The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-09-22

oAAAO0I W Oi0SPdSS Oh. lue care With
which the difficult work of detecting
timber trespass was done is shown by
the fact that out of 700 cases reported.
361, averaging s67.4 each, were com
mitted by small loggers and ire
sponsible parties and by settlers. The
average amount of each of the 700
cases was less than $4,000 feet. The
average price per thousand feet OBJ
tanned for timber regularly sold prior
to 1895 was Sl.8l per thousand, and
up to 1898 the State did not average
more than 1854 per thousand feet at
regular sales. The great bulk of the
trespass committed during my admin
istration was prior to 1898, yet the
average price obtained by me for tres
pass was 1925 per thousand. Mr..
johnson very adroitly attempts to
convey the impression TO the public
that it was cheaper to trespass than
to buy timber during my administra-
ton. Consider for a moment 100
separate and distinct cases of tres
pass, scattered over an area of at
least 50, 600 square miles and averag-
ing $4,000 feet to each trespasser, and
in all the previous history of the State
these small punches of pine had
melted away. If the entire IS, 900. 900
feet of trespass committed during nv
administration had been centered in
one township it would have been five
times more valuable than scattered
over the area in question. For in
stance, one section may contain 2OOO.-
700 feet OF pine and that pine to-day
would be worth probably sl6, 900.
Scatter that pine over an entire town
ship and it would not be worth one
third the amount. Scattered timber
is practically valueless and can only
be sold to small jobbers and farmers.
Nine-tenths of the trespass was on
small isolated tracts and any one
possessed Of an ounce of common
sense can perceive that it is unfair of
Mr.. johnson to compare the prices
obtained for trespass in isolated tracts
with the selling price of timber in
solid, compact bodies. It is also un-
fair of Mr.. Johnson to compare prices
obtained for trespass in the early
years of my administration with the
prices obtained during the first year
OF Mr.. VERSIONS administration, when
timber had risen in value from 300 to
400 per cent. In many instances I was
obliged to take the actual value of the
stumpage, and Mr.. Iverson has been
obliged to do likewise in numerous
cases. said at the time of Mr.. John
sons first report that the reasons were
given and noted on the stumpage
records where trespass cases were
settled for less than double and treble
damages, To be sure when trespass
was first discovered we invariably
made large demands, and the weaker
our case the stronger was our bluff.
remember distinctly the largest case
OF trespass | ever settled. It appears
in the stumpage records. I demanded
twenty or twenty-five thousand dol
lars. The trespass had been COM
mitted years before I came into Office
and the ground had all been burned
over. All our cruisers could find
were charred stumps and even some
OF the stumps had been consumed.
Through diligent inquiry on the part
OF our cruisers we became convinced
that certain firm which had gone out
of business had committed the tres
pass, although we had not scintilla
of proof nor could we come anywhere
near proving the number of feet taken
from the section. AS any one knows,
when you go into court you must
prove your case to the satisfaction of
the judge and jury. I had made up
my mind that anything we could get
would be clear gain to the State and
would have accepted a thousand
dollars if 1 could not have done bet
ter. One of the best lawyers in St.
Paul, who represented the firm we
suspected, came to the office in re-
spouse to demand and said sub
stantially: The firm I represent did
not commit the trespass, but Mr..
--- has retired from business and
he does not wish to be annoyed and is
willing to pay three of four thousand
dollars in order to avoid notoriety.
I put on bold front and insisted on
twenty thousand dollars being paid.
He and I wrangled back and forth for
an hour. He kept adding thousand
and kept coming down thousand
until I positively declared that SIP, 600
would be my lowest figure. He had
offered $4,000 and would not give
another cent and we finally split the
difference, and the next day he sent
me a check for Sll, ZOO. This is a fair
sample of the matter in which numer-