The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-10-22

views, Mr.. Dunn treated the list as an
accident or a mystery. There was no
accident and no mystery about it. The
company wanted the lands, and asked
grant them. The company asked the
court to decide that the lands belonged
to it. With the suit came list of the
lands, furnished, not from some mys-
ferrous nook, but from the office of Mr.
Dunn. The court granted the plea, and
declared the list of lands the property
Of the railroad company
Blamed the Other Fellow.
When Mr.. Dunn made his belated dis
covery CD the air was blue, and he
denounced the railroad officials as rob-
bers. They had done everything regu-
larly and above board, and were natIlr-
ally somewhat incensed. Mr.. Dunn says
in his 1902 report:
at once caused proceedings look
ing toward the amendment Of Judge
Loo hren 8 decree to be instituted, in
order to clear the states title to the
state institution lands, and on Feb. 10,
1902, the original decree was amended
and the court decreed the HIGH Is
acres IN question to be the property of
, the state Of Minnesota
MT. Dunn acknowledges that the set
tlement was due to the courtesy of e.
3: Kellogg, counsel for the company.
lie forgets to state that the settlement
was delayed nearly year by his saw
age attack on the company's officials
at land sale in Duluth, which broke
off negotiations commenced by Attor-
ney General Douglas and General
Chllds. But for his tardy and forced
acknowledgement Of their fairness, the
state never would have recovered the
lands. The state had no grounds what
ever IN a suit to recover them.
Claimed Credit for It.
The whole controversy over this
grant has start from the extravagant
claims made in Mr.. Dunn IS campaign
saving the 1864 acres to the state.
In Mr.. Dunn's own statement of his
record the case is handled thus:
The litigation over the swamp land
grant Of the Duluth & Iron Range Rail
road company is we'll known to most
citizens of the state, but it is not so
vel known that at the time Judge
ing the validity Of the company IS
grant there was included in that: de-
| cree list of lands to which the court
declared the company was rightfully
entitled, and that included in that list
was some forty-three thousand acres of
state institutions landsa on which are
located at least three very valuable
iron mines. When the attention of Mr..
Dunn was drawn to this fact, the time
fol, appealing the case had gone by,
and the state was threatened. with a
loss which would have not been less
than !$5,000,000. But by the use of
considerable diplomacy and frmness
the Duluth & Iron Range railroad peo-
pie were induced to consent to the de-
cree being amended so as to exclude
all the state institutions lands, which
Judge Lochren very promptly did when
the proper application was made by
the attorneys for the railroad com
pany.'
When, as the record shows, the whole
mistake was due to negligence of Mr..
Dunn himself, the claim made for him
is certainly amusing.
Compromise Defers Settlement.
Not SO amusing is the record of the
| amended decree, by which Mr. Dunn
agreed to aeclause giving the Duluth &
Iron Range six months from the time
Lake and Cook counties is surveyed,
and the swamp lands patented to the
| state by the government, before it is
required to fill it's grant.
| Before this compromise was made in
the amended decree, the company was
sonable time.'' Now it has the first frs;
pick of all the mineral and timber land
yet to be surveyed, no matter how long
the survey lasts, or how long before
the title is settled. This concession in
the compromise was made necessary by
the negligence Of Mr.. Dunn. -