The Irish standard., 1902-10-25
LOREN AND THE LUMBERMEN.

LOREN AND THE LUMBERMEN.
In his speech against Fletcher dur
ing the primary campaign, which he
published in pamphlet form under the
title of "ren Years in Congress"
James \. Peterson demonstrated that
Uncle Loren' had always voted in
the interest of trusts and corporations
whenever he had an opportunity to do
so. He gave several instances of
Fletcher's votes on important bills,
and on every occasion the congress
man from this district cast his intiu-
ence on the side of the trusts and
monopoles and against the interests
of the people of the entire country.
In his interesting pamphlet Peter
son shows Fletcher's attitude on the
sale of 1,GO0,OOO,OO0 feet of pine tim
Der OH the Chippewa reservation, to be
disposed of to the highest bidders by
the United States government for the
benefit of the Indians. The Secretary
of the Interior wanted the timber sold
under sealed bids to prevent collision
among the lumbermen, and to avoid
the usual scandals connected with the
sale of government pine in Mime
sofa.
Loren Fletcher opposed Secretary
Hitchcocks recommendation and IA
vored the old method of cheating the
Indians by selling the timber at pub
lie auction to a coterie of lumbermen
of which he was the special repre-
sentative. When the bill for the sale
of the timber was before the House
of Representatives, Loren Fletcher
arose and said:
Il can harly conceive why any COM
Interior, would want to make Il pri-
vate sale and private sealed bids of
property of this kind. In my judg-
ment and understanding it would he
much better for and more to the inter
est of the people connected with the
lumber business, and MORE Salts
FACTORY TO ME, and, believe, to
every member of the delegation i'll
both branches of Congress, who, if
left alone to their own judgment
would favor the public sale. Here is
ten or perhaps twelve or fifteen mil
lion dollars worth of property to be
sold, and, in my Judgment, the only
fair way to sell this property is to sell
it ut public auction to the highest
bidder"
But the House of Representatives
thought otherwise and by Il vote of
be sold for the benefit of the Indians
in accordance with the wishes of the
Secretary of the Interior, the Indian
Commissioner and the majority of the
Committee on Indian Affairs.
Why is it that Loren Fletcher did
everything possible to have a public
auction instead of sealed bids? There
is only one answer to the question and
we need not give it when we state
| that Fletcher himself, according to his
own biography in the Blue Book, is
engaged in the lumber business. One
of the methods by which the lumber
larOns of Minnesota have become
millionaires in less than twenty years
is by robbing the lands of the In
dams of the pine timber thereon and
by bidding for the timber on Indian
reservations ut public auction.
The sale of dead and down timber
on these lands has been at $2,40 a
thousand, and then there has been
stealing going on by the lumbermen
of Minnesota Ray w. Jones, the
Republican candidate for lieutenant
governor and president of the Com
monwealth Lumber Company, knows
whereof we speak, for he has suit
pending against him in the Federal
Court in which the Government is the
plaintiff. He is considered good
enough to be nominated as the run
ming mate Of Samuel Van SAINT, the
terror of railroad mergers and the
friend of the Rapid Transit Company
The lumbermen of Minnesota have
amassed so much wealth by legalized
and illegalized robbery that they are
now figuring prominently in national
and state politics.
Since the passage of the Dingley
tariff bill five years ago, which placed
n tax of 50 on foreign lumber, the
members of the Minnesota pine ring
have raised the price of common
rough lumber IS to $40 per thousand
Rough joist and scantling have in
creased from SIS to 81: rough fencing
from 81 to 81; flooring has gone w
SIS, or so per cent; lath has beer
hoisted from S1.25 to So and 81. ant
so on. The tariff has been bonanza