Simonson insisted that it go with the others. Later it proved worth many thousand dollars for the potash it contained. On another occasion John Krause bought some land containing a lake from a party named Long. It developed that Krause had made an examination and knew the lake to be rich in potash. In the courts Long recovered something over seventy thousand dollars, said to be the value of the product Krause had taken from him without just compensation. There is a case pending in the courts against the Krause interests for potash taken from state lands without lawful authority.

The editor-in-chief, when commissioner of public lands and buildings of the state, had unpleasant controversies with John Krause and Tom Briggs concerning potash rights upon state lands. The former acquired by purchase a tract of state school land containing a potash lake without the knowledge of the state appraisers. Part of this lake is upon lands owned by the state and not purchasable, but a pipeline was constructed, and the potash extracted. The commissioner made a demand, and obtained from the operator of the plant, (then W. E. Sharp, of Lincoln, who had purchased, for his company, the American Potash Works at Antioch), a statement of the amount of potash taken from this lake. Surveys were made by the department of surveys, under order of the commissioner and computations were made as a basis of the pending suit.

In the case of Tom Briggs lake, Briggs applied to the state for the right to extract the potash, which was the honorable thing to do. There was no law! for mineral leasing in the state, but Attorney General Reed held that the board of educational lands and funds had authority to issue such leases, under the constitution, the legislature having laid down no method of procedure.