St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-04-17
Caustic Reference to Pine-Land Manipula-
tiOn by the Pillsburys, Washburn
and Sabin.
The Hope of Corrective Legislation
Lies in United Action by Far
mers' Organizations,
Who Can Replace the Tools of Mon
opoly and Give the People
Needed Relief.
The People Hoodwinked.

10 tie growth ana prosperity Oh all NOrtn-
western towns and cities, it is necessary to
lessen the privatiOns and increase the COM
forts and privileges attending Northwest
ern settlement. This is to be brought
about by placing able, Jealous and true men
in congress from Dakota and Minnesota,
who will labor for leave of absence bill
for prairie settlers in winter; also a bill to
retain under government control all coal
that may hereafter be discovered in what is
now public land, to meet the fuel wants of
the people who shall inhabit this section,
and to retain in the government the pine
yet left In Minnesota, for the settlers to cut
and manufacture into lumber with their
own teams i'm winter, under government
supervision and control; they to pay
stumpage eff so cents per 1000 feet, direct
to the government, for the timber cut by
them, whereby winter and summer employ
ment will be open to all. All our North
western farmers can then produce for them
selves suitable habitationS and suitable
barns to enable them to go into mixed
farming and to Introduce stock raising in
connection with grain raising, and live in
comfort with less expense for fuel than
now. More than a sufficient quantity of
pine lands have already been sold to meet
the present numbering demands of the
Northwest, and if all the remaining timber
lands in Minnesota were sold it would not
cheaper lumber, and those who buy timber
lands, do so as
AN INVESTMENT
TO make out of the purchase all that they
can, which policy necessarily forces COM
binatiOn on prices and the exactiOn from
this region in all the better grades of lum-
Der of Michigan state prices. plus freight
from there here, Notwithstanding pine lands
there command $50 to 500 an acre and
here they bring the government S1.25 an
acre. Ii the remaining timber lands are
retained to be used as above suggested, COM
binatiOn can not control the price of lum-
Der. The settlers of the Northwest having
the privilege of leaving their claims in
winter, and free fuel in this forest in winter
after having cut what they need for them
selves, will cut and sell to others as long as
the prices will give them anything for
their labor. The same labor that will pro-
duce lumber In Michigan will here. The
monopoly cannot buy up the lumber cut
and establish corner on the price. because
the government will stand behind with its
forest for any man to go to and at once cut
more, and If the monopoly should attempt
10 buy up the lumber manufactured it would
have no market to sell on and would have
to hold their purchase and let it rot, or in
other words, this plan places the gouern-
ment behind the people to down the mo-
nopoly and still bring to the government
for timber alone more than it now receives
for both timber and soil, this being the salt
policy of New York in relation to its salt
wells at Syracuse, which for more than
century has worked so successfully as to
place its wisdom beyond all question. In
aSmuch as the
COURTESY THAT EXISTS
in congress between respective members is
such that no legislation can be secured for
any region that is not favored by the MEM
bers of that region. The legislation above
suggested cannot be expected until we cease
to send men to congress that are hostile to
it, or that are made of that soft material
that they can be diSsuaded from working
for it. The bill originated and drafted by
myself on this pine matter was last year
indersed in very strong terms
by the Dakota legislature and our repre-
sentative urged to labor for its adoption by
The bill and resolution had been
laid before him, but so far as | know, moth
ing has been done or attempted for its pass
age. In the meantime the Dakota delega-
ton in congress is labOring to have treaty
rights removed from the Chippewa and Red
Lake reservation pine lands in Minnesota,
and these lands made part of the public
domain proper so that quarter sections of
pine on the Red Lake river which the
Grand Forks chamber of commerce in the
spring of 1882 stated to congress to be
worth SIC, 900 quarter, can like wave be
covered by squatters in the employ of the
and acquired for $500 quarter.
1t is not strange that this is being done
when we consider that the Pillsbury Bros.
of Minneapolis largely obtained their start
on pine timber lands and that they now own
probably over one-siXth OF all the pine lands
that have been sold in Minnesota, that w.
ID. Washburn is another large owner of
pine lands. and
SENATOR SABIN ANOTHER,
and that these men and others who own
pine lands are practically the runners of the
Republican party of Minnesota, and that all
rings, in going for such plums as this pine,
labor through the party in power by secur-
ing secretly and beforehand the nomination
of their friends and servants TO fill the nee
eSsary official positions to serve the ends of
the ring. Boss Tweed and Jay Gould both
pursued this course. Gould testified before
the Hepburn committee of the New York
legislature in 1878 that in one year he had
expended 81, 900, coo i'm four states to secure
control of their legislatures by going into
Republican districts and setting up Repub-
lican nominations, and doing the same in
Democratic districts, whereby when the
election was over his work was successfully
Last July l laid before
Commissioner Sparks affidavits showing
that over fifty-four men had been arrested
Minna-nfo nd
TO the United States court as thieves for
going on the public domain and cutting a
few trees to relieve their necessities, while
in June, 1850, the Minnesota delegation in
congress secured a law to be passed exempt
ing big and rich thieves, who had stripped
whole sections of pine and who are the head
center of the pine ring, from both civil and
criminal prosecution. Since July congress
has met. The same delegation and the
Dakota representative
IGNORE THE BILL
by the Dakota legislature to
destroy the ring, and have been laboring TO
place in the ring the balance of our pine
lands Is any evidence more potent than
this desired OF the necessity of independent
action to supplant these men in congress?
This being the case, we must look for re-
lief through some independent organization
TO arise loyal to these objects and to press
whose stock is not owned by the pine
ring. The farmers organizations should be
used to meet these ends, but they for this
purpose need to amend their platforms so
as to provide for nominations by such or
CARNATIONS of men for congress that are
favorable to these objects with sufficient
ability to urge the matter intelllgently, and
possessed of sufficient character to stand by
their convictions regardless of money in
ducementS or other considerations that
may be placed before them. Strange as it
may seem, this is in fact the
only way to bring about cheap