The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-25

| producers. Over and above all these is the
| rightful demand for wise, just and COM
| petent administration of public affairs.
Let us consider for a moment the first OF
| these-the public lands. Under the various
| land grants the railroads of the state claim
| to own about 20, 600 acres, or two-ffths of
| the entire area At a valuation OF So per
| acre this would reach the modest sum OF
500 coo, COO At $40 per acre 1T would be double
| that sum. Congress at one time donated to
| the state the swamp lands, about 5,OO0,00
| acres. 1t did this On the theory that the
| state would be induced to drain them and re-
| claim them, and so give them value. Be-
! tween 1861 and 1886 the various legislatures
of the state practically gave them all away
| to railroad companies, thereby expressing us
| conviction that the proper way to drain these
| lands to build railroad over them
| greater farce was never enacted. l desire 10
| say that l am enemy OF railroads. ana l
| do not share in that general and sometimes
senseless denuncation of them They are
among the greatest civilizers OF the age!
| They open up our prairies. transport to mar
| ket the produce of the settler. and bring
| back to him from the merchant the comforts
and luxureS of life. But when we consider
| the generous donations from the state, every
| consideration of justice and honor demands
| that at all times and at all places they should
| deal fairly and equitably with all classes Of
| our people. The rates should be just and
| reasonable, and based as our supreme court
| lately held in the Stevenson case, not upon
the extravaganza cost of construction Watered
!
| upon fair income upon the reasonable COST
of reproduction Of the plant. Thus based;
| the long existing controversy will cease. and
| both the shipper and carrier may prosper.
| With prudent but firm man like GOV. Lind
! at the helm all such difficulties would vanish
| like the morning dew.
THE SCHOOL LANDS.
| Look for a moment at the school lands.
The donations by congress to the state for
public schools we're the double sections 16
and So. and amounting to 100000 acres,
! These should seasonably have produced q
school fund of fully $50,Ooo,09O. About three
| fourths Of these lands have been sold, and
| the sum received Is about So. Coo. 1t may
| ultimately reach $40, coo. Some were ag-
ricultural, some timber and others mineral
| lands. The fact is we'll known that thou
sands of acres of the finest timber lands
| have been sold at price far less than their
value. In many cases depredatlons have been
committed by trespassers and settlements
made at ridiculous figures. In 1884 the lands
| covering the now famous Mountain Iron
mine were duly selected by the state for the
benefit Of the school fund. Yet it afterwards
appeared that they had been relinGuished and
had fallen into private hands. The value Of
this mine. covering about 500 acres, is today
fully $i2, geo, eco, sum equal to all the school
| lands, timber trespasses and what not re-
eeived during all these years from the sales
Of the bulk Of this splendid donation. What
ever may be the excuse rendered, the fact
remains that this one act Of careIessness, II
1t be no worse, has shamefully betrayed one
Of the most sacred trusts ever committed to
mortal hands.
! SOME MORE OF IT.
Again: The railroad companies to whom
such grants were made always claimed and
were accorded the privilege Of making their
| own selections. They accordingly expended
large sums of money in surveys and never
failed to find the best land. In 1894. however
Mr.. Biermann. the Democratic state auditor
| conceived it to be his duty to make the
| selections He did SO, and rendered the deeds
but the COMPANIES stubborniy refused to &C
cept them. Thus deeds for some 270, coo acres
like SO many waits. seem to belong to no
body Meanwhile the lands escape taxation,
and the people make up the difference. Who
All are familiar with the late decision
Of the supreme court, by which the unused
railroad lands are now to be placed on ths
tax lists. They involve lands worth Sis, 0o0,,
600 to $4,000, 900. A triumph was here gained
the value OF which is inestimable to the peo
pie and the state. 1t involves proper taxa
tion. wise administration. independence o.
the judiciary, and justice to all Classes. MOI
the least of the benefits Will be that these
lands 50 long held out Of market and ou
ture become smiling farms.
Another evidence of mismanagement Is az
forded in the mineral lands. Under present
regulations any one may now lease 100 acres
| for one year for the purpose Of prospect
ing. and thereafter may take a contract fol
fifty years on a royalty Of rs cents per ton
sale at that which is forbidden by the con,
stitution. Many abuses were formerly
committed by taking first years lease
and then. under the pretense of prospecting
the timber was taken off There can be lit
tie question that the state has in one way
or another lost vast sums. The iron region
Of Minnesota Is concededly the richest on the
globe, and it Is of the utmost Importance
| that lands still unsoid or Unbiased should
be sacredly preserved SO that the last dollar
of their real value may be obtained; tha
the private miners and settlers shall be pro-
| tected In their just rights, and that fail
rates of Transportation shall be accorded te
only by such means that the state can at
tain Its proper and full development.
PEOPLE ACCOMPLISH MUCH.
Notwithstanding the fact that the state
during al this time has been under Republi.
can control, the people have not been wholly
Silent and inactive. They have made them
selves heard In more ways than one. The
agitations at the fireside and on the hustings
have seen their good effects in the passage
of better laws and often in the reinstatement
OF better methods 1t is to such efforts
that we have now better protection for The
fruits Of labor in the lien laws. The labor
| bureau. if properly conducted would be OF
great hep to the cause Of the workingmen.
| We no longer see the odious Pinkerton de-
tective. among us enforcing unjust demands
by dubious methods. The law against the
intimidation I'M Of voters and the Australian bal.
pace of the bludgeon. and at the
time tim , when -, the streets Of Chicago
Pullman the difficulties here between the
Grea, Northern and the employees were ad-
Justed easily and honorably. The board Of
railroad and warehouse commissioners is a
step in the right direction, not only fol
transportation. but for storage and inspec-
ton; All that is yet needed is that It be
wholly Independent and thai. the greed OF
the buyer may no longer by fa:se measures
or grades wrong the producer. We no long
er have special legislation, but the princi-
pie of direct legislation begins to operate
as It has in the matter Of taxing the unused
lands: A comfortable home now makes cheer
ful the declining years of the cd veteran
The children Of the 5000 and over school
districts of the state now have, OF may have
free text books and all the necessary sup
plies for their education. Each and all 81
these grand fnstrumentalities and improve
! ments, and many more, have come to the Deo-
PIE, not by the grace of the party in power.
Magma Charta came, as the bill Of rights
came-at the demand Of an aroused and
earnest people.
RIPE FOR SUCCESS.
The political conditions in this state were
never moro hopeful for success. When the
war with a foreign power was going on all
questions Of national character. and which
had heretofore divided the great political par
ties. were by common consent for the time
allowed to remain silent. That war is prac-
ucaliy over, and the great principle has been
established not only for ourselves, but for
another, even though it be its own colony.
we now enter upon new era and an en-
largeo commerce Will take to the remotes IT
parts OF the earth the enlarged products of
more in year than in decade before. Do
I these crowning and matehless glories belong
to a party?
In Gods name, 1 protest against the In
famous assumption. They belong RI ALI par