Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-10-30
STATE OFFICIALS
Warned OF FIRE,
FAILED TO ACT

Forest Ranger p. W. swedberg at
Moose Lake, on Oct. 2. wrote to State
Forester Cox, warning that the district
will be just one continuous fire" I'm.
less action were taken. He pleaded for
help and the plea was not answered.
On Oct. 3 and again on Oct. 8 he
wrote warning of the situation, and
still nothing was done. His letter Of
Oct. 2 follows:
Here's tho Warning.
zone thing that discourages me most
Is the fact that the 500 Line IL setting
fires a great deal faster than I can
get to Thorn. and their attitude seems
to be confined to mere desire to pro-
tect the railroad and let the farmers
take care Of themselves. The co-opera.
ton of this railroad has been reason.
ably fair until this year. About all The
satisfaction am able to get, reads
about like this:
"'Have taken the matter up and will
always be glad to cooperate with you,
etc., ETC.
monday they set fire in two places
near Kettle River and yesterday they
set another near Automba. In neither
case did they offer to try and put them
out. The fire which has done practi-
cally all the damage at McGregor 10 4
500 Line fire also.
Predicted Disaster.
II would suggest that you write a
letter to the president of the company
explaining the situation just as it IL.
IF we permit, or If nothing is done
to compel them to take care of fires
they set, we may as well quit fighting
fires, because, as I have already stat.
ed, they set them much faster than
we can get at them.
I'm view of the existing conditions
along their line from the Wisconsin
state line west on all lines, l consider
1t now necessary to ask the Min
nesota Commission of Public Safety
to stop the 500 from running their
small standard engines during the bal
ance of the fire season.
If the present weather continues
the fire question will soon be beyond
| all control, so far as we are concerned.
UNLESS THIS RAILROAD CAN BE
MUZZLED.
I'm A FEW DAYS THERE WILL
BE JUST ONE CONTINUOUS FIRE
THROUGH THIS DISTRICT ALONG
THE 500.
Il would ask you to take this mat
ter under immediate consideration.
ho~o hold ~ mn L3uo <hio rouort until
I fully realize that something has got
to be DONE"
Precedent Established.
OF course the state f0restcrs' depart
ment was handicapped by lack OF
funds. The appropriation for fire pre-
vention was far below normal. But
the Minnesota Public Safety commits.
sion could have appropriated money
to fight the fire. 1t did just this in
1917, establishing precedent. A,
that time, when John, Lind was q
member of the commission, $4,000
was appropriated for fighting the for
est fires, which were as bad then as
they. were this fall, when Swedbere
warned of their existence. At that
time, however, no political campaign
occupied the attention of state officials
or the commission.
In the meantime the unanswered
clamor of the people OF the state fo1
the governor to call a special session
to fix the blame for this awful calam
ity, continues. They are asking why
the governor refuses to call the spe
cial session. He answers by saying
that voluntary relief boards are sufi
cient and 8. r. Van SAINT. whom thu
governor placed in charge of the 70
lief, comes back after he has tried the
voluntary method for a week, with the
declaration that a special session il
necessary.
People Of the state are asking wheth
or the governor is afraid to call q
special session, just before the cleo
tion. They want the special session
20 fix the blame. They raise the ques
ton as to why the newspapers seek
ing tho governors reelection are also
opposing the special session.