Jamestown alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1882, 1880-03-16
TAXATION OF II. II. LANDS.

Last year the assessor in Stutsman coun
ty returned for taxation all the lands
In the county owned by the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company, but our board
Of county commissioners threw out those
railroad lands on the ground that they
were not tsxabls.because the company nev.
er received :heir title thereto. It Is a we'll
undsrstsod facs thst the company has
failed 70 take the patent to these lands,
not becauss Of any failure to earn the land
bus simply on account of q co.trovers,
with the department as to the division
OF the cest Of the original surveys. On
the contrary, the Northern Psciic Con-
psnJ avov tAst they have earned the
lands, Shat they own thsn snd that their
title to thsn come through the original
set Of Congress granting them, and is in
no way effected By the receipt or non ~.
csipt Of . patent. Under this view Of the
case they are offering for sale and selling
these lands Internationally. They either
own these lands or they are obtaining the
public's money under false pretenses. If
they own tho lands they are taxable under
the laws Of the Territory in the same
manner and to the same extent exactly as
the lands Of an individual. They caanst
claim perfect title, for the purpose of
selling, and at the same time, no title At
all. for the purpose Of avoiding their Just
share of the expenses of our county gov
ernmept
Again if the lands now held by the
railroad company are not subject to tax,
because they have no title, then the lands
which they have sold to individuals are
not taxable for the same reason.
If tho company had no title the
Individual purchaser from them have none.
This leaves the only available source of
revenue in our county, the Improvements
on government land and personal proper
ty. This is subject Of great importance
to cur county for more than one rsascn.
Should wecompel the railroad company,
~ there il scarcely any doubt we can do,
to pay their share of the taxes, it would
reduce BY nearly one half. the burden
borne by the settlers and individual land
owners. Again, any irregularity or failure
to comply with the law in assessing and
collecting our tax, voids the entire levy
aad rslieves.every property owner from the
obligation to pay his tax. In = few months
several thousand dollars worth Of tax cor.
tihcates will be sold on lands in default
for the 1879 tax. These certificates will
not-under our view of the case-be worth
the paper they are printed on, and IS q
consequence will not find purchasers. and
finally We come to the worst feature and
the one which has called this subject to
mind at tho present time. Believing that
purchasers from the railroad company are
not liable to taxation, unless the COM
pany is also liable, . combination of our
leading resident property owners is in
contemplation to test the case by refusing
TO pay their taxes on the above grounds.
Should this com bination form it will
encourage nonresident owners to take the
same stand and our tax levy for 1880 will
! only be collected IN any event at the end
of long and expensive litigation, with the
probabilities strongly IN favsr Of ths
county's final defeat. We venture to svg-
gest to the $"powers that be- careful
consideration Of this whole question before
again, throwing out the railroad lands,
Mr.. Nichols, our assessor, informs US thss
he will assess every acre of land in the
county, a. he did IN 1879, and 50 relieve
himself from any responsibility il the
matter. -.