The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1912-04-18
N|NOT Commissioner
ANSWERS farmer
Saws He Claims TO Have Reduced
Taxes Only In Minot-Makes slight
Reference to the Poor Farm

In the issue of the Ward County
Independent of April 18th appeared
an article supposed to be written by
a farmer from near Berthold asking
for information and explanations OF
the actions of the Board of County
| Commissioners. | will take his item
in rotation and try and answer the
questions as near AS possible ano
hope that this farmer, who doesn't
sign his name, may receive some
! benfit from the same.
Question Why don't the County
Commissioners offer to be checked up
by some uninterested party, an out
slider? l will say that the Commits
sioners have never refused any one
the privilege of checking up anything
| pertaining to their office and official
acts or any other County Official.
| Question again: why does it cost
more to run Ward County now than
| when it was four times as large as
| it is now? In the first place, the
farmer is mistaken about the size of
| Ward County at the present time.
While the area is only a little mora
than one-third of the original coun.
| ty. the assessed valuation is more
| than half of the entire territory, and
the Commissioner who sits down and
| does nothing in order to save the
! county his salary will accomplish
| nothing. I do not know Mr.. Farmer
| whether or not you allude to the sal
ary of the Commissioners in this ques-
ton. but infer from your next para
graph where you ask the question
| why we are in session as long as
! before county division, that this is
what you refer to. While we have
county division. you must remember
that we have never been able to get
settlement with any of these couu-
ties, as yet. but if we as commission
| ers would refuse to put in the nee
essary time to protect the interests
| of the people that We represent we
COULD have made settlement long
ago and to the DETRIMENT and
| EXPENSE of the tax payers, but this
| is question that any man who has
not taken any more interest in county
affairs than your communication
would indicate would not be in a po-
sition to know what was required Of
county commissioners
You also comment on my announce
ment for reelection for this office
and want to know where ] have RE-
| DUCED taxes Mr.. Dear Sir, if you
| will notice my announcement you
! will see that / mentioned the mater
ial reduction q taxes in the City Of
Minot, which is my district, and
certainly claim the credit of reduc-
ing them to the amount of more than
$4,000 in the city of Mfnot for the
year 1911, and by doing so l only
| claim that did my duty as repre-
sentative of my District and only
gave the citizens what they are en-
titled to. You also speak of the taxes
being raised from $12 to $25 a quarter
right now. NIGHT accuse you Of
being tax-dodger if you are in the
neighborhood of Berthold for the last
ten years and have only been paying a
tax Of $12 on quarter section. While
on this subject, in reference to your
question as to raising some 20 per
cent and some 50 per cent on the
land Of the same valuation, you must
troll but entirely up to your Local
board of review, and, while you are
not acquainted with any of the coun-
ty commissioners, would advise YOU
to at least take time to get acquain.
ted with your local board; and, as to
the poor farm, We all know that it
costs money to equip an institution
of this kind, but, in spite of the ia ct
that we have had two years of poor
crops and there has been far greater
demand for county aid than ever be-
fore, we have reduced the cost per
capita for their maintenance more