The Flathead Courier 1915

              COURIER.
'POLSON   DOES   THINGS'
VOLUME 4,
POLSON, FLATHEAD COUNTY, MONTANA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1914.
NUMBER 39
mm LISTEN TO
EXPLAINS MANY THINGS IN
REGARD TO THE RECLAMATION
A crowd of about one hundred and
fifty gathered at the Orpheum Saturday afternoon to listen to the lecture
given by H. Ni Savage, supervising
engineer of the reclamation service
for the northern district of the country
Mr.. Savage illustrated his lecture with
views taken on 'different projects of
which he is in charge.
The views were interesting and his
audience was very attentive through-
out.th lecture. He showed views taken
on.the Minidoka project in Idaho where
power has been developed from the
overflow of the dam, that is used very
extensively, being sold to the settlers
as low as four-tenths of a cent per
kilowatt. Views from the Huntly project showed the transformation .that
has taken place since the water was
turned on. On the Blackfoot project
Indians have been used almost entirely,
in building the works, but although
it has been tried here it.has not been
much of a success.
In speaking of the Indian reservation projects, he stated that they
Were all, like the Flathead, hampered
by the lack of funds, as they depended
entirely on the action of congress in
appropriating funds. He also said
that the money used on these -projects
was not Indian money, as had been re-
>Pjprted, but came out of the general
funds. The only Indian money that
has been, used on this -project being,
that which was received for the sale-
of .the town lots.
After explaining some of the other
;■■ prajects^My. Savage tur;ned.^his.atten^
tion to the Elathead. ;He had a map,
of the reservation thrown on ihe
screen and pointed out the different
tracts of land, the reservoir canals;
and laterals that are either constructed or contemplated.
He stated that the plans called for
the irrigation of a trifle over one hundred and fifty thousand.acres of land,
and of that amount water would be
ready to turn on over forty thousand
acr.es the coming spring. Last year1
about fifty thousand acres were irrigated, although a great deal of land'
could have been irrigated that was
not. Right adjoining the city of Pol-
son were some twelve or fourteen
hundred acres that could all have been
supplied with water last season but
owing to the fact that the owners/* or
leasers did not agree to take it" in
the spring, only about thirty acres
were irrigated. However, the coming
year it is expected that much more
will be placed under water as the difference is shown between fields that
were .irrigated and those that were
not was an object lesson that will hasten the day when every place that can
get it will have water.
. He stated that all the main canals,
headgates, etc., that were being constructed were planned to accomodate
the full flow of water that would be
necessary when the entire system was
completed, and that when it was completed it would be one of the grandest
irrigation systems in the country.
;In regard to the manner in which the
costs would be assessed, he stated
that while he could not say positively
,he supposed it would be pro-rated
'equally against-every acre of land on
the project, for, as:he showed, it would
be almost impossible to do otherwise
and make the division equal.
Speaking of the power project on
the Pend D'Oreille he said that the.
primary object in driving the tunnel
was to operate a pumping station to
fill the Pablo reservoir in seasons-of
extreme drouth, and to furnish water for some ten thousand acres on
the west side of the river and lake, and
that what surplus power was developed would of course be sold for lighting, heating and other purposes.
When questioned in regard to when
the station would be completed he said
that it depended entirely upon the
action of congress in the matter. As
far as the reclamation service was concerned it would undoubtedly be several years before they would need the,
power for fillirfg the Pablo reservoir,
and as they had never had an application for water for any of the land on
the east side, they had not made any
special effort to get the power into
use. It would take a special act of
i 'congress to have a" plant built for the
purpose of selling the current, and in
no instance has this ever been done,
the sale of power being a secondary
matter in all cases where they did sell
it. When asked, as to what he
thought of the proposition of the government leasing it to some company,
he stated that he had frequently
recommended that such action be tak-
and that numerous  applications
en
had been made for that purpose; but
that also would require a special act
of congress to do, for when the site
was reserved, no. provision was made
"whereby- the Secretary" of the" Inter-
SELLS ANSWERS SOME
ior, while he is the custodian of the
power, could develope or lease it.
Therefore he would recommend that
the people of the Flathead try to get
congressional action on the matter.
