Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-06-14
DIVERGENCE o. vlEws o. IOWA
MEN AZ 70 REAL VALUE o.
FARMING LANos.
sELL ron MORE
WHEN Loho TIME 70 o,vEh
Secretary Dawson Receives Rspliss g
Answsrs Sent Out 70 oislntsrsstsd
Persons Values Vary WILDLY II Al.
joining Counties and Evsn Ii csun-
tiss-Mary FssAsrs Enter.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Moines. June l4.--What 10 the
true average cash sale value Of Iowa
lands?' It 10 . question that the state
officials will try to answer next month
when they meet TO consider assess
ton Is not 80 easily answered,
~ Secretary Dawson. or the state exec.
utive council. sent out to individuals
In the state, about twenty to . coun-
ty, certain blanks for individual ESTE
mates as to land values in each local.
tiy. Hundreds Of these blanks have
been returned. The state officials will
have access to them In. considering
land valuation.
These reports are wonderfully In
structive." said Secretary DAWSON.
"They will give the members of the
council more information on that sub
jec. than state officials have ever had
before. But they are a revelation to
me in some respects. as for instance, in
the great variation in actual value of
land In different counties Of the state,
the variation In q single county. the
great difference there 10 between the
estimates Of good men on land values.
and as to the various elements which
men regard as entering into the ques-
ton of land values"
Some effort will be made to classify
the answers and to get general results.
This will be difficult because Of the
variations. The men asked for their
estimates. in most instances, gave fair
and honest opinions. tho 1t ID plain in
some cases the correspondents were
biased by personal interest. 4 number
of important questions were raised as
to what constitutes land value.
Few Cash Sales Made.
One question raised Is rs to whether
there is any cash sale value OF land.
One man said he had been selling Iowa
farms many years and never made but
one sale that was for cash. Practically
all sales are made on long time at low
rates Of interest, and men because OF
this fact pay more than they would II
they were paying cash. Actual sale
price IS therefore not actual cash
price.
Another element In fixing sale prices
is that many tracts Of land are pur-
chased to piece out q farm or set adj
joining land or for personal and family
reasons and actual prices paid are
above what IL regarded ~ real value.
) : Some Of the correapondents insist
that selling price does not determine
value. but II must be bahed on what
Tretuprns can % Rot from the land. The
revenue basis % considered in all other
matters, why not in regard to land?
some persons point out that in
certain county or township the rental
price Of land Is so much while else
where 1t is greatly different. That In
dicates vast difference in what the
men who actually farm the land regard
1t as worth.
Then there Is the element which
must be considered that the character
of the population, as to progresstveness
or otherwise, has great deal to do
with making actual value Of the land.
In some parts of the state the land
has been impoverished by poor farm
ing: elsewhere the land Is enriched oy
good farming. The character OF the
improvements also has much to DO
with value.
When the state executive council has
finished study Of all these questions
the state officials will be better In
formed as to how to arrive at the ave-
rage value Of farm lands in Iowa than
thew are now. And those who jump
at conclusions and are ready to say
off-hand that Iowa farm lands are
worth so much will have another guess
coming.