Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-11-18

[Sopksne Chronicle


Having occasion TO 20 TO Rath
dram, last Saturday, We accidentally
met al the Mastsrson House, n J.
HALEY. United States Timber Agent
whose recently published revelation
of the achievements of the Msnta1t
improvement Company has causec
such q sensation in the northern tier
of Territories. Mr.. Haley. by tbs
way. Is an experienced and geuia
journalist, having been the Colum
bus. Ohio, correspoa tent Of Cleveland
and Cincinnati papers. aud obiiging
ly furnished US, AZ our solicitation
some of the items connected with his
investigation of the above apparently
discreditable business.
The shape 10 which the matter bad
been published. said Mr.. HALEY, has
been miscslled report, aud he is a
q loss to know how it was obtained
by the Associated Press Il should
have been designated letter Of
transmissal, which enclosed eight
reports, which. together with TWEEN
ty-thres previous reports made thir-
IL one indictments.
The charges which he brings
against that corporation. which he is
confident he can substantiate, are OF
a twofold nature:-First, defrauding
the Government; second. establishing
a grinding monopoly of the lumber
business.
Under the first count he discover:
that the Montana improvement Com
pany is a corporation in very ques-
iionable relationship to The Northern
Pacific Railroad Company, organized
with the express intention Of cutting
timber for commercial purposes
along the line of aud transporting il
ever the Northern Pacific Railroad.
The specifications of the contract,
which he obtained from H. W. Fair.
weather, formerly Division Superin'
tendent. binds the Company to with
draw all its timber lands from sale or
disposal for a period Of twenty years,
and gives the improvement Compa.
ny the exclusive right to cut timber
from the lands. As an equivalent for
this privilege, the improvement Com
pany grants to the Railroad COmps.
ny 1901 full paid shares Of its capital
stock, and agrees to erect at its own
expense all mills and appliances fol
manufacturing lumber and delivering
on board cars. Although q nominal
freight rate was established by the
railroad, we understand that there wal
rebate which enabled the Improve
ment Company TO undersell all thu
other lumber enterprises along the
line and leave large profit besides
Mr.. HALEY has evidence that At,
900. 900 feet of lumber, ties, shingles
etc, has been taken from the forest!
in Idaho and Montana. much o
which has been sold to the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company, large
quantities shipped to Washington
Territory and to the timberless set
Elements ia Montana.
The culpability of the company oil
this score wOnld seem to be tina
although it may have intended to pa,
the stumpags required by the lnterio
Department, for cutting from Gov
eminent lands, it has yet paid moth
ing and demands that theGOvernmen
show its loss of a certain definit
amount of timber, before payment
while 1t charges other parties
stumpage of two dollars per NJ. an,
requires them to pay l.. Watson |
Lavelle at Bear Mouth. Montana
have paid the company $500; Sinai
Bros, at Loano. |. T., paid $3.50
and the Montana Lumber & Produc
Company. at Butte. have paid $500
stumpage. The Railroad Compap
has allowed several of its officer
who compose q portion of the syn
dictate which forms the Improvement
Company to assume that one ha
the land for forty miles on eac
side of the road is already the prop
erty Of the Northern Pacific Rsilros
Company while the grant only cor
cedes the odd sections after surve
and plating. There is but a sma
tract of the immense timber region
Of North Idaho and Western Nor
tans surveyed few sections sout
of Missoula-from Granite TO Bear
Mouth, and it is the unsurveyed POI
tion from whence the principal par
of the timber has been taken. Nj
HALEY even asserts that on the SUI
veyed tract between Rathdrum an
Granite, the road sectors have bee
spared aud the Government section
freely appropriated.
| The other disagreeable feature |
regard to this business is the uncor
scionable effort to drive out all con
petition. No less than fifteen ind
vidual enterprises have been crushe
out by this selfish monopoly. and
history of this oppression woul
bring upon the Improvement Con
pany the indignant rebuke Of all fai
minded business men.
| We learn from Mr.. HALEY tbs
there are other features in come,
ton with the matter which may "
see the light, and we shall hope to se
slch unworthy corporate transa'
tons brought to retributive justic,
and made an example of which wi