Concert Company Draws Good
The entertainment given by the La
Dell Concert Company Monday evening, was satisfactory in every particular. In the ;first place there was a
large and appreciative audience. So
that the company was .well supported
in that respect. Miss LaDell's .readings alone were well worth the admission. And then she was well supported , by Ada.Davis and Miss Blanch
'Deering, soloist and violionist. .. As
each of ..the latter played, accompaniments, .-the, program was completed.
It was the opinion of many, that this
was the best number of any given in
the course.
The fifth and last number of the
course will be given January 19th, by
Edward 'Elliot, the famousjinonologisk
As Mr. Elliot has entertained Poison
people before, there is no doubt as to
his .having a good audience.
N0 CHANGE FQR POTATO FLAKE
FACTORY AT PRESENT
KalispelMMdft' Returns From Investi-
--.: "8f4ijB«JEraP;*to,,Gfijmjnj     ^....
According to the Inter Lake a factory for the manufacture .of a commercial grade of potato flakes is impracticable in the Flathead at the present time is the opinion of Christ Best,
who has just returned from Germany,
where he spent a few months investigating the proposition. Mr. Best
state1 that the starch properties of
the Flathead .potato are not at present
high enought to produce a marketable
flake. However, Mr. Best is convinced!
of the food value of the potato flake,,
especialy for stock, and believes that
a. small co-operative plant, owned by
the farmers would be a good in
vestment.
With this idea in view, Mr. Best
investigated the cost of production
of the machinery necessary for such
a plant. "I do not believe it neces?
sary," he stated this morning, "to send'
to Germany or anywhere else fo? the
machinery. It can be manufactured
in our machine works right here and'
at a great saving in cost."
Mr. Best says that such a co-operative plant as he would recommend
could be installed at a cost of about
three thousand dollars. The plant
would have a capacity of a ton of
stock food an hour, which would -be
produced from about four tons of potatoes. There is nothing better than
the potato flake as a stock food, according to Mr. Best. It should be
mixed with shorts or some other food
and is easily digested and a great
fattener. "Old cattle actually get fat
upon it in Germany," said Mr. Best.
If such.a plant as is recommended:
were built by a number of Flathead1
ranchers and operated for four months
each year, it would produce about 1,000'
tons of stock food. The potatoes used
in the production would be worth
about thirty thousand dollars, at forty
cents a bushel, and figuring the expense of .monufacture, the food would
be worth rbout two dollars per hundred pound-. It can readily be seen
that this is pretty expensive food to
put upon, the market in competition
with othfir products. But the fact
remains that the potato .flake product
has:the fnod value ■fdr^t$£k:'which is
unequalled. For this reason.a co-operative r^nt, tot home Stapply would
be" a good proposition forvthe Flathead
farmers, from Mr. Best's point of $ew(
The average starch value of ;tli4
Flathead potato is about -sixteen -per
cent and can easily be raised- to 'the
average necessary for the production
of a high grade flake suitable for
food fi*>r people. vMr. -Best behoves
that while such a factory is impracticable at the' present time, the opportunity may present itself within a few
years. .    ..
Mr. James Harbert, President of the
Chamber of Commerce,
Poison, Montana.
My dear Mr. Harbert: .\;.
'This is to refer to your letter dated
August 12, 1913, addressed to the Hon.
Secretary of the Interior regarding
his visit to the Flathead Indian Reservation during the past summer; and
in which you call attention to some of
the propositions confronting the people at large in your community.
One  of the   perplexing   questions
mentioned  for  consideration  is   the
completion o fthe Reclamation Project.   The construction work on this
project is done by |and under the direction of the  Reclamation Service,
the funds, however, chargeable to the
administration of Indian Affairs, and
it is understood that the work of construction is being pushed just as rapidly as can be with the funds appropriated for the purpose.     Congress
alone has the power of deciding- the.
amount of the yearly appropriation.
A recent report of the Reclamation
Bureau  touching  upon  this   matter
shows that since the -harvest season,
with its demand for harvest help pst
the work on the project has been inT;
creased, and that several car loads ;^f
heavy, mules have been  transportell
into the territory for use on this .work
Another point touched upon in' yqur
letter is the leasing to private enterprises  the  sites reserved   or   withdrawn by the government for power
plants.   The office is unable to say at
this time definitely whether the government intends to improve any ppw,er
sites within the withdrawn areas except that for use in connection with-
the. irrigation .project, but .careful.conTj,
«id.e»ti9n-^^U-^e^Jx.en,.4o^.PEQ,p^pir:
tions submitted by 'legitimate priyarte
enterprises  for  power   development,
under such rules and regulations foir
control as may be prescribed by the
Secretary of the Interior.   It is believed that a fuller exposition of this
particular   subject  regarding  hydroelectric power will be obtained by applying to the Director of the Geological Survey.
