St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-08
BALL is SET ROLLING.
Suits Against Pine Land
Thieves Begin Today
IN RzMSEY DISTRICT COURT.
Complaints to Be Filed to
Recover Vast Sums
OF AIRNEAP0LfS PARTIES.
Tens Of Millions Of Feet
Stolen Outright.
GREAT MILL MEN INVOLVED.
GREAT MILL MEN INVOLVED.

The state is about to begin a harvest
from the seed sown in the pine land
investigation, about which so much has
been said. This grows out Of the palms.
taking efforts made by the legislative
committee in showing the wholesale
trespassing OIL lands in Itasca county,
and the counties south and east of Itas-
ca county. by which millions of feet of
pine timber have been Illegally cut from
state lands by the lumber companies.
1t is understood that three or four
actions will be commenced in the
Ramsey county district court today
In the name OF the state against a
number of lumber firms of Minneapolis
and at other points along the Misssis.
slppl river to recover damages for pine
timber cut from the state lands. Harris
Richardson has been designated by At
torney General Childs TO prepare com.
plants and prosecute actions against
number of prominent lumber COM
panies. The information upon which
the complaint is to be based was Sc.
cured from the legislative committee
which made the investigation.
Hon. 1gnatius Donnelly was inter-
viewed by GLOBE reporter last night
as to the rumor that actions were to be
commenced, and he con firmed the state
ment. He has not kept pace with the
matter lately, as the matter was turned
over to special committee. consisting
of Senator Leavitt, and Messrs. Staples
and McGrath, of the general committee
on pine land investigation, appointed
by the legislature last winter. These
three gentlemen were instructed to
begin such proceedings as they deemed
advisable. selecting the strongest cases
IN the list of persons found to have
taken pine from the state domain and
make test cases of them. He under
stood that this committee had selected
Harris Richardson, of the firm of War
ner. Richardson &c Lawrence, of this
city. to aid the attorney general in
prosecuting the cases. The complaints
are to be drawn by Mr.. Richardson and
filed in the district court of Ramsey
county, aud would have been ere this,
but the matter was delayed owing to
the absence of Mr.. Richardson from the
city. Mr.. Donnelly thought it quite
probable that the action would be COM
menced at once. He stated that the
committee had discovered that about
50,000,000 feet of pine had been taken
from the lands, in many cases it being
stolen outright. In soma cases the
lumber companies were given authority
to cut pine land or hard timber aud they
would cut amounts largely III excess of
what they reported to the state. In one
case the committee has evidence
that 100000 feet had been cut
while the report of the company
made to the state shows a
much smaller amount. The committee
had woodsmen go over the territory and
estimate the amount cut. These men
would count the stumpS. then measur-
ing across the stump to find the size,
and then the distance to where the last
cut was made from the top, would come
close to the amount of timber taken.
The traces were destroyed to large
extent in some cases by fires. 1t was
found that OIL some of the land fires had
been started three times. 1t is believed
these fires were started in some in
stances for the purpose of destroying
the evidences of the actual amount of
timber cut. The committee is not push
ing the Investigations in the woods at
present as the snow Dre events il Dut
when the snow disappears in the spring
the committee will send men to the
woods again to push their inyestiga-
tiOnS