The Ely miner., 1907-07-26
HARD WORK
Field Worker for Tax Com
mission Has Hard Job.

commission has Il big task on his
hands in securing all the data asked
for by the commission. S. II. HAYNES.
the worker ab present on The records
of ST. Louis county has made begin
ming only. The farther he gets into
the work The bigger the task appears.
1t il doubtful il all the records can be
gone over in the few weeks allowed
for the work.
In speaking of the task ahead of
him Mr. HAYNES drew attention to the
fact that there were recorded 1900
warranty deeds between May /. 1902,
and Jan. l. 1903, The records are TO
be examined from May l, 1902, until
May /, 1907, making five years books
which will have 10 be gone over. The
tax commission wants a record of the
warranty and special deeds which
have been recorded. Others are of no
value in the work and will not be ex-
amined.
Some of the hard task ahead of the
field worker may be imagined when il
is remembered that it is not neces-
sary to put the selling price of plat
of ground on the deed. Any consider
alton is sufficient to make deed legal.
This fact has been taken advantage of
in many instances. Some of the rec
ords are made with an apparent pur-
pose of concealing the real selling
price. On deed registered in the
courthouse the selling price of the
ground is stated at $4,000. This
would look all right except that the
deed was registered during the time
the government was collecting a stamp
tax. On the papers were stamped in
ternal revenue stamps TO The value of
$40. This amount in stamps showed
The actual price paid for the land in
the transaction was about $780, 900.
The difference is rather vast, and if
taxes were paid only on the $4,000
considerable saving would have been
made by the company. The idea of
recording such low price was not TO
defraud anyone, but the sellers or
buyers could not see why they should
give publicity TO the amount of money
that changed hands.
This condition being found so often
is retarding the work Of the commits
sion in that all that is wanted with
the deeds is the selling price and what
was tiXedas the value of the land by
the assessor.
The field worker has a card on which
he makes record os each paper This
card calls for information as to the
time when the deed was recorded, the
time When the GransacLiOn was act
ually made, The selling price, tn,
value Of the land The value OF ANY
improvements aud the total assessed
lualiuu. The names Of lne parties
to the transaction are also taken from
the books. The valuation placed on
the property by The different assessUrs
Will also be taken. On the card is Il
space for tile valuation placed in 1902,
1904 and 1906. The even numbered
years only are taken as the real estate
valuation is placed Oh those years.
The card will also contain Il descrip-
tion Of the land and lis location Two
different spaces are left, one for couu-
try property and one for city lots.
The country description will include
section, township, range and acreage.
The city records call for the number
of the lot, block. the addition and the
frontage. On both space is left for
any remarks which will tend to make
a classification easier.
These cards will be filed in the Office
of the tax commission at st. Paul and
will be referred to at all times. A
space is left for any valuation which
may be assessed by the state board.
This Will not be placed on the record
until the matter has been thoroughly
gone over and until d change is ordered
by the board The valuation as gwen
10y the local assessor will stand
Mr.. Haynes, the field worker in this
county, expected 10 have finished aud
be ready 10 report 10 the commission
by Aug. 10, but owing to the amount
of which Will be necessary it is doubt.
ful if he can be through before Tile
middle of September. lie has had to
go over the records OF the register of
deeds to get the number registered
and make out his cards. The cards
will then be compared with the asses
sor'S books in the county auditors
office. The examination of the two
sets of records will make double task
and Mr.. Haynes is not very big man,
SO he will have TO work almost day
and night TO get through.
NTnUT ~"