The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-26

The stumpage sale of Oct. 81, 1897,
held by the then state auditor, r. c.
Dunn, now Republican candidate for
governor, was. according to the unani-
nous reports of the Twin City news
papers, a record breaker in the amount
sold, the prices realized by the sale and
the celebrity with which the sale was
conducted by the state auditor.
But the records of the sale. as shown
by the books of the state auditors
office, do not correspond with the re-
ports of the sale given by the newspa-
pers of Oct. %. There are discrepancies
in the prices at which six of the tracts
of the land offered were sold, and in
every case the difference is in favor of
the purchaser and against the state
school fund, which State Auditor Dunn
made a great ado Of protecting in his
campaign for the Office before he was
elected in 1894.
Five Sales to One Firm
Not only are the six discrepancies
favor of the purchaser, but IL. five of
the sales where, as compared to the
newspaper reports, there is loss of
money to the state, the beneflciaries are
Bonness & CO., Minneapolis lumber
men. A total of $5,261.64 is developed
as the loss to the state,-if the newspa-
pers' unanimous reports. are to be be-
lieved, and of this amount all but ST.
43z.72 is in favor of Bonness & Co.
There was, in the reports of the pine
sale of Oct 21. a very evident con-
certed effort to boom the sale as hav-
ing been the most successful in the his
tory of the states pine land dealings.
In every newspaper which reported the
sale the impression was sought to be
given that the state auditor had done a
wondrous stroke of business in dis
posing of the stun1page at the sale at
prices much higher than the estimates
put upon it by the state cruisers and
the state timber board. It was the first
sale under the law passed during the
session of the legislature of the winter
before, and the results were put for
ward with an evident desire to show
the workings of the new law and the
Interpretation of it by the state auditor
in its best light.
Globes Story of Sale
eGIobe of Oct %, 1897, said of
the sale:
1t was the biggest and best sale Of
stunapage ever held in this office and
feel highly pleased with my days work,
was the comment of State Auditor Dunn
at the close of the auction sale of standing
pine yesterday. While the prices We're not
on the face higher than ever. they were
in point of fact. as they ranged far higher
than in the only sale heretofore made un-
der the custom requiring cash deposit.
Before rivals, reluctant to see that any
one else got the timber would run the
bidding up to a prohlbltoTy ngure ana
then not take the pine. Now, however.
when they have to make 25 per cent de-
posit~ in cash such amusement would be
costly indeed.
The bidding was extremely spirlted. All All
+, the prospective buyers We're out after
blood, and the price was run up at a
! lively rate. On the first (and the largesD
parcel the price started in at the ap-
praised valuation of 81 per 1;oo0 ieet ana
was run up to the remarkable figure OF
st. .05. This showed the humor the crowd
was in. 1t was the highest price reached
during the sale, but the competition oyer
the other parcels was equally lively one
tract which was offered and refused al
the sale in June at its upset price of $3.50
per / 900 was bid in Yesterday by W. ID.
Bailey, of Duluth, at 50 %.
The sale occupied about three hours.
and G. 2. Staples (Hflo was the father Of
ffle new timber law and member of the
pine land investigating committee} wit
messed the proceedings throughout. He
expressed himself as well satisfied with
the manner of the sale and the prices
and to the best interests of the state.
High Bid Is Refused
Commenting on the feeling engen-
dered among the lumbermen because