The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-05-31
READ! READ!
The State Robbed of Millions of
Dollars of its Wealth.
SCHOOL FUND PLUNDERED.
The Rich Escape Taxation and
the Poor have to Make it up.
Let Every Citizen Read the facts

SCHOOL AND OTHER LANDS
CONTINUED from last week.
To the Senate Of the State Of Minnesota:
1t must not be forgotten that we
are only dipping in here and there
into the mass of fraud, and that
these witnesses. few in number,
have generally been discovered by &C
cident or by voluntary statements
made by citizens who had knowledge
of the facts. 1t is fair to presume
that if such gigantic fraud as this,
involving robbery of over $1,000 on
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 mind of your COM
mittee that school lands, as we'll as
other lands belonging to the state,
have been the subject, during many
years past, of combinations between
the buyers for the purpose of pre-
venting competition and beating
down the price and defrauding the
state. While it appears that So per
thousand has been the ruling price
for Stumpage in the state at large,
in great many cases the school
fund has received but from 81 to
$3.50 per thousand feet. 1t appears
in this connection that section sc,
town 81, range %, was estimated by
the state cruisers to contain five
hundred thousand feet, valued at 81
per thousand, while the real value of
the same was at least $3.50 per thous-
and (see page 10 of testimony. We
have not been able to ascertain
whether the estimate of the
quantity of pine upon land was as
far out of the way as the estimate of
the price We would also call the at
tention of the Senate to the letter of
the state auditor to the chairman of
the committee, dated April 9Th,
1893, marked exhibit E" and ap-
pended to the testimony, in which he
refers to the amount of pine sold up
on the same section. 1t shows how
grossly inaccurate were the esti-
mates of the parties employed by the
state to estimate the amount of tim
Der upon state lands. 1t seems to
your committee that such errors
must have been committed purposely
and in the interest of those taking
timber from the state.
Section Sc, town So, range %, was
estimated by the state cruisers to
contain five hundred thousand feet
of pine and appraised and sold at
$1.75 per thousand feet, while it is
testified before your committee that
the real value of it was $3.50 per
thousand feet. The attention of the
Senate is called to the letter of the
state auditor in reference to this Sec
ton, addressed to the chairman of
this committee, dated April 5th,
1893, marked exhibit F." and ap-
pended to the testimony.
Section 16, town SO, range "a, was
estimated by the state cruises to con-
tain two hundred thousand feet. 1t
was sold in 1890 at $1.75 per Thousand
feet, and at those figures yielded the
state one million five hundred and
thirty-eight thousand five hundred
and fifty feet instead of two hundred
thouaud feet estimated, or total of
$2,692.46. 1t is testified before your
committee that the real value of
this timber was So per thousand;
that the actual yield was three mil
lion feet, and that the school fund
lost on this single section over six
thousand dollars. The same witness,
a reputable man, swears that this
was fair sample of the appraisal
and the prices the state received, and
that the frauds practiced in that
section of country were usually upon
the same large basis (see page III of
testimony This testimony is cor
rObOrated by that of at least three
other witnesses.
. The village of Grand Rapids,
fourishing town with population of
twelve hundred, is partly situated
upon another school section, section
16, town 55, range 25. 1t was sold at
from S. to $10.75 per acre. Three
hundred acres of this were easily
worth from $50 to 500 per acre and
but small portion was worth less
than $15 per acre. 1t is claimed to
have been sold at public sale, but all
competition was prevented at the al
legged sale by a ring, which placed all
the bidding in the hands of one man.
and when an outsider attempted to
bid he was told to shut up or leave
the place; and this was said in the
presence of the then state auditor
who took no exception to it and pro-
ceeded with the sale, while all the
evidence showed it was not fair or
open sale. (See page 1872 of testi-
mony.) We would call the attention
of the state Senate to letter from
the. state auditor, which fully cor
robOrates the statements herein
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