St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-29
A Minneapolis Paper Drops
Into Humor on Dead
and Down Timber.
How a Young Democrat Aid
ed in Unearthing a Tre-
mendouS Steal.
He Was Enticed Into q Room
and Given a Bad
ThPashing.
A Days Doings as Chroni-
cled by Reporters of
the Globe.

A story was printed in the Minneap-
oils Journal of last Friday that con-
tanned many elements of the humorous.
1t was in the form of special dispatch
to the Journal from Brainerd, and re-
lated to the cutting of timber en- tn
Indian reservations contrary 10 the pro-
| visions of the United States laws
regulating the cutting of tim
Der on reservations. The article
states that Special Timber In
spector Warriner hAs discovered
that the Indians are cutting a good deal
millions or feet-Of timber that is not
dead and down. timber, the only sort
| that the government allows the Indians
TO cut off the reservations. Joe LOsh
aud Jack Tuttle, half-breeds, and George
| Lydick, a squaw man, were the people
who were sKinning the reservation of
valuable timber under permits to cut
dead and down timber. They were
doing this, it is alleged, under
| the direction of Capt. Jack Tidd,
relative of Agent B. P. Shuler.
The permit was to cut 20,000,000 of the
! dead and down timber, and the bene-
ficiaries of the permit. Backus 4 Co.
and c. A. Smith Il Co., were exclusively
| permitted to purchase the cut at 81 per
| thousand for the logs and 81 for cutting
Sc per thousand. Inspector Warriner
! charged that, instead of cutting 100000
| OOO, they had largely increased the cut.
| His belief is that they cut 30,000,O00.
The fine quality Of LUMBER cut, he
| states, is worth 50 a Thousand, instead
of So.
This story from Brainerd closes with
! this exquisite piece of humOr;
While as above stated, the disclosures
/ were officially made by Inspector Warriner
who is a Republican. it seems that behind
! them there was, what at one time was quite
! q political scheme, the concoction OF b. +.
Neal, of Grand Rapids who. rabid young
Democrat. By some hook or crook has be
| come United States commissioner Neal
! early last winter got onto this dead and
| down" racket, and having sufficiently set it
| on foot SO as TO make basis tor charges at
! Washington when the time came, carefully
| nurSed IL for partisan uses. intending 10 get
! it sprung as sample administration scandal
/ along about the time of the MINNEAPOLIS con-
| Ventlon. The department waited Neal
promised information for while, and then
put Inspector Warriner ON the work with the
result that the attack was made expeditions
| " and. as the SEQUEL will show. unless all
| appearances are deceiving, the investigation
! will be most thorough-al! done by Republic
ans in the interest of the public.
That Mr.. Neal is United States COM
missioner is true. chat he is Demo-
! crat is probably true. That he was
nursing these disclosures for political
sensation is not true. Mr.. Neal is a
| lawyer, and in no position to go skating
around through the woods looking up
timber stealing. He became satisfied
that the stealing was going OH,
and made such report to the
authorities in Washington. That is
| all he has done. He has suffered for
| bis honesty. The GLOBE is informed
| that Mr.. Neal, for making this report,
/ and helping TO stir up the government
! to the stealing of valuable timber, was
| enticed into room by the men men-
! toned above as interested in these con-
| tTactS-at least by some OF them-and
| cruelty beaten. But that has nothing
to do with this case, except as showing
the animuS or the people who are trying
| to rob Mr.. Neal of some of the credit
| for making these disclosures.
The publication of the facts in regard
to this timber stealing was not done
! within the last week or a month. The
/ GLOBE published a full expose Of the
! system in vogue up there early last
| winter when the cutting OF timber be-
| gan. 1t obtained the Information at
that time from lumbermen, one of them
| being David Willard, of j. W. Day d
! Co. The evidence given Ill the GLOBE
| of the crOokedneSS existing III the
manner of cutting and selling the
| timber on the reservations was SO
! conclusive that the government could
not overlook it. This information was
| published while the Indian commission
at Washington was looking into the
! stewardship of Agent Shuler. So Mr..
! Special Timber Inspector Warriner is
J not the man whO.deserveS all the credit
| for finding out that timber is being cut
! off the reservation in defiance of the
law. He is entitled to the credit, and
only that. of making trip through the
camps and finding out exactly how
much has been cut. The government
| has good chance to do something in
| the case now.
Mr.. Warmer finds that the Indians
| have cut and sold to lumbeTmen who,
through some mysterious agency, enjoy
! the right to purchase the cut exclusively
and for less money than other men
would pay. about 10000, ,0C0 feet. That
| is good deal of dead aid down" tim
| Der to come from that section. The
| GLOBE has it on the authority of expert
| enced lumbermen that not over ,00O, 900
| feet of lumber could have been cut
| OH the reservation had the law been OBJ
! served, and that would not have been
| of a good quality. So it seems that
| about $4,000, COO feet of logs have been
cut that should be still standing. The
| lumbermen say further that the Indians
alone could not cut 30,000.0U0 feet In a
season. They could cut about 5000, coo
! feet, one man SAYS. AS he puts it:
''There are just about enough Indians
! to carry the camp kettles for the
| lumbermen." The claim is made that
the lumber firms that have enjoyed the
| right of exclusive purchase of timber
| from the reservations have put their
regular numbering crews into the woods
! on the reservations and done the work
| themselves. Last year. it is claimed,
| c. A. Smith d Co. had their regular
foreman in the woods on the reserva-
! ton.
But the ''funny business" in connec-
ton with the cutting OF timber on the
! reservations does not stop here. If Mr..
! Special Timber Inspector Warmer has
| been so diligent as he is said to have
| beeD,he has discovered more than he has
talked about TO the Journals Brainerd
correspondent. This is not the first
! year that this sort of business
has been carried on. 1t was
done in the winter of 1SS9-9O; in the
| winter of 1S90-9l; in the winter of 1891
90, the present season. The firm of G..
A. Smith & Co. has been deep in the
| purchase of these logs every year. The
statement is made by lumbermen who
say they are prepared to provo it that
G. A. Smith & Co. bought 100000 feet
| feet of the cut of 1690-91, and that part
| of those 100000 feet are still in the
woods. If Mr.. Warriner is so diligent
why has he not found those logs cut off
! the reservation last season and never
marketed? If they are there it should
not be.a difficult matter to find them
| and cOnfiseate them.
The Minneapolis lumbermen feel
| deeply on this matter. They are not
| prepared to say that the loud announce
ment of what has been done by Special
/ Timber Inspector Warmer is a good
| deal of a bluff applied only to this