Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1904-10-14
TIMBER TRESPASSlNG
Case Against the Sixth
District Congress-

OlStTlCC congress-
man
Minneapolis Journal, (Rep.): That
'imaginary' tres pass claim against
Congressman Buchanan has developed
into a "a, 600 lawsuit brought by the
attorney general against the Sixth dis
trict statesman. R. G. Dunn. as audi
tor, settled the claim for 81. 600. but
the states legal representative Gets
aside that settlement as unauthorized
and invalid. In making it Mr.. Dunn
disreRarded the law, and 1T his friend
of for less than the timber was worth
on the stump. The facts developed
show that while Buckman got off
with a payment of a, QUO. he sold the
timber three years before the settle
ment for about 81, 000.
Further comment Is unnecessary.
Attorney General Donahower's tres
pass suit against Congressman c. B.
Buckman is the political sensation of
the hour. The facts of the s1it
''leaked" as the attorney general did
not intend them to be made public
until the papers were fled in court
The wonder has been that the suit
was not started before. It is explained
by the conduct of the congressman,
who talked settlement with the attor-
uey general for months, apparently
ready to compromise on something.
After the primaries were over, and he
was renominated for congress, he be-
came more cold and distant toward
the state authorities Last Tuesday he
was in St. Paul again. and as there
seemed no further prospect Of SETTLE
ment, the papers In the suit were
served on him.
The exact amount sued for is $33, :
936. 76 The attorney general does not
sue for treble damages, apparently not
being satisfied that he can prove 1t
was a wilful trespass. Cruiser Dedon
and the other state cruisers who scaled
the timber declared under oath their
belief that the trespaes was plainly
wilful. The trial may develop proof to
this effect. but all the attorney gener-
al asks is double value, which is the
least the auditor is allowed to settle
for. The amount demanded lie based,
not on tae stumpage value of the tim
Der, but on the price B7ckman is said
to have received for it shortly after
cutting. The price. So thousand,
was paid by the Rat Portage Lumber
company. The scale showed 2,828. 094
feet Of pine cut from five ditterent de-
scriptions of state land, and figuring
this at dou Die value, $12 q thousand,
the claim comes to the amount stated.
No account is taken Of the 81, 600
which Buchanan has paid, and he will
have to claim that as an Offset. re-
ducing the amount of tie state 8
claim against him to approximately
$50, 900.
When the facts were first brought
out by the public examiner, Mr..
Dunn said that the settlement was not
final and that Buckman had only
made q partial payment. Getting
money from Buchanan, he said, was
like getting money from home. How
ever, the record showed that the
settlement was In full for all Dunn
charged up to Buokman, and this line
of defense was abandoned. As usual,
Mr.. Dunn said that he had acted "for
the best interests of the state.'' and
had gotten all it was possible to get
from Buchanan. Since the settlement,
however, Mr.. Buchanan has made two
expensive campaigns for congress.
The defendant. in this suit, which is
the first one growing out of Public
Examiner Johnson's work on the
auditor books, declares he does not
owe the state cent, having settled
with the state.
The contention of the public ex-
amlner and the attorney general is
that the settlement he speaks Of was
void and unauthorized. On the cruis-
er's estimates the timber taken worth
on the stump was no less than Is, $751;
Oh. The law does not allow any settle
ment for trespass for less than double
the value of the timber. 90 even on
the cruisers estimate tho state au.
thorlties could not settle for less than
$40, 702.06 Any settlement for less
than that figure. 1t is claimed, could
not be binding on the state.
HEALTHY NATIONS.