Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, January 27, 1900, Page 1

| F if Vou VIII.—No 26. GRAND Rapips, Irasca County, InN., SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, [go0. He { > SOCIETY. - ef Two Dotiars a Y£AR bse cbesbeobeoheobe fechesbeshcobcobu cbs cheads Me coke ch obs ch cbeshc books eehooks socket AGdbpobe eho obe coho choos esbeehorbetberdc cosh ce devbeoboo Ba Re AE Ae AE a ee ae EE | Soascecassrencesus s PORES SRESSHESSEES SS Caps, A - ae ? Bargain ee #£ Bargains : 33 # se = # # ad = i: os $$ ae Sem te : a u Ladies’ Winter Jackets 3 eK ; i = Ladies’ Wool Waists PH ee . 9 iS 2% ze Children’s Winter Coats ie ae Oo ata Frice a2 ad 35 3 ae “= Fur Muffs and Collaretts, Golf Hs ee ” Pe # “CHEAP a Be ee Re ee & et aE MWe Offer a Grist cf Bargains... Before}faking Our January Inventory teat te se RE AE: ae ath ae te ae te ate ste ae ate ae ak a ae a NE: / ITASCA MERCANTILE C0. Mee BG ak ae ae ae ae ae at: ae ae ae ae ah te te he ate ate te ate see afr ate ae ate ate ate ate aha at ate at ath ae ate me Se ats ah ote ale ae ae ate Me te Me aE aE DEAT SE AE ae ag ay Me ate ae a ae ae ane a a a aE te ate ak ae AE TE ae ke aE ae tee aE Hea AE CR ee EE gt Se ae ae abe ate ate ae ate ats ate ate ate ate ate ae ae ae ae a a RRS ae Ae a a ae Re ae ae ae ae ae ae age ae ae ae a oT a a a SSR GE ae ane ate ate She te ae a ate ate te ae a He Can’t Get A Weigh without expertencing ¢ of satistaction whe purchase at our store—no who he may be: ft that not an goods go out of are not absolutely every particular. e2s3 We Want Your Trade High Grade Hardware that money can buy. Drop in on us at any time. You're welcome, always, whether to buy or ouly to inspect goods, W. J. & H. D. POWERS. MORE INVESTIGATIONS. pear at St. Paul on February 15th. After considering the testimony submitted in the matter of removal proceedings against Commissioner Charles E. Leeman, taken before L. S. Bayrll and Mary D. McEsdden some time ago, Governor Lind has reached the conclusion that Commis- siouers Fuller, Everton and Myers are guilty of malfesance in office. This whole contention has been repeatedly told in these columns and the public is well acquainted with the facts as they appear to the several parties in- terested. ‘he following, taken from aSt. Paul dispatch to the Duluth Herald, indicates the opinion that ap- pears to prevail at the capitol: “The board of county commissioners of Itasca county still has its troubles | preferred | as a result of charges against Commissioner Leeman by his colleagues on the board. Leo Bayrell was Commissioned last fall by Gov Lind to take evidence against Com-! missioner Leeman, who was accused of soliciting a bribe of $10) from Com- missioner Fuller if he would vote for aresolution appropriating $2,000 for] ‘advertisement of the wonderful re- | sources of the county.” The governor has ordered three members of the board, W. V. Fuller. W. A. Everton and William E. Mey- ers, to appear in St. Paul, Feb. 16, and show cause why they too sbould not be removed for malfeasance ip office. The fifth member of the board, John Rellis, of Swan River, had no} part in the alleged fraudulent pro- ceedings, Soas it stands the matter rests between Leeman and the three last mentioned. 'T. R. Ka II. West haye been commis oned as a board to take the testimony, and on’ the 20;h a hearing will be held in the the governor. ‘The governor's action is based upon the testimony taken by Special Com- | missioner Bayrell. It is claimed that Leeman suspected that the $2,000 ap- propriation was a woodchuck, and- while in an inebriated state, faade the statement that he would make Fuller,, another commissioner, show his hand. He claims that witb this in mind he approached Fuller with the proposition for a bribe of $100 for his vote, but in doing so he laid him- self liable, 1nd the other members of the board who had it io for him pre. ferred charges. The evidence in the case seems to indicate that the other members of the board had intended to vote for the $2,080 appropriation, which was stated to be for a bonus to secure a hub and spoke factory for Grand Rap- ids, the county seat. Considerable suspicion to the effect that the ap- propriation was to benefit individual members of the board existing at Grana Rapids and in the minds of those having in charge the examina- tion, and the governor proposes to thoroughly investigate the matter before instituting criminal proceed- ines. The governor’s communication to Commissioners Fuller, Everton and Meyers s follows: State of Minnesota, Executive De- Speaking of Groceries Prompts us to remark that if you want the VERY BEST you will have to go to thestoreof J.D. Powers for it. Others may insist that their stock is larger— and perhaps it is—but it is not as good, and they know it. In staple groceries he can meet