Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-03-18
WHOLE NUMBER 1882.
HOW LAWS SOMETIMES WORK
A Sheriff in North Dakota Has No
Need For KlOndike.

Need For Klondike.
Sheriff Johnson of Dickcy county
N. D., was q poor man one week ago,
today he is worth in the ncighbor-
hood of 100000, says the Bismarck
correspondent of the Chicago Chronicle.
He has been earning 5000 a day for
five days, and unless the Wood law
governing the sale of lands for de-
linquent taxes is declared unconstitu-
tional he will soon be q millionaire,
while the country will have no money.
but will have choice lot of realty on
its hands.
The Wood law may or may not have
been drawn in the interests of the
Sheriffs of the State, but all the same
it is better for them than four aces in
q poker game where straight fushes do
not count. If the courts do not rob it
Of its terrors the Office of Sheriff will
pay better than the Office of the FRESH
dent of the United States and the
various counties will be so badly bank
rupt that they will not be able to raise
the price of a meal ticket. Many of
the politicians who were short time
ago talking of going to the Klondike
are now laying their plans to make
the race for Sheriff, and there is con.
sternation among the people who pay
the taxes.
A fearful and wonderful thing is the
Wood law, which was passed to allow
the sale of lands upon which the
taxes had not been paid to private
parties for sum equal to the taxes.
1t provides that the Clerk of the court
shall advertise the different parcels of
and upon which the taxes are de.
linquent, and that the county shall
take judgment against the lands after
the fashion Of civil judgments. Then,
if the taxes are not paid, the Sheriff
shall proceed to sell the lands under
the judgment. The law also provides
that the county Treasurer shall bid in
for the county all of the lands not sold
to outside parties, and right here is
where the bonanza for the Sheriff
comes in.
One of the provisions of the law is
that the Sheriff shall receive for at
taching this property and selling it
the regular fee provided by statute.
The code of North Dakota provides for q
fee of 60 cents for every attachment and
IS for the sale of fevery piece of property
where it is bought in by the person in
whose interest the sale is made. Under
the law the Sheriff receives $500 for
every description of property bid in by
the county.
The full beauties of the two laws
were not appreciated until the sale Of
lands for delinquent taxes in Dickey
county was begun. There were no
outside bidders for the lands, so the
county Treasurer was forced TO bid
them in for the county. On every
description so bid in the Sheriff charged
a $3.50 fee, and at the end of the five
days found he was something like $4O,-
600 to the good, for which Dickey
county stands liable.
The total amount to be received by
the county for these lands will in many
instances hardly pay the Sherif's fees,
and in other cases the county will
have to hold the property for many
years before getting any revenue there
from, while the fees of the Sheriff will
have to be paid in cash. If it develops
that these fees must be paid and
there seems no way to avoid it-many
OF the counties of the State will prob
ably try to escape obeying the law, and
allow the sale to 90 by the board,
rather than to pay out anywhere from
$4,000 to 5000 for fees.