Morris tribune., 1882-10-05
THE LUMBERMAN's LAMENT.

by Commissioner Mcfarland of Township
Plats In Pine Land Districts--A Charge.
Z that the Commissioner IL Exceeding His
Authority.
To the Editor of the Pioneer Press
! DULUTH, Sept 20-I have read with inter-
est your articles on the presumption Of lands
in the Duluth and st Cloud land districts, and
your apparent approval of the late order Of
the commissioner Of the general land Office.
suspending the transmittal of new, township.
plats to the St Cloud and Duluth land Offices
Has it ever occurred to you that the commits
sioner of the general land Office is himself TO
blame, in great degree, for the alleged frauds
that have been perpetrated? Has it further
ever occurred to you that the Commissioners OF
tine general land Office in Withholding from the
public the surveyed lands of tbs United States,
which by acts of congress are subject to set
Element and entry under the homestead and
presumption laws, has defed and is.
defying the very laws of con-
gress upon which the whole land de-
Dartment rests?' The homestead and pre-emp-
ton laws make no distinction whatever be-
tween prairie and tmbered lands, or between
lands covered with pine and lands covered
with maple. They contemplate and authorize
the entry by settlers of all unreseryed pubic
lands. not mineral, and in this State mineral
lands are also subject to entry under those
laws:
THE ONLY QUESTION:
is one of bona fides-good faith on the part Of
the settler, and that is a legitimate subject Of
inquiry on the part of the land officers; but
when the commissioner assumes the right and
power to shut off honest and dishonest settlers
alike by withholding the pIats, so that nobody
can file on or enter the lands, he commits q
high-handed outrage upon the" laws he has
sworn to eXecute-he assumes the part of law
maker instead of an'executor Of the laws az
they exist.
Besides, what remedy does he proposef
| None, absolutely none He simply sits like o
dog in the Manager. and procaims that nobody
shall touch the fodder Congress long ago
| adopted policy wine eby the public domain
| might be distributed among the people By pre-
emp:lon and purchase, and under the home
stead and other laws. But the commissioner
| says, because frauds on the laws are commit
! ted las they always have been committed since
| the organization of the land Department., THAI
he proposes to apply an heroic remedy by sus-
| pending the laws. by defying the acts of con-
gress. And what other course does he offer to
those who desire to acquire title to this portion
of the public domain. Since 1S74-for moro.
than eight years, there have been no public
| sales OF timbered lands IN Minnesota; in the
meantime the public surveys have been going
steadily on, and. the lumbermen and fires have
| been steadily
DEPICTING. THE FINE FORESTS.
| IND rapid settlement and development of the
pralries of Minnesota, Dakota, Iowa and Ne
braska, have made and are making exhaustive
drains on the timber supply of Minnesota
| The price of stumpage has raised not because
| there is not a vast supply of pine in the State.
but because pine ID largely in the hands of the
| United States government and the commits
| sioner of the general land Office stands ~ an
obstruction in the.way of acquiring the title to
| these lands under the laws. Lumbermen were
| forced to adopt some policy to obtain the pine.
| For the last five years they have been begging
| and beseeching the commissioner and secre-
| tary of the interior to offer these lands for
| sale and put them on the market for cash
under the law of congress. Their appeals
have been in vain-some of them in
| order to get timber to- supply the
demand felt almost forced to
trespass on the public lands. and were prose-
cuted to the full extent Of the law (Which was
proper) and still any fair opportunity to obtain
by the action of the head of the land depart
ment to roundabout and not very creditabla
| ways to get title to timbered lands. II they
committed frauds, the commissioner himself
was at fault He adopted a policy which
forced the lumberman either to "shutup shop"
or to obtain lands by ways as distasteful "a
them as they are to anybody At last, few
months ago it was made public thatthe commits.
sioner had relented and would proclaim for
for sale the pine lands in the St Cloud and
Duluth land districts; and finally the procla-
nation of sale for the Duluth district appeared.
You can imagine the disappointment
of the lumbermen and othefl
who wanted to purchase pine lands, when
inform you, as know, that ali the best pint
townships were omitted from the proclama-
ton, many of them townships that had beer
surveyed for two years. No town containing
any considerable quantity of unentered pint
lands is included in the proclamation. All Tho
townships surveyed in the last two years Ar
omitted. The proclamation for the sale in thu
St Cloud district, promised months ago, hsl
| not been issu6d vet
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
| Does it mean that the commissioner intend
to prevent the lumbermen from obtaining pint
by fair means and for their money? It look
the fat of an autocrat who defsa
the laws of congress and withholds thu
plats of the surveyed public domain
from the local offices, SO that nobody can OBJ.
tain title by fair means or otherwise. Whsi
does Commissioner Mcfarland mean? Doel
he mean to force the saw mills in Duluth and
Minneapolis and elsewhere to shut down? Doel
he propose to bull the lumber market and
raise the price of every foot Of boards thai
goes into the cabins Of the settlers on the bleal
ing intentionally Tor ignorantty) in the interest
the lumbermen of Wisconsin and those heavy
} pine land owners OF our own State, who lonl
ago secured large tracts Of pine lands and s'sa
, down on'' them? OF one thing be assured
Commissioner Mcfarland is either working II
trade in general and the public, o.
, he is unfit from mental incapacity to ss(
the situation and the inevitable bad effect o.
, the people of the Northwest of the
DoG-N-THE-MANGERP POLICY.
IL hope, however, that have laid the situa
, ton before you in such light flor know it 8
} the true hight that you will see your way clea
) to advocate the policy of offering the pin
lands of Minnesota for sale as fast as they Ak
surveyed, so that the lumbermen who wan
logs may find . fair and honorable way of get
t ting them by purchase. 1t is impossible q
preserve and save for future generations tn
pine timber Of Minnesota. Every year fire
destroy millions of feet II the cut was stoppe,
{ to-day there would be little timber left in tel
or fifteen years. state what every old lum
man in Minnesota knows to be o fact-frs
have destroyed more pine timber in Minnesot
t than the axes of the lumbermen, and still tn
destruction by fire goes on and increases yea
after year 1t is possible that Commissions
, Mcfarland prefers to sec the pine forests o
Minnesota reduced to ashes rather than se
them fall into the hands Of men who will man
ufactnre them into lumber and shingles for tn
whole people? I think not think there 1
+ an African in the wood pile, and I think
| will be smoked out A LuMBERNAN
/ POSTOFFICE CHANGES,