The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1904-04-14
THE TIMBER ESTIMATION.

THE POLICE Jury finally agreed to have the TIM
her of the parish estimated and the arrangement
finally made gives the estimator a dead clnch on
several thousand dollars of the money of the prop
erty owners. The arrangement provides that the
estimator shall have for his pay for making the
estimate, all the taxes accruing for the year l9oo
over and above the amount of taxes collected IN
1908 In other words the estimator will be PAID
the parish taxes on the amount of the assessment
of 1905 above the assessment of 1908. This Is
splendid arrangement for the estimator. There Is
no way of arriving at the exact amount he Will
make out of the Job, but it will run way into the
thousands, and the money is to come out OF the
pockets of the taxpayers.
To illustrate the ease with which vast amount
of money will be pulled from property holders Tor
this bit of ornamentation with which the police
Jury decorated it's political death we will take the
matter of 10000 acres of land owned by the Kelly
people and which has been in dispute for the past
two years as to its value. Two years ago the con-
tention of this estimator was that this land of the
Kelly people was worth only $50 per acre, it
would cut only $4,000 feet of timber to the acre
and at so cents per 1000 feet the valuatlon would
amount to $3.50. But take the 10000 feet at tho
price paid for it by the Kelly people, $500 per
acre, and granting that they paid at the rate OF
81 per thousand feet, it is evident that this land
contains 81, 500 feet of timber per acre. Value
this timber at so cents per lOOG. the valuation
placed on it in 1908. and the estimator has lS,50o
feet per acre to collect 80 cents per 1000 on, or
1925 On 10000 acres he will collect 1880. this
on tract which he estimated before for his COM
pany. If he makes this amount per acre on the
first class timbered land and less on the second
class land it is easy to where he will make out
of this little job over $4,000.
Several small farmers in the parish have forty,
eighty and more acres of timbered land on their
places and this estimator will not pass them BIZ.
so they must contribute to this enormous expense
for little fun And the parish will realize moth
ing on this expenditure before 1907, and by that
time all the best timber of the parish will have
been hauled off and made into lumber, and no one
will be benefited by the experiment except the
estimator.
It must be understood that the estimator and
the many who lobbied for him in securing this job
are not to be blamed for getting the job. 1t is a
privilege we all have, to hustle for everything in
sight, but we submit that it is the most unwise.
uncalled-for and useless legislation Winn parish
police jury ever perpetrated. It will result IN I'M
told litigation and will keep succeeding police
juries from undertaking any great improvement
for the reason that sufficient revenues to lquidate
fixed expenses will not be in the treasury before
1907 and litigation will make it unsafe for them
to anticipate revenues and negotiate for funds.
Old Vim parish is getting into a bad fix fnanci-
ally and there is no relief in sight. Every time
things get smoothed down little and the affairs
of the parish on a solid basis something hobs. up
and knocks it silly. Now VIC will have to borrow
money to pay expenses in 1905 and 1906. and unless
the parish should be fortunate enough TO win the
litigation it is going to meet with, will have to
borrow for the next several years.