The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1918-11-01
State of Minnesota
Responsible For Recent
Forest Fire Horror
Authorities Knew of Fires 10 Days
Before Calamity ami Failed to
Take Necessary Steps TO Prevent
I,--Governcr Refuses Extra Ses-
sion.

I,.--Govexner Refuses Extra SEES.
sion.
State officials, including, it must be
presumed, Governor Burnquist and
the public safety commission, had at
least 10 days. notice of the existence
of the fires in northern Minnesota
which, on October II, got beyond
control of the inadequate fre-fghting
force provided and swept over two
and a half million acres, rendering
$4,000 to 10000 people homeless, de-
stroying several towns and hundreds
of millions worth of property AND
BURNING TO DEATH OVER 1000
PERSONS.
This, Minnesota's greatest disas-
ter, could have been prevented. 1t
was the result, purely and simply, of
gross and perhaps criminal neglect
on the part of the state government.
Just where the blame should be
placed, just who and what was re-
sponsible for calamity that has TAX
en- more Minnesota lives than have
yet been lost on the battle front in
France, should be the subject of a
searching investigation, yet Govern
or Burnquist, up to this writing, has
fatty refused to call session of the
legislature to fix the blame, to take
steps to prevent future calamities of
the kind and to appropriate money
to rehabilitate the greswept district
and its homeless citizens.
Fourteen towns of northern Mime
sota' and many of the newspapers of
the state, as well as the people in
general, have requested the govern
or to call an extra legislative session,
and he has turned deaf ear to the
plea. Why? What is he afraid of:
HAD NOTICE OF 1T
Howver, much evidence of damn
ing nature, indicating that the state
government was officially aware of
the existence of fires and failed to
take proper steps to put them out
TEN DAYS BEFORE THEY GOT
BEYOND CONTROL, has come to
light.
On October 2, 10 days before the
state was startled by news of the
terrible disaster-10 days before the
fires got out of controEDistrict For
est Ranger P. w. Swedberg of Moose
Lake, northern Minnesota, officially
demanded assistance and predicted
the impending calamity if assistance
was not forthcoming.
Following is his official report, dat
ed October 2:
Gone thing that discourages me
most is the fact that the 500 line is
setting fires a great deal faster than
can get to them, and their attitude
seems to be confined to a mere de-
sire to protect the railroad and let
the farmers take care of themselves.
The cooperation of this railroad has
been reasonably 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 a fire in two
places near Kettle River and yester-
day they set another near Automba.
In neither case did they offer to
try and put them out. The fire
which has done practically all the
damage at McGregor is 500 fire al
so.
PREDICTED DISASTER
Il would suggest that you write
a letter to the president of the COM
pany explaining the situation Just as
it is.
IF we permit, or If nothing is done
to compel them to take care of fires
they set, we may as we'll quit fight
ing fires, because, as I have already
stated, they set them much faster
han We can get at them.
"In view of the existing conditions
along their line from the Wisconsin
state line west on all lines, l consider
t now necessary to ask that the Min
lesota Commission of Public Safety
stop the 500 from running their
small standard engines during the
balance of the fire season. 4
eff the present weather continues
he fire question will soon be beyond
III control, so far as we are con-
erned, UNLESS THIS RAILROAD
IAN BE MUZZLED. +,
I'm A FEW DAYS THERE WILL
BE JUST ONE CONTINUOUSl
IRE THROUGH THIS DISTRICT ;
1T ONO. urTE coo