The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1914-12-29

Auditor 1verson, in Last Official Re.
port, Says Minnesota Deserves
Much Land on Federal Patent.
HAS 1o,1oo MILES OF D1TcHEs


/ : & 81 -
There is no problem of the states
development more important than
that of drainage and the fact that
reclamation in. Beltrami county. is
fitting for agriculture such a vast
number of acres, makes It doubly in
teresting here s According to Sam
uel G. Iverson, 1nfhls last official re-
port as state auditor, Minnesota, a
pioneer in the matter Of state drain
age operations, expended $13,697,000
in the construction of 10,100 miles
Of drainage bitches for the reclama-
tion of 7,1s2,ooO acres Of fertile land.
After serving twelve years as audi
tor and eight years as deputy auditor
and four years as accountant in the
Office, Mr.. Iversons retires January 4,
at which time hewill complete thir-
ty-four years of public service. COW
ering in addition to the positions
named, six years as postmaster of
Rushford and four years as deputy
state treasurer.
Asks for q Survey.
In his closing message he urges
the legislature to provide a complete
survey of the lakesiin the IRON ranges
to obtain permanent evidence for fu-
ture use to provide that the removal
Of ore under lake beds without au-
thority from the state shall constitute
& crime; to prohibit the draining Of
any lake without authority from the
state; to make arrangements for the
mining of ore beds under meander-
ing lakes This matteer he declares
to be of extraordinary Importance,
for, in his opinion, the value of such
orc deposits will run into tens of mil
lions of dollars.
Has Right to 5000 Acres.
Mr.. Iverson devotes considerable
space to discussion Of the swamp
land grants by the federal govern
ment. He says that, according to
government records, Minnesota is en-
titled to federal patent on $1,000
acres. The federal government, he
further declares, erred in conveying
swamp lands to railroads and tracts
aggregating 1,156,585 acres to home
II
sible to obtain these precise lands, he
urges that steps be taken to induce
the federal government to give other
lands in their place. Furthermore,
the state, in his opinion, is entitled
to "a, 100 acres of swamp land on
the White Earth reservation and
about $4,000 acres on the Mississippi
Chippewa reservation.
The controversy between the state
and the interior department over the
possession OF lands on the Indian res
ervations has been in progress for
eleven years with such success on the
part of the state that Minnesota has
obtained patents to 1859 acres.
The remainder should be obtained
without delay, he contends.
State Receipts $22,6s0,208.
The total receipts Of the state for
1914 were $22,6sO,20s, of which
$7,1O0,OOO was derived from direct
taxation, $9,081, 900 from gross earn
ings taxes and miscellaneous sources
and the remainder from the sale Of
state lands, and timber, iron ore roy
alties and the sale of certificates Of
indebtedness.
The Investments of permanent trust
funds of the state, namely, the per-
manent school fund. the permanent
university fund, the swamp land
fund and the International improve
ment fund on August l. aggregated
se0;923,996 and are growing rapid
Ily. The increase for 1914, for in
stance, was about $3,500,000.
Although the finances of the state
are reported in excellent condition,
Mr.. Iverson urges the state to lead in
economy as the figures of his office
show that not only the state but the
municipalities are increasing their
expenditures out of reasonable pro-
portion to the increase in population
or assessed valuation. He cites that
liz 1902 the average rate Of taxation
, throughout the state was 24.3 mills