St. Paul daily globe., 1895-04-18
SALE OF TIMBER.
Peculiar Methods Advocated by
Auditor Dunn.

The pending measures for the regula-
ton of the sale and custody of the
state pine and mineral lands will soon
be disposed of, and in this connection
the following synopsis of Auditor
Dunn's bill may be of interest to the
senate while celebrating upon the mer-
its of the two bills submitted:
Section provides for the terms Of
payment of agricultural lands. In this
section is incorporated a provision
which reads: Provided, that the land
commissioner may" require that the
full cash value of hard wood timber
shall bo paid in full at the time of sale"
1t might be asked if any chance for
favoritism is found here The present
law requires that all hard wood tim
Der on agricultural lands shall be paid
for in cash at the time of the SALE
Section authorizes the land commits
sioner to sell pine stumpage when the
same is liable to waste, and provides
as follows: when it is reported to
the commissioner that certain pine tim
Der on said lands is in danger of waste,
as soon as possible he shall appoint
three (O competent, trustworthy per-
sons to make an estimate and appraisal
OF same" The reports of liability to
waste will presumably come from the
lumbermen. Any practical man knows.
what that means; it may be necessary
to send three competent men at one
time to estimate a tract Of stumpage,
but, If so, why does this provision fol-
low in section 5, eff the commissioner
doubts the accuracy of the estimate or
appraisal, he shall send out another
person, or persons, to make a second
estimate" Why not three competent
persons, the same as for first estimate?
Again, 1T provides in same section: "If
there is serious discrepancy between
the two reports, he shall order a third
estimate" but fails to state how many
estimators shall make this estimate
Section requires that the governor
Shall approve the list of estimates of
stumpage to be sold at least thirty days
before the sale, and provides that he
may direct another estimate to be made
by three or more men, none of whom
shall have assisted in making any of
the former estimates" and in same
section land this estimate and ap-
praisal shall be final, and the stump
age shall then be sold in the manner
provided" Where this army of es-
timators is to come from and what the
expense of maintaining it will be is a
problem. Again, if a forty-acre con-
tract should require all this formula
gone through, how many months would
1t require before 1t could be sold, and
would not the expense eat up the value
of the timber?
Section requires the sales with full
description of each tract to be adyer-
tlsed for six weeks in seven different
newspapers. This would seem to be
useless expense, and benefit the news
papers only. Section s also contains
the following condition: ''Said COM
missioner shall have the power at any
time to withdraw from sale any or all
the pine stumpage SO advertised" This
seems to be dangerous provision.
This section provides that the sale
shall be based on the above estimates
and made for cash. This leaves it so
that if the tract is sold for one-half
| the amount of timber it will really cut
| the state has no means Of checking it
| up, and no redress If it had, and really
| confines the purchase of state timber
| to few men who may be able to raise
! the money and pay the cash. Suppos-
AAi5 q oCCllOii SOldlH0u IndC IS
| valued at 81 per 1000 (and we have such
cases. this would amount to $24 4000
How many men can buy such a sec
| ton and pay the cash for it? 1t may
| be said that it can be sold in forty-acre
tracts, but any practical man knows
| that sixteen nor even two men do not
| log on one section. This system would
open the greatest possible chance for
| fraud, and would prevent competition
| at the sales.
| Section IL reads as follows: Section
| 1.-THE state auditor, by virtue of his
| office as commissioner of the state land
| office, is hereby authorized and en-
| powered. without lssal process, to
| seize, take or cause to be seized and
taken any and all timber. lum Ger, wood,
grass, mineral or othsr property un-
| lawfully severed from any Of the land
owned or held in trust or otherwise by
| the state, whether such property has
| been removed from said land or not;
and said state auditor may dispose of
| the property so seized and taken at
| pubic or private sale in such manner
as will be most conducive to the inter-
| ests of the state, and all moneys aris-
ing therefrom, after deducting the rea-
sonable and necessary expenses of
such seizure and sale, shall be a part
OF the proper fund. And any and all
persons entering upon any off the lands
SO owned or held in trust or otherwise
by this state, and removing or sever
ing any timber, lumber, wood, grass,
mineral or other property therefrom
shall be guilty of trespass, which is
hereby declared a misdemeanor, pun
| 4 hQ h la Tod y,1
act. And such trespasser shall be
liable to treble damages in an action
Of trespass to be brought by the state
auditor and ex-officio land commission
er in the name of the people of this
state; provided that the state auditor
! and ex-officio land commissioner is
hereby authorized and empowered to
compromise and settle any case of
| trespass upon such lands whenever In
his judgment, it is for the best interests
| OF the state to make such settlement
provided, however, that in no event
shall he settle any case of trespass on
such lands until hel has had the timber
taken in trespass scaled and appraised
by a state estimator, and the written
| report thereon made and filed in the
| Office of said commissioner. as herein
provided; and provided further, that he
Shall not make any settlement for an
amount less than double ihe stumpage
value of such timber, as shown by
scale and appraisal, and in addition all
costs and expenses incurred by the
state in connection with the trespass,
all of which shall be paid in cash into
| the treasury at the time such settle
ment is effected
1t is made plain by this section that
the land commissioner is empowered to
settle or compromise all cases of tres
pass; may sell at private sale any TIM
Der removed from state lands, either
to the man who cut it or otherwise;
may prosecute for trespass or not.
If person is prosecuted for trespass.
it is provided in section that the
minimum penalty may be 81.
The amount of timber cut is to be
determined by one man appointed by
the land commissioner, and his scale