The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1914-06-04
cAPiTAL-NEW ARRAiGNED FOR

CAPT Al NEWS ARRAlCNEO FOR
LYING.
The Boise Capitalize which has
charged that the state land board did
a crooked and unlawful act In dispos-
Ing of 5000 acres of land in Clearwater
county to the Potatch Lumber company
that the board conducted the whole
transaction on the sly and unlawfully
published the notice of sale In a paper
outside of the county In which the land
was located. which had not been
published long enough to acquire legal
status, has been called down In proper
manner by the paper which IL slandered,
the Elk River Sentinel The Sentinel
turns the trick In the following scien-
tific manner:
when thoroughly disreputable
newspaper. published by a crowd that
has but recently finished serving jail
| sentences for lying In another matter,
tells another lie II Is hardly worth
while for decent men to notice 1t. The
Boise Capital News is referred to.
and it's lies are found in attacks on
the state land board for recently SELL
ing the Potlatch Lumber company about
four and three quarters sections of land
In 1913. The News reason for lying
about the land board is, of course, po-
litical--the state officials were all
elected despite. partly because of. the
Opposition of such people as the pub
fishers of the News.
Briefly. the News claims that the
land was sold secretly for less than
its vahe and against the wishes of
neighboring settlers in pursuance of
corrupt conspiracy.
| ssRriafIy again the fiat, a,a .ho. &bo
land, upon which the Potlatch COM
pany already owned the timber. was
separated from the mill at Elk River
by strip of country so rough that a
logging railroad to reach 1t on 5
per cent grade would cost nearly $780,
900. AS there is less than five sections
In the tract the cost would be about
$10.500 for each quarter section or more
than two and one-half times the value
of land and timber together. Therefore
the company had to buy the patch of
land referred to so II could hold the
| timber until II could buy enough more
nearby to Justify the railroad or could
| sell to some other concern that might
decide to start saving In the neighbor-
hood.
| THAT gave the state chance to
sell for an average of about $l1.50 an
acre tract of land for which no
Spectator would give red cent and
no settler would give a dollar a mile.
| Did the state grab the chance to cop
| OFF $4,000 In easy money when 1t
caught a cash customer where he had
to buy? II sure did. II hoped on the
velvet like dog on bone. and the
county Is chuckling at the certainty
OF taxes from so much more property.
The claim that the sale was in any
way secret is not even clever lie.
Before the state land board ordered
| the auction at all the Sentinel heard
Of verified and printed at fun length
on its first page a story that the COM
pany had found itself compelled to buy
| the land to save the timber it bought
about II years ago This story was
clipped and commented upon by the pa
pers in the Panhandle as news item
of minor Importance and mentioned In
the lumber gossip of the trade papers |
The sale was only equivalent even at
the exorbitant price the state charges. |
To the sale of 320-acre Palouse farm |
such as occurs daily and warranted no
extended mention. The application for |
sale the order for auction, the adver- |
tisements and all the other formalities |
'Ssiues beins wen KNOWN TO everybody |
in the neighborhood interested. were
matters of public record in the office of |
the land board at Boise. So much for |
the alleged secrecy
'As for the wishes of nearby settlers |
there are only two or three within |
miles and they say they don't care.
The tract is too small to justify log
ging and they recognize the fact. They,
and all the rest of us. would like to see
a long logging road built out to Swamp
creek and beyond. as II would necessi-
tate another big mill here--but the
land just sold would only supply the
present saws 80 to IS weeks
"'of the making of lies there Is no
end
Granting that, there is no reason
why such scurrilous blackguards as
the publishers of the Capital News
should be allowed to lie, lie lie about
honest. decent public servants who are
doing their plain duty and guarding
the interests of the state The law
gives no protection from such SANDER
ers; 1t really supports them by for
bidding the horsewhip and the tar-and-
feathers which alone fit the punishment
to such degenerate successors of the
prying, lying, thieving. slanderous Uriah
Heep This Is not their first offense
every issue OF their paper for at least