The -non-competent and inheritedln-
dian lands are now being sold, either
•for cash or on the deferred payment
plan, the initial payment being as
'low as 25 per cent of the amount offered. It is not practical, nor will it
be looking properly after the interests of the individual allottees to sell
their lands under the same system
.inaugurated and used in the sale of,
state lands) but it is believed that' the
splan of deferred payments now existing is reasonable enough to encourage home seekers and bona
•fide farmers to purchase Indian lands.
The monthly payment plan mentioned
in your letter has been given a fair
and impartial trial for several years.
It was found to be a positive detriment to Indians because the monthly
stipend weakened their efforts for pro-
ductive,work, and encouraged idleness
and permitted the incurring of unnecessary debts.
. The disposition of the proceeds of
the sale of land under the present
system is carefully worked out in advance of the sale, and Indians are not
allowed to sell merely because they
wish to do so. There must be a good
reason for a sale and instructions as
to the expenditure of the proceeds, or
a part of them at least, is given at the
same time that the sale is approved.
Public auctions have been tried on
several of the Indian reservations,
and in certain localities, particularly
in the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma, have, in some instances, been
found to be better than the sealed
bid plan. This, however has been in
cases where a large number of tracts
have been offered for sale at the same
time. When there are a few sales advertised at a time and in localities not
thickly settled, and where transportation facilities are not of the best, a
sale by sealed bid often brings the
best results.
By this plan, a prospective purchaser may submit his bid by mail and
thtis often avoid a long and expensive
trip,' and save himself a great deal of
time and trouble. Both plans have
been' tried and both have proved satisfactory at times. The one bringing
the best results to the allottee is, in
most cases, the sealed bid plan.
Among other things referred to in
your letter, is the immediate disposal
of "all Indian lieu lands and all unal
lotted lands not reserved for some
purpose." The vacant, unallotted and
unreserved lands of the reservation
were recently classified and appraised
The schedule covering said lands were
approved by the department October
13, 1913, and transmitted to the General Land Office for appropriate action. As soon as all meander surveys
of power and reservoir sites, which
are being executed by the Reclamation
Service, are approved, the office will
then proceed to adjust all conflicting
allotments and have the lands not
needed for lieu allotment purposes,
classified and appraised.
Everything to advance the interests
of the Indians on the Flathead reservation is being done by the office as
rapidly as conditions permit, but a
wholesale leasing or disposal of their
lands, and the monthly payment to
them of the proceeds therefrom, as
has been said above, would be detrimental to their best interests.
I trust, however that perplexing
questions and propositions confronting the people of your community will
work themselves out in due course of
time to the best advantage of both
the Ihdians and the settlers, and that
the efforts of the white population
will -work smoothly with those of the
officials^ of this bureau in accomplishing the results desired.
Very truly yours,
CATO SELLS, Commissioner
FORMER POLSON YOUNG
MAN IS GOVERNMENT
«r
Washington, Dec. 26.—William B.
Wilson, secretary of labor, ordered
John B. Densmore, solicitor of the
department, to Calumet, Mich., today
to render any assistance possible in
settling the copper strike situation.
The Christmas Eve tragedy, in which
72 lives were lost, the secretary said, he
thought was a matter of state investigation.
In a telegram to President Moyer of
the Western Federation of Miners,
Secretary Wilson said that it appeared that the tragedy was "not in any
way connected with the strike situation. *
"I cannot conceive of such a connection existing," the secretary's message continued. "It is almost inconceivable that anyone could be so inhuman as to plan such a catastrophe,
but whether it was planned or the
result of malicious mischief I hope the
facts will be promptly brought to light
From the information as yet in my
possession it would appear to be a
purely a statutory crime, solely within
the jurisdictions of the police power
of the state. I am however sending
the solicitor of the department, John
B. Densmore, to Calumet for the purpose of rendering any assistance he
can in clearing up the situation."
