Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1913-05-06


Co., against Chehalis county protest
ing against an alleged excessive
ytions of land in 21-7, came to a
tions of timber in 21-7, came to a
close Friday afternoon, with the de-
nial by Judge Clifford of motion
made by the plaintiff to have the
lands cruised again. Arguments of
counsel will be made to the judge
in writing, when his decision will be
handed down. A large number of
witnesses were examined during the
course of ther.trial, and the efforts
of Attorney W. H. Abel, counsel for
the Logging Company appeared to be
devoted to an attempt to discredit
the cruise, evidently with other suits
to follow in mind.
To this end, he sought to attack
the reputationsfor trustworthiness of
County CruisSf J. A. McGillicuddy,
but the attemJ8 was miserable fail
ure. Even witnesses who are men,
bers Of the ancient and Honorable
Order of Taxsg Dodgers, and their
henchmen-ex-oficers and others
were forced tof admit that Mr.. Nc
Gillicuddy's 3repssta isn~ 80 a cruiser
and as citizen was good, albeit,
some members of the Order said it
was better before the county cruise
than after.
Three cruises of the eight sections
in question were produced. That by
Cruiser Moriarty for the county show
ed total of 452,7S2,OOO feet; the
cruise of Harris, for the Logging
company 361, ,O73,O00 feet, and that Of
Noble on the recruise for which the
county paid half and the company
half, 342,S52,OOO feet, so that when
it is considered that Harris and No
BILE allowed but 40 or so per cent.
for dead and down timber, while
Moriarty for the county counted all
timber and put the matter of allow
ance for dead and down up to the
board of equalization, the three crui-
ses are found to be as close as al
most any such estimate can be made.
Generalization not Alleged
1t is evident to those who have
studied this timber taxation problem
that this action was brought with
hope of discrediting the entire cruise,
which cost the people of the coun-
vryit
this or next year. Even if the con-
this or merit year. Even if the con-
tention of the company is sustained,
and the Noble cruise is upheld, 1t
would not reduce the amount of tax
alton on those lands, but, on the
contrary might operate to increase
it.
1t must be noted, that in the re.
ports of the county cruise, all tim
ber was listed, and where dead and
down timber was reported, the same
was assessed at 20 cents per M feet,
while the green timber was valued
at 80 cents, both those figures being
on a 40 per cent basis. Evidence
at the trial showed that dead and
down timber gave merchantable logs
to the amount of from 40 to so per
cent. Timber on this land is worth
from $500 to $4OO a thousand on
the stump, so that to apply the 4C
per cent valuation-the same as all
other classes of property-would re-
suit in decided increase, and it is
the value of property not the num-
Der of trees, that is assessed for tax
alton.
Company Deserves No Sympathy
In this action the Simpson Logging
Co. deserves no sympathy. This com
pany has for years been defrauding
the county of large part of it's just
taxes. 1t has had cruises of its lands
all the time, yet glance over the
rolls for the past ten years shows
that it has returned false statements,
or none at all, and other classes OF
property, often not so we'll able to
stand it, has had to make up what
this concern and others like it es-
caped. The tax rolls for 1910 and
1911, the two years before the coun'
ty cruise was made, shows that Sec.
1877, upon which the county cruis-
er found nearly 55 million feet, is
assessed as burned land. The falsity
of this statement on the rolls was
proved at the trial, and in all prob
ability the omitted valuation will be
entered on the rolls for 1912, the
law not permitting it's entry for es-