The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-05-06
dunn SAYS REPORT
is POLITICAL TRICK
Former State Auditor Accuses
Governor and Public
Examiner.

VI the state auditors Office during the
administrations of r. c. Dunn from
1880 to 1903, and that Of State Auditor
.. Y. lverson, from Jan. to the date
OF ming the report, April 20, was made
Pubic yesterday on the order of Gov
Van SAINT.
Inc report, which had been in the
governors possession since April 20
was turned over by the governor on
Wednesday and the fact Of its exist
ence was made known to newspaper
men simultaneously with it's transfer
70 the attorney generals Office. 1t was
sought by the newspaper men but
without success until yesterday. At
torney General Donahower declared he
had not read the report, but on the
governors order he yesterday made il
PUBIC. In transmitting the report to
the attorney general, the governor
wrote on May 8: THE report upon its
lace seems to indicate that in order to
maintain the interests of the state
many trespassers upon public lands
should be proceeded against forthwith.
respectfully urge that you give this
lllalter your immediate and earnest at
tentlon and that such action be taken
as is warranted by law"
Inc johnson report reflects upon the
administration Of the state auditors
once under Dunn. and says that the
former state auditor by accepting pay
ments for timber taken by trespassers
on state lands at the estimator's fig-
ures, instead of demanding either dou-
Die or treble damages as contemplated
ny the law, has Ios1 to the state many
thousands Of dollars.
Mr.. Dunn Is Aroused.
The report calls forth from Mr.. Dunn
a scorching rejoinder, in which the
FORMER auditor explains the figures
quoted and accuses Johnson and the
governor or Springing the report for a
political purpose alone. ~ ] =
Sl1ty-seven eases are considered nv
the Johnson report for which the es-
tlIIialors values are given at $34,421.17.
ana for which there was maid IN the
state $34,591.44 Under the RUE of
couple damages the state has lost. ac-
corolng 70 the Johnson figures, $34.-
Iff.fz, with an additional loss from
fourteen cases cited of $11,572. where.
In ADDITION to the stumpage value. the
WlliIul trespass value should have been
added. :" VI
Two instances are cited as being
called II. c. Akeley case and which was
referred to in supplemental report
MADE some time ago. The examiner
reports that the records of the state
auditors office show that in April.
1890, the estin1ators reported to the
state auditor that the III. C. Akeley
company, OF Minneapolis, had pur-
chased 3,76S,464 feet of logs cut from
state lands by small contractors. The
auditor offered to settle with Akeley
under letter Of April 10, at Sc per
thousand feet, but April IL offered to
accept $3.50 per thousand feet for the
entire 3,76S,464 feet, and on June IL
the Akeley company's check for So
1855 was sent to the state treasurer.
1t Is alleged that the standing pine left
on one of the pieces cut by the Akeley
subcontractors was estimated by the
state auditors estimators at So and
sold the next season to the Akeley
company at $685. per thousand The
examiner says that at least Sc should
have been demanded by the state au-
ditor, and that since 1t was Willful
trespass the state should have recov-
cred SIS per thousand, or a total Of
S67,S32.35, instead of the $9,233.65 re-
ceiVed, and on the assumption that the
trespass was involuntary the Akeley
contribution to the state should have
been $45,221.50.
Buchanan Case Cited.
The report cites an instance in which
Congressman G. 3. Buchanan, of Little
Falls, is alleged to have settled with
the former state auditor for treSpass at
even less than the estimator's value
and the records Of the auditors office
show that the settlement was effected
by the state timber board, of which
former Gov. Lind was a member. The
report says that 2,S28,094 feet were cut
by Buchanan, and the trespaSs record
shows that the basis of settlement was
$5,351,03, while the total amount real
lied by the state was $4,000.
Testimony by James Mitchell, S. F.
Fullerton and w. s. Dedon is included
In the report as bearing on the in
situation that loggers with political
pull were able to effect settlements to
their financial advantage with the for
mer state auditor.
Concluding his report to the gov
ernor, the state examiner writes that
in connection with the sixty-seven
cases investigated, covering a period
from Jan. 1, 1895, to Dec. 81, 1902, he
finds the average price received by the
state for treSpass logs was 1924 per
thousand feet, and that the average
price realized from pine sold at state
land sales was $3.50 per thousand.
The average price received for tim
by the state auditor since Jan. 1, 1903,
is found to be 500 per thousand, and
$6.08 is the average price realized from
the sale of pine at public land sales.
The report submitted by the public
examiner covers about seventy pages
and there is a great mass of detail not
Ineligible to men who have even some
knowledge of the state system of keep
ing its pine land accounts.
Dunn Denounces Report.
Mr. Dunn, when seen at his home in
Hamline last night, denounced the re-
port as deceiving and misleading He
| said 1t was nothing more than a polit-
ical dodge and that he had no fear of
| its. result. The report, he said, pur-
| ported to be the work of months of in
yestigation. whereas the entire report
could have been made from the stump
| age records in two weeks time and de-
| clared that it had been held hold back
until this time for political effect
The entire report, he insisted, was a
willful isrepresentation of the facts,
as only certain cases had been selected
| out of the 700 or more which were set
| tied during Mr.. Dunn's record. Mr..
| Dunn says Mr.. Johnson took only such
| cases as would best suit their purposes
They have been very careful not to
1 cite cases where double and treble dam
| ages were collected by the state, and
| there are plenty of them" he declared
Nine out of ten trespass cases." he
/ continued, ARE committed by small op-
orators, by parties who are utterly ir-
4 raEnNT1Eihla Tho 70 forf.ry a