St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-24


the auditor and the Great Northern.
A little further on the governor makes
the dangerous admission, again we
quote literally. that he told the COM
pany that while he would absolutely
refuse to allow them to make any selec-
tiCns or to approve any selections or to
issue any deed to the company for any
OF the lauds.'yet if they would file lists
with him of the lands they claimed. he
would,in case of conflicting claims with
other railroad companies. temporarily
hold the matter of conveyance IN abey-
ance until the dispute between the
Great Northern and MIR. Biermann
could be settled by legal proceedings or
otherwise"
He would absolutely refuse to allow
them to make any selections" ETC.,
until the matter was settled by legal
proceedings or otherwise" He can't
get that land others" out of even
A Newspaper Defense.
Now, as matter of fact, he could not
"refuse to allow them to select" for the
reason that he had nothing to with the
matter, and no power to grant OF witu-
hold permission, since the law makes no
provision for selections for this road
except by the land commissioner.
Coming down to the date when the
auditor, and not the governor. refused
to permit the Great Northern to select
its lands, the governor reciteS that the
Great Northern filed with him the list
of selections which it desired to have
added to its grant, and which the audi
tor had refused. and that he indorsed
this list "in his own Handwriting" and
in the following language:
May IS. 1So4.-These lists of selections
have been this day filed in my office. but they
are in no wise allowed or approved by me.
KNUTE NELSON, Governor.
They we're not allowed or approved"
by him for the simple reason that he
had no more right 10 'allow or approve"
them than he had to take the life of the
man who presented them. They can
only be allowed or approved" by one
person in all the world, and that person
is the one who had already refused, to
wit: Auditor Biermann.
While the governor is in the box he
makes the confession, little further
on, that he did hold out certain lands
that confilcted with the unlawful "se-
lections" of the Great Northern. He
says:
'Snce these lists were filed only one
| deed in which there were any lands
the Great Northern has been presented
for signature. This embraced several
hundred acres. possibly several thou
! sand. On behalf of the Little Falls &
! Dakota Railway company. Two or three
of the tracts included in this deed con-
| fiicted NTH the selection claimed by the
Great Northern. and so were omitted
from the deed; but omitted without any
prejudice to the right or claims of The
Little Falls company. The matter was
simply left in allegiance for the two COM
| fro fhnJr ndx aloJ ING IN
these few particular tracts"
Since it is conceded that the Little
Falls Il Dakota road had a right to Sc
| lect, and since the governors attorney
| general and the supreme court hold
| that the Great Northern has no right
| to select, there cannot be much left tor
| the two companies to "settle." But the
| governor
Processes Great Jneasiness,
| lest the auditor, in selecting the lands to
| fill the Great Northern grant. should
have decided away something that the
state could not afford to lose. This is
| about as Statesmanike ruse as the
matter of dating back his letter to the
auditor and sending it by mail.
The Great Northern road is a busi-
ness institution, and if Mr.. Biermann
had anything valuable to give it he
would not be compelled to resort to a
legal process to compel acceptance.
Wnen the auditor refused to accept the
Great Northern selections he told Sam
Hill that if the company was i'll hurry
he Biermann. would pnt on some
extra clerks and fill the grant
at once. But the proposition was
hastily declined. AS matter OF fact,
the pretense tnat the governor was sur
c.,I nlNf>t q ~ n q
He know that the auditors Office force
had been busy for months picking out
the best available lands for the state,
and that as soon as all the better lands
were chosen foe the state, that which
was left would be decided to the Great
Northern to I'LL its grant. All that was
required to do this was to list what was
left after the state had made its own
selections and deed it over to the COM
pany. The land SO selected would be
worth about $50 an acre less than that
lected" and filed with the governor.
But, alter making almost complete
confession of
His Wrongdoing.
and admitting enough to turn every
honest voter in the state against him
the governor, through tine same mouth
piece. assumes all air of injured limo
cence and upbraids Mr.. Bermann fol
having forced him to show his hand be
fore election. Read the record of Mr.
Biermann's unkindness:
'Mr. Biermann must have poo
cause to he compelled to resort to suct
contemplate tactics. He might havl
given the deed 10 the governor month
or two earlier. or he might, If he hac
been well-disposed, have delayed pre-
senting it until the campaign was over
when the governor will have ample
time to investigate it."
, How very, very cruel! HE might, i
, he had been well disposed. have de-
: layed presenting it until after the cam
paign." How very unfortunate tina
Mr.. Biermann should not have beef
well disposed" In that event MIR
Nelson might have gone on through
, the entire campaign telling the farm.
ers how ignorant they were and how
, smart he was. and how dearly he lOvet
| them, about election time, and how n
was going to redeem" the state, and h
| would have had
Nothing to Interfere
with him. Then suppose Bob Dunl
, flush should settle down in the auditor
chair, and everything was lovely an
SeTeHe, duu-pItSCo, CudHsc. Inc OIed
: Northern has its coveted lands and til
5 state haS-mud.
Now all is changed. The people Sc
y the point of Mr.. Nelson's solicitude fo
, ''the interests of the state and other
involved in this transaction" and til
: governors life is not pleasant one
The horizon of the future displays II
g hectic Bob Dunn flush, and the tramp
tramp of the voters as they fall III lin
Y for the march to the polls sounds
E death knell to the corporation-ridde
chief executive and his satellite fror
the wilds of Mile Lacs county. Vale
Knute; vale. Bob; aud may your mas
ters, the Great Northern. prove NOR