The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-02-10
JOHNSON SENDS
SPECIAL MESSAGE.
Recommendation to Legislature
Sent with Reports on Audi
tors Office.
WOULD MAKE A CHANGE
IN STATE TIMBER BOARD
Attorney Generals Request for;
Larger Working Force In
dorsed and Passed On.

| Governor Johnson's recommends
lions, accompanying the reports Of II
] the public examiner:
! increase In tho working force OF the
! attorney generals office, as requested r
BY Attorney General Young.
New state timber board, indepen- Is
dent OF state auditor, and Including
:! the attorney general.
Law requiring mineral leases on
state land be sold to the highest
bidder.
Governor johnson sent a message to,
the legislature this morning transmit,s
ting full text of the reports made nv
.. =; johnson, former public examiner.
on the examination Of the state audi
tors office.
The message contains three Important
which were agreed on
at a conference between the governor,
attorney General -. Z. Young, and Pub
lie Examiner P. NJ. Kerst.
The governor finds from tho reporta
That the state auditor IS office during
the term of r. @. Dunn disregarded the
law In settlement of timber trespasS
claims, in issuing timber permits, and
IN issuing mineral leases and contracts.
70 give more perfect check on
recommends change in the state tim -
Der board: AS it now stands, the audi
tor has all the records and information,
and dominates the board. The governs
or would have the board consist Of the
governor, state treasurer and attorney
general, with the auditor acting only in
contingent fund Of $4,000 set aside for
this board, to enable it to make inde-.
pendent examinations Of timber
To correct possible favoritism in the
future in issuing mineral leases, the
governor renews his Recommendation for
a law providing for the sale Of leases at
public auction to the highest bidder,
after an examination Of the land by the
state.
The message contains correspondence
between the governor and the attorney
general on the johnson reports, in which
Attorney General Young announces his
desire tc investigate carefully, and en-
force the law to the letter. He will pro-
fceed with the work as rapidly as posi-
fble, but the present office force is busy
!, with current work, and to take up the
new line calls for at least one more as
sistant and another stenographer.
$50 Governor Johnson backs up the attor-s
.|ney general in this request, and .nrges
the legislature to provide the additional
assistants.
The governors message was read to
the house and senate this morning and
4 referred to the committees on public ac-
counts and expenditures. The message
reads as follows:
Text of the Message.
The house of representatives in 1908. by
4 a resolution, authorized the committee on
public accounts and expenditures to em-
ploy an expert accountant to make an In
vestigation relative to expenditures OF
public money entrusted to the custody of.
and disbursed by, the public officials or
the state, and also authorized the en-
4 ployment of an expert accountant to
compile said report. The committee made
a partial investigation and report and re-
ferred the incomplete examination to the
public examiners office for thoro nves-
tigation and completion thereof. The
work of this investigation covered q
period beginning June, 1908, and ending
September. 1904, and embraced period
beginning Jan. 1, 1895, and ending Sep
TENDER, 1904, and was made entirely from
the records in the state auditors Office.
The report Of the public examiner was
transmitted to the governors office In
various sections from time to time as the
work progressed. I have the honor to
herewith transmit complete volume OF
all reports submitted to this office by tho
public examiner.
The Investigation by the public exam-
liner shows disregard for the law by the
state auditor in the matter of the settles
i ment of timber trespass claims and in the
! issuance of mineral leases and contracts.
/ A large proportion of the total number OK
permits to cut state timber issued be-
tween Jan. i, 1895, and Jan. L. 1903, were
issued without containing the bark
marks, as required by law. Another most
essential requirement of the law is that
all permits shall be recorded in the off
flee of the surveyor general of logs ana
lumber. Important as this is, but few
permits were so recorded until after the
first logging season under the permit had
passed.
The law is very explicit as to how tres
pass cases shall be handled and what tho
penalty shall be, yet the records shoN
that the law has seldom been enforced
and that 1t has been the rule to set e
aside and without prosecution, legal pro-
cess, or attempt to enforce its plain conn
mands, make settlement on such basis an
would make it cheaper to steal the statN
timber than to buy 1t in the open mar.
ket.
Recasting of Timber Board.
: The records disclose reckless sys-
{ tenn Of administration Of the states most
, sacred trust, the school fund, and to such
an extent as to make it my duty to cali
your attention to the necessity of making
provision by law 1Or.sa compete spIOteGe
l ton Of the rights of the state In the fu-
+ ture I therefore recommend that p
l change be made in the membership Of tho
state timber board as now constituted.
e The present board is composed Of the
governor, auditor and treasurer. The
. only member of the board who has any
;. facilities for acquiring information with
: reference to the matters that come be-
fore the board for adjustment is the AUDI
q itor, and while this condition continues
g | the board is necessarily dominated by
s THAT officer and the other members OF e
might as well be dispensed with. q
would seem desirable to have board INF
dependent of the state auditors Office
\ / with sufficient means at its disposal ana
: sufficient facilities for acquiring infor-
nation, to act intelligently upon tho
+" matters that come before 1t, and would
therefore recommend to the Legislature
the passage of law making the gov
:. ernor attorney general and the state
l. treasurer timber board, in whom shau
II be vested exclusive authority to settle an
,e cases of timber trespass and to act In an
i advisory capacity with the state auditor
l. In matters pertaining to the disposition
II of timber lands and mineral leases. -
n this way the timber board would be n
d fact, as well as in name. check upon
g the office OF the auditor and land com,
Z - ~ ~