St. Paul daily globe., 1893-09-15
BOB DuNN'S CASE.
the State Of Minnesota VS..
c. A. Smith & Co.,
INVOLVING KALUA6LE TIMBER,
Gas Been Set for Trial at
Princeton Today.
EyyLL PROBABLY BE ADJOURNED.
fhe Complaint, Answer and
Reply in the Case.
YHL PROBABLY Be ADJOURNED.
RkTERiAL ALLEGATIONS DENIED

Special TO the Globe.
PRINCETON, Mimi, Sept. a. - The
ease OF The State against {. y. Smlth u
Co., of Minneapolis, which IS to be tried
here. is set for tomorrow. and will be
called at that time. but is expected to
go over to later date in the month,
probably Sept. %. This action is CON-
menced as the result of long and bit
ter contest in the last legislature. 1t
began with charges made by Robert
c. Dunn, member of the house for this
district, against State Auditor Biermann
charging him with having illegally sold
timber OH state pine lands TO g. Il.
Smith Il Co. MIR. Dunn made long
and unsuccessful fight to have resolu-
ton passed by the legislature annuliing
the deal and canceling the contract
made for the sale. In the closing hours
of the session he succeeded in having
passed a resolution directing the gov
eEnor to investigate and bring
SUIT FOR CANCELLATION
of the contract. and to sue foc the re-
coVery of balance in favor CT The state.
Gov. Nelson in June notified Smith q
Co. of the intention 10 commence the
action, in accordance with the legIsia-
tive act, and the attorney general com
menced the suit in Mile Lacs county.
Smith IL Co. asked for change Of venue
TO Ramsey county, which was denied.
c. A. Smith, OF the firm. is a
member of the personal staff to
Gov. Nelson, ana as soon as
notified of the governors action he
rendered his resignation. which the
governor, however declined TO accept,
informing him that the case did not re-
fleet upon him. and was presented only
in order to test the right of the auditor
TO sell the public lands or timber i'll the
manner he had doiie III this case.
Notice of service and return in the
case was made on Charles a. Smith
Aug. 8, 1898, and on john S. Piilsbury,
a member of the. firm, Aug. Z, 1898. II.
w. ChildS and Warner, Richardson "
Lawrence are attorneys for the plaintiff.
The complaint alleges that the above
named defendants were mentioned Co
partners under the firm name of G. A.
Smith d Co.. in the business of hand
ling lumber, embracing the purchasing
of standing and growing pine. That
the state of Minnesota is the owner of
section SO. township AZ, range 20. in
Mile Lacs county, which land was
school lands of the state, and was at
the time of the sale covered With
A HEAVY GROWTH OF PINE.
Between the ODD and Goth days of
January, 1892, at st. Paul, the COM
piaint says that a. Bierman. state land
commissioner. at the request of Charles
4. Smith, when the pine timber was not
liable to waste or damage, and when no
estimate or appraisal Of the same land
had been made by the commissioner or
any of his predecessors in office, before
he had submitted an estimate or ap-
praisal of the pine timber, and
statement regarding liabilities to loss or
damage to the same TO the governor
or treasurer of said state and the said
commissioner, and when none of The
abOve-named officials collectively or
separately had made any statement or
declaration that it was for the interest
of the state that the pine timber be sold,
and without any notice of sale. solo at
private sale and not at public auction
to the firm of Smith q Co., all the pine
timber on the land in question at price
OF. 81 per thousand feet, upon a
fictitious estimate of 100000 feet for
all the pine timber OF the land, and that
at he time of the sale A. Bierman, as
commissioner of the state land afficer
and at the request of Charles A. Smith,
executed and delivered to defendants a
contract conveying said timber. The
complaint further alleges that the
INSTRU MENT WAS DATED BACK
to the 7th day of December. 1891, the
day public sale of pine had been made
by the lana commissioner for the pur.
pose of making it appear that it was g
public and not private sale, and thai
the name of c. a. Smith was put in the
contracts for the convenience of the de-
PENDANTS. The complaint says that the
defendants knew there were far more
than 100000 feet and not less thar
100000 feet of good merchantable
timber growing on the land, and thai
the same was worth and still is wortI
not less than So per 100 feet.
Another clause of the complaint say:
that the timber was not at any time
liable to waste or damage, nor wa:
there any appraisal or statement as t
liability or loss ever made. Continuing
the complaint says that the instrumen
was wrongfully and unlawfully made
and that the same was made through
the mistake aud not inadvertence O
SAID land commissioner: that the plant
III believes defendants nave cut not les:
than 2,432, ,010 feet, and have wrongful,
used the same. and that the timber 81
cut and converted is reasonably wortl
$40 per thousand feet. That on June %
1898, demand for payment was refused
and that defendants have failed to sur
render the contract and their PRETENDED
rights hereunder. The plaintiff ask
the court TO cancel and annul the in
strument of sale, and to determine
the exact amount OF timber the defend
ants have cut and removed from tn,
state lands, and that fair ana reason
able value be named and paid to plant
iii for the same, with costs.
THE DEFENDANTS ANSWER,
The defendants in their answer ad
NIT partnership, also that the state wa
owner of the lands described in th
complaint and thatthey are partly GOV
cred with pine, but deny all allegation
except as specified. They deny tha
the instrument WAS executed when th