all requirements, while his Teas, Coffees, Butter, Cheese, Pickles, Canned Goods and spices are absolutely the best that can be procurred in town. Powers’ coffees are particularly famous, he having a larger trade in this com- modity than any other grocer in the village. His stock of cigars, tobaccos and smokers’ articies is an excellent one and be invites you to try them. ea ERE SS Rs A Full Line of Gent’s Furnishing Goods. J. D. POWERS. Opposite Hotel Pokegama, GRAND RAPIDS. Rts nob teh oh hhh odo hatdkak she otek tate) ae — | partment—To W. V. Fuller, W. A. Everton and William Meyers: “Whereas, it appears to the under- signed, from the evidence adduced in amatter pending in this office, en- titled “In the matter of the removal of Charles E. Leeman as county com- missioner of Itasca county, Minn.” and upon your own evidence, given in said proceeding, that you, and each of you, the said W.V. Fuller, W. A. Everton and William E. Meyers, now are, and for more than six months past have been, duly qualified com- missioners in and for said county of Itasca, in this state, and have been acting as such. That at a meeting of the board of county commissioners of said Itasca county, regularly held at the auditor's office in said county, on the 4th day of August, 1899, you and each of you voted for and by your votes secured the passage of a resolution then of- fered by you, thesaid W. A. Everton, and pending before the board ot county commissioners, which resolu- tion is in words and figures as follows: ‘-Whereas,it is believed by the board that a small sumof money judiciously spent in advertising the wonderful resources of Itasca county and in se- curing the establishment of industries therein wouid greatly enhance the welfare ofits citizens, as well as en- hance the taxable property of said county: “Therefore; Be it resolved, that the sum of $2,000, or as much thereof as and CQ, governor’s oftice, and considered by | i may be necessary, be, and the same } is hereby appropriated and set aside Itasea’s Commissioners Are Cited to ap~ from the revenues of said county for the purpose of advertising the re- sources of said county and securing the establishment of industries there- in, to be expended by a committee of citizens, consisting of E. A. Kremer, Joseph Crowther, D. M. Gunn. A. D. Brookes dnd H. R. King, to be ex- pended by them in such a manner as they may think proper, with the con- sent and approval off the board.” Said resolution being secouded by you, the above-named W. E. Meyers, {and upon the roll being called upon the motion for its adoption, voted for by each of you. And, Whereas, It further appears from the testimony given by each of you at the hearing aforesaid, that the money appropriated by this resolution was intended by you, and each of you, to be paid to a private stock company about to be formed, of which you, the said W. V. Fuller, were to bea member, and of fact, you, the said Commissioners Everton and Myers, had full knowledge, as appears from your testimony in the said proceed- ing; allof which as appearing from said record aud from your testimony embraced therein, is contrary to law, in violation to your oaths of office and malfeasance in the discharge of your duties as county commissioners of said county of Itasca. Therefore, | have in pursuance of the authority in me vested, appoint- ed, and hereby designate 2nd do ap- point Thomas RK. Kane and Camden H. West special commissioners to take und report such testimony as shall be offered on behalf of and also against you, the said W. V. Ful- ler, W. A. Everton and W. E. Meyers, members of the board of county com- missioners of Itasca county, Minne- sota, on the 15th day of February, 1900, at 10 o’clock a. m., and from day to day thereafter until taking of such testimony is completed, at which time and place you, the said Fuller. Everton and Meyers, and each of you, are hereby cited. to be present if you see fit, take partin the examination of such witnesses as may be examin- ed in support of the clauses herein referred to, and to offer such evidence in refutation of the said charges as ‘you. may deem proper. Please take further notice that this citation and evidence adduced there- under, as reported by said commis- sioner’s office, in St. Paul, Tuesday Feb. 20, at 2 pm. At which time further opportunity will then and there be given you to be heard in the defense of the matters herein recited and the evidence reported by-said commissioners. JOHN LIND, Governor. SHOW NO MORE FAVOR. State Auditor Dunn Proposes to Reject all Claims for Tax Abatement. Auditor Dunn put his foot down yesterday — hard — with — hob-nail boots on. He isn’t going to approve another application for abatement of taxes, not aone. Heis going to re- ject them as fast as they come, un- sight and unseen, and that’s a fact. The only correction he proposes to make after this is where there is some manifest clerical error, says the Pioneer Press. “See that pile of tin boxes?’ he says. “There’s a dray load of appli- cations there and it’s safe to say they don’t any of hem deserve any consid- eration. The man who owns a farm or his little house pays his taxes every year. Heis the man that sup- ports the state institutions and his jocal government. The ‘speculative corporation or the big lumberman lets his taxes go and after five years he comes in with a proposition to knock off the cost and penalties and settie on the basis of 80 or only 50 per cent of the original tax. “T don't propose to sanction that any longer. Hereafter the tax-shirk- ergets no belp from me. Ramsey county has lost thousands of dollars by letting those fellows off while the schvols were in need. I’m going to stop itso far as I am concerned, and if the peuple don't like it, let them go to the legislature and have the law amended.” And he jabbed viciously witu his pencilat a circular he was preparing for answer to future appli- cations. “Ninety men out of a hundred, all but 4 per cent in some counties,” he says, “pay their taxes.. And they are carrying the men who don’t, the very men who come round here and ask favors. Let thew see the assessors if | it isn’t right, or the town board of re- view, or the county board, not come here bothering me and trying to geo out of their just dues. Lt isn’bright, And it breeds corruption. They can always go to the courts for relief —— = How many of these tax-shirkers | would put in their claims for abate- ment if they had to go tothe courts?” Here he added a sentence to his circular. CONTEMPLATED VACANCIES The Matter of Making New Commissioners Is Attracting Some Attention. In view of the action taken by Governor Lind anent four of the Itasca county commissioners not a little interest 1s felt in regard to filling any vacancies that may be made. The officials who have been cited to appear at St. Paul on February 15 have not yet decided what they will do along the lines of defense. Mr. Myers was in from his logging camp when the news from St. Paul was an- nounced by county Attorney Donohue. At that time he declared that he would not appear to defend: first, be- cause he could not aftord to neglect his logging operations at that time! and, second, he does not care for the office sufficient. to expend the money that a proper defense would require. As yet Mr. Fuller is undecided as to what course he will pursue. There 1s some talk of allowing the governor to act on the report of the commission appointed by him without protest and then appealing to «the supreme court tor a final decision. Mr. Everton has not been seen by the Herald-Review, but it is understood that he is inclined to fight. Mr. Leeman has not yet been notified by the governor what the decision 1s 1a regard to the charges and evidence adddced against him, but the opinion prevails that the four members will be released from further legislative duties simultaneously. In the event that removals will take place, or resignations be tendered, the vacancies thus created will be felled by the following officers as now constituted: 1n district No. 1, now represented by Everton, the place would be filled by Village President F. L. Churchill of Deer River and Chairman A. D. Brooks of the town- ship of Deer River. Mr. Myers re- presents district No 2, whose place would be filled by appointment by the chairman of Ray township ( Rainy Lake ) and the chairman of Koochi- ching township. District No 3 1s re- presented by that sturdy Democrat, John Rellis, whose official acts have never been questioned. He is entire- ly relieved of all entangling alliances and will continue to hold office. Mr. Fuller 1s the representative from No 4. His office would be filled by the joint action of Mayor John S. Berney of of Grand Rapids and Chairman An- thony McAlpine of Grand Rapids township. No 5 is Mr. Leeman’s district. Mayor Berney, Chairman McAlpine and Mayor A. E. Arnold of Laprairie would make the appoint- ment. ‘There is, as yet, but little talk of candidates for the positions, inas- much as no vacaneies will be made until after the zoth of February. WEATHER THE CAUSE. Log Hauling Almost at a StandStill--Cold Weather in February Looked For. Log hauling in this vicinity which has been carried on under difficulties thus far this winter, was rapidly coming to a standstill. The weather during the past few days has destroyed many of the roads, and others are in such bad shape that the work of hauling is slow and expen- sive. A lumberman estimates that the log crop is 25 per cent short of what was expected at. the beginning of wiater, and there are no prospects of improved condition, says the Du- luth News-Tribune. The weather bureau yesterday