The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, December 28, 1916, Page 8

pemtrabed by th(;:lumber "°v “Timber Thefts Being Minnesota Finds Millions of Dollars Pilfered Through Fraud and Now-Tries to Get Some of It Back 'y (By Leader Staff Correspondent) T. PAUL, MINN.,, Dec. 23.—Three big combinations of capital, all up to their elbows in politics, are bur- dening the state of ‘Minnesota. They are the steel trust, with its drainage of state ore deposits into thé pockets of a few millionaires, the grain conibine, which oppresses the people of, all north- western grain states; and the simber trust. It has been common talk from one end of the country to the other for years that the lumber barons were stealing the people blind, and now Minnesota has set resolutely to work to unearth some of their secrets, and the opening skirmish has developed gome startling facts. The first steps have been taken by the state auditor, J. A. C. Preus, who has found that state timber cruisers and scalers who were drawing their salaries out of the taxes of Minnesota farmers and laboring men, were drawing still & bigger salaries from the lumber com- panies to underestimate and fraudulently scale the timber which these companies’ were buying from the state. These abuses were so flagrant that several of these state employes had to be discharged, and now with a re-scale well -under way the extent of the robbery perpetrated by the lumber trust upon the citizens of Min- nesota is beginning to appear. On a list of 20 areas where re-scales have been conducted, it was found by a stump scale that the state should have received $73,318, whereas under the . original scale as made for the benefit of the lumber trust, it received only $21,157. Upon these 20 items the state auditor has figured the interest from the time the timber was scaled, which totaled $10,619. Adding the value lost by underscaling to the interest it makes a total difference between what the state should have received for these 20 small areas of tim- ber, and what it actually did receive, of $62,780. It is believed that the plain robbenes anies jelose to $1,000,000, .As. proof: state is correct in thus hunting up thes old accounts, a number of the lumber companies have walked straight up to the counter and laid down -their checks to c¢over the differences. Some have refused and some lawsuits are pending. But this:does not sum up the loss to Minnesota through the looting of her timber lands. It represents only that por- tion, looted within the past six years, upon which a re-scale is still possible. Some of the land was sold as agricul- tural and no account taken of its almost priceless timber. MOST OF THE ROBBERY OCCURRED ‘LONG AGO Bat by far the largest leakage will come through the operation of the statute of limitations. This precludes recovery upon anything older than six years, and _of course the vast majority of the timber illegally filched from the state was cut from 20 to 80 years ago. However, dur-’ ing even the last two years, there have been’ extensive sales of timber, enough to make an attempt to recover seem a piece of financial wisdom. Within' that time the state-has disposed of 120,000,000 feet of timber,:and counties of 60,000,000 feet, making a total of 180,000,000. If, _as is now believed to be the case, the . fraudulent scaling methods were pretty generally applied to this total :for the benefit of the lumber interests, the latter owe the citizens of Minnesota a tidy little sum, enough to go far towards pay-. : ing the cost of bmldmg a state-owned paper pulp mill, which is now seriously- under consideration. 5 . All sales of timber are made upon‘the estlmates of two cruisers. This is merely the basis of the sale, and is verified later by the actual scale as the timber is cut, and the state is finally paid according to'this scale. The state aud1t6r in hxs ] - biennial report‘says: . - ‘“Palpable carelessness and ‘frauds in numerous . instances ‘have been perpe- scales havé been full as prevalent in . cases where the scale has been made by a scaler of the state auditor. Careless- ness and fraud have been extremely common. Prosecutions under the statutes now upon the books and above referred to have been found impossible. It is imperative that the criminal provisions of these statutes be strengthened.” In this recommendation no doubt will lie the challenge to the political machinery operated by the powerful lumber trust, * to meddle in the forthcoming session of the Minnesota legislature. That radical changes in the law =are necessary is urged by Auditor Preus in his biennial - report. The lumber interests no doubt will resent the proposed changes, which, among other things, will remove the pro- tection of the statute of limitations which saves them from prosecution or civil recovery, if they can cover up their tracks for six years. GOOD CHANCE TO GET LARGE SUMS RETURNED 4 No doubt also there will develop oppo- sition to the proposed appropriation of The “Painless” Note—A NeW.One X Away last April, when the fight against the farmers of North Dakota was the bitterest and when the history-making convention of the Nonpartisan - League gwas held at Fargo, about $30,000 was loaned to the League by the farmers. financial credit for the campaign. It was in the shape of notes which the League could use in geiting Most of these notes have been returned by the League to the farirers whose loyalty came to the rescue during the crisis, This will explam the folloiing letter: . AGATE PROGRESSIVE FARMERS’ CLUB Otto: Simonson, Sec’y. and Treas Mr A. C. Townley, AGATE, N. D., Dec. 12, 1916, President Nonpartasan League, 3 FARGO, N Dear Sir: . This is the first time a note I have signed ever came back before it was paid. It’s a new one to me, and I suppose it would be to those who vilified you last spring. As they read about every human fail-- ing into your pedigree, they would not understand why you would - send back two hundred perfectly good dollars, because the organiza- tion didn’t need it any longer. In this act they would see another menace to the deluded farmers that would be worth a full front page in the stand-pat