The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-11-01
PINE LAND FRAUDS.
The State Robbed of MilliOns.-
The Work of Investigation
Going On.

The Pine Land Investigation Com
mittee, appointed by the last senate
and house, and Of which Hon. Igna-
titus Donnelly ! is chairman, and
Messrs. Leavitt and Eaton are men,
bers on the part of the Senate, and
Messrs. Staples, McGrath, Jacobson
and Cotton are members appointed
by the House, is doing good work.
It is not blowing many trumpets or
wasting much money, but it is dig
cling out vast mass of facts. to SUBJ
NIT to the governor and attorney
general, to follow up with prosecu-
tions, and the recovery of the money
due the state from the pine-land
plunderers. We give some eX tracts
from the first installment of testi-
mony taken by the committee at
their meeting Oct. 9Th and 7th. The
work is still going on. The sergeant
at arms of the committee Hon. W.
S. Dedon of Taylors Falls, has about
twenty experts out scaling the sus-
pected sections and the results are
almost incredible. The state has
been robbed in the most shameful
and wholesale manner, and the
thieves have in many cases been not
only prominent citizens but leaders
of the two old parties. And some of
the old party papers are trying to
throw cold5water on the investiga-
ton. The Duluth Commonwealth
said, the other day:
"There have doubtless been great
frauds in connection with the state
pine lands. But when any specific
charge is made it is invariably met
by more specific denial. The frauds
are of the sort that every one knows
about but nobody can prove"
We think the reader will conclude
that by the following testimony the
facts are pretty thoroughly proved
too thoroughly for the satisfaction of
the thieves. Other newspapers we
are glad to say do not talk like Du-
luth Comm onwealth. The Redwood
Falls Gazette says:
'''NOw that there is conclusive
proof that the state, through dishOn-
est officials, has been SwindleJ out OF
immense sums Of money in the deals,
it remains for the press of the state
to do it's duty in exposing the swind-
lers, and for the proper officials to
prosecute the criminals. This is an
important ma alter.
"The names of the witnesses testi-
flying before the committee are not
used, but the evidence is to the effect
that the state has been loser to a
very large amount in the cutting OF
pine on school lands. The object OF
the testimony was to show that tim:
Der has been cut in much larger
quantities than have been reported
to the state Authorities. 1t also ap
pears that llnds were reported a.
having a small amount of pine there
on for the purpose of nxing the
stumpage values lower than the rea
value. The point is also made thai
timber would be cut on lands adjOin
ing those reported as being burned
over.
Several witnesses testified tina
they saw no logs branded with tn
mark "Minn," Is required by law
and others testified that but few
were so marked. 1t appears ais,
that great quantities of merchant
able hard timber have been cut whel
there was only Gale of pine, and il
fact, when the state does not author
ize the cutting of lhard timber. Tn
evidence also shows that after the in
vestigation was started number o
persons had gone I'd the state audito
and made supplemental reports o
logs cut, implying that they ha
been scared by the threatening att
tude of the investigators.
The following extracts are from
the sworn testimony, taken by
stenographer from the lips of the wit
nesses:
THE STATE A HEAVY LOSER.
A surveyor and estimator of pin
lands. who has been in the bushes
thirtv-five years On the st. Croix an
It's tributaries principally, testifie
he WAS familiar with section 36, tow
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