St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-06
MACHINE MUST HAVE GREASE
And the Pine Land Committee
Intends to Furnish
Plenty.
STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Does Not Propose to Legislate
Against It's Own USE
fitness.

The Minneapolis Journal of yesterday
has story which would be somewhat
| sensational were it not for the fact that
| after relating the story with strict atten-
| ton to detail and throwing in some
warm coloring matter in the shape Of
| comment, the yarn ends with an abrupt
| confession that it doesn't know what it
| is talking about, and rather suspects
that it has been made the victim of a
| hoax.
The purport of the legend which the
| journal so labOriOuSly relates is that
the Republican state central committee
has concocted scheme to provide for a
| lot of new patronage to be used in car
ryiug out the conspiracy" which begun
with the defeat of Washburn for the
| senate, and which is to end with the
nomination Of Clough for governor in
1896. The plan, says the journal, con-
templates the abolishing of all the sur
veyor generals of logs and lumber, and
the appointment of one surveyor gen
| eral in chief, who will appoint all the
deputies. scalers, tally men and other
help necessary 10 the prosecution Of a
business involving the accounting for
Of the 1,200.000.000 feet OF lumber
| which passes through the hands OF
Minnesota dealers every year.
1t Is a gaudy, CHASTITY tale, and dow n
to the point where the narrator naiyely
confesses that he is in a maze of doubt
and surrounded by fog Of deception
and fraud which completely over
Whelms him. it is
An Interesting Recital
But it stops several bars short of the
truth. the whole truth and nothing
but the truth.
1t is fact that one of the many plans
which will be submitted by the Repub-
lican state central committee to the
present Legislature will provide, as
stated, for the appointment of one sur
veyor general to have charge of all the
business of the state. and if this plan,
which is the fav0rite one of the COM
| mttee, works it will place large
amount of patronage at the disposal
of the machine. But this is not by any
means the only string the machine has
to its bow, and the pine land committee
is not by any manner of means the only
instrument which will be used i'll fixing
up satisfactory arrange ment for the
machine. 1t is true that as secretary OF
the state central committee aud special
attorney of the pine land committee
| Mr.. Richardson has double working
capacity, and that he works both ends
of the string most artisticaly. For did
he not manage the Nelson senatorial
campaign and at the same time land
Staples in the Washburn camp in order
to avert the consequences of subsequent
hostility from the WaShburn forces
when their votes were needed to carry
out the innocent designs of the COM
mittee.
The one-surveyor-genera idea may
not prove popular, and the legislature
may bolt it, but
The ResOurceful Mr. Bixby
and his industrious undersIudy, Mr..
Richardson, will not give up all hope
even then. If they find this will not
work the next step will be to retain the
present number of surveyors and put
| them all on salaries. This would serve
the same purpose and ans Wer as we'll,
| only that it would complicate matters
| slightly OH account of the number of
| heads that would have to be knocked
when it came to filling the minor posi-
tions.
OF one thing. however. the machine is
| very tired; and there is going to be a
| general rafting UP of things appointive
until this thing is settled. and that IS
| the machine doesn't propose any longer
to have Jour or five gaudiIy- arrayed
surveyors general receiving the sus-
tenance which should go to the sup~
port OF the machine, unless the machine
is better CREASED than it has been. 1t is
| estimated that the five surveyors gen.
| eral draw fees aggre gatlng $50 600 per
| annum, or 100000 for the two years
| term, and the machine would a good
| deal rather have the appointment of
from 1900 to 1900 lucrative positions in
| the Destowal of the department to have
the beggarly $4,000 or $4,000 that is
| thrown into the machine once in two
| years.
And why not? Surprising the num-
Der of subordinate employees to be 1000,
very conservative estimate of the
number. They work about three months
of the year at SO per month, making an
aggregate of 1925, 900 paid them.
AIOP Per Cent Assessment
would bring in nearly s25, 900 year, not
| counting the political services of 1.-THE
| boys" And who Will say that a 10 per
| cent assessment is an eXtrayagant one
| for the Minnesota machine?
There is no doubt that it was the
original intention Of the pine land COM
mittee to provide i'll its bill for the one
surveyor general. Members of the leg
| islature, and even the Journal, might
| have known this if they had read the
| committees report, which, of course,
| they have not done. After recOuntlng
| in thrilling manner the many atroci-
| ties Of surveyors general, and setting
forth all the plausible reasons for such
course that the joint intellects of
| BiXby. Richardson and Staples could
| coniure up. the committee, in burst Of
| righteous Indignation, dramatically eX-
claims that unless certain impossible
conditions are complied with. 1.-THE
| sooner they are abolished and the bust
ness conducted through some other de-
partment, tine better it will be for the
| state"
Some other department" in this case
means new department TO be created