New Ulm review., 1900-10-31
Reveals Some of the Dark
Pages of the History of
Minnesota Lands.
Shows What the Republican rlachine
Did When They Had the
Opportunity.

proportions that it should attain. I did
not lay this charge against Mr.. Dunn,
our present state auditor. He saw fit,
few days ago to criticise the admins
tration; but l propose to do him JUS
tice, whether he will me or not.
Mr.. Dunn has done a great deal of
good work; he is doing good work;
l have co-operated with him, and he
with me, in saving the remnants of the
public lands to the state, and | propose
to give him credit for it; but propose
also to ask hinl-I regret that he is
not here-when he had the audacity to
stand before an audience in this state
some two weeks ago and state that the
public school lands of this state had
been honestly administered, and that it
was because of the honesty and good
administration of the Republican party
OF this state that our school fund has
reached the enormous amount of $13,
100000, to ask him why he did not tell
the whole truth. l tell you now, and
| utter it with all the emphasis that I
am capable of, if the Republican state
officials. if the Republican state Off
GERS in the past had been honest, and
done their duty, the school fund of this
state would have been double what it
is today. (Applause) l propose to
show how the Republican officials of
this state deliberately, willfully and
knowingly took $4,000, 900 from the
school fund of this state and turned it
over to John Rockefeller. 1t is a seri-
Gus charge to make, but it is true, abb
sOlutely true. '4a
Now. l am going to read very briefly
from Mr.. Dunn's own official report on
this question. On page 90 of the state
auditors report for the years 1896 and
1896. you will find this, from Dunn:
"A committee of the state legislature
OF 1906 made an investigation of the re-
linquishment by the state of the lands
on which the Mountain Iron Mines are
situated, after the same had been duly
selected as indemnity school land. The
description of these lands are: The
south half of the southwest quarter,
southwest quarter of the southeast
quarter of section 80. township 50.
range IS and lots numbers three and
FOUR and the southwest quarter of the
northwest quarter of section 3, and the
southeast quarter of northeast quarter
OF section d, township So, range 19.
In view Of the fact that this Noun
tain Iron Mine property is today valued
at more than $I2,ooo,ooo which is
conservative estimate, and an amount
exceeding the entire accumulation of
the state school fund to date, l have, in
regular course Of office work, investi-
gated the facts attending the relinquish-
ment of these lands as shown by the
records of this office and of the United
States district land office. at Duluth,
Minn., which show as follows:
FROM DUNN'S REPORT.
"The land in question, which now
includes all the land owned occupied
and operated as part of the Mountain
Iron Mine, on the Mesabi range, was
selected by the state as indemnity
school land in Duluth selection list No.
9, on February 9, 1884. This selected
list was in proper form and in conform
ity with the rules of practice of the
general land office in force at the time
the selection was made'
That was February 9th, 1884, then he
goes on:
On January 10th, 1888, the then state
auditor, Mr.. w. w. Braden, caused
new selection list, No. IL, to be made,
to take the place and supersede the
lists, Nos. to II, previously filed, to-
gether with REIMBURSEMENT signed by
State Auditor Braden, of all the selec-
tions of land made in the first list.
In 1888, after the state had held this
property for four years, after it had
been duly reported to Washington and
had been passed upon by the commits
sioner of the general land office and
was pending in the office of the secre-
tary of the interior. the state auditor,
without sanction of law, without any au-
thority, deliberately steps into the land
office and relinquishes the states claim
to that immense iron mine property, the
largest in the world, and which was
estimated by Mr.. Dunn himself to be
worth $12,ooo,ooo. Now, why did he
do this? The legislature of this state
investigated this question. I shall not
keep you very long, but want to read
portion of the evidence To show that
there was no excuse for it, / will read
you a letter written by the commits
sioner of the general land office, Mr..
Stockslager. to Mr.. Braden, but be-
fore he made this REIMBURSEMENT. He
says:
w. w. Braden. Auditor of the State
OF Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.-Sir: Re-
terrlng to your letter dated Jan. II,
1888, in which you request to be in
formed whether it would be advisable for
the state of Minnesota to relinquish
all selections heretofore made that have
not been connected with specific bases,
SO as to form separate and distinct Sc
'lections, I have to say that some of the
selections to which you refer are before
the honorable secretary of the interior
on appeal by the state from the action
of this office rejecting, them, and under
all the circumstances it is thought bet
ter that this office pass upon the ques-
tion presented when the lists not passed
upon are reached for examination and
action"
HISTORY'S BLACK PAGES. F.,
Now, let us see how it came about.
In this hearing before the joint COM
mittee of the house and senate, and it
is a black page in the history of our
20 I.,L IL. A n