The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-09-28
OLIVER COUNTY
OFFICERS MAY
>> BE0UT CROP
Gaines Protests Right to Take
Flax from Land Seized by
@y.,f. .D.
Council of Defense /
TO ESTABLISH PRECEDENT
Decision in Case will Affect Stat
us of Similar Deals in
Other Sections
TO ESTABLISH PRECEDENT


The, right of the state council of de,
tense to seize and turn over to other
parties the property Of North Dakota
citizens will be contested in the dis.
trict court here October 4, upon
which date Judge w. l.. 'Nuessle has
made relurnable an order issued today
on petition Of. A. d. Gaines, wealthy
Twin City and Dakota land d-owner, cit
ing States Attorney Robert Dunn and
Treasurer Paul H. Wolff of Oliver
county to snow cause why they should
not be restricted from harvesting a
crop Of flax from 80 acres, of Gaines
land in Oliver county.
Is. was in connection with the hold
ings of Mr.. Gaines in Oliver county,
which. total several thousand acres,
that the council Of defense last June
ordered: THAT any person in the
state having the means and ability
so to do shall have the right and
privilege to enter upon and take pos.
session of specific number of acres
Of land which is vacant and unpro-
ductive and which is not now being
utilized during the season of 1918 for
crop or food production or for pastur-
age for livestock, and which is not
subject to lease contract or otherwise
for purpose of breaking up or summer
fallOwing same so as to prepare the
land for crop production for war
purposes for the yvar 1919.
Pursuant to this order, and with the
approval of the state council Of de-
fense, States Attorney Dunn and
County Treasurer Wolff of Oliver
county took over 80 acres Of Gaines
land while other Oliver county peo-
pie entered upon various parcels Of
the big property. No. Mr.. Gaines
claims that the land which Dunn and
Wolff put in crop had been leased
for two years for pasture purposes;
that the 'Oliver county officials ig-
nored this lease and went upon the
land and broke it and seeded it to
flax without the consent of the owner
or the lessee and Mr.. Gaines asks to
be shown what right the defendants
have to remove, from his land the
crop which they have grown there.
Gaines is represented by Attorney
w. H. Stutsman of Mandan, while At
,torney General William Langer ap-
pears in the preliminary proceedings
as representative Of the defendants
and the council of defense. The coun-
Gil of defense's land conscription order
has several times been attacked in
the courts, but in each instance the
council has arbitrated and settled the
difficulties out Of court. Mr.. Gaines,
ure of his land last spring, does not
appear disposed to arbitrate. and it
is expected that an actual test of the
powers delegated by legislature to the
council of defense may result from
this action.
1t is not known how much land was
seized about the state under this Or
der. The acreage, however, was not
extremely large, because the order
was promulgated too late in the spring
to permit the planting of wheat, and
almost too late to warrant the sowing
O fmuch flax in land so taken over.
There are. nevertheless, several coun-
ties in which the status of impromptu
lessees by virtue Of the council of de-
fense will be affected by the decision
of this suit.
The council of defense order pro-
vdes as payment for the, use OF the
land an allowance Of ten percent of
the gross receipts from crops griwn,
to be paid on or before the first day
Of November, 1919.
The chief objection to the councils
action in the western part of the state
has been that it has resulted in the
breaking up of land which is of little
worth for agricultural purposes but
which was valuable for grazing, so
long as the native sod was left un-
disturbed. THE result of breaking, it
is claimed, has been crop Of mustard
and other noxious weeds which will
prove a detriment to the land for
many years to come, while. it Is al
legged, the tracts will never produce in
grain as much revenue as they would
have created as pasture for stock, or
as hay lands.