The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-08
THEY WANT A MAP
BUT THERE is LITTLE CHANCE
FOR ONE SOON.
TOO MANY OBSTACLES IN WAY.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS REALIZE
WHAT AN UNDERTAKING TT is.

Past Experiments Have Taught
That an Immense Appoint of Mon
ey md Labor Is Required for a
Map--icc Chairman Moore Does
Not Think There Is a Chance TO
Get One Within the Next Year.
Tax Receiver Baker Does Not
Know whether 1t Would Pay to
Undertake Map or Not.
There is little possibility that the
County Commissioners will take up the
work of preparing an official county
map this year, or at any early day in
the future.
Vice Chairman A. B. Moore, of the
County Commissioners, said yesterday
that the difficulties attending such an
undertaking are such that the COM
missioners would hardly enter into it
without considering the various OBJ
stacles to be overcome more fully.
The trouble in preparing map"
said Mr.. Moore, lis as outlined in the
Morning News several days ago. 1t
is the irregularity of the property lines.
There is no system of blocking or
diagraming that can be employed to
fix the property lines, and if the COM
missioners finally decided to enter into
the work of preparing a map it will be
after the costs, the labor required, the
benefits to be derived and the feasible
ity Of methods to be employed are ar
ranged to the satisfaction of the COM
missioners. 1 do not think that there
is a possibility of the work being en-
tered into at any time soon. -
Although the recommendations of the
last grand jury on the subject of a
county map were in accord with the
sentiment of all of the county officials,
all realize the great difficulties Ia pre-
pairing a map that would be exactly
accurate.
To make a map that would meet all
of the needs commonly required of an
official county map it would first be
necessary to employ the services of a
corps of expert civil engineers to make
complete survey of every piece of
property in the county where the coun-
ty lines are not definitely fixed This
would take weeks. months, and, per-
haps, years, and the cost could not
easily be estimated. at the outset, ,so--
The benefits to the county in the way
of increased tax returns and tax COL
lectionS on property returned are just
as difficult to estimate as is the price
of preparing the map, and the ques-
ton is whether or not it will pay the
county to enter into this great task
and spend the amount of money that
Will be required for it's completion In
the opinion of some, who are not will
ing to be quoted, the map would pay
for itself in the first year.
Tax Receiver Baker says that he
has no end of trouble in locating prop
erty which has not been properly fixed
as to lines, and in the case of ig-
norant negroes who come to return
their property for taxa ton hepis forced
to go to the records and figure otit
their property lines for them. Mr.
Baker stated, however that he did not
see how a map could be of ebenefit to
him or the county equivalent to the
cost of one. Fh ii@ tF@s - ~
Those who are most anxious to see
a map prepared say it is not so much
the aid it will be in collecting taxes on
property which cannot be located as it
will be in forcing owners who have
not returned their property in years
to come forward and pay the county
what is due, and have their property
properly entered so that it can be as
sessed each year.
According to statement made by
the tax receiver each year property is
found which has not been returned for
taxation. Whenever a case of this
kind arises the owner is taxed dou-
BILE and his property properly entered
on the tax books so that he cannot es-
cape in future. Not long ago a piece
of property of several thousand acres
was discovered near Savannah q. that
had neVer.been returned for taxation.