POWER GOMPANY WILL
NOT TRUST THE CITY
Mcdonald demands cash,
or out goes the
LIGHTS
WILL B£ IKVESf IWilD
Both the Kalispell and Missoula
Land offices have received notices, not
to accept any more filings on the so,
called unappraised lands, until they
receive further instructions. The nb-i
tices were sent out by wire fronr-
Washington, Saturday, by Assistant
Commissioner Bruce. This is the first
stepLijof getting a new appraisment,
fa^^^>h|jDe« of the settlers are high
*St^f^^-w^Wu6ireVdi; ^sc'%ra"hp.1£i*t
To Publish Credit Rating Book
Two representatives of the Merchants Mercantile Company of Portland, Oregon were in Poison this week
and made contracts with a large number of the merchants here to become
members of the association. The company are putting out a rate book and
will list ninety-six per cent of the people in Flathead and Lincoln counties.
These names and credit ratings are
furnished-by the merchants them-
;selves:   'Onergoodfeature will be thafc
Saturday evening Mayor Marsh
called a special meeting of the city
council to confer with Manager Mc-;
Donald, of Kalispell, in regard to the
debt that the city owes the Northern
Idaho and Montana Power "Company
for light and water. Mr. McDonald
stated that he could not carry the city
on his books any longer, and it was a
case of "put up or shut up," or in
other words, if the city did not raise
him some money, he would be forced
to cut out the service. His first proposition was for the business men ta
take the matter up with the three,
banks in town and get them to buy
the warrants which his company-holds..
He agreeing to discount the warrants:
at four per cent, their face value'.' '"
As this proposition did not seem
to appeal very strongly to any of
those present, he stated that while he
would have to cut out the street lights
he would be kind enough to grant the
business men the privilege of keeping
any certain street lights buming-tha't
they saw fit,* if they would pay cash
for the lights at the regular price.
The council tried to get him to put
the lights on a meter basis, but he
would not do so. Then they made
him a proposition to run the lights on
a moonlight schedule, cutting them
off on the nights when the moonlight
was clear and turning them on during the dark, but that did not suit him
either. As the next two months are
the darkest in the year, the council
finally made arrangements with hW
:to - ^accept*-^aroranfs .in ■■■ payme
*eady:been receiyed from Washington,, ,it win put the professional dead beatiuntil the first of March, when they^
*that the *cts of the late appraising ciear out of business, for he will only >be cut out entirely. Thl^water'M
board will be thoroughly investigated, be able to "sting" one man when he fire protection is an almost absoluW
thoroughly investigated,
an/I the settlers who would have been
stung, had the appraisement been allowed to stand, will undoubtedly see
to it that* the investigating board
learn a great deal to their interest..
The: worst feature about the whole
matter is, that its puts the whole
bunch right back where they were
three years ago,, and it will undoubted-,
ly take some time before the investigating can be made and a new appraisement be ordered and completed.
WELL KNOWN MAN DIES
be able to "sting" one man when he
will be turned into the association and
all the other members will be warned
against him. The new book will be
ready for distribution in about thirty
days.
James E.. Wilson died at his home
at \Holt, Saturday, December 27, aged!
53-tyears and ten months. Mr. Wil
son was a native of Canada but came
to 'California with his parents when
but a child of three years. When a
young man of thirty he came to Montana locating at Philipsburg where
fourteen years ago he was united in
marriage to Miss Jennie Murray,
a daughter of Mrs. Catherine Murray
of Poison. Mr. Wilson had been failing in health for some time but was
seriously ill only about a week. The
immediate cause of his death was
dropsy. When word of his death was
received in Poison Mrs. Frank Lambert, sister of the bereaved wife, accompanied Uudertaker Dawson to
Holt. Sunday the remains were
brought down on the Bigfork and the
funeral was .heid at the M. E. church
Monday afternoon, Rev. 0. A. White
conducting the services. Interment
was made in the Lakeview cemetery.
EUDORA MINES LOOK PROMISING
Reports from the Anaconda Copper
Company's  mine  near  Eudora  saysi
that work is progressing on the prospecting tunnel  rapidly.   The  tunnel'
is now in about seventy-five feet and
the two shifts expect to tap the main
ore shoot before spring.   It is understood thatshould the ore shaw up as
good when tapped by the tunnel as it
does on the surface, that there is no
question but what the company will
commence to work the mine.   For if
it is as rich there as the surface would
indicate there is no doubt about its
being a very rich mine.
