573 



These are the , views with regard to this transaction, taken from 

 the minutes of this commission. July 17, 1890, there was a meeting 

 at New York, where Knevals and Basselin were present, and at that 

 meeting the minutes say, Garmon was sent to look up the lands (page 

 107 of the minutes), and report at the next meeting, and that next 

 meeting was July 30, 1890, and he did report and that is the 

 report that both Knevals and Cox refer to. He did report at the 

 next meeting and reported in favor of the exchange, and at that 

 meeting, July 30, 1890, the Hurd resolution was rescinded, the policy 

 of this commission was reversed, whereas they said they would 

 exchange lands with nobody; they wiped out that resolution and were 

 ready to exchange lands with somebody. 



After that resolution was passed, the last of July, so that the road 

 was all clear, the informal negotiation with Mr. Patton for the lumber 

 company assumed regular form and proportion, and on the 7th of 

 August, 1890, application was made for the exchange; it was made in 

 three papers, two of which were dated on the seventh of August and 

 another one on the twenty- eighth of August, and there was a formal • 

 regular application under the statute for the exchange, and it was the 

 first, all the rest had rested in the negotiation. 



On September 17, 1890, a formal resolution was passed recom- 

 mending the exchange, and these papers were sent to the Comptroller's • 

 office to be executed by the Comptroller to carry out the exchange. 

 On the 14th day of August, 1890, that was seven days after- 

 the formal application, t about two weeks after the Hurd resolu- 

 tion was repealed, on the 14th day of AuguBt, 1890, the Beaver Biver 

 Lumber Company was organized, with a capital of $50,000, Patton — 

 this same Patton — Basselin and a Mr. McGraw were the stockhold- 

 ers and the stock was equally divided between them; Basselin, on 

 the organization of that company, entered into a contract with it, 

 for he had a mill that he didn't put into the company, on the 

 organization of that company a contract was entered into with 

 Basselin by this company to furnish him the stumpage or saw- 

 ing timber from seventy or eighty acres of land; ten millions 

 the first year, twenty millions the second year, and twenty-five 

 millions each year after; he was to receive $1.87 a thousand for 

 sawing it. Now, if my calculations are right, the sawing of 1,000,000 

 feet of this lumber under this contract would produce $18,750, and 

 10,000,000, allowing that to be the capacity of his mill, and what he 

 could do one year with another, would make $180,000, about one-half 

 of which would be profit. It was a great contract for Mr. Basselin.' 

 He put into it his mill and personal services, and was relieved from 