dailies. This note I am going to frame and hang up and label, “The Eighth Wornder of the World.” If anyone should ask me why I thus label an ordinary 'note, T am going to ask them if they ever Then, striking a Patrick Henry pose, I'll say: signed a note they didn’t have to pay. The answer w1ll he “no “;I‘hhere is one nght before ymir nose. . Now, i : raver ; "The Pamless (Payles : ‘Kindly let me know what is th know. " Smcerely yours, G i+T want te thank you for returning not entirely welcome to that money, bnt because ‘of hen it is paid. And don’t forget when there is anythmg eye to do let me p fee now, and _OTTO SIMONSON. The New Order in Politics Written for the Leader by William Williamson of Grafton, N. D. HERE IS qmte an essential factor that has been lacking in -Ameri- can politicsc It has been more " pronounced in' its absence durmg the past elections than in:the campmgn and election just passed. Wé" have in mind the - citizen who - casts his ballot with his eyes open. There has been altogether ‘too much of - the blind following of professional politicians among the American people. This has let a lot of unscrupulous'men into power. All men who have power in politics are not office holders. In fact, the great majority do not hold office and do not want to. else to hold the offices who will do their bidding. " Thus it is that legmlahon hasA:een shaped’ in favor ‘of the few, rather than the whole people. “Politics -have come to be looked upon as a profession for the “few, not'for everyone.- We have heard a great. many people say they take no . interest in politics, This'is a dangerous condition of mind. It is just such a con- dition of mind that allows designing and scheming men to gain control of parties and legislatures: - o THINK, THEN VOTE § More ,gemnne interest - in politics’ by the people generally is_ what is needed — more voting with tHe eyes wide ‘open. But after this-sweeping. victory .in .North Dakota this fall there is hope for ‘the future.” .rankmdfile, “comymon "citizens, the o masses in- the adjom- ing states ‘of Minnesots, South Dakota They prefer some one . and Montana, are already organizing for similar sweepmg victories at the next election.” There are bright streaks of sunshine on the political horizon. Men are com- ing to know that in the ballot lies the power of the nation. They are begin- ning to learn that by an assertion of their rights they can control their parties and dictate the legislation which governs them. They have come to.see that it is better that they write the laws than it should be ehtrusted to the corporate interests the professional politician. ‘The peoplé are coming to their own. NEW MEN IN POWER . . - ‘But public sentiment has been slow to /czysht;hze. It is a ptl)ndemus body ‘and al es aggravatingly. slow’ in gettmg. started, but:oncennderfull swing and"s'h its - power is: like ‘an avalanche, “Th mills of -the.; gods grind slowly’ the; grind ly small.” The public ‘pulse beats slow but its beat is powerfnl: . when once awakened. New men are commg into Thelradventmarkstheemofapure public life, They are the advance guard of the coming host that shall stand for - a government by and for the people and not a favored few. They: are personi- fied by such men as Frazier, the new governor of North Dakota, and others - more or less noted, but all with their ‘shoulders to the wheel of American pro- gress and' far purer pohhcs. Hafl to’ them! May flere Ie 2o hlt m their» advance, ~Xp\osed 550,000 a year to delve mto recent hmber deals by ma]ung a top and stump scale, and examining the lands sold as agricul« tural lands with a view to finding out how much merchantable: timber was cut from it.. The state board of timber.come« missionrs, which compnses the governor, auditor, forester, treasurer and attorney general, recently at a formal meeting ; passed resolutions asking the 1917 legis- lahu‘e‘to make these appropnatlons, and Auditor Preus furfher urges it in his biennial report. : The report says: “How much money can be recovered no one can estimate. The investigations made up to date and above recited, speak for themselves and are somewhat an indicator of what may be expected.” Thus far the amount recovered is $62,780, and this has been recovered at an approximate cost of $5000, so that the auditor figures the people of Minnesota have recovered $11.76 for each dollar expended. ' The lumber compa.mes that propose to fight recovery by the state, are basing their contentions upon the fact that the state has already estopped itself from recovery by having accepted their pay- ments for the amounts fraudulently returned by corrupted scalers and esti- mators. But the state stands an excellent chance to recover nevertheless, according to an opinion of Attorney General Lyndon A. Smith, who advised the board of timber commissioners that the law spe- cifically provides for a re-scale in the event the state auditor questions the cor- rectness of returns made by the surveyor general’s scalers.and estimators, and that the state is-not estopped from going back * of erroneous'or fraudulent returns, even though it haa made a aettlement ‘upon . HARD ON DRESSMAKERS Govemor—elect Frazier wired Bismarck citizens from' Chicago that he did not . favor the usual inaugural ball. - This is indeed sad mews for those: working: out imitations of the latest Pariman crea- "tions. The : governor is to be highly com- mended ‘for his considerate stand. It appears that in Frazier we have suc- ceeded in electing ‘a governor whose desire is to respect the interests of the many rather than the selfish purpese of % Iffiv;:.S—GRAF'l‘ON (N. D.) NEWS AND FARMERS DOING THINGS (Editorial in Milwaukee Leader) The farmers ‘of North Dakota are awakening- to. the fact that private ownership of the railways, elevators and mills intervenes between the farmer and the consumer and levies toll and tribute upon both. The farmers, through their- ‘organiza- tions, have found that wheat which sold as “feed wheat” for less than a dollar 2 bushel was milled into flour and. sold at the same rate as the pmmte monopol will be excluded using : the " people’s ' food suj means of its own enrichmen i