Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1913-10-14

Continued from Page One).
parts Of the state in which the great.
est opportunities for settlers are be-
ing offered and in which the great
est actual development IL taking
place. the new law will appeal par.
ticularly to this section and promises
to be a boon for those having large
tracts Of land for sale.''
Conditions Of Exemption
Following is the reading Of the law
officially styled House Enrolled Bill
No. Jss:
8, hereafter any cut-over or
wild lands. as described herein. which
shall be actually purchased by q per.
son for the purpose Of making q home
shall be exempt from the payment Of
all taxes for period of FIVE years
thereafter. Cut-over and wild lands
shall be construed to mean any swamp
lands or lands from which the tim
Der has been removed and no part
Of which description claimed to be
exempted has ever been cultivated.
The exemption herein provided for
shall not be operative in any case.
unless the purchaser, either upon
contract or otherwise. actually re-
sides upon and improves at least two
acres there each and every year of
the said FIVE years in a manner to
subject the same to cultivation. Pro-
vided that the exemption here provid.
ed shall not extend to more than
eighty acres purchased by any one
person.
Sec 2.-Any person claiming ex.
emption under this act shall make ap-
plication to the supervisor for ex.
emption as the assessment Of the
township is being made, and the su-
pervisor shall enter the persons
name upon the assessment roll and
the description Of the land the same
as the taxes we're to be spread upon
the land. and refer the application
to the board of review Of the town.
ship who shall, when the conditions
emitting exemption have been com.
piled with, order to be written after
the description, Exempt under the
cut.over and wild land act thereafter
II the conditions have been complied
with, but using second, third, fourth,
fifth year successfully, after which
the land is to be mo longer exempt
under this act"
have heard the same principle
urged upon the coast by commercial
bodies in reference to new industries
such as mills. factories, etc. Their
argument that new institution EN-.
ploying labor, and thus adding to the
pay roll of the city should be en-.
couraged and not taxed its full share
for year or 80 until it got upon a
paying basis, because the advantage
Of having the industry in successful
operation more than overcomes the
temporary loss of taxes. While this
argument, backed by the influence
of heavy taxpayers, has often infiu-
enced the assessor and the board OF
equalization, still it has no standing
in law
II, however, the principle is wise,
fair and successful for new indus
tries, then why not also apply it to
the new farms? Personally be-
lieve the same amount of capital and
labor put into new farms will do our
towns and cities more good than some
manufacturing concerns. believe
one hundred people on farms tribu-
tary to a town are of more value
than If employed in town. Much of
western Washington is top heavy
with towns.
Furthermore. If the principle is
wise, and satisfactory to our people,
then it should be put into law and
not done in spite of, or contrary to,
the law
AS to just how strong an induce
ment to clear land, free taxes would
be, opinion will widely differ. What
the temporary loss would be, and the
increased gain after the land was in
cultivation, would require statistics
from the various county assessors
and the tax commissioners.
My idea as to the practical appli-
cation of this would be: Any owner
of cut-over land, whether ten acres
or thousand acres could apply to
the county and the owner and the
county enter into an agreement
whereby the land would be exempt
from taxes for say, five years, and
during this time the land was to be
cleared and put into shape for cult
walton, and at the end of the period
the land would be assessed upon the
that immediate neighborhoOd. In
case, however, that the land was not
cleared during the specified time, the
assessment should still be made up
on the basis Of cleared land and all
future assessment should be so
made. Before signing the agreement,
OF course. the county would satisfy
itself that the land was agricultur-
al land worth clearing, etc.
The fact that the increased valua-
ton would apply at the end of the
specified period. regardless of wheth-
er the land was completely cleared
| Or mt would cerfainlY shut out most