The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-15

Reeves, of Pope county, These seven
gentlemen may now contend for the hon
or of the two seats in the Republican
party accorded them by the Pioneer
Press. For the purpose Of giving the
committee an air of solidity, single
Democrat was appointed upon It, Mr.. A.
M. Hill, OF Winona, and for adornmeat
two Populists were added to its member
ship, Senator P. NJ Ringdal and there's
the rub Representative Ignatius Donnel-
ly. The addition of the sage of NiningeT
to the committee Is to the Pioneer Press
as a red rag to a bull. For Donnelly's
sake it denounces the committee and all
it's works.
Because Gov. Lind, in recent speech,
read from the report Of that committee,
the Pioneer Press, for Donnelly,s sake,
attacks Lind. and uses the memory of
the dead as a pretext The committees
report is a part of the public documents
of the state for the year 1897, and the
responsibility for it's authorship rests upon
| one Democrat who prepared it and at
tached their signatures thereto.
There is some excuse, if any excuse is
necessary, for the language and findings
read by Gov. Lind, in the fact that DUR
ing the Legislative session of 1896 the pres
| ent Republican attorney general, w. E.
Douglas, of Nfoorhead, who has been non
ored by his party with denomination
for the Office he now holds, offered the
following resolution calling for an inyes-
tigation of this Mountain Iron mine trans
action:
Information having been furnished by
reliable parties tending to show that the
state of Minnesota has been deprived Of
upwards of 400 acres of extremely valu-
able land, the property of the state OF
minnesota, and divers state institutions,
| without in one instance having received
| the full consideration contracted to be
given, and as to part of said lands, with
! out any consideration whatever, and
Whereas. 1t is believed that the state
OF Minnesota has thereby lost said land
! through the fraudulent acts of officers Of
! the state, or their employees, and that
! the same may be reclaimed; therefore,
! be it
| Resolved, That a special committee
heretofore appointed by the speaker Of
the house, of which Hon. Henry Ieig J.
! chairman, be and the same is hereby au-
| thoriZed to make investiga tons thereof;
| to send for persons and papers, admin
| lister oathS to witnesses in the course Of
said Investigation and report the result
| OF said Investigations to tie house and
| in their discretion to the attorney gen
eral with recommendations"
This resolution appears on page EGG of
the house journal for 1895, and the record
further says that when the roll was called
On the adoption Of the resolution ''there
were yeas siXty-seven and nays none So
the resolution was adopted. Thus sixty
seven members Of the Republican legis-
| lature Of 1895 subscribed to the belief ex-
pressed by the present attorney g neral
| in the second section Of the resolution
that the state of Minnesota has hereby
| of officers of the state or employees, and
that the same may be reclaimed"
Why does not the Pioneer Press adj
/ dress few reproaches to Attorney Cen
eral Douglas for the language he ent-
| ployed in the above quoted resolution?
And why does it not read out to the
people of the Republican party f1ve-sev-
enths of the Republican representative
who voted for the resolution?
The committee TO which this resolution
was referred, made report to the house
! on Monday, April %, 1895, through Its
chairman, Mr.. Feig, which it said:
| las regards the resolution adopted by
| the house of representatives on the 18th
| day of February, 1895, we beg leave to
make the following report and recon-
1--WE recommend that the attorney gen
eral be, and is hereby directed to in
| quire into the matter Of the loss of in
deInnity sch0ol lands, viz: s. II of 9.
See M 49, s r W y. < 49, 81 d thd lots 81 E and
/ 4, the S. w. 4 of the ". w u of Sec.
! 3, in the S. e. Il Of the N. E. Il Of Sec.
! 4, 7. SO, r. IS, after the same had been
! duly selected with the rules then in prac-
tice, and that he take such action with a
| view to the protection of the rights Of the
state, as the facts elected by such In
| quiry shall require" (See page 50 OF the
| appendix to the journal of the house for
the legislative session Of 1881
OF course no action was taken by the
then attorney general, and the matter
quietly rested until another Republican
| legislature took up the question and an
investigating committee made public
the facts it had elected. the reading of
which at a pubic meeting by Gov. Lind
the other day, has produced such a dis
astrous turmoil in digestive apparatus
of an esteemed contemporary.