The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-06-14
PINE LAND THIEVES.
The State Robbed of Millions of
Dollars of its Wealth.
SCHOOL FUND PLUNDERED.

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SCHOOL FUND PLUNDERED.
The Rich Escape Taxation and
the Poor have to Make it up.
Let Every Citizen Read the Facts.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY
THE SENATE TO INVESTIGATE IRREGULAR
TIES IN THE SALE AND TAXATION OF
SCHOOL AND OTHER LANDS.
[RER0RT CONCLUDED
To the Senate of the State of Minnesota:
Tt is in evidence before your COM
mittee that the county of Itasca and
the state itself has never received
one-tenth it's just proportion of taxes
on real estate in Itasca county, and
it appears by the statement of one
witness that a part of the Cannon
Falls improvement Co. land, now
owned by private parties and there
fore subject to taxation, has not
been assessed at all. Your commit
tee are of the opinion that one man
can not assess a county of the size of
Itasca county, but that it would re-
Quire three men with several assist
ants several months to properly do
the work required by law.
No assessments have been levied in
Itasca county on logs after the same
were separated from the realty, ex-
cept in rare instances, despite the
fact that the output thereof has
amounted to one million five hun
dred thousand dollars worth year.
Your committee are forced to the
conclusion, from the evidence of the
county officials of Hennepin and
Itasca counties, that in consequence
of the logs being in transit in the
water courses between April and
October, that not over one-fifth Of
the value of them is ever assessed
anywhere. In consequence of our sys-
TEN of law, whereby the assessment
is made on the first day of May, the
property embraced in those logs not
being at the point of manufacture on
that day, and the lumber manufac-
tured from them being sold before
the next first day of May, this whole
industry, to large extent, escapes
taxation. While the logs at the
point of manufacture are worth from
81 to $3.50 a thousand, it appears
from the evidence before your COM
mittee that they are assessed at the
rate of 81 per thousand.
1t also appears that there are in
the said county of Itasca, two private
railroads or tramways used for the
transportation of logs. These are
well built, wide gauge roads. They
pay no tax to the state upon their
gross earning and sthey completely
escape all local taxation. These two
roads aggregate length of about
thirty miles and represent large
amount of money invested therein
not less than one hundred and sixty
thousand dollars-and should bear
their reasonable share of the bur-
dens of the state. In addition to the
transportation of logs for their own
ers, they also carry freight for third
parties.
The assessor referred to testified
before your committee that, acting
under the instructions of the county
auditor, he entirely omitted to ex-
anime one township in which certain
prominent lumbermen own large
quantities of pine land. While he
raised the assessment upon other
lands, he had not, in consequence of
those instructions of the county
auditor, made similar examination
or increase in the assessment of the
lands in the said. township.
Your committee further find that
tracts of land worth from $500 to
So, 200 have been assessed at valua-
ton of $4S to 1892, and the evidence
before your committee goes to show
that most of the pine land is assessed
for not over One-tenth of it's value,
thereby defrauding the state and the
county of nine-tenths of their
revenue from such property. From
the testimony taken, your commit
tee find that the output of logs has
been Of late years from two hundred
and forty million feet upward in
ItaSca county, and this year it is
claimed it will amount to two hun
dred and SiXty-fve million feet,
which at So per thousand-saidt to be
a fair average value-would make an
annual production of about one mil
lion five hundred thousand dollars.
Part of this yield is taken from the
Rainy Lake country alone and is
shipped into Canada-thiS, year about
forty million feet have so gone out
from our State-from which the state
never has and never will receive any
revenue. Immediate steps should be
taken to put stop to these prac-
tices. The various lumber companies
operating in Itasca county have
large plants, numerous horses, cattle,
wagons, ETC., valued at about four
hundred thousand dollars, one hun
dred thousand of this remaining in
the county permanently, and upon all
this, with the exception of about
$27 900, no assessment whatever is