The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-04-18
.On This
!. Occasion
, Just few thoughts by the Editor
, on things Material and Immaterial.

The county commissioners are yet In
a turmoil over the Cloquet request
under the auxiliary forest act. The
commissioners feel that the opposition
to the plan have their rights. They
also feel that the Cloquet proposition
has merit but the lines have not been
drawn tight enough. One thing Is
certain, if the request is granted, the
commissioners will be 81 more var
ieties of robbers than Heinz has
pickles and if the request is not
granted, they will be the same. 1t is
plain to be seen that either way the
commissioners are in jam.
In speaking to Commissioner Pete
of this district this week, he stated
that in his opinion there had not been
enough investigation by the commits
sionerS. He expressed the opinion
that a survey was necessary to seq
regate the agricultural possibilities in
the territory embraced in the request
from the purely timber growing Sec
tions. AS this could not be done very
well during the winter months when
snow covered the ground, he would
suggest that action be deferred until
such a survey could be made. Judging
by the testimony introduced at the
hearing last week, this also seems to
be the attitude of the settlers in the
affected area. Anyway, there is a
merry war over this matter. Another
suggestion has been made that action
be deferred until after the next leg
islature could amend the auxiliary
forest law to make it more satisfactory
to both sides.
Some writer in the Herald Open
Court one day last week made the
were bluffing when they stated that
they would be compelled to close up
shop unless the request was granted
and qualified his statement by citing
the purchase of $4,000 acres of timber
in the Superior National Forest which
timber would keep the industries sup
piled as at present for ii years. This
is only one block of this timber and
in II years another block would be re-
leased and so on until the timber on
the five blocks were used, matter OF
SIS years, after which the first block
under the efficient sustained yield
plans of the Forest management would
again be ready for cutting, and so on
indefinitely.
We have always understood that the
Cloquet request was made for the
purpose of expanding their works and
not to keep them from going under;
that the company was looking to the
distant future in their request and to
expand their operations, increase their
payrolls and furnish employment for
more people. If we have this thing
right, we here cannot see why the
hurry in rushing this thing through.
Naturally, the sooner some decision is
arrived at, the sooner can the COM
pany arrange its affairs in more
satisfactory manner and rest assured
of a timber supply in excess of the
bare needs for years to come.
Here again, we are going to put in
our nickles worth. Why send all this
timber away from Ely, its natural ter
ritory, to Cloquet?i Why not manu-
facture here and send out the finished
wood products and not the raw mat
erial and thus build up another in
dustry for this city? We have the
timber, the power and the transpor-
tation facilities for just such an in
dustry Tower has just such an in
stitution and is reaping considerable
benefit from it's operation. Besides
furnishing employment for force of
men. it is furnishing market for
spare timber for the farmer who eacn
winter harvests some and thus keeps
himself and family busy and supplied
with extra cash during the months
when he otherwise would be engaged
simply in eating up his summers in
come and burning up his valuable
timber supply to keep himself and
and family warm.