New-York tribune., 1874-08-14

of the Pine Land Ring" of Washington and ST.
Paul. Without inquirIng into the truth OF i'is',,
of the specific allegations Of corruption n"uo
against the present Indian Commissioner. Smi'u III
connection with the sale of the timber on the Lcao
Lake reservation. while he was Indian AGENT anu
without attempting to decide the question "ne'n',
Secretary Delano is directly indirectly interested
in the profits of the Ring, may say that hhu 'ciS
few persons not inside" who do not deDouhce INC
contract referred to AS an outrageous one. Leach
Lake is in the northern central portion OF the state
ond the timber contained on the Indian reservation
surrounding il is accessible by the Mississippi River
and its tributaries Northwest of this is Red Lake
drained into the Red River of the North. The large
bodies of timber these two reservations are
the most important ones not now IN private
hands, and if the contracts for the sale OF
these held to be valid it puts it i'll the power OF
the purchasers to hold it for few wears and ol 1t
at exOrbitant prices when timber shall have be-
come less plenty il is sure to do. Previous 10 the
Inauguration of Gov. Davis the objection that was
made to this contract was that it corrupt one
and that the timber was sold for less than 1t was
worth. The State of Minnesota has got from 81 30
TO SO thousand for timber more accessible than
this which was sold by Smith at 81 ID. Cheating
the Indians out of half the price of the timber was
what was objected to- But Gov. Davis, in his IN
augural held that the lands on which this TIMBER
stands belongs to the State of Minnesota whenever
the Indian title is extineuished, the claim arising
under the act of Congress granting swamp and over
flowed lands to the State. The supreme
Court having decided in a case in which
Iowa was party that the title of the Indians to
reservation consists only of the right to occupy it,
without any right to sell convey 1t, Gov. DAVIS
claims that neither they nor their agents have any
ri 10 the that makes
land vauable-the timber The Indian title, he
also holds cannot affect the right of the State to the
land. but only pOstpOnes the time when the State
can gain possession. His assumption that these are
swamp or OverflOwed lands within the meaning OF
the law is based on an opinion of the supreme
Court defining such lands, and his Judgment that
these lands come within that definition. Inc TACT
that Gov Davis would take this position In his lnan-
gural became known i'll advance to the Ring both
here and in Washington, and have heard from {"
trustworthy source that a desperate attempt was
made to capture him, first i'll social way and then
by direct appeals that he would omit the obectiona
BILE paragraph from his address But 1t was not sue
cessful and the Ring has never since had any conf
dence in him. There is no hope that any light Will
be let in this transaction while the present Ad-
ministration remains i'll power.
MINNEAPOLIS woOLEN FABRICS.
But 10 return. Olle OlUtI MlnucdIOHH tul'iPllH
deserves mention and that is the manufacture of
fine blankets, than which no better are made any
where in the world. | visited the waTerooms of the
North Star WoOlen Mills the other day. and Ger
tainly never saw any blankets that approached in
beauty and quality some of their own manufacture
which they have there. Mr.. Greeley. during his last
visit to st. Louis. cOmplimented these mills very
highly on the character of their fabrics, and said
that but one mill in the world made "a better
blanket; that was in California. The Minneapolis
mill now makes better blankets than when Mr.
Greeley saw them. OF course Minneapolis has many
other manufactures of less Importance, but all con-
tributng to her prosperity. There is much building
this year in all the larger cities and towns of Min
nesota, especially of private residences; more than
$50 new buildings are i'll process of erection Ill
Mankato alone. st. Paul and Minneapolis are both
year by year improving the character of the build
ings put up. Most of the business houses now built
and many OF the private dwellings are d brick or
the blue limestone that is so plenty here and much
attention is paid to architectural effect.