The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1916-04-12
WARRANTS ISSUED
FOR LUMBER MILLS
IN THIS COUNTY
Oscar Arneson Of State Auditors
Office in Bemidji Investigating
Timber Frauds.
NEW SYSTEM OF MARKING
BEGUN BY AUDITOR PREUS
Lumber Company at Knife River
Charged With Illegal Cutting
of Timber.

OLA WdiiduLS nave Deeu 1SSueu
against individuals and firms in Bel
trami and Koochiching counties for
timber frauds and the sawmill of Mil
ler Bros. at Kelliher has been seized,
according to Oscar Arneson of the
state auditors Office, who is in Be-
midi today. Mr.. Arneson is investi-
eating illegal timber cutting in this
district.
He stated that the prosecutions of
those concerned in defrauding the
state would be pushed vigorously. 1t
is claimed that the state auditors
department has conclusive evidence
of grating by scalers through collu-
sion with logging firms. Several
scalers have been dismissed
To Guard Against Frauds.
State Auditor Preus has adopted
new scaling rules to guard against
further frauds. In the future every
log taken from a state timber tract
must not only have the mark on the
end of the log showing it was taken
from state land, but must have the
bark mark. The bark mark amounts
to practically a logger's trademark,
each individual or firm necessarily
having a different design. The state,
through the state auditor, will here
after hold that wherever even so
much as single log without bark
mark is found in boom or among
booms, the entire amount of timber
will be seized by the state. The pres
ence of a log failing to have such
bark mark will be considered pre-
sumptive evidence of a desire to per-
petrate a fraud upon the state. g
49, Intentional Trespass.. = -.
Hereafter, whenever there is tres
pass upon state timber land the tim
ber bureau of the auditors office will
charge intentional trespass and any
plea of unintentional trespass will not
be accepted until proven in court by
the logging interests. The state audi
tor intends to bring about vigorous
prosecution of all instances of tres
pass. This determination on his part
is predicated upon the discovery of
grating and fraud by scalers and
stealing and fraud and collusion by
logging companies.
AS a result of Investigations Tues
day, Arneson commenced action
against the Alger-Smith company
which operates in the Knife River
district, charged with cutting un-
marked logs. John Millen, general
manager of the company, has been re-
quired to appear before the state tim
ber board in St. Paul tomorrow.
Current Investigations show that
laxity of marketing and of any SEM
blance of protecting the state insofar
as it's logging interests are concerned
is spread over a wide territory and
has been going on for years-nobody
can tell just how long.
Not Prosecuting Criminally.
Mr.. Arneson wants it distinctly un-
derstood that the state auditors Of
flee is not looking after the criminal!
phase of the matter.
"That," he said, "is wholly up to
the timber board We are seeking to
protect the state in a pecuniary way
and to obtain financial restitution
for the abuses of the past and pres
ent. After we are through, the state
Timber board may use the evidence we
collect as it's members see fit. The
only criminal proceedings which we
contemplate are in the matter of tres
pass and we expect to lineup lot
of concerns for this. We will treat
|trespass on state land as a felony
and will play no favorites in the
lmatter. Mr.. Preus is determined tc
|stamp out these evils if active prose.
cution can do it, and fancy that 9
good many heads of concerns are moi
feeling very comfortable just at pres
ent."