Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1903-05-25
STORY OF MINOT LAND OFFICE.
remarkable Report Of Its Condition
sent IN to tn department BY In
Snecfor LiIIe

T. NJ. Williams. in the Northern Re-
view:
In rummaging through records of
the Interior Department in Washing.
ton the other day ran across one of
the most unique official reports proba-
bly, ever made by a government Off
clal. The document referred to was
d regular report made by Inspector of
Land Offices Hills of the regular staff
and was made to Hon. Binger Herman
/ Commissioner Of the General Land
| once. Washington, d. c., and bears
date OF April. 1901. 1t certainly is a
work Of art in its line and entities In
the author to a place in
the ha1 .ong with George
AIDE and Dooley Dunno.
The report is particularly interesting
TO North Dakotans for the reason it
refers to one of the United States land
offices in North Dakota. the Mnot
office
After the customary and necessary
lorna and deferential introduction of
the communication, always followed by
an official to his superior officer, the
inspector jumps right into his subject
and says:
/ Outside Of register and receivers
desk, Densmore typewriter and safe,
the outfit looks very much as though
/ IL may have come over in the May
/ flower. One blank case stands upon
/ two soap boxes, and the boxes are not
plumb with each other. The stove in
one room is minus two legs, and bricks
are substituted | am unable to dag
nose the complaint of the stove pipe;
/ however | know it's something Sc
/ rious The feather duSter has three
! Quills left, and to make very long
story short, its a royal outfit" and
as | passed from one department to
the other ] concluded it looked more
/ like a side hill second hand store than
it does a United States land Office In
TO the vault where two
of the clerks are quartered, | found
an old gasoline stove with cooking out
fit, and a flock of geese, ducks, wood.
chunks, cayotes, etc, which had been
prepared some years ago by taxi
dermist. and in the smaller of these
rooms | found what looked like the
upheavel of an old graveyard, as upon
an old table and in among the debris
and rubbish was skull bones, mum
mics and hobgoblins. Not beins
versed in the art, | am unable to eX
plain their value. Take these decOra
tions and have them from one room t.
the other covered with thick dus
that has been permitted to lay undis
turbed ever since the land Office ha!
that Mr.. Frank Ely, one of the clerks
is languishing in the pest house will
Il upSt Vi SHldIi-lbOS. III thSlC 10 iAN
telling what fermentation is going OF
in such places The agitation mus
be great. know it is with me, but
concluded to face it and take m.
chances. 1t is admitted by the entir,
office force that these conditions hav'
existed during the life of this Office
and when | call attention to thes
points. they wonder, if this was no
pleasing. that former inspectors di'
not complain. | do not heed such 4.
guments. but have Mr. Mansfield
pledge that the entire room shall b
; repapered. painted and renovated an
, that all of this rubish of every kin
and nature shall be removed from th
premises fumigate myself afte
each visit to the Office. ana it is yer
unpleasant to be persoaa,. put ca
avoid [ by askinp the Hon. Commits
sioner if he has evevr experienced
receiver who never looks where he
going to sit down. who ShaVes once l
seven weeks, and has whiskers tha
flourish upon the high spots only, VIII
INDUCES in the use of cob pipe du
in gthe most of the Office hours, VIII
walks at least twice around the stov
when he starts for the safe to depos
fourteen dollars taken for hom
stead entry, and register who stoor
in crossing the street to get under tn
electric light wires. who combs n
hair with a whisk broom, who clear
his necktie with piece of sand pape
and when he changes his shirt an
other linen he simply puts on tn;
which he took off ten days previot
without its being laundried. You ma
never have seen men thus describe
but | will say have.