The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-09-18
DEMOCRATS MAY ASK
DONAHOWER TO ACT
State Committee Wants Cues.
toned Leases to Valuable
MineraILands Cancelled

If Gov. Van SAINT does not insist on
ming suits to cancel the state leases or
contracts to valuable iron lands held
| by former clerks in the office of former
| State Auditor Dunn, it is more than
probable that formal request will be
| made by the Democratic state central
| committee to the attorney general to
| do his duty. y
The report of Public Examiner S. T.
Johnson, made public on Thursday,
| cited a number of leases to state school
/ lands containing extensive deposits of
| iron ore. in the name of George A.
| Finn and l. c. Patterson, former land
| clerks in the Office of the state auditor.
! In several instances it was shown that
| the original leases had been issued in
part or in whole to Mabel Evans, a sis
| ter Of Mr.. Patterson, and when the con-
tracts had been executed they were
| found to run to Mr.. Finn and Mr..
/ Patterson.
4 notable instance is the contract in
the so-oalled Virginia silver tract, near
Hibbing, which the present state
| auditor estimates will yield a revenue
to the state at Is cents a ton royalty
of 100000
The law in the case prohibiting
/ clerks from profting by their official
knowledge of office secrets, is plain,
ana admits of no construction other
than what it actually says. This is
| but one of several cases Where the pub
| lie examiner points out the culpability
| of the two land clerks who were en-
| ployed by Mr.. Dunn when he was state
! auditor.
The Virginia Silver Case
| There is little question of the value
OF the properties, but even if they had
| proven to be worthless the principle
| would remain unchanged. But in the
| Virginia silver case Mr.. Dunn has pub
! ilcly taken credit to himself forp SAY
ing this property to the state and from
private spectators at Duluth. He adj
| mits knowledge of the value of the
| property, and yet the records show it
/ was leased to sister of one of his
| land clerks, and later the contracts run
| to Patterson, brother of the lessee, and
| his business partner, Finn
A report in political circles last night
said that the Democratic state central
| committee had consulted able counsel
as to the legal warrant for bringing an
| action to cancel the contracts on the
ground of fraud. Chairman Frank A.
Day left in the afternoon for his home
| at Fairmont to spend Sunday and could
I not be seen.
Secretary M. F. Kain. of the commit
tee, was found last night, however, and
admitted that the, committeeman had
| considered the matter.
| If the public examiner is right in
| his findings, there can be no question
as to the conclusions" Mr.. Kahn said
when questioned. THE law is explicit
IN its terms. 1t makes the clerk guilty
of a miSdemeanor. But what is of
vastly more Importance to the taxpay-
| ers of the state is that a legal action
| for contracts held under the workings
| Of the clerks will lien
Up to Attorney General
The attorney general is the legal off,
Ger of the, state. 1t is his duty to be-
| gin the, actions for cancellation of
| these contracts lawyers say. So far,
| in the Investigations Of the auditor s
| office, Mr.. Donahower has acted with
out taking the public into his conf
! dence. He is said to be correspond
| ing with several of the timber tres
| passers with view to settlements of
| the states claims against them, and
has enforced one claim of several hun
dred dollars against a Superior 1um-
| Der company. But it is not evident
that he has done anything in connec-
ton with the mineral leases exposed
| by the public examiner.
| Mr.. Dunn's statement of his side of
| the case is expected to be made pub
lie Monday morning. Clerks have been
| at work on the records of the auditors
! office securing material to refute the
| public examiners statements, and a
| force of four or five stenogra piers
has worked nights at the Republican
! state central committee headquarters
| in preparing the broadside which the
former state auditor and Republican
| candidate for governor will fire into
the examiner.
| 1t is intimated that the denial Of the
charges will make a formidable look
| ing document, and that in its proper
| tons it will almost equal the exam
iner's findings.
There are rurnors that in addition to
| a. denial of the scathing presentation
of conditions by the public examiner
] the Republican candidate for governor
| will question the public examiner
motives in prosecuting the inquiry into
| the affairs of the state auditors office
during Mr.. Dunns eight years admin
istration. and there are talks of suits
for criminal libel to be sprung by both
Mr.. Dunn and Mr.. Finn to further ac-
cent their indignation. An attache of
the public examiners office, in the alb
sence of his chief, said yesterday that
there were no fears on this score