Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1863-04-28
TIE HERALD.
Tax sales-General Info-ulatior

county Treasurer will proceed to sell all
the lnds advertised ia cur paper as delin-
qlent for taxes, upon which the taxes
shall not have been paid previous to sale
day. If 'wners pay their taxes prt'l US
to sale day, there viii be DO extra charges
except for advertising, VITA q small per
cent. added. Within six months after sale
the cost for fedeerning will be the adyer-
Using, 95 cts. per tract. % cts. for certih
cate, cents for Revenue stamp, 8 PEI
cent. upon the taxes for interest and also
~ per cent. interest upon the whole. To
redeem at any time after six months il
will cost the same. adding 25 per cent. IN
tsrest instead of 10 per cent. The averaged
,ss by the sales is about so per cent, pos
sihly moro. On vacant, improved town
lots the loss may be loo per cent.
Probably ive-siAths of the land and
lots advertised belong TO noa-residents,
most of them to land SPECTATORS who
have failed in business and who are una
bic to pay arrears at home or abroad. A
fifth or sixth belong TO careless residents,
or persons Of no use. Sometimes the ad-
tninistrators Of estates aad guardian of
heirs allow the taxes ufon property in
their charge TO go unpaid Apart from
these, the classes Of delinquent are deserv-
ing of no favor, and thu sooner their prop
erty is forfeited to the county and iudi
yidua residents the better. Men who are
too careless to take care of their own
property, or who own SO much land that
they are unable to pay their taxes, may be
pitied but deserve no favors.
Three years from the date of sale. pur-
chasers are entitled to deeds by presenting
sale certificates to the clerk Of the Board
and paying Their for $l20 for deed and
record. The present tax law is standing
the test of courts very well. A late d.
cision gives the holder of tax deed pre-
ferred possession over the holder of real
title, and actual occupancy gives a still
better title; where the real owner is a non
resident, the holle, of tax deed. if be
reside upon the land, is considered to hold
good title; persons occupying under tax
claim making improvements may certainly
draw full pay for Improvements in case OF
falling 10 hold under tax deed such also
recover judgment for cost of certificate
aud deed. In most cases ,scol cry judy
ment for Improvements and original claim
amount to a sufficient sum to sweep the
property, thus making tax deeds almost
conclusive and investments in tax lands one
oflhe surest means of acquiring property,
at but little risk.
We regret that the poorer classes OF la
boring men, such as have but little mon
ey, neglect going to work adyisedly and
hunting up good tax claims, taking deeds
and then occupying these tax lands as
homesteads. All you have to do is to
procure the he'll Of some good Judge of
such titles, 60 and see such lands as be
may recommend and if the property suits,
purchase it. The entire cost may not ex-
coed 30 to 40 cents per acre, or less than
tenth of its value.
AT present the smart spectators are
buying up these lands, ard after while
they will sell them to the poor and ignor-
ant at five TO ten dollars per acre-9iving
but quit claim deeds. We have known
this to be done very often. 1t is true that
in most cases such titles becerue as good as
any, but there is no reason why the ac-
tual settlers should not have all the adyan-
tage OF cheapness as well as Of title.
We think the Grant County Board Of
Supervisors ought to restrict sales to actu-
al settlers and not allow spectators to
grab such lands, as the practice Of the
general government was-so long as land
monopoly remained father encouraged for
the benefit of the vast negro interest
which actually demanded for each slave
owner three thousand to ten thousand
acres ofland. aud which also demanded
that the poor niggerless should have no
land at all, We think the people Of the
county would be vastly benefited, especially
the poor, by restricting the sales of tax
lands to persons pledged to occupy and i'm
prove them. This would increase the num-
Der of land holders and ry largely add
to the improved property and wealta of
the county.
When SPECTATOR adds thousand or
tsn thousand acres OF wild land to bis land
impoveriShing list--land which be don't
mean to improve, but does mean to hoard
ii as the miser his gold. there is nothing
added to the public wealth. nor is the TO
tai of valuation increased thereby single
dollar On the contrary, divide the thou
sand or ten thousand acres of wild lan1s
among dozen or fifty actual occupants
all pledged % settle upon and improve
their Little farms, ard you double the valu-
alton at once, the assessment books viii
show that the county has cleared just 100
per cent. on the spot. and each succeeding
year show Ten or twenty per cent. m
crease in valuation upon such land. Up
Oh the hypothesis that land Specializing, or
holding large bodies of land for rise and
dear sale l. the poor land needy. is profit