The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-23
A Queer Tale Of the Expert
ence of Dutch ColOniStS
Related.
ASSESSOR HosKINs OVERSIGHT
San Bernardino Companies Alleged
to Have Been Assessed
Too High.

SAChaMEN1O, CAI., aug AA'-4delCeui
MADEIRA and San Bernardino counties ap-
peared before the, Board of Equalization
to-day and argued long and earnestly that
their assessments should not be raised.
Pasture land in MERGED County can be
rented for Is cents an acre, and the man
who takes it will be out on the investment,
according to Assessor Simonson. Super
visors Nelson, Haley and Kelsey agreed
with him in this. They also said that the
Croker Land and Water Company, which
was one of their biggest concerns, would
not put in any grain next year, because it
did not pay.
When the subject of the Holland colony,
six miles north of MERGED, was preached
Mr.. Simonson said that nearly all the
colonists had moved ont of the county.
Some had gone back TO Holland, others
had moved into the coast counties and
were enjoying life and not paying so much
for the experience. Thirty or forty fam
lilies were brought out from Holland
originally, and they paid 81 65 an acre for
the land. 1t is now worth about SIS.
There are not more than half a dozen OF
the original colonists on the land. They
had put magnificent improvements on the
place, but now the trees are all dead.
II don't want to give the county black
eye. because we have the best county in the
State" remarked the Assessor, land it is
undoubtedly the best assessed county.
But we have few thousand acres of poor
land. Where the Hollanders settled it was
worse than alkali. 1t was hardpan, and
they had to blast holes with dynamite be-
{0ra +bau nor1Id o1anf tho +rans ~
''They had to send to Holland to get
people to settle on that land" remarked
Controller Colgan.
The Assessor explained that the IN
fortunate Dutch bought the land while
they were in Holland. The land looked
splendid on the map.
"How was it that Los Angeles allowed
these Hollanders to get into your county?"
asked Equalizer Morehouse.
The Assessor explained that they were
brought from Holland by an agent, and
came by the northern route. "It's pity
they didn't get away" he added, "before
they reached MERGED, because it has done
MERGED County more harm than good.'
Only eighteen bicycles appear upon the
assessment roll of MERGED County The
Assessor explained that he thought there
were more wheels than that in the county.
In fact he had narrowly escaped being run
over by more bicycles than that in the
streets of MERGED. He owned one himself.
At the afternoon session Assessor Hos
kins told how the once famous John
Brown colony had deprecated in value be-
cause of the decline in the price of raisins
and other farm products. He had not as
sessed the Bank of MADEIRA for anything,
because when he asked the cashier
whether there was any money in the bank
the cashier told him that there was none.
The bank had $4,000 in San Francisco.
Equalizer Morehouse asked the Assessor
whether he had not assessed that $500 as
solvent credits, and he replied that he had
not thought of that. 1t is likely that that
$4,000 will be added to the roll of MADEIRA
County.
Assessor Kettle of San Bernardino
County told the board why he had
dropped S157, 6S4 off the roll on outside real
estate. He spoke of the feeling that had
been engendered by the division of San
Bernardino and Riverside counties, and de-
clared he had not been guided at all by that
feeling. Thus, he had found that the Riv-
erside Water Company and the Riverside
Trust Company were assessed about $780,
600 too high, and had, therefore, reduced
the total assessment on those companies
by 100000. He found water bitches as
sessed at $4,000, which bitches had cost
only $4,000 seven or eight years ago. The
decrease, made by the City Assessor of San
Bernardino City from his own assessment
of last year was $685., 267.