The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1875-02-04
THE 81. CLOUD LAND OFITfN.


memorial, dsnsd by over sixty of The mos.
prominent citi.sns of Minneapolis, address.
ID % the. Commissioners Of the General
Land Office, with letters, etc. Ifever there
ahould b = thorough investigation Of tho
''bshind- the scenes" management Of the st.
Cloud Land Office, regardlsssof who should
b hit, there would b some rich Develop
nents; but such an investigation can not
DO expected ~ long ~ Senator Ramsey,
represented in this Pine Land Ring by
Judge Crowsll, rstai>s his present position.
W. publish herewith the memorial:
To tie Hon. S. S. Buraett, United States
Land Commissioner, Washington, D. c.:
The memorial of the undersigned, resi-
dents Of Minneapolis, most respectfully
represents that they are interested in the
location Of pine and other lands under the
'sprs-emption" and Homestead" laws Of
Congress, and also by purchase.
That some of them had made claims by
settlement, on United States surveyed and
unsurvsyed lands, then not yet offered for
sale.
That they were under the impression
the order issued BY your predecessor, the
Hon. Willis Drummond, required that all
plats Of surveys of land should b adver-
tissd prior to being subject to entry At the
local land Offices.
That they rested Ia they supposedly ~
curely, waiting for the return of said plats
to the local land Offices to make their fl
ings and to pre-empt.
That on application At the Land Office
At St. Cloud, in the month of August last,
Ollie and prs-smpt their claims, they then
learned for the first time that said notice
had been rescinded, and further were in
formed that the land claimed by some of
your memorialists, and on which improve
msnts had been made according to law,
was already entered by "soldiers addition
Al homesteads," thus doing great injus-
tics to the original and lawful claimants.
That two Of your memorslists were inform
q BY the Special CLERK, employed in the
local
LAND OFFICE At ST. CLOUD
that he took from the Post Office in St..
Cloud, At about 7 o'clock on the morning
Of tie 10Th of August, 1874, pl.ts Of
some
SIXTEEN TOWNSHIPS OF LAND,
carried said plats 10 the Land Office, and
that within one hour thereafter, all the
available pine lands contained insaid town
ships were entered by one
wa. NEWTON, OF M1NNEAPoL1s.
That on the morning of the 9th of
August, 1874, At about the same hour, the
said Special Clerk stated that he obtained
at the Postof6ce, plats Of
SEVENTEEN TOWNSHIPS OF LAND,
and by him taken to the St. Cloud land
Office; and that within one hour thereafter
all the available pine lands contained in
said townships were entered by one W. w.
Hsrrick, also of Minneapolis.
That both entries comprised some $4,000
acres Of the most valuable pine lands in
tho State.
That ysur msmorialists have good rsa-
son for stating, and do believe that the pine
lands embraced within the surveys made,
during the past six months, and upon the
upper waters Of the Mississippi and other
rivers in Minnesota, are to be obtained and
monopolizsd bya
COMBINATION ALREADY FORMED
for the express purpose, unless prevented
BY the government authority. And, there
fefe, your msmoralists respectfully request
the Hon. Land Commissioner to enforce
the order to advertise notes, at least ixty
days previously to the plats being returned
to the local land Offices for entry, thereby
giving all persons interested therein an
equal opportunity to secure their just and
equitable rights.
That this is the intention and object of
the government, As also the spirit and let
ter, both Of the "pre-smption' and "home-
stead" laws, your memorialists have hither-
to, and do still regard as the true purpose
and intent of the government, and hence do
demand that the prayer of their memorial
be complied with, and as in duty bound will
ever pray.
AS matter of fact, the first lot of plats
referred to did not como by mail at all, but
were brought BY Nevton himself and the
amount Of land gobbled was over 10000
acres.