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

they could do so with impunity with
out the expenditure of a dollar on
their part.
Both Gov. Van SAINT and Public Ex-
aminer Johnson think, or pretend to
think, that Hon. S. G. Iverson, the
present State auditor, IS honest and
efficient, in which view I heartily con-
cur. But these gentlemen seem to
forget that Mr.. Iverson was my
deputy for eight years and had i'm
mediately supervision of all the de-
tails Of the Office and that he person
ally handled many of the trespass set
Elements and was consulted in almost
every instance. If Mr.. Iverson is
honest and efficient now, is it not
reasonable to presume that he was
equally honest and efficient during the
eight years he served as deputy audi
tor? Will Mr.. johnson or Gov. Van
SAINT please point to single trespass
case of any Importance that was set
tied by me without advising and con-
sulting with Mr.. Iverson?
AS TO MINERAL LEASES.
With reference to mineral leases:
First and foremost I want to say
that I am not now and never
have been, directly or Indirectly,
interested in any mineral lease
or contract, either during my
term of Office as State auditor or
since, to the extent of a fve-cent
piece. There is nothing in the law
governing the leasing of State lands
for prospecting purposes that prevents
any one from securing a lease, pro-
vided he pays the amount fixed by
law. The law provides that all appli-
cations for mineral leases must be ac-
companied by the cash; that is to say,
S25 must be paid for each one hundred
and sixty acre tract Or less. The
prospecting lease gives the holder the
right to prospect for ore for a period
of twelve months, and at the expira-
ton of that time he must take out
fifty year contract at the rate of one
hundred dollars per year, and when a
railroad gets within certain distance
of the land covered by the contract,
after period of five years, five thou
sand tons of ore must be mined or an
amount equivalent to the royalty on
five thousand tons, that is to say.
81 ,250, must be paid into the State
treasury annually. One mans money
is just as good as another's to the
State. Probably nine-tenths of the
leases issued are dropped at the ex-
piration of the year. Taking out
mineral lease is like buying lottery
ticket. The knowledge obtained by
any clerk in the auditors Office with
reference to the value of any piece of
mineral land is practically worthless.
The only way to discover whether
there is ore on the land is by drilling
or test-pitting.
The law provides that where two
or more parties apply for lease on
the same piece of land at the same
time the lease must be auctioned off
to the highest bidder. That provision
of the law was strictly complied with
during the eight years I served as
auditor. I defy any living man to
prove to the contrary. If there was
no competition the first applicant who
paid his twenty-five dollars received
the lease.
The law fixes specific amount that
shall be paid for mineral lease and
a specific amount that shall be paid
for a mineral contract, and the gov
erncr, the janitor Or the messenger
boy has just as good a right to take
out a mineral lease as any one else.
It is all the same to the State.
1t is preposterous for any one to
assert that the State can be robbed or
injured in any manner by the issuance
OF mineral leases to any person so
long as the terms of the law are COM
piled with. If ore is discovered the
holder of the contract must pay to the
State twenty-five cents per ton roy
atty, and know Of no possible way
in which the State could be defrauded.
THE MABEL EVANS LEASE:
Mr.. Johnson's report particularly
refers to lot l, section 6, town
5835. range II, upon which Miss
Mabel Evans secured lease.
This tract of swamp land con-
tains 36 65-lOO acres. selected it and
set it apart for the benefit of the State
institutions land fund Immediately the
swamp land list was filed in the State
land Office in order to prevent some
railroad company from fling on it.,
as owing to the situation of the land
it probably contains body of iron
ore, but apparently no one seemed to
think much of the mineral possibilities
of the tract or else those who knew of