INDIANS CELEBRATE
AND FRAME PETITION
St. Ignatius, Dec. 26.—There was a.
ibig gathering of Flathead Indians in.
St. Ignatius on Christmas day and the
occasion was observed with the usual
dancing and pow-wow. During the.
day there was a .council held by the
chiefs, when a petition was framed, addressed to Secretary Lane, in which
the'lndians set forth a number of the'
provisions of their treaty with the
.government which they allege have
not been fulfilled. The secretary is
asked to make an investigation.
ENGLISH LUTHERAN
There will be English Lutheran services on New Years' day at the school
house, at 11 a. m.
WILL LET GRADING CONTRACT
The reclamation service has a force
of men at work digging test pits in
the pass south of J. B. Elie's place.
A deep cut will have to be made here
before the water can be turned into
the Valley View district. It is understood that as soon as the nature of
the soil to be excavated is determined
the canal work will be let to the lowest' bidder. It will require some time
and considerable work with the steam
shovel to make this cut.
YOUNG WOMAN DIES
Annie Mischell, daughter of Ange-
line Mischell died Monday, December
29th at 9.30 p. m. aged 20 years, 2
months and 19 days. The decased had
been afflicted with tuberculosis for
sometime. The funeral was held at
the Catholic church Wednesday at 9
a. m. Interment was in the Catholic
cemetery.
CITY   BUYS NEW* SET OF   BOOKS
The city council at its last meeting
instructed the city clerk to buy a new
set of books to keep track of the city's
business. The new set will cost about
$160. and the city needs them,about
as much as the proverbial dog needs
•the second tail. But according to a law
passed last year it was up to the officials to get them.
ODD   FELLOWS * WILL~~INSTALL
OFFICERS
Next Monday evening the Odd Fellows will hold their regular installation of officers and all members are
requested and urged to be present.
After the installation, refreshments
will be served and' a general good social time held.
fire protection is an almost absol
necessity and as long as Mr. McEtbnV'
aid can be prevailed upon to take M&
city's paper in payment for the 'se!:4
vice, it will be kept up. As watjferj
service costs the company practically)
nothing, as the only time it is used is'
in case of fire, and as the warrants"
are perfectly good, there does not;
seem to be much chance of the company cutting off that source of revenue, even if Mr. McDonald should!
recommend such action. So there
seems to be no need to worry about
the water for fire protection being
cut off.
Mr. McDonald stated that the Pol-
son plant had always been a losing*-
proposition for thfe .company, and he
was very sorry that it had ever been'
installed. He stated that it was put.
in on the recommendation of a certain'
Mr. Farrar, who had a dream that
Poison was going to be a big city, and
as a result of that dream Poison secured their water and light system..
But the report from the plant has always been "in the red." As a consequence, he, Mr. McDonald, was very
badly worried and had done everything he could think of to get it 'out
of the red." He closed up the busi-7
ness office here, for that reason. He
is now going to shut off the city's
lights probably, for the same reason.
If he has any other plans for the curtailment of expenses in view lie did
not say what they were.
When it was suggested to him that
if the company would make a reduction in  rates he would undoubtedly
find the increased business would help
him   in   putting   the   Poison   plant
"out of the red," he could not see it
that way.   He was told  that there
were many houses in town that were
already wired for current, but that
the service had. been cut out oir" account of the unreasonable charge, very
few irons or other electrical- devices
are in use as the cost is absolutelypro->
hibitive.   A number of the business
houses are using gasoline lights,, aiw
very few have electric signs, for no
other reason than that the cliargel   '
are so high.   Many gasoline engines
are in use in the town, for the reason
that it is a great deal cheaper to'use
•gasoline than electricity.   It is fthe
opinion of many who have lookeblaatb
it that the amount of   current  t&ifc
would be used in the town, w.bul'dfbe;
doubled if a fair rate were.asked for
it.   But judging from Mr. McDonald's
remarks on the matter, reduced; rates
will not be one of the plans he intends to recommend to try and bring
the Poison plant "out of the red."   i
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