The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1894-03-01
PINE LANDS STEAL
The State of Minnesota Begins a
Long and Tedious Fight.
AN ILLINOIS CORPORATION
Demands Pay for 1OO,OO0,OOO Feet OF
Timber Taken From School Lands
by tine Itasca Company.

ST. PAUL, Feb. &c The state of Min
nesota has begun its great fight for the
recovery of money for nearly 700, 900, 900
feet of pine stolen from state school
lands. The amount of money involved
in the gigantic steal is about 5000, 1000.
The complaints fled are in the in
itial suits, and are against an Illinois
corporation known as the Itasca Lumber
company for an aggregate of $74 500.
One of these suits Is for S64 900 and the
other for $40. 500. The complaints are
filed In the district court of Ramsey
county, st. Paul, and will be tried in
that court with all possible speed and
then carried to the supreme court by
one party or the other to the suit.
The subcommittee of the legislative
Joint pine land committee, consisting of
Senator Leavitt of Litch6eld and Rep
resentative McGrath of Pennington and
Representative Staples of Saltwater
have made their report and the COM
plants were filed as soon as they could
be drawn. The committee has been
working quietly for the past ten months,
investigating sales, comparing the re-
measurements made on the ground of
butts and tops, and also uncovering the
numerous cases where pine has been cut
from state lands under no permit and of
which no return whatever was made.
The two suits just brought are but
the opening chapter of the long story of
the spoilation of the heritage of the
schools of Minnesota by men whose con-
sciences had been taught by long con-
tact with practice to regard pine trees
as the property of the finder. The
Itasca Lumber company has not filed its
articles of Incorporation with the secre-
tary of state, and has not reported the
name of any person on whom process
might be served. The Minnesota
G,zetteer, however, gives the company
a location in the Minneapolis Lumber
mems Exchange, and gives II. c. Akely
as president and S. B. Barker as secre-
tary and treasurer. Both of these gen
tlemen are residents of Minneapolis.
In its complaint the state charges the
Itasca company with being a corpora
tion created and existing under the laws
OF the state of illinois; that, between
the 1st of November, 1902, and the 1st
of April, 1898, the company unlawfully
and wilfuily entered section 16, town
ship 55, range 30, Itasca county, Mime
sofa, and cut therefrom sawlogs to the
extent of 100000 feet, board measure,
aud that the pine thus converted to the
use of the Itasca company was worth Ss
TO S64 900. The state therefore asks for
| judgment in the sum of $64, 900, together
with interest thereon from the 1st oi
April, 1898.
The second complaint is against the
same corporation, and is for $4,000 fol
the conversion of pine to its own use
from section SO, township Sc, range 90
itasca county. A third suit has beer
filed at Grand Rapids, Mimi, against
the H. G. Akely company, Minneapoli.
corporation. This suit is for the recov
cry of about $40 900 for timber cut from
two sections in Cass county The charge
In this cash is of crooked estimating
The pine on one of these sections wa
estimated at 1875, 600 feet and upon th'
other 2,450 600 and the quantity Gu
from them is alleged to have aggre
gated 10,500,OO0 feet. Other suits will
be filed as soon as papers can be mad
out, but the pine committee declines t.
give out names, until the complaints ar
ready.