The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1894-10-25
land Investigating committee, to EXAMINE
into all pine land frauds,

They waited until t00y saw t0o OUVoo@s
Of the Smith casa N 81 j,,.sf$ Z. j.; S@s& IA,
On tho strength Of this decision, theJ
have since brought q large number Of
suits. The first were two actions against
the H. C. Akeley Lumber company. Thesa
involved two different sections of land
The first two were to recover damages foi
cutting done under q permit issued by the
Akeley company. The latter suit was
brought to cancel this permit.
These suits were brought at st. Paul
and the lumber companies tried strenu'
ously to remove them to 1tasca county
where the land in question is situated and
where influences favorable to themselve>
might be brought to bear. The courts helC
it proper to try the cases at the capital.
offered to Pay the State $40. 900.
After the motion for change of venue
had been decided against the companies
the Itasca company offered to settle BY
paying $4,000 on account Of timbe,
taken on two sections.
This does not cover all the cutting don't
by the company but only that on the two
sections referred to. !.
The Akeley company, which held q per
NIT to cut on these sections, offered tt
cancel that permit; and by its doing 30
the state recovered, in addition to thu
$4,000 paid in cash, 100000 feet o:
timber. -...,., %-.:@ "
In the meantime the state had brought
two actions against the Shevelin-C arpen.
ter company; the first to recover the value
of logs unlaufully taken, and the second
to replevin a large quantity Of logs which
! hn0 nd t~tr &>,,t \ n ~ vycN
sawed into climber These cases are still
pending and have not yet been brought tt
trial.
The Proceedings Against Foley.
About the same time q suit was com
menced against T. r Foley of Aitkin
The state claimed that, although he had =
permit to take timber, that permit haC
been cancelled by Auditor Braden; that
Mr.. Biermann, by some skillful device
known only to himself, had attempted tt
revive the id permit that had been can
celled, and made no objection to Foley's
cutting under it.
Foley cut upon the section 100000 feet
Of timber, but reported to the state that
he had cut only about 1000, 900 and paid
the state for 100000, at the rate of %. Is
per thousand.
1t was claimed by the safe that he had
for it on the basis of what the logs would
have been worth He also tried to
remove the case to Itasca county, but the
court decided again that it must be tried
at St. Paul.
And Foley offered to Settle Out Of Court.
On the day before the trial. he agreed to
pay 81, 500 to settle the case, being at the
rate of $3.50 per thousand for the logs
which he had taken and failed to report.
1t cost Mr.. Foley n per thousand to cut
the logs and put them in the boom, so that
the logs for which he settled actually cost
him $l1.50 per thousand. He sold them
by written contract to N. P. Clark of St.
Cloud for e. 50 per thousand in the boom.
This is financial measure of his anx-
iety to close up the deal without the help
of the courts.
Other Cases Are Awaiting Trial
Three more cases have been commenced
are now pending, awaiting trial. There
are also pending one case against Thomas
A. Shevelin and one against Powers &
Dwyer, q case against Stephen B. Reynolds
aud another against F. G. Weber.
The last two cases are small, as far as
amounts involved are concerned.
The state, however, is endeavoring to
establish the principle that the auditor
has no right to grant permits to take
hardwood timber from the state lands.
There is nothing in the statute which
permits the auditor to sell hardwood
stumpage, but Mr.. Biermann has made it
q constant practice to sell it whenever op-
portunity offered. The loss to the state
has been very great in cases where hard
wood timber has thus been sold and re-
moved from the land, for the value of the
land to future settlers is greatly dimin-
ished, if not destroyed, when all the hard
wood timber has been cut.
The theory of the law is that the hard
wood timber must be sold with the land
itself and that the land will bring much
higher price with the timber than without
it, as every farmer wants. some wood on
his land and will pay to have it.
Largo Returns to the State.
i The state has already recovered, through
the actions enumerated, $4,000 in cash,
besides the timber reclaimed. There is an
indefinite amount to be recovered in the
future, for the supply of cases seems to be
inexhaustible.
1t is no wonder that those who are in
terested in the defense of such suits, and
in preventing others from being brought,
should leave no stone unturned to put q
stop to investigation and prosecution.
The issue is clearly joined between the
friends of the people and the preservation
Of the property of the state and these pub
lie spectators.
Mr.. Biermann has justly earned the
title of their faithful friend. The men
who have pursued and are still pursuing
and bringing them to justice are Knute
Nelson, the Republican governor and can
didate for governor of Minnesota, and
Robert c. Dunn, the Republican candi-
date for auditor of state.
1t is small wonder, therefore, with this
startling and shameful array of facts in
view, that every man whose interests lie in
q dishonest appropriation of the pine land
Of the state should be fighting Nelson and
Dunn, and devoting himself night and
day to promoting the election of the men
from whom he feels that he has least to
fear: Adolph Biermann and Sidney NJ.
Owen.