The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-03-08
Ditch Assessments Are Not Being Paid
And Will Fall Back On Settlers
Here Now.
DRAINAGE PROJECTS IMPORTANT
Water Must Be Carried Away Before
Crops Can Be Raised-Non-
Residence Clause.

J.J. Opsahl. of this city, has draft
ed an amendment to the Volsted act
which he believes will hasten the op-
ening up of the hundreds of acres of
wild land in Beltrami county. Mr..
Opsahl recently appeared before the
board of county commissioners and
pointed out that under the present
act, patents to swamp lands cannot be
obtained because the land is unfit
for residences.
He proposes, therefore, to amend
the Volsted act so that it will permit
the issuing of patents on swamp lands
after ten percent of the land has been
improved by blowing and providing
that the homesteaders need not actu-
ally reside on the land in question.
1t also provides that where the land
is too wet to be plowed, it shall be
sowed to timothy and red top.
The point of main interest to Bel
trami county is that these lands, of
which there are nearly 100000
acres unclaimed, are not on the tax
lists and the costs of ditch and road
improvements must be borne by the
present settlers of about one-third Of
the county. He proposes that as soon
as piece of swamp land is filed upon,
the land is at once put on the tax
list and title will not be issued until
the land Office is notified that all taxes
standing against the land have been
paid.
The land in this county which is
being drained is assessed pro rata
according to the benefits received by
the drainage. These assessments are
charged against the land and as soon
as it is filed upon, the assessments
become a lien by the county. The
point Is, however, that hundreds Of
acres are so wet before they are drain
ed that they are unfit for residence
purposes. Consequently they are not
settled upon.
Mr.. Opsahl's remedy is to allow per-
sons with homestead rights to file on
this land without having to live upon
1t and at once put the land on the
tax lists so that it will have to bear
Its share of the county and state ex-
pense People will take up the land
If they do not have to live upon it for
they will be able to cultivate part
of it anyway. The lands in question
have been open to entry for twenty
years, have not been touched and may
not be for another twenty unless some
amendment is made to the Volstead
act.
Beltrami county is facing a seri-
GUS problem. Vast sums of money
are being spent on drainage projects.
These sums are raised by bonding the
county and the county raises funds
to meet these bonds by levying
against the land benefited. Thous-
ands of these acres belong to the 60
vernment which does not pay and
the assessments go on the delinquent
tax list. All Of this money must be
raised from the county at large the
next year in order that the bonds
will be taken when when due.
They county cannot get the assess
ments on government land until it is
taken up. AS this takes from three
to five years, it means taht the people
already here and the lands already
on the tax list must bear the cost of
these drainage schemes for that per-
iod Of time. Mr.. Opsahl's remedy
would put hundreds of these acres on
the tax list at once and so save the
people that extra taxation. 49,.
At some time the county will be re-
paid all of the money that is being
spent now for bitches and the ac-
companying roads. But in the mean
time the money must be raised by tax
alton, which is even now high, unless
some remedy is found at once. When
the money starts coming in from these
lands five or six years hence, 1t will
mean lower taxes, but In the mean
time the money of the settler already
here is gone. The Opsahl amend
ment follows:
An Act,
TO reclaim certain swamp lands on