The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1874-09-03


School and University, unlessSncluded
in some of the amounts reported by
him in gross. We should add here i'll
explanation of the above summary.tha
all timber mentioned as cut without
permit are designated as unreported in
exhibit '.E;;" and that the amount of
timber stated by us cut without permit
is to be understood as being only so
much thereof as we could in our inves-
tigation discover.
If an isolated case in the table be
found to be incorrect we have no
doubt but that in our computations we
have been sufficiently ''liberal'' against
the State, for reasons already stated,
to more than balance any error that
may be found in any such case to ex-
list. The table is unsatisfactory to the
committee only in this, that we know
it fails to state all the Deficiencies and
losses to the State of like character.
MORE DEFICIT.
In addition to the foregoing we find
that on or about the fifth day Of Aug
ust, 1859, Mr.. McIlrath, as State Aud
itor, furnished to the officers Of the
Lake Superior & Mississippi railroad
company an official statement of the
amount Of money that had been COL
lected by him in payment of timber cut
i'll the winters of 1861 and 1868, on
the odd sections of land then held in
trust by the State for the construction
Of the said Lake Superior and Missis-
sippi railroad, and also Of that cut the
same seasons upon certain swamp
lands then held by the State in trust
for said railroad company. In
these statements Mr.. McIlrath certified
that he collected the following sums
For timber cut upon swamp lands %, 1873 46
For timber cut upon odd sections 1888 81
Making total off, $50. $40, 1876 IS
A copy Of the statement Of the tim
Der cut on the odd sections is hereto
annexed and marked Schedule G."
Tie statement of timber cut on the
swamp lands has been mislaid by the
railroad company and could not be pro-
duced, but its absence is immaterial as
the original Of Schedule G has endorsed
upon it memorandum in the hand
writing Of Mr.. McIlrath and admitted
by him to be his endorsement, giving
the total amount derived from odd Sec
tons and swamp lands, which CORES
pond with the above statement. No
record Of these transactions is to be
found in any form in the Auditors or
State Land office. We find that no por-
ton Of this ten thousand four hundred
and thirty-six dollars and eighty-tive
cents, $50, 436.85) has been paid into
the treasury of the State, and that the
same is to be added to the deficit above
shown to exist.
In this connection your committee
would call attention to the fact made
to appear by the testimony of Mr..
Bray, Of the firm of Bray, Wilder &
Co., and others, that it has been the
practice of lumbermen at public sales
of stumpage, by agreement among
themselves as to the particular tract
that each desired to cut upon, to avoid
competition in bidding, and thereby
purchase at less price than the tim
Der would have brought had such CON-
binations not been made. This is evil
IDENTIFY the result of offering too large
an amount Of stumpage for sale at one
time. Lumbermen cannot be specially
censured, perhaps, for taking advant.
age of opportunities Of the kind, but a
due regard for the interests of the
State make it the duty Of the Legisla-
ture to guard against presenting such
opportunities in the future. The
stumpage to be sold each season should
be limited to IN amount that would
compel competition on the part of
bidders.
Another point that should be con-
sidered is the temptation that constant
ly exists for those parties whose duty
it is to scale the logs cut, whether act
ing in the capacity Of examiners and
explorers for. the State Auditor or dep
uties of the Surveyors General.to report
for a consideration other than their
fixed compensation-a less amount of
timber than was actually cut, and
which would be considered 'fiberal"
and satisfactory BY the parties cutting.
M'LRArH A SECRET PARTNER.
Your committee after careful inquiry
have been unable to find single in.
stance where the State has suffered loss
by reason ofthe non-payment of stump
age sold by Mr.. McIlrath. The case Of
Mr.. David Cover is cited in the testi
mony of Mr.. McIlrath as an instance
where the State failed to receive all
that was due. Mr.. Cover denies in his
testimony the statement of Mr.. Nell
rath in that regard. We are,therefore,
justified in the belief that the
only stumpage sold by McIlrath that is
unpaid is represented by the notes and
claims mentioned in a former part of
this report, and which are now in the
hands Of the Attorney General for col
lection.
Your committee, in the course Of the
investigation, developed the fact that
on the 18th day Of September, 1868,
the firm or copartnership Of Taylor,
Warren & Co. was organized, and that
the aforementioned Butler Comstock
was bookkeeper of the firm, and that he
represented two-ninths interest IN said
copartnership, one of said two-ninths
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