Morris tribune., 1906-08-18
BODY BLOW TO
TRESPASSERS
THE TIMBER THIEVES ARE HIT
HARD.
Supreme Court Upholds Constitu-
tionality of State Timber Tres
pass -Shevlin-C Carpenter Co
is One of the Principal Sufferers
by Decision.


The state won big legal victory Fri
day. The supreme court handed down
Adhesion holding the state timber tres
pass act to be legal. Nearly $500, 900
is involved.
The decision is an affirmation of the
ruling of the St. Louis county district
court in the case of the suit of the
state against the Shevlin Carpenter
company of Minneapolis, upholds the
right of the state to collect treble
damages where deliberate trespass is
proven. 1t may even include imprison-
nlent.
The case in question involves only
batch of timber valued at SIT ,10S.14.
but when it is understood that the
company must not only pay three
times this amount and forfeit the orr
ginal value of the timber which it paid
to Former State Auditor Dunn, the
scope of the victory can be appreciated.
Then there are a dozen other cases
involving sums just as big and even
larger, awaiting the decision handed
down Friday and their status is accord
ingly settled. They must pay and in
the amounts designated by the timber
board. Indirectly it is a rejection of
the compromise settlements made by
former State Auditor Dunn which he
said were for the best interests of the
state, and a victory for former Public
Examiner Johnson who attacked them
on the ground that they were not sane
ton by the law.
The Syllabus.
The courts syllabus on the cases fol-
lows:
Site of Minnesota, respondent, vs..
SheIvin Carpenter company, appel
liant. Chapter 1853, General Laws 1895, |
declaring certain acts of trespass upon |
state lands a crime, imposing penalty |
therefor, and fixing the measure of
damages to be recovered in a civil |
action, construed and held to impose |
upon casual or involuntary trespasser |
criminal punishment and also double
damages for his wrongful acts.
So construed, the statute is held not
obnoxious to constitutional principles,
but a valid legislative enactment.
It is within the exclusive power of
the legislature to declare what acts
shall constitute a crime, to define the
same and provide such punishment
therefor as may be deemed appro-
pirate.
A statute imposing double or treble
damages for a trespass upon lands
owned by the state does not violate
the constitutional rights of the citizen,
even though the same act of trespass
may be punishable as crime.
The state may recover such damage
in a civil action; and, though in the
nature of penalty, the wrong doer
is not thereby twice put in jeopardy
of punishment for the same offence
Section 7, of Article 1, Of the state
constitution, providing that no person
shall be twice put in jeopardy of pun
ishnent for the same offence, applies
only to criminal prosecutions.
The title of the statute above re-
ferred to held sufficient to comply
with the constitutional requirement
that no law shall embrace more than
one subject which shall be expressed
in IFS title. Order affirmed Brown,J.
History of Case.
The prosecution of the timber thefts
and the setting aside of the original
compromise settlements which as a
rule were made on the basis OF
single valuations, was begun by the
new timber board and Attorney Gen
eral Young. They were made on the
basis of much of the information fur
nished by Former Public Examiner
Johnson and were vigorously pushed.
The payment of the original settle
ments was pratical admission Of the
thefts by the lumbermen, but the
board was willing to give them credit
for the original amount, if they would
make a payment of additional dam
ages in twice the amount. It's accept