The Saint Paul globe., 1899-03-23

reservation have no desire to purchase
the timber out and out from the govern
ment. when they can get 1t for nothing
by purchasing a little stumpage here and
there under the dead and down. act.
The sale of reservation pine which was
scheduled for next month has been post
poned by the interior department The
Leech lake operators do not want to buy
the timber, and the Minneapolis lumber
men are reported as being opposed to
an immediate sale, as they do not want
to make any purchases on the present
high estimates. The recent trouble has
frightened the government estimators
into making a Just return, and as the
greater part of the reservation has been
gone over recently by the government
agents a new estimate has been put on
everything.
The statement that the Leech lake In
dams have been robbed of millions of
feet of virgin pine under the dead and
down" act finds confirmation in several
sources investigated by The Globe.
IN ITASCA PARK.
1t has been reported, and The G b e. s
authority stands for it's truth, that
heavy cuttings Of pine have been made
from the land situated In the Itasca park
belonging to the state. Logging opera
uons in this case have been quite ex-
tensive, as they have been carried on by
a most dangerous class of operators
Purchases of forty here and a forty
there have been made and cuttings eX-
tending far over the park line into some
of the largest virgin white pine in the
state. The report has gained quite gen
eral circulation among the settlers and
legitimate lumbermen in the vicinity, and
Gov. Lind Is now conducting an investiga-
ton Of the matter
State Auditor Dunn, when interviewed
on the subject yesterday, was quite will
ing to talk, and stated that while the
states losses from trespasses had been
reduced to q minimum, 1t was generally
understood that the railroad companies
and large corporations had experienced
heavy losses from timber trespasses.
The state had vigorously prosecuted all
trespassers, and with good results. A
few years ago 1t was very common for
timber thieves to buy a section and cut
about six sections. Sometimes the states
cruisers did not discover trespass for
a year or two after the timber had been
cut. but If they could trace the logs
they always secured a. settlement from
the lumber company.
Railroad companies were very particu-
lar about buying ties and other timber
without knowing just where 1t came
from, as they were always held liable
by the state.
STATES WARNING.
Notices have been posted all over the
state bearing the following headlines:
'"Trespassers on state lands, beware.
Notice is hereby given that any person
or persons who cuts, removes or carries
away any timber, standing or down, from
and lands belonging to or under the con-
troll Of the state Of Minnesota, without
first having obtained a legal permit
from the state land commissioner shall
be deemed guilty Of willful trespass. and,
on conviction thereof, subject to heavy
fines and penalties"
The states cruisers cover as much
ground as possible, but the territory is
large and in all cases the timber oper-
ators work quickly Mr.. Dunn said yes
terday that there were a number of
small temporary mills in the vicinity of
Bemidji which lived off of the pine stolen
from other peoples land, with the as
sistance Of the settlers One load of
logs is cut on this forty and the next
little way off. Just as soon as the
team gets out in the main road it is
impossible to prove the identity Of the
logs when they are not marketed to
responsible mill
While this seems but a small matter,
when 1t is figured that these pirate"
mills get their seasons cut in this way,
the result aggregates a surprising
amount.
Mr.. Dunn stated that there was less
stealing going on in the Duluth district
than in the reservation country The
trespassers or timber thieves can be put
in three classes.
First, the man who has nothing more
than a team who supplies the temporary
mills with logs.
The second class includes the man who
bought q forty ten years ago, and has
been cutting timber on it ever since.
WATCH THEIR CHANCE.
The third class Is the lumber company,
which has some standing, but which
trespasses whenever the opportunity Of
fers. and runs the risk Of getting caught.
The latter class frequently steals a
great deal of pine without being de-
tected. They own some nice tracts,
which they have bought on low esti-
mates. They cut little over the line
on each side Of the tract. After the
trees have been cut down 1t is a difficult
matter to locate the lines, unless start
Is made from the base and run with
compass. no one would ever know that
the stumpage was stolen.
In this way the railroad companies
and one or two Of the big lumber con-
Germs are robbed regularly every year.