The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-08-30
WILL THEY
DISGORGE +?
HOT FOR THE PINE LAND RING
The Provisions for Reassessment
Contained in Sec. ISL, Cen
I eraI Laws of 1898,
May Bring the Thieves to the Rack

Itasca county's bona fide residents
and property holders are pleased with
the appointment of the Hon. w. S.
Dedon to carry out the provisions of
Senate File Sc, now Sec. ISL Of the
General Laws of 1898, entitled: "An
Act to Provide for the Assessment of
Property which has been or which
may Hereafter be Unlawfully Omit
ted in the Assessment of Property in
fhe County in which it is Situated,
and for ReassesSment where there
has been a Gross differentiation of
such Property"
Strange as it may seem there never
was an effort made to properly assess
Itasca county until long after the
report of the state senate committee
appointed to Investigate the taxa
tion Of pine lands, ETC., and the gen.
eral laws of 1893 including a portion
of section ISL, we're published. Then
the mongrel body who call them
selves county commissioners of Itas-
ca county representative of gam
bling saloons and lumber corpora
tions) got their budge-befuddled
heads together and concluded that
they would not wait for the governor
to enforce the provisions of section
ISL, but that they would have the
county assessed to suit the pine ring
ct al; and knowing that the law
would only permit them to assess ev-
cry even numbered year, and that
the statute gives no authority to ap-
prOpriate any money for assessing
and that the county was in debt,
they entered into a contract with
man who is totally ignorant of tax
laws, and proved himself to be dis
qualified upon a thorough examin-
tion for anything but fair timber
estimate, to assess the entire county
for ten thousand dollars, and accept
ed and approved bond upon the ad-
vice $50 we are informedD of So
called county attorney. After the
ignorant, would-be assessor and his
raw recruits had spent a few weeks
examining timber $50 we are inform
ed) for certain lumber companies the
county paps concluded that they
would terminate the contract, and
they allowed 81 900 to their contract
or, who refused to quit, but is con-
tinuing the work of timber estimat-
ing, and now threatens to work the
state assessor out of a job before No.
vember.
Those who know the provisions of
Sec. ISL, upon asking for the law au-
thOrizing the present action Of the
contracting assessor, ETC., were in
formed that
THE ATTORNEY-GEN. so ADVISES
Etc. And we are not surprised, for
there was evidence sufficient before
the attorney general, governor, and
public examiner last April and May
to convict the clerk of the court of
extortion, and the county attorney
and the commissioners as accomplic-
es to the same acts. Yet it appears
that the county attorney received
A FRIENDLY LETTER
from the attorney general telling
him to have the grand jury investi-
gate crime, the very nature of which
he must have known the county at
torney to be implicated in, and that
unless the county attorney placed the
matter before the grand jury they
could not indict. TITS true the coun-
ty attorney informed the grand jury
that the attorney general, by the ad-
vice of the governor, had requested
him to investigate scandal surround
ing the county, ETC.; but when asked
for the letter, said they could not hare
ct, as 1t aUds q personal matter betaUeen him
and the attorney general. We appreciate
the valuable services of our able at
torney general. He passed upon the
joint resolution appropriating funds
to continue the inveS tioatiOn of pine
land frauds, ETC., then after it be-
came a law said it was "n. g." He
was given two trials to draw a tax
bill the same as Sec. ISL, but made a
miserable failure in both instances
and an able judge of Minneapolis and
Mr.. John H. Burke prepared Senate
File No. Sc, (Sec. 1871, which is in
fact the best measure passed by the
legislature of 1898; and if properly
enforced will bring more money into
the state and county treasures than
all the tax laws passed since the
state was organized; for it permits
us to tax nearly one-third of the
railroad lands in the state besides all
grossly undervalued pine lands, etc.
And as soon as the appraisal is made,
lists properly made out and filed with
the county auditor, the taxes become
lien npOn all the real prOpertv