Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1910-04-11
ELEVEN Millions
aN
LOST To STATE SCHOOLS IN
TIMBER LAND FRAUDS.
Z 'lANA
Timber Purchasers and Official CruiH4
erS Combine to Rob SChoo. Fund
Says Senator AlIen, Chairman O
the Legislative Inve Stigafing Com
mittee.

OLYMPIA, April 10.-That the
school fund of the state has been
f1lched of at least 100000
through the state land department,
and that the pillaging of the timber
tracts has been in progress ever since
Washington was admitted to the
Union, was the statement of Sena-
! tor Pliny l.. Allen, chairman of the
! Legislative investigating committee,
! yesterday.
THE magnitude of the loss to the
| school children of the state does not
appear in our report to the COVER
| nor said MIR. Allen. The commit
| tee, lacking time, had no opportun-
| ity to go into records of sales of ag-
ricultural and tide lands but | have
no doubt that the same condition
prevails as we have found in the
states timber land business.
Doesn't Know What State Lost
| From the information in the
/ hands of the committee it is possi-
! Bile only to give an estimate Of what
the state has lost. The best way
to get at the question is to estimate
what the state might have had if
there had been no fraud and no COL
lusion between employees of the land
department and purchasers of tim
ber lands.
There is now in the permanent
school fund about 100000. This
fund is irreducible, and only the in
terest is used for the maintenance of
the schools. At the rate of 3 q per
cent. the state gets annually from
that fund about $337 500.
$l1.o00.C00 Lost
"Whatever it available from that
source reduces taxes just that much.
If men in charge of the sales of pub
lie lands had been careful and eff
cient and had employed honest, COM
petent cruisers and appraisers that
fund would now undoubtedly have
been 20,000,000. 1t is apparent
that the school children of this state
have been robbed Of at least $11,-
| 100000.
Had this fund received all that
was due it the schools of the state
would now be receiving interest on
$40, 1000, at the rate of 3%4 per
cent, or S750,000 a year, instead of
$337,500.
THAT heritage of the school chill
dren, which has been pilfered has
gone irrevocably, unless the state,
/ thiOtsoi iSe5di PloN Cttil oGL
aside some of the sales In making
cur report to Governor Hay, the COM
mittee recommended that in every
instance where there was evidence
of fraud, suit should be brought to
set aside the sale and to recover the
land for the school fund of the state.
Proof of Collusion
THE information in the hands Of
! the committee shows conclusively
that there was collusion between the
states cruisers and the purchasers.
We have looked into approximately
200 cases where cruisers returned
erroneous reports of the timber on
state lands. Whether this proof is
sufficient to so cure conviction, in
the event that criminal proceedings
are brought, is a question up to the
attorney general.
THE present land commissioner,
E. w. Ross, will undoubtedly say
that if the cruisers were dishonest
he knew nothing of it and is not to
blame. The investigation shows, how
ever, that land commissioners for
years have at least been lax and neg
ligent in disposing of state lands.
The cruisers were their agents and
their representatives, and the land
commissioners are not entitled to
hide behind the statement that they
could not be expected to ascertain il
their cruisers were dishonest"