The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-12-28

they sold for the Accommodation of
the luhbermen?'' Certainly they were
sold at an accommodating price-Sl:76
per thousand feet. Pine timber is
growing scarcer and more valuable in
Minnesota each year, and why such
haste in disposing of the pine on the
public school lands at such ridiculously
low figures?
CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED.
The sale of pine stumpage on State
lands at private sale cannot be justified,
and Mr.. Biermann made a poor show
ing in court when he attempted to JUS
tify the sale of 100000 feet of virgin
pine Virgin pine is pine that never has
been cut over) for half it's value. Here
is an extract from Mr.. Biermann's tes-
timony in court:
O.. You say it makes no difference to
the State, so far as price is concerned,
| whether there was 100000 feet from
this section or six million feet?
A. I don't believe I state that.
Q. What did you state? ~
A. That it will make no difference to
y the State whether there are five mil
lion on this piece of land or 700, 900; he
will have to pay So a Thousand. for ev-
cry thousand feet. -. =,
Q. It might make difference to the
State as to whether It would be wort
more than So a Thousand feet if there
were more than 100000 feet on the
whole section?
A. Yes sir, that is very true.
Q. And you sold this timber at this
time and at this price, believing there
were only 100000 feet on there and be-
cause you thought as the lumbermen
were working up there at that time,
that the State would be liable to lose
the sale of the timber because the lum-
bermen would not be in there again for
such small amount scattered over
such a large area?
A. Yes sir.
Q. And that was your main reason
for selling as you did?
A. Well, the main reason would be
that I thought the timber would be
subject to fire and destruction and that
it was best to sell it when I had the Oh.
portunity, thinking that when I made
a public sale it might be destroyed.
Q. You held public sale, didn't you
in Dec, 1892?
A.. Yes sir, an adjourned sale.
| q. When was that sale adjourned
from?
A. From sometime in Sept, 1891.
O.. You didn't offer this piece for sale
at the September sale, or at the ad
journed sale in December, did you?
A. presume so; when the land i!
on the record we read off every piece
OF land that is on the record.
q. Will you testify positively tina
you offered this piece for sale?
A. No sir, I would not.
Here he admits that he had held ;
public sale only q few weeks before
and there were no bidders for the tim
Der on section 36-42-26, the best section
in the reservation, at that sale! II
his address to the public he says, IT
has been on the. sales record since 1889
and has, undoubtedly been offered a
public auction several times but n,
bid has ever been received for it,
He also claims in his address as he di(
in court that his main reason for sell
ing was that he thought the timbe
would be subject to fire and destruc
ton. Mark you, Mr.. Biermann doe
not swear positively that he offeret
the timber on SO for sale at public auc
ton. He dare not. It never was of
fered at public sale. A dozen partie
from Princeton, Anoka, st. Paul AM
Saltwater. attended the sale for tn,
express purpose of bidding on tina
section and they were never afforde,
an opportunity to bid for the same
We emphatically assert that
1T WAS NEVER OFFERED AT PUBL,
Mr.. Biermann's reason that h,
thought it was in danger of destructio,
by fire is frivolous to say the least
The timber on the. south side of tn,
section had been cut IL years before
How did he know it was in danger Q
destruction by fire?" Did he send on
of his examiners to look it up and re
port? Did G. A. Smith claim in hi