St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-01
Benton HAS 4 BOOM.
The Land Office Commission
ership May Go to the
North DakOtan.
BE VIII Have Lots Of Friends
at Court Beginning
With Today.
Hon. Maris Taylor Also Has
His Lightning Rod in
Position.
The Interior Department Un-
der the Harrison Regime
in Bad Order.

Special TO the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2S.-The admin
lstration of President Harrison will go
out leaving several branches of the gov
ernment service in bad shape. The
treasury and poStotfice departments
will need a pretty thorough renovation,
but in neither of these will there be
anything half so bad as viii be found in
the interior department. The abuses of
the pension bureau under Gen. Raum
are well understood IN all parts of the
country, but it is not so generally known
that the office OF the commissioner of
the general land Office is in bad
repute from Minnesota to the Pa
cifc coast. Neither Gen. Noble. the
dyspeIic head of the department,
nor the present commissioner of the
land Office. hon. William NJ. Stone, of
Iowa, are charged with any intentional
wrOngdOlng, but there will be any num-
Der of charges filed against the conduct
of the office by eX-Land Commissioner
Thomas II. Carter within week after
the new administration takes hold.
There is at present a sensational case
involving a valuable mineral claim in
Montana before Gen. Noble in which,
along with other allegations, It Is
charged that Mr.. Carter caused the de-
cision to be hurried through in such
manner as to deny the defeated parties
the
Privilege Of Appealing
TO the secretary OF the interior. There
is a delegation of Duluth gentlemen on
the way to Washington with complaints
against the Duluth land officials, in
which Carter is also mixed up, and the
scalps of both Register Nichols and Re-
ceiver Fraser will be demanded at once.
While Mai. Baldwin and the other Min
nesOta Democratic congressman decline
TO give out any information regarding
the matter. charges will be presented at
once against the men who have had
charge of the work of surveying and
appraiSing the Red Lake preservation, and
an investigation will be certain to follow.
The men who will prefer the charges is
regard to the Red Lake reservation
matter will also call the attention OF the
department to the timber thieving that
has been going on in Northern Mime
sofa for so many years and has practic-
ally denuded the Fond du Lac and other
small reservations Of their valuable tim
Der. In this connection, it is evident
that the selection of a good man for
commissioner of the land office is all i'm
pOrtant, and it seems likely that the
lucky man will be taken from the
Northwest. Gen. Maris Taylor, of
Huron, S. d., who is now here, is an
active candidate, and would make a
splendid officer. but his chances of Sc
curing the honor are not so good as
those of
Col. John d. Benton,
of Fargo, n. d. South Dakota has not
earned a great deal from the new ad-
ministration, while North Dakota has.
There is q splendid organization in
North Dakota, for the bringing into life
of which Col. Benton is clearly entitled
TO large share of credit. Then Cleve-
land wa3 given an electoral vote by
North Dakota last fall, and lately a
simOn-pure Democrat was elected to the
senate from the same state. Added to
this record must be the fact that Mr..
Cleveland is warm friend of Col. Ben
ton, and has great confidence in him.
No more popular appointment than that
of Col. Benton could be made, and 1t is
believed that he can have it if he SAYS
he will accept. Chairman Otto PeemiI-
ler, of South Dakota, arrived this even
Ing to push the case OF Gen. Taylor, and
eX-Marshal Dan Maratta and Judge
Bennett, of North Dakota. are also re-
cent arrivals, and are now looking over
the field. The real Benton boom will
arrive tomorrow. when State Senator
Mccormack, of Grand Forks; Senator
elect Roach and Col. Benton, of Fargo.
will reach the city.
DOran With Them.
With them will come that veteran
Democratic leader from Minnesota. Ma
tioual Committeeman DOTan. 1t is un-
derstood that Mr.. Doran will warmly
back the candidacy of Col. Benton in
case the latter desires the office. This
is not state appointment, and it is al
together proper for Endorsements to be
sent from any quarter of the country
The North Dakota men in the city make
no secret of the fact that they want all
the good offices filled with Democrats at
once, and cite the indecent haste with
which the Harrison administration
acted four years ago. The resignation
of Hon. N. L. Mccormack as secretary
of the territory was demanded by tele-
graph on March 3. and the land offices
and presidential postOffices were filled
In the course of few months with Re-
publicans. The stalwart Democrats
did not kick nor play the baby act then,
and do not propose that the other fell
lows shall profit by so doing this time if
they can help it.