Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1885-02-28
PINE LAND
Substance of the Bill Drawn by
Major Standish.

Substance of the Bill Drawn by
Major standish.
The following embodys the main fea-
lures of the pine land resolutions intro.
duced by Mr.. Ruger at the request o.
Major Standish, of Bartlett:
The resolution of Representative
Ruger, House No.l2e on your calendar,
has in view a request by your honorable
body for the President of the United
States to exercise power now delegated
to him by law to withdraw all the un'
sold pine lands of Minnesota from mar.
ket, and that Congress enact provisions
that will enable all our Northwest farm
ers, and citizens to lumber from these
lands in winter with their teams Oh their
own account on equal privileges with the
rich, and to secure cheaper lumber to
the public than is now had or can be pro-
duced in any other way, and at the same
time relieve the government from the ex-
pense and cruelty of driving the Indians
who inhabit these lands from their pres
ent homes to some bleak prairie to per-
ish.
That congress has given similar priv
ileges elsewhere to lumber from it's
public domain without any charge,
where it was to benefit the public, and
that this measure would as greatly hen
eft each and all of your constituents as
in that instance, and the objects Of the
resolution can be obtained if you adopt
it and the same is followed up by urgent
action, we purpose to show.
In order that some conception may
be had of the extortion practiced by
the pine interests of Minnesota upon us
your attention is called to the following
facts:
There is nc more labor attending the
cutting of a log or tree, hauling it to
the river, driving, booming and saving
it up where it makes LIST clear or LIST
common than if it made Gull lumber;
and the tree or log, before it is touched,
will tell by its appearance whether it
will make a Gull or something better,
and if the price of Gull lumber would
not cover the expense attending its
manufacture it would never be touched
in the forest. To match and plane our
best lumber which sells in Grand Forks
and Fargo for $50 and $65 per NJ, costs
only $3.50 by contract at the mills for
its planning and matching, which is all
the additional labor bestowed on it over
that given to making Gull lumber, and
this cutting of it away 80 reduces its
weight as to enable it to be placed in
Fargo and Grand Forks at the same
price of Gull lumber by reason o fhaving
to pay less freight.
After allowing the manufacturer and
wholesale dealer and retail dealers their
profits, and paying freights, Gull boards
sell at Fargo for sll per M, as quoted in
the daily papers of today, and best
flooring, siding and shiplap at $50, and
clear lumber at $50 and SOS per M, and
other grades Of lumber at prices be-
tween these and the price of culls, or
making the profit on the very best pine
lumber yer the price of Gull lumber
$54 per NJ, and on the best siding, floor.
ing and shiplap, $50 per M.
An acre of good pine timber produces
20 M of lumber or more. Millions of
acres of it in Minnesota have been dis
posed of by the government for only
$l.25 per acre, and where auction sales
have been resorted to they brought, in
the average, less than SO an acre to the
government for both soil and timber. Is
it strange that w. D. Washburn, not so
very long ago a poor surveyor, is now
able to live in q house alleged to have
cost a quarter of million2 Or that D.
NJ. Sabin, yet q young man and who
started with less than $4,000, was at the
time of his election to the United States
senate from Minnesota reputed to be
worth $4,000 900, and his wealth to
consist chiefly of pine, while Fletcher,
Walker and a few others have grown
equally rich?
Need we be surprised if we could in
vestigate and discover that the con-
trolling stock Of all the leading news
papers of Minnesota, both Democratic
and Republican, at this time are, and
have been tor years past, owned by the
possessors of Minnesota pine lands? or
that there is and has been q pine ring
in this region as complete, secret and
unsupported by the public as were the
great whisky ring and Tweed ring for
years before being suspected to exist by
the public?
That the Minnesota forest has as fine
heavy timber as is to be found in the
United States, that good pine lands are
worth in Michigan from $50 to 500 an
acre, and that on the verge of this Min
nesota forest the better grades of pine
lumber cost Michigan prices plus freight
from there to us, while an abundance Of
timbered land has been sold at our
doors for from $l.25 to So an acre, sum-
Gent to meet our lumber wants for
many years, are facts which no intelli-