re- ported, however, that there is a pros- pect of colder weather. Yesterday the weather was as balmy and spring- like as April. The snow has almost entirely disappeared in all places that are exposed to the sun. Loggers usually count on about 13 weeks of hauling weather in each winter, beginning with the first of December. Seven weeks have gone and it is said that not more than one week of good hauling weather has been experienced in all that time. Fortunately for the logging inter- ests, a very large per cent of the tim- ber is handled on logging railroads, put the absence of snow cuts down the capacity of the average logging railroad operations about 50 cent, © For example, a logging road that will handle 4,000,000 feet in winter when favorable conditions prevail, will handle about 29,000,000. feet when there is no snow at all. Some of the loggers of Northern Minnesota*haye ceased- hauling for the present and will not resume until snow and cold- er weather make it possible. The conditions that surround the logging industry have’made the tint- ber manufacturers shy of making contracts to dispose of their stocks ia advance. If there is going to bea shortage of logs, they feel that it may have an important influence on the market. The month of February rarely fails to bring considerable cold weather at the head of the lakes, and loggers are confident that they will get at least a few weeks of good haul- ing conditions before the final break- upof the winter. The presence of birds in Northern Minnesota that are not usually seen here in winter leads many people to believe, however, that little more cold weather may be ex- pected. A shortage of sleiges for logging purposes has also been com- plained of this winter. Sleighs have been in big demand. RANK FRAUD IS CLAIMED. Dead and Down Timber Deals Being Ripped Up by the Department. A Washington wire announces that it looks like a Minnesota lumber camp around the interior department now- a-days. Superintendent of “dead and down timber” Rosa, Chief Estimator Wm. Seeley, Senator Buckman, Spe- cial Agents Nessler and Jenkins ani several others are here fighting out the mixed up mess in which tne gov- ernment, the Indians and the log- gers find themselves. Rosa sent a report in some time ago in which he strongly criticized the work of Special Agents Jenkins and Nessler. He set iorth that their claims of rank fraud were wrong and that they ‘had never visited certain locations where they reported that they had been. Senator Nelson called for this report through a resolution introduced in the senate, but it has been held back and Rosa was sent for to make some modifications. Rosa refused and then Chief Seeley was rsent for. ~ alacant fed But the sequal of all this ecom- plexity willcome outin the United States courts. Six suits have already been instituted in which the plain- tiffs set forth that they were buan- coed by Nessler and Jenkins who seized their logs and held them up until the lumbermen signed a_practi- cal confession that they had been stealing government timber. In these suits against the governmentiit is further set forth that the con- tractors for dead and down timber in order to escape bankruptey were com- pelled to make terms with Nessler and Jenkins. 2 The loggers say that the banks and business men whom they owed for funds and supplies were pressing them to the wall and they were practically forced under duress to accept the terms of the special agents. One concern, the Wild Rice River Logging company refused to pay what Nessler and Jenking demanded, and it was said at: the capitol — that they got off by paying a nominal sum and actually turned the tables on the special agents. r It is therefore regarded as certain that the interior department under Mr. Hitchcock’s administration will keep up the record for variety made onthe Cass Lake election incident and the Dar Hall dismissal episode. Seeley refused to talk when seen. He is. no longer employed as chief of the. estimating force, but he was called for the purpose of telling his version of the dead and down busi- ness. ; A. H. Powers’ Assailant Convicted. William Jackson, dicted for assault with intent to kill, was found guilty of assault in the second degree: ‘This was the case in which it was charged that Jackson had attempted to stab A. H. Powers, of the logging firm of Powers & Simpson near Hib- bing, about two months ago. If Going to Europe in 1900. You should reserve steamship accom- modations now, Steamers are filling up rapidly. We represent all ‘Trans- Atlantic Lines,® and leading Tourist Agencies, and will make reservations withou charge. : < Write for Jllustrated Circular show- ing rates from Duluth, and other valuable information. Issued by Du- Duluth, Minn. he luth, South Shore & Atlantic Ry, T. | H. Larke, ass't Gen’l Pass. Agent, ; “ef {}