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 IT DOES NOT FOLLOW
Any Of the Sensational Rec
concentrations Of the
Committee.
BUT IT DOES NOT FOLLOW
ONE ALSO FROM CLAUSEN
To Remedy the Alleged De-
fects of Farmers Measure
of 1893.

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 bea 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
a 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
mitS 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 at 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
assisnable 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 a 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 81, 900 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-
| yided 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 a 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. n,
| The governor is empowered toeap-
| point at his discretion an agent. who
shall inspect the estimates made by the
regular estimators, independently OF
the land department. 20
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, and
must be advertised for five weeks in
a 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 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 uniform price of five