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.

y
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 a 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
help necessary 10 the prosecution Of a
business involving the accounting for
of the 1,2O0.O0O.OOO feet OF lumber
which passes through the hands of
Minnesota dealers every year.
1t Is gaudy, CHASTITY tale, aud dow n
to the point where the narrator naively
confesses that he is in 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 il this plan,
which is the favorite one of the COM
mittee, 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 in 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 artistically. 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 understudy, 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 on account of the number of
heads that would have to be knocked
when it came to filling the minor posi-
tons.
OF one thing. however. the machine is
very tired; and there is going to be a
nf int x,o
until this thing is settled. and that IS
the machine doesn't propose any longer
to have Jour or five gaudilv 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 aggreg atIng $50 600 per
annum, or 100000 for the two years
term, and the machine would a good
deal rather have the appointment of
from 1000 to 1900 lucrative positions in
the bestowal of the department to have
the beggarly $1,000 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.
a very conservative estimate of the
number. They work about three months
Of the year at SIS per month, making an
aggregate Of $225.OO0 paid them.
A 10 Per Cent Assessment
would bring in nearly s25. 900 year, not
counting the political services of ''the
boys" And who Will say that 10 per
cent assessment is an extravaganza one
for the Minnesota machine?
There is no doubt that it was the
original intention of the pine land COM
mittee to provide in 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 recounting
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. "the
sooner they are abolished and the bust
ness conducted through some other de-
partment, tine better it will be for the
stale"
Some other department." in this case
means a new department to be created