St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-27
PINCHING The Pine.
The Globe Continues It's Ex-
posures Of the Timber
Robberies.
How Some of Minnesota's
"Best" Got Their Filthy
Luere.
Will the Government Have to
Pay for the Tim
beP ?
And Will Uncle Sam Ever
Rouse Up and Do Some
thing?

The unparalleled timber stealing that
has been going on in that part of Min
nesOta tributary to the Lake of the
Woods has not been done by Canadians
alone during the past dozen years.
There are to-day a host of Million
aires in Minnesota the foundations
of whose colossal fortunes were laid in
a coalition with the Canadian lumber
men of Rat Portage, Keewatin and other
points on the Lake of the Woods. These
men have in times past been all power
full in Minnesota politics and so
have prevented any investigations
and protests coming from this
state. These same men have all
along opposed the opening of the great
Red Lake Indian reservation, because
they foresaw in the opening and the
consequent rush into that region of
settlers and smaller lumbermen, sure
end to their practically un molested
timber cutting. At the present time
they are not only able to cut any
amount of timber they may want entire
ly clear of any charges for stumpage,
but also give the great operators clear
field; for owing to the great outlay of
capital required to maintain tugs and
steamers on Rainy Lake river, its
branches and the Lake of the Woods to
carry out this timber none but great
operators can enter the contest.
INDIANS STAND THE LOSS.
The value of this timber can only be
seen when the care with which the
timber is cut and foated to market
"put ill.," as the lumbermen term it's
taken into consideration. There are
no mountains or natural OBJ
structionS in the way of getting out
this timber. 1t stands, as one of the
men once in charge of operatives on
Boudette river, which is tributary to
Rainy Lake river, says, 'sas thick as the
hair on dogs back" and on practically
level land, Within easy reach of naviga-
bic streams, thus saving great expense in
transporting this timber to its place of
manufacture. Under these circum-
stances this timber is worth S5 to $40
per thousand feet right where it stands.
This land being part OF several lns-
dian reservations, as yet unsur-
veyed, and with the title in
the 5000 Indians who are scat
tered over the northern portion of
Minnesota, every cent of the value of
this timber belongs to the Indians, and,
indeed, the United States government
having repeatedly disregarded the
complaints of the Indians in this
regard, is responsible to the red
men for the entire sum. And
the Red Lake Indians propose to force
the government to reimburse them for
all the timber stolen from their pre-
serves. Were the inside history of the
influences that for over dozen years
have prevented the government author
tiles from doing their Quty and guard
ing as sacred the lands of the poor Chip
pewa Indians, it would reach the halls
of the United States senate and be-
smirch many of the leading citizens of
Minnesota.
MOUNTS TO THE MILLIONS.
The value of the ''stumpage" of last
years timber cut was not far from
s1,5O0,OOO, and the product is worth
more than S5.OO0.OOO. If Uncle Sam is
in the end obliged to make up for
dozen years of this sort of
thing, it does look as though
there was abundant material
for a congressional investigation, the
report of which would read like a ro-
nance. This investigation ought to
follow the adoption of the report of the
Red Lake Indian commission, and will,
unless sileuced by the timber robbers
ana their friends in high stations. When
the report of this Red Lake commission,
of which eX-United States Senator
Henry NJ. Rice, of Minnesota, is chair
man, is adopted. the 5000 Chippewa In
dians of Northern Minnesota will re-
ceive lands in severalty, and then be-
come citizens of the United States. The
eight OF nine millions of acres of timber
lands they will then surrender to the
government Will be surveyed, and the
lands and timber disposed of according
to law-that is, all the land and what
ever timber the depredators are kind
enough to allow to remain standing,
But where has all this timber gone to
gfter being manufactured?
NOT CANADIANS ALONE.
To Winnipeg, to Brandon and thou
sand other towns scattered over Mani
toba and the British provinces for a
thousand miles in several directions,
and even down into Northwest Minne-
sofa and the DakotaS. At the time of
the wonderful boom in Winnipeg and
Manitoba in general, some SIX or
eight years ago, the timber for
all that building craze came
from Northern Minnesota and made
lumbermen of Minneapolis, st. Paul and
Duluth suddenly wealthy, and the
number of lumber camps On Rainy
half-dozen to fifty or seventy-five. The
number of steamers and tugs on the Lake
of the Woods was nearly doubled and
immense saw mills sprang up at Kee-
watin and Rat Portage on the Canadian
Pacific railroad. Since then the lum-
bering has been going on as regularly
in the Rainy lake region as in Wiscon-
sin, Michigan or the headwaters of
the Mississippi. New lumber COM
panies entered the field, and
by forming an alliance offensive and
defensive with the Mississippi valley
lumbermen who were plundering the
waters of the "Father of Waters" both
were assured of immunity from in
terference from the officers of the gov.
ernment. 1t was a great alliance. and it
rolled up fortunes for the men behind
and in it.
WANTED: A REVENUE CUTTER.
On no other boundary lakes and riv-
ers the size of Rainy lake. the Lake of
the Woods and Rainy Lake river does
the United States allow itself to be un-
represented by revenue cutters and
officials. The Candian government, with
nothing that can be stolen, and
no way for anything if it existed to be
taken to port or portion of the United
States from whence it could be distrib-
uted, has several revenue cutters on
its lakes and military post at the
southern terminus of the Lake Of the
Woods. It's not necessary to state. how
ever, that the Canadian officials do not
deem it their duty to interfere with
their people engaged in the pursuit of
highly profitable business. Indeed, if
they Yentured to do anything else than