St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-17
A PINE LAND BILL.
Representative Staples Pre-
sents a Very Conservative
Measure,
BUT 1T DOES NOT FOLLOW
Any Of the Sensational Rec
concentrations Of the
Committee.
ONE ALSO FROM CLAUSEN
To Remedy the Alleged De-
fects of Farmers Measure
of 1893.
BUT 1T DOES NOT FOLLOW
ONE ALSO FROM CLAUSEN

| day, and was a complete diSappOint-
ment to all those who had been eX-
pecting something sensational or
radical. 1t had been generally eX-
! pected that the bill would reflect
some of the lurid Populism of the
pine land committees report, but to
the surprise of every one it turned
out to be very tame affair, simply
| providing some new regulations for
the scaling of state timber, raising
the fees for such scaling in certain
cases and repeating some conflicting
statutes.
On the whole, the bill is considered
good one, though there are a num-,
Der of imperfections which will I'M
doubtedly be remedied in committee
of the whole. 1t was the intention
to have the bill introduced as COM
ing from the joint committee on pub
lie lands, and it was so credited,
but, as a matter of fact, the COM
mittee does not stand sponsor for it
in its present shape. 1t was properly
introduced by Mr.. Staples, who adj
mltS that it is not by any means
perfect, and who says he will gladly
concede any reasonable requests for
correction as to details 1t was in
troduced, and the rules suspended
for printing it at once. A brief
summary of it is as follows:
The first part of the bill deals with
the agricultural lands of the state, and
instead of providing for the sale of
hard wood timber on the stumpage
plan it treats land upon which hard
| wood timber grows as agricultural
| land and provides for the sale of the
land and timber separately. 1t likes
the time d which
FINAL PAYMENT
must be made at fifteen years, and au-
thorizes the governor to issue patents
on the land at that time. The certi-
| ficateS issued on these lands are made
| siSllable under certain stipula ted
conditions and requirements as to
bonds, etc, and the purchaser may
thus assign what equity he may have
| acquired at any time. The land COM
missioner is authorized under certain
| conditions to parcel state lands off
| into small village lots, and the reg
| ulations for such subdivision are
clearly defined. The governor, treas
| urer and auditor are constituted a
timber commission, and large por-
ton of the bill is given to defining the
duties of this commission. 1t is to
J have full control of the state timber,
none of which can be sold except upon
the recommendation of two members.
They must meet regularly and pass
upon all matters concerning the sale
of timber lands.
Any person cutting state timber
without proper authority is liable to
damage in treble the amount of the
value of the timber cut, and for prose-
cution for felony, the extreme penalty
being a fine of $1,000 or two years in
prison, or both. Any person cutting
state timber and mixing it with his
own logs, under the same mark, is
liable to the loss of the whole, for the
state is authorized in such a case to
seize and sell the whole lot in which
any state timber may be found.
| In the sale of school land it is pro-
vided that it shall first be separately
appraised by three different parties,
one of whom shall be appointed by the
governor, one by the land commission
er and one by the county auditor in the
county where the land is situated. The
sale must then be advertised for four
weeks in al paper published at the cap
ital the last publication to be made
four weeks previous to the sale.
The money received for the sale
must then be paid into the treas
ury, and may be by the treasurer in
vested in the bonds of the state or
United States, or of the states of New
York Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio,
Michigan, Iowa, Alabama, Missouri,
Wisconsin, Tennessee or Georgia.
Timber sales on the stumpage plan
are confined to pine, cedar and tam
arack, and the language of the bill is
that mo such timber shall ever be
sold unless the same is
LIABLE TO WASTE"
The land commissioner is authorized
to employ estimators for the purpose
of ascertaining the amount and value
of timber on lands, and no estimate is
to be accepted or considered for more
than three years after it is made. A
set of rules is established for the gov
eminent of estimators requiring them
to estimate each forty-acre tract sep
arately, and report on the amount,
quality and value of timber, facilities
for hauling, driving, etc. They are re-
quired to show a practical experience
in the woods of five years Duration
and must give a sufficient bond r,
The governor is empowered tosap-
point at his discretion an agent who
shall inspect the estimates made by the
| Of
the land department.
All sales are to be made at public
auction, to the highest bidder, and %
per cent of the amount of the purchase
must be paid in advance The sales
of timber are to be held annually, anG
must be advertised for five weeks in
daily paper published at the state
capital at least fifty-six days before
| the date of sale. No more than one
such sale shall be held in any one year
| except upon the unanimous agree
ment of the timber commission.
Section % provides that where a sec
ton contains no more than 500, coo feet
it may be sold in a body for cash, but
if it cuts more than that amount the
purchaser must pay for the over cut
No permit is allowed to stand for
more than two logging seasons, and a
bond is required for double the amount
of the contract price, two sureties be-
ing required, each of whom is to quail
ify in double the amount for which he
signs.
One of the most important sections of
the bill is that relating to surveyors
general. An afternoon paper airily re-
marks that the bill follows the rec
concentrations of the pine land COM
mittee.'' In fact, it could have de-
signed nothing more absolutely remote
from the recommendations of the COM
mittee. 1t makes
NO NEW PROVISIONS
whatever with reference to the ap
pointment of surveyors general, and
| instead of curtailing the fees it in
| creases them in some cases as much
as 300 per cent. Under the present sys-
tenn there is a uniform price of five