on an establish
ed business.
BOTTINEAU LOOKS TO CARNEGIE
Library Tor Bottineau Now a Proposi
tion Receiving Considerable
Discussion
Bottineau, N. D., Feb. 24.—A. G.
Burr has received word from Andrew
Carnegie that the philanthropic iron
master looks with favor on Botti
neau's applicaion for funds with
whi5h to build a public library build
ing in this city.
Mr. Carnegie has sent to Mr. Burr
the formal application blank to he
filled out. We are informed that a
guaranty on the part Of the city
council that a certain levy will be
made each year for the support of a
library Is necessary and the city must
also furnish a site. It has been Mr.
Carnegie's rule in the past to give an
amount for the construction of a
building ten times as large as can be
raised by taxation to support the li
brary after it is established. About
$1,200 can thus be raised in Bottineau
so it is likely thta he would be will
ing to give from $10,000 to $12,000
for a'building.
The matter is at present in the
hands of a committee composed of
three members of the city council
and three members of the Bottineau
Literary club and it is probable that
this
joint" committee wil present the
mater to the citizens at a mass meet
some time in the near future.
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