The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-04-12
Millions WERE STOLEN
From the School Funds Of The State
OF Minnesota.
GREAT FRAUDS IN THE RETURNS.
Men Of Wealth Implicated-Pine Lands
stripped and the state Deprived Of
the Revenue - Lumbermen Banded
Together.

from the state OF Minnesota, a large part
oft from the schools. through frauds i'm
the handling of the pine lands of the
Commonwealth" Such is the language
OF the report of the Senate Pine Land
committee. yesterday. Minnesota has
never had sucn a sensation. as it Is
known that several ex-publlc officials
and several OF the leading lumbermen OF
Minneapolis are involved
As on as the report was read a bill
was introd ced and passed under suspen-
sion of the rules appointing state C cim-
mission TO continue the Investigation and
bring the cases before the grand jury,
$1,000 being appropria ed for its ex-
penses. Another bill was also passed for
the correction of fraudulent assessments
herever made.
The report characterizes the frauds
upon the school fund as a
"Roundless Sea of Iniquity."
These frauds were accomplished by false
returns as to the amount Of timber cut
and by low prices put upon the same
Several instances are quoted In the re-
port showing wide difference betwe
he amount returned by the sealer
for the surveyor general and the
amounts that WIRE actually taken
from the lands. 1t Was testified
been stripped of The timber and three
forty-acre tracts therein, containing pine
uad been sold"as agricultural land. An
other witness who had been upon this
land n the time and maze an examine
ton of IL, testified that there were at
least 1000, 900 feet Of pine timber upon
the section. aud that some had p aced
il as high as 100000 feet; that
in addition TO this he thought there
were futly 20, 600 feet of oak timber that
Z section was upou the edge of a lake,
so that the logs could De easily RATED To
timber, as sworn TO by this witness, WAS
S7,525. The state auditor shows by his
ietter that the whole amount derived by
the state from that section for timber
tor the school fund amounted TO S3OS. IA.
and that amount had not yet been paid.
The CO nmittee assumes that II such "A
Gigantic Fraud
as this, involving robbery of more than
S7,000in one section, is true, it must have
been a sample of thousands of other
cases of the same kind. There is no
doubt upon the minds OF the com mittee
that school lands as well as other lands
belong ing to the state have been the sub
ject during many years of combinations
between the buyers Tor the express pur-
pose of preven ing competition aud beat
lug down the price AM delrauding the
state.
While it appears that So per I 900 feet
has been the ruling price 70 stump e. in
the state at large, In great mauy cases
he sci ool fund mas received but from 81
to 81. 80 per 1000 feet. a letter from he
state auditor sh ws how grossly mac.
curate we're the estimates of ,rties en-
ployed in the state to estimate the
amount OF timber upon state Ian Is II
seems 10 the committee that such errors
must have been commit ed pdrposely au Il
In the interest or those taking timber
from the state.
In one T. stance land was sold at from
So to 5000 per acre. which was easily
worth from $50 to SlO0 per acre, and but
n small portion wor,n less than Sl5 per
acre. II il claimed TO have cen sold IT
pubic sale. but all competition was pre-
vented al tie alleged
Sale by a Ring,
W hich placed all the bidding in the hands
OF one man, and when an outsider at
tempted to bid he was told to leave the
place. Aud this was said in the pre- ence
OF the then state nd tor, who took 10
txceptol to ii, and procy eded with tn e
sale while all he evi ,ence showed tha
IL wasn't fa open sale.
The committee states that when il be-
cane Lecessary to ascertain certaiu facs
from the state aIditor they found the
BOOKS ana accounts
in such condition that the information
could not le obtained until a certain
c ERIK was sent in to explain matters. The
confusion dates back several years.
The report continues: "Tne evidence
taken forces your committee To the cor |
clusion that the scuo 81 fund OF the st ,te
has been robbed by these aud sim lar
arts of millions OF dollars OF its prop |
erty. We have only b 'en able To ind
comparatively few isolated cases, but |
il we apply the same ratio OF ffaud To all |
the school lands In the pine regi N tle loss |
TO the state must have besu enor no rs.
We will not go far AS 70 say tudt the |
state officers were "A direct party to Tn csc |
rauds and suarsi in ihe plu der, |
alt ough 50 ne OF the witnesses nave O |
est fed, Dut We can certainly hold them |
responsible for great egligence OF duvy,
nor do these wrongs seem 10 nave been /
confined TO one year or TO ANY one state |
officer; they range back as far ~ our in
vestigation has penetrated.
1t Is horrible part OF this whole |
matter that men OF large wealth aud |
high social position joined in this scheme
Tlunder the Little Children
Of the state OF their patrimony. IL
would have been bad enough IL the ie-
norant and vicious had resorted to
such practices, but VIII "A the pillars
or the CHURCHES and the r ameuts to so
ciety have joined In the work IL seems to
evidence the rOttenness OF our whole so
clal eond lions. These robberies weie
not confined To the pine lanis alone,
but IL appears that the state has
been plundere1 Of its hardwood
timber 20 large amounts, although
there Is no law, as your COM
mitteee believes, g. justify the state au-
ditor IN selling a single stick oi oak, ash,
eim, Eastwood, etc, except with the land
AZ puuiic sale. Ia some cases wood has
n sJld "a cordwopd, altnouR the Off
GERS OF the state must have well under
>, % that when the land was 50 str pped
ind nothing left but stumps it wouli b.
', r. diiiicult TO sell ~ for agricultural
ands.