The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-13
Facts for the Legislature.


The finance committee Of the leglsiatur
is having considerable difficulty n MAKING
the states revenues meet its expenses at tn'
present rate of taxation, and the suggestloi
that the rate be increased has been Ilade
An increase in the rate would not De popu-
lar, and it is not probable, therefore, 'nS
the rate will be changed.
There is a belief among the members Oh
the legislature that great deai Of persona
pronartv escapes taxation, aud IN order to
reach that class of property It has been pro
posed that law shall be enacted making IL
impossible to collect a promlSsoFy note oY
legal nrocess IN less It has attached TO II a
tax receivers stamp showing that It has
been returned for taxation.
But. asa matter Of fact. are there not hun
dreis Of thousands Of acres Of valuable
.irnher lands in the state which pay no tax
at all and other hundreds Of thousands
NJ acres which are taxed far below their
market valuef II there was a board Of
equalization in each county there would be
| a great increase in the amount Of property
returned for taxation
In q recent address before the railroad
commission, 5. G. McLendon, Of Thomas
vile. presented some facts relative % the
taxation OF wild lands Of the state which
might be of interest aud use 70 the legisls-
ture He stated that in Dodge county in
1850 147. ga acres Of wild land were IN
taxed. in E,hols county l22, $50 acres, in
Worth county ITO. SSl scres
For 1890 five persons returned for taxes
696. 954 acres at a gross valuation Of S+0S.-
l99. The state tax on all of this land was
less than $1,000. Eight persons returned
2lS, As acres at gross valuation Of $l6,O 600,
and they paid the state in taxes only $50 o.
In commenting upon the valuation Of these
Wild lands snd the amount at which they
are assessed for taxable purposes now. Nc
Tendon, in his article, says: ION every
acre Of pine land there is a crop which has
beeu centuries in growing. and which is
worth, gathered and marketed. at least
sST 50. and in the gathering Of which there
is profit Of not less than s12 per acre. II
these figures can be made good how strange
the contrast will be when they are placed
BY the side Of the fsct that In Charlton and
Eohols county more than half 8 million
OF acres are returned at u
cents an acre. while the Okefenokee swamp
lands bring PSI cents per acre at public
auction; that in Clinch county over two
thirds Of q million acres are returned at 81
CENTS per acre. 6 cents per acre less than
they were valued at in 1889. Another
strange, yea, startling contrast is found
just bere. Ten counties in Georgia, devoted
mainly 70 agriculture, have returned for tax
alton for the year 1890. 2S6, ISL acres less than
there are acres in tdese counties, or an av-
erage deficit per county of 2S ,675 acres;
forty-four square miles Of land each in ten
counties not taxed These are Ebert, Hars
RS. Jones, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan,
Putnam, Sumter. Troup and Whitfield
1t is evident from the foregoing state
ments, the reliability Of which will hardly
be questioned, that there is a great amount
Of valuable land in the state which is not
taxed at all. and much greater amount
that is assessed at less than one-twentleth
its market value. The cities Of thu state
now pay a very large part of the state
taxes, the valuation Of property within
their limits being very high. II real estate
in the country was assessed as near its mar
ket value as real estate in the city, the reve-
nues of the state would be very much
greater than they are.