Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1898-02-18
VERY GOOD L,A|||'W' l ! v |
The Anderson Law Taxing
Railroad Lands and
+. =. Its Effects.
Benefits i OF THE MEASURE
Increases Morrison County's
= Taxable Area by 1874, 900
Acres. .. >..:>, ~. -:

Acres. O.. =.
St. Paul Globe: Some interesting
figures have been prepared by State
Auditor Dunn and Ills assistants
which show in exact figures the
operation of the law for the taxation
of railroad lands, con- monly known
as the Anderson bill, the last tax
year having been the first year Of it's
operation. The figures, obtained
from a compilation OF the returns
made by assessors in the. various
counties OF the state, show that the
number OF acres Under taxation last
year was 34,428,6 ,667, as against
32,063, 1856 in 1896. an increase of
nearly two and a half million acres.
That this is practically all due to
the new law is discernible from a
study of the figures, as in the south
ern part of the state, where railroad
lands have been disposed OF for the
most part for long time, the 1897
figures are practically the same as
those for 1896, while in the northern.
and northwestern counties decided
gains are shown.
Aitkin county, while it's citizens
were among the foremost in the
crusade for the new bill, has only
shown a gain of27000 acres, although
this is accounted for, perhaps, by the
fact that the Aitkin assessment was
selected by the railroads for contest
and the tax cases are now hung up
in the courts. Anoka county, close
i as 1t is, has now $4,000 acres more
.funder4 assessmen Beck 255O00
more; Beltrami, 69:oOO more Ben
ton, $4,000 more; while a county
even as far south as Big Stone has
experienced gain OF $4,000 acres.
Cass county. in spite of the detach-
ment Of it's territory for annexation
to Grow Wing, has gained $4,000,
and Crow Wing has gained 2l7,00O.
Singularly enough, Chisago county,
where the author of the bill lives,
has dropped 1900 acres for some
reason, presumably the plating OF
portions of the county for town and
city lots. Clay has gained 10000
acres; Cook, $4,000; Cottonwood,
100000; Douglas, 11,000; Grant,
$4,000; Hubbard, 10000; Isanti,
without mile OF railroad, 1900;
Itasca, $1,000; the unassuming
county o: Kanabec, 100000; Kan
diyohi, 13, 900; Kittson, 2O7, 900;
Lake, 10000; Marshall, $4,000;
Mile Lacs, $1,000; Morrison, 124,-
900; Norman, $4,000, and Otter
Tail, $4,000.
The banner county OF them all,
however, is Pine county, which shows
an actual gain OF 243,O00. There.
are two main lines of railroad in
this county, and both have been far.
ing well under the old system.
!. Polk county, on the face OF the re-
turns, shows a falling off of 16O, 900
|acres, but this is: not hard to under
stand, as Red Lake county has been
detached from it since the 1896 tax,
and the 234 900 acres under taxa
|tion in the new county show a net
increase for the territory formerly
comprised in Polk county of Ia, 600
acres, the greater part Of which
must be attributed directly to the
Anderson bill. ID ST
Roseau county fike Isanti, as yet
1unpenet 81 railroads, gains
I1O, ,OO0, ractically doubling it's tax
liable area. Sc. Louis gains Il, ,0Oo;
lsherburne, 81, 900; Stearns, 80 1000;
Stevens, l4, 900; Swift, 6, ,oOo;;
Todd, Il, 900; Traverse, q .O0O;.
/. .Wadena, 81, 600; Wilkin, IS, 00O;
Wright, 6, 600 and Yellow Medicine,
| ia, 600. The counties not named.
Labove remain pra actically the same,
only az ryling q. few hundred acres.
Auditor Nichols was i'll the first of
1.-THE week 81
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