The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-06-26
STATE LET'S FIRST
CONTRACT TO MINE
BITUMINOUS COAL
Duluth Company Agrees to Pay
Royalty to Work Certain
State Lands i'm Aitkin County
Referees Fix Rate.

bituminous coal within the state of
| Minnesota was yesterday let by State
Auditor S. G. Iverson. This is one of
! the most important contracts ever
made in, and one OF the most impor-
| tant privileges ever granted by, the
state of Minnesota.
The facts are as follows: On the
4th day of last March State Auditor
IversOn was approached, in his official
capacity, by the Quodenaw Develop
ment company, of Duluth, and was in
formed by this company that they had
located coal in section SO, township 81,
range rs, county of Aitl1in; and that
they desired a contract with the state
for a stipulated number of years per-
uniting them to mine this coal for
certain condsiredation to be mutually
| agreed upon.
State Auditor Iverson Immediately
consulted Gov. Van SAINT and Attorney
General Douglas in the matter, and
the laws of the state were thoroughly
searched in the same connection.
1t was found that no specific men
! ton was made of coal in any manner
1 by the state laws; and that only the
most general provision had ever been
made in that direction. In one place,
|
clause did make mention Of what
should be done in the event Of "cOp-
per, or other mineral" being discov
cred. Upon this Auditor Iverson pinned
his faith. This statute stated that in
the event of an application being
made by the lessee, or other parties
| interested, that a contract should be
effected by means of & board Of ref
nrnn 70 Il oh 1Nxy Tot a
one by the applicant, and these two
should choose a third. However,
upon consultation with the attorney
| general and the governor, Auditor
Iverson came to the conclusion that
the better way to do would be to find
out what other states had done in this
regard. kilograms We're sent to the
departments of the state of Ohio, In
| diana, Michigan and Iowa, with the re-
! suit that a proposal was made to the
| Quodenaw company as follows: That
Is cents per ton should be affixed as
the royalty to be received by the state;
that the contract should be binding for
thirty years; that the minimum produc-
| ton Of the mine must be 5000 tons
per year within five years from the
completion of the road within one mile
of the location of the mine; that the
company must pay the state 800 per
year up to the time when the shipping
! shall begin that the company shall
pay the taxes upon the property. The
remaining portion of the contract was
the same as that at present used by
the state in regard to the mining Of
| iron ore.
| This the QuodenaW company imme-
diately reported as excessive, and ask
ed that the matter be left to referees.
The referee chosen by the company
was Alfred Merritt, of Duluth; Mr.
Iverson chose George B. Edgerton, Of
| ST. Paul, and these two chose, as the
third, Hon. Fred A. Hodge, of Pine
| City, Mimi. The result of the confer
ence of these three is embodied in the
following letter from Mr.. Edgerton to
State Auditor S. G. Iverson:
| Hon. S. G. Iverson, Commissioner of the
State Land Office, st. Paul, MINI.
Dear Sir: I hand you herewith decision
| and report of the board of referees, ap-
| pointed to pass upon the terms and cOnd1-
| tiOns upon which the Quodenaw Develop
ment company would be allowed to mine
| the southwest quarter of section thirty
six, township fifty-two. range twenty
| six, in Aitkin county, MIMI same being
property. of the state of Minnesota After
| considering the evidence presented to US
| We fixed the royalty at seven and one
| half cents per ton on bituminous coal. The
| remOtenesS and inaccessibility of the land
| described was important factor in de-
termining the amount of royalty at seven
| and one-half cents. although this is more
| than the average royalty charged lessees
| in other states for the mining of btu
minous coal. The applicant has expended
| large sums of money, and years of time,
| in exploring the northern portion Of the
! state for coal and is deserving of special
consideration on this account. We are
of the opinion that until the legislature
determines upon royalty, as it has in re-
| lation to iron ore such application should
| be treated upon it's own merits. Very
| respectfully yours.
| George B. Edgerton,
| st. Paul, MINI.
When the general provision embod-
led in the statutes and upon which
State Auditor Iverson was forced to
act, was enacted by the legislature in
1895, no thought Of coal on state lands
had ever entered the minds Of any one
| within the state. If this project of the
Quodenaw company proves to be a
paying matter and gives evidence Of
being extensive Mr.. Iverson will, at
the next session of the legislature, re-
quest that body to provide for such an
industry by specific laws.