The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1904-09-28

place, and the cost to the state was $3.50
IN expenses in addition to the loss above
mentioned.
In 1900 an extremely aggravated case
Or trespass in Aitkin county was brought
TO my attention. i was very careful to
comply with the strict terms OF the law
the same for sale. At the outset Mr. r.
II. Foley of Aitkin, who had furnished
the supplies to the trespassers, and was
interested only to the amount of the mer-
cllandise he had furnished to the tres
paSsers, and was in no way connected
with the trespass offered me $4,000 in
have said, proceeded to comply with the
strict terms of the law. The best bid
could receive for the timber was 81, 500
Minneapolis. and VIE obliged to sell for
that sum- The state would have been
500 ahead had / accepted Mr.. Foley's
0fTer, besides the expenses which amount-
ed to about $500 more. / could cite sew
eral instances of this kind
When ! left the auditors office there
were only two unsettled cases Of tres
pass One Of my last official acts was
to write the attorney general a caustic
letter urging him to commence action
at once against one of the parties, a
Minneapolis umberman. But find that
no action was commenced until about
two months ago and Mr.. Johnson. was
given the credit for having the suit in
Court Gives the Measure of DAM
ages"
of Minnesota VS.. ShevIin & Carpenter.
" MINI. 99-109 inclusive. where Chief
Justice Start says: Accordingly, this
court has adopted and repeatedly applied
the following rule I'm actions of trespaSS
in troNer: where the defendant is a
Wiil1Hl trespasser the measure of dam
ages is the full value of the property at
the time and place Of demand. but il
he is only an unintentional or mistaken
trespasser-- that is where he honestly ana
reasonably believed that he had the legal
DTODpHtV-thpn
measure Of uama ges is the value of the
property at the time and place, and in
the condition it was taken.
During the eight years I served as
auditor, the first four years the price Of
stumpage was very low. Every one
knows that there was depression in the
lumber business in the years 1895. 1896,
1887 and 1saS. In the eight years I held
six general sales Of timber. [ held no
sales in 1856 and 1899 and the amount
derived from those six sales. including
the outstanding permits, was S2,25T, 900,
While in all the previous history of the
state ten times more timber was sold
or disappeared from view and only ST.
S4a.a92 WAS realized / think the figures
guoted amply demonstrate and prove to
tho satisfaction of all fair-minded men
that the timber interests of the state
Were not neglected during my admins
ration | have no hesitation in saying
that had tho states timber been ham
died ais well prior to my administration
as during my administration, the per-
manent school and the permanent univer-
dollars larger than they now are
Pine Land Investigating Committees
Work.
The state legislature of 1893 appointed a
pine lan1 investigating committee for
the special purpose of investigating all
state timber stumpage transactions
Which had taken place prior to 1895 and
provided il with fund for the purpose
penses. Ii was supposed that this COM
mittee covered the field thoroughly.
which it undoubtedly did Any refec-
tions which the public examiner may
cast upon any timber transaction oc-
curing prior to 1895 falls with more
force upon this pine land investigating
committee than upon r. G. Dunn
The names of the members of the
above committee are as follows: Hon.
Ienatius Donnelly. Hon. $. w. Leavett,
Hon. A. \. Eaton. Hon. c. f. Staples,
Hon. J. f. Jacobson and Hon. NJ. J. Nc
Grath.
The law Of 1895 (Chapter 1853. G. L.
estimates made prior to the passage of
the bill were null and void This made
1T impossible for me to pay much atten-
tion to old matters as the appropriation
made for the purpose by the legislature
only admitted Of the state auditor en-
ploying three cruisers in the field and
after cuttings which were made under
permits then in force. But where the
state auditor learned of old cases where
cuttings had not been paid for, the facts
were noted and wherever evidence could
be secured collections were made.
AS a matter of fact there are very
few cases to which the public examiner
calls attention, where there is the slight
est grounds for criticism. His report is
the most reckless and misleading collec-
tion of statements ever issued by a pub
lie official His gross misinterpretation
of such terms as New cuttings re-
ported hy the cruisers, which he con-
strues to mean that. cutting was made
OF state timber and follows with the in
quiry why the cutting reported was
not paid for?" and the similar construc-
ton he places on the terms Cut all
around, "cut on south and east side"
which also leads him to inquire why this
cutting was not paid for indicates his
which he presumes to sit in Judgment.
Any person possessing but a slight
knowledge of the lumber business could
have informed him that the term new
cutting means that the timber never
was cut into, and that cuttings on east
and south" or cuttings all around.
ing the state lands had been cut and
that inB consequence the state timber
was in danger Of fire originating In the
Johnson's Rot About Bark Marks.
In pne Or his former reports Mr.. John
son makes great ado over the fact that
al of the permits when the same were
recorded in the state auditors Office. All
have 70 say IN reply il that lumber
man who would dump his logs into a
stream or lake without properly marking
the same would be a lit subject for 4
lunatic ayslum. How i'm the name Of
common sense could the logs be Identified
at the boom III they were not properly
marked2 The letters MIN must be
stamped on all logs cut on state lands,
and AZ a matter of self protection. IL for
no other reason, the owner must afix
some other mark to enable him to dis
tingnish and claim his property.
1t has been asserted that I ought to
have asked the legislature for an addi-
tional appropriation. lii was all we could
do to hold the appropriation ut $1,000
to say nothing about increasing 1t. Out
OF that $1,000 we had TO pay for apprais-
Ing advertising and selling state lands,
caring for the mineral output and pro-
tecting the states timber.
When MIR. Johnsons first report was
turned over to Attorney General Douglas
and that conscientious official was urged