The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1857-10-01
The Fort Smelling Nssc,sntlon.

The Fort smelling nssesNntl0n.
! We here copy the concluding part Of u
satisfactory article which W. find in the
Washington Untoa relative O. the sale Of
the Fort Smelling Reservation by the Sccre-
tary of War, which the Black Republicans,
in their Astounding charity pronounce u
fraudulent transaction
The slanderers of Go, Floyd say that no
ought TO have set up the land at public auc.
ton and given NIL chance Of free compct
tion, DO they not know tina, public sale
is the very place where no competition il
likely TO exist Arr they ignoran, enough
not 20 SOC that this would have rendered
fair sale altogether hopeless?
What VIC asscr, Is that u public auction
Of these lands, either in small separate lots
or all together, would have caused them to
he sold alta mere nominal price "a combina
tions of speculators. II VAS, therefore, wise
and proper in the War Department 10 MP
point special agents 10 sell them at private
sale if II reasonable price could he go, for
them In that way, In consequence of this
being done, he department e6co,cd the bet
,die that euei ied> md'|e Of pubic lands under
similar circumstances, aud >droi 10 the gov
crnmcn, at least EIGHTY THOUSAND
DOLLARS. The proof Of this is to bc
found in the record Of every previous sale,
In 1850 portion Of the reserve 1914
acrcs) at Fort Jesup. in Louisiana, was
sold. Though II was u small body ot better
land in an Older country than Fort Smelling.
Il sold for oniythr~ doilors and t6,tgserrn
cents per acre.
Ia lsa3 Fort Winnehago was put up for
sale. ! fc Hriiiifitf 81 acres was 1894, and
the whole sum realized was s2l $40, n frac.
ton beyond hrc doiid,S J~r de,c, This land
was worth ten times ~ much ns II brought
II was believed 10 be 50 AT the department
anil the combination which had been made
to get It At an umlcrvsluc was known, but
there was no help for il, The spectators
were satisfied and the abolition press was
silent.
Soon afterwards For, How rd was
offered Secretary Davis, dotornincl 10
present re-ohac,ment of the scene ol Fort
Wnncbngo. took measures 10 resist the com
biua,ion lu' the buyer, on the ground 10
ciitctally chcckma,cd him thu, h. dm na
ed a anRie Dad.
In 1854 tliriy.onc thousand acres WINS
sold Oh FROM ths same reserve nj Fort smell
ing II was lar more valuable than the por.
ton recently sold II was not only much
better for agricultural purposes. but II IN.
cludei tho present. sita Of Minneapolis all
the water power Of the Falls OF 81 Anthvny
aud the Falls Of Minnchahu, the government
mill, houses aud other improvements al large
value. Gentle reader Of the Back Rcpub.
Iicsn papers, would you believe ~ This
vast aud magnificent es,ase sold ior little
more than ,birty.ninc thousand dollars just
exactly one dollar ami twenty five cents per
acre And al Of " wen, alike dollar
and quarter was the price that ran hori.
zontally over town site aud farm lands. mills
and prairi,s, water-power and dry ground,
II IL little remarkable that this water.
power, which WAS suld three years ago for
= -. IL the very samc water power which
Gov Floyd is accused Of selling this sun.
rBcr at sl2. II was necessary TO put the
fills into the last sale since nobody could
otherwise be made believe the cstravngant
tale about wild land in Minnesota being
worth n hundred AMI twenty or thirty dol.
lhh AZ ILL., s7tsiHE lnh4 H'ttHfItf "
cataract. the Black Republicans did not hes
i'a,c 10 move 81 Anthony down the river
The instruct ions p-vcn Wy Governor Floyd
10 The agents Of the department. are. 10 our
mind, altogether crel,table 10 his head And
heart. liz directs them to proceed TO the
place where their duties are 10 he per.
fornesi--to make the sale 81 the lands IN
loriy-ace lots, at public auction. il there
be any prospect of getting lair price IN
that way; and If The usual combinations 10
cheat the government DE- formed then 10
defeat them by private sale, providrl u
purchaser can he obtained who will gvc
what the commissioners may consider right.
These Instructions were carried ont. II
was well seet that the combinations would
bc made. but they were defeated, and the
land wax well sold The spectators ravd
The hungry ao!yrs ;r0m saoss jaas Tho
prey had been suddenly snatcbc1 They
accuse Governor Floyd. whose agents sold
II q, ninety thousand dollars, IL n fraud,
merely because he was shrcwd and honest
enough 10 prevent them from getting 1t for
nothing
We disniss this idle accusation 10 the
winds. IL was not worth the attention W.
have given IT.