St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-30
FOLEY SETTLED Up.
Paid the Pine Land Committee
$500 Considerably Over
a Month Ago.
STATE GETS PART OF IT,
But d Large Slice Goes to
Committee and Attorney
in the Case.
FIGURES WILL NOT LIE,
But Are Sometimes Used to
Conceal the True State
Of Affairs.
FIGURES WILL NOT LIE,

Of Affairs.
T. r. Foley. against whom the state
secured a Judgment for 81, 800 for tim
Der cut from section I6, township 81,
range %. has paid the amount Of the
Judgment. ard the state receives the
first money that has come to its hands
through the instrumentalty Of the
yaunted pine land investigation.
In the adjustment Of this case some
peculiar facts are brought to light. In
the first place the judgment was paid
Dec. %, 1894, instead of yesterday. as
the books of the state officials show. On
that date Choate & Merrill, attorneys
tor Mr.. Foley, paid to Harris Richard
son. attorney for the pine land commit
tee. the sum of $500 in the form of
certified check, taking the receipt of the
firm of Warner, Richardson IL Law~
renee tor that amount. Why this money
should have been withheld from the
state treasury for a period of thirty
eight days does not appear. neither is it
made clear by what authority of law
the committee subracts the sum of
5I,GGG from the amount of the Judgment
before transmitting it to the proper
official.
In this matter the committee has only
two precedents, and both of these were
ff-I,1 Nrr "a
the case of the State against G. \. Smith
IL Co. was finally adjusted, the firm of
Warner Richardson d Lawrence paid
into the state treasury the full amount
of the judgment against C. A. Smith IL
Co., less Sl,620.5G, which was retained
TO cover the
Expenses OF the Case
and the fee OF the firm.
When the case against the Itasca Lum-
ber company was settled for 50, 500 less
than the company had volunteered to
pay the bank commissioner, the
same plan was adopted, the expense
and fee in this case amounting to about
s. 600.
Here, then, it is found that, in round
numbers, $1,000 has been taken from
the public school fund, $500 of the
amount being for the payment of All
tCrueys' fees, the attorneys in the case
doing ali the collecting, and retaining
the money as lOngas they see MT with
out even the safeguard of an official
bond, and all in direct cOntTaveutiOn of
the constitutional act under which the
fund was created
Section ?, article OF the constitution
says:
The principal of all funds arising from the
sales or other disposition Of lands or other
property granted or lntruSted TO this state in
each township for eduC0tOnal purposes,
shall forever te preserved lnYlOiate and un-
diminished: and the income arising from
The lease or sale of SAID school land shall be
distributed to the different townships
throughout the state, III proportion to the
number OF scholars IN each township be
tween the ages OF five ana tWenty-One years:
and shah be faithfully applied TO the specific
objects of the original grants or appropria-
tons
The fact that the money coming from
these transactions is credited to mis-
cellancous receipts" ," and subsequently
is transferred to the credit of the school
fund, where it properly belongs. does
not in any way alter the material fact.
which is that every dollar collected for
the sale OF this timber belongs to the
'pTincipal'' referred to in the article
Just quoted, and that every dollar the
committee or attorneys have withheld
from this fund should be
Strictly Accounted Tor
to the proper fund. If the legislature
thinks the firm Of Warner. Richardson
IL Lawrence nave earned $500 in try
ing or compromising the three eases, the
legislature has clear and unQuestiOned
right to appropriate that amount of
money for tile purpose, and if the same
body feels that the pine land investi-
eating committee has earned l,400 in
addition TO its expenditure of 50, 200
and its deficiency of $500 an apprOpTia-
ton for that amount will he the proper
thing. But there is q feeling among
many members Of the legislature that
that BODY will become Il party 20 the
violation of the constitutional provision
for the safe custody of the school fund
if il takes no action with reference TO
this matter. The committee acted upon
the authority of the legislature. and.
if it has exceeded it authority, it is
ameuable TO that body, and its pro-
Ceedugs are not valid and final until
approved by the power which created it.
In this connection il may be well to
state that the auditor has checked up
llle EXPENSES Ol lllt com Illllee ana lNuS
thai the Savings" OF the committee to
the amount of So 435.35 have been dis
tribuged among the members in the fol-
lowing proportions:
For Per Diem and Mileage.
Ignatius DOnnelly. S155.49: c. F.
Staples. S649 %; 5. w. Leavitt. $969.74
D. f. jacobson, $500 So; NJ. j. McGrath,
S2703l; A. Y. Eaton, Sl0940. w. S.
Dedon, the committees expert witness,
has drawn S3, ,263.41 for per diem, mile
age ana expenses, the latter item cover.
ing the expenses of those disinterested
practical WOOdsmen who, according to
the report of the committee, left prof
liable employment to work for the COM
mittee for next 10 nothing.
Mr.. Staples, the secretary of the com.
mittee, draws S493.74 more than Mr..
DOnnelly, the chairman, and Sl49.25
more than he received as compensation
for his services in the legislature to
which he was elected.
1t IS singular, as we'll as a signifi-
cant fact that t. r. Foley made the
payment to the committee on the same
day upon which the committee made
out Its report 10 the governor, and it
seems not little unfortunate that this
item could not have been included in
the scope of that Elatchless production.
Several members of the legislature
have been interviewed to ascertain
what was The proper course for the
legislature to pursue in the matter of
acting upon