The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-02-05
Calls For an Appropriation of Ten
Cents an Acre to be Spent Under
Direction of Forestry Board
REINFORCEMENT BILL READY
Koochiching and Beltrami to be
Coupled With One Senator and
Two Representatives
~ United Press.

St. Paul, MINI. Feb. 5.-The agita-
ton for roads in Koochiching county
is bearing fruit. Monday Sen. M. L..
Fosseen, Minneapolis, introduced a
bill which will mean a state revenue
Of about $8S,500 for the county if it
passes. Tuesday the house and senate
both adopted a resolution for the ap-
pointment of three of It's members to
attend today's, good roads congress at
International Falls.
The Fosseen bill provides that all
state lands in counties where there
are more than 5000 acres of state
lands, shall be taxed ten cents an
acre, and that the revenue from this
taxation shall be used to build roads,
firebrakes, and bitches, in order to
preserve the timber by preventing
It's destruction by forest fires.
Koochiching county has about
200 acres ef~state- lands. This
is more than two< thirds the area Of
the entire county. Owing to the
fact that state lands are not sub
ject to taxation, the owners of one
third the property must pay the cast
of building roads in the entire coun-
ty or do without them. They have
chosen the latter course, because in
the former case taxes would amount
to as much as the value of the land.
Homesteaders Leave County.
The result is that a majority of
settlers leave the county after they
prove up on their homesteads. There
is no use growing farm products as
the absence of roads makes it i'm
possible to haul them to market.
Beltrami and adjacent counties, in
addition to benetiting from the agri-
cultural development which is bound
to result when Koochiching county
builds network of roads, may also
take advantage of the Fosseen bill,
if it becomes law.
The bin makes an appropriation
Of $4,000 which is to become i'm
mediately available, and which us
to be spent under the direction Of the
highway commission and the state
forestry board. .....
The house reapportionment COM
mittees Tuesday had the draft
Of bill, drawn by it's subcommittee
and embracing practically the same
scheme of redistricting under consid-
Grafton in the senate committee. The
bill provides for a legislature COM
posed of sixty-flye senators and 1926
representatives..
One of the additional senators goes
to the seventh and the. other to the
second congressional district. The
population basis used for each sena-
torial district is 31,91S. The plan
Of redistricting follows, the first num-
Der in each instance being the num-
Der of senators and the second the
number of representatives allotted
each district. 49,. .-..
Coupled With Koochinching
Fillmore and Houston, 1-3; Win
ona 1-2; Olmstead and Wabasha, IL,
Mower and Dodge, IL; Freeborn,
Ii; Faribault, Ii; Blue Earth, -;
Martin and Watonwan, IL; Cotton
wood and Jackson, IL; Rock and
Mobiles, IL; Lincoln, Pipestone and
Murray, 1-3; Lyon and Yellow Medi-
cine, 1-2; Redwood and Brown, IL;
Nicollet and LIE Sueur, IL; Waseca
and Eteele, ID.
Rice, Ii; Goodhue, IL; Dakota,
IL; Scott and Carver, IL; Mcleod
and Sibley, IL; Renville, IL; Lac
qui Parle and Chippewa, l-2; Swift
and Kandiyohi, IL; Meeker. IL
Wright, IL; Hennepin, SIS; Ram
sey, 6-12: Washington. II; Anoka
and Sherburne, IL; Benton and city
Of st. Cloud, IL; remainder OF
stearns county. 1-2; Pope and Doug