The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-08-12
wahpeton, N. D., Aug. II, 1914.

Wahpeton, N. D., Aug. IL, 1914.
To the Editor of the Fargo FORUM
Several of the newspapers Of he
county have made inquiry as to the
reasons for the Richland county board
Of equalization multiplying the assess
ment of leased sites on railroad prop
erty as assessed under orders of the
state tax commission, and last Thurs
days Fargo Forum contained the fol-
lowing article concerning myself and
evidently inspired by a certain member
OF the tax commission.
state tax commission may bring
charges to remove county official.
That Is it probable the North Dakota
state tax commission may take active
steps to remove from office w. J.. Rob-
inson of Wahpeton, chairman of the
ers, was not denied today by two of
the commissioners when they were here
to confer with officials of the local
branch of the Standard Oil company.
1t Is stated that an opinion has been
rendered by Judge John Carmody, as
sistant attorney general that Mr.. Rob-
inson is subject to removal from Of
flee.
The commissioners, it is understood,
charge Mr.. Robinson, a prominent lum-
herman of Wahpeton with having the
Richland county commissioners take no
action to assess certain properties he
| himself holds in that city along the
Great Northern right of way"
For the information of the public,
| who have a right to know the facts and
| also in justice to myself and the other
| members of the county board / have
| prepared the following statement.
An old law that has been on the
| statute books for nearly thirty years
| seems to provide for the assessing OF
| leased sites on railroad right of way to
the renters of the property but this
law apparently conflicts with the state
| constitution and has never been en-
forced. Leased railroad property has
never been taxed in any of the counties
! of the state. except in isolated instanc-
| es for special reasons 1T being taken
| for granted that the property Mould be
| taxed to the railroads n that the rail
| road tax fixed by the state board of
| equalization covered all property be-
| longing to the roads.
Sometime last year the state tax
| commission took it upon themselves to
assess all leased site on railroad right
of. ways to the parties renting the
| property and also to assess all property
| both real and personal belonging to
| lodges, commercial clubs, fraternal So
| cieties and also to make separate as
sessment of structures on leased sites,
| These latter. hav always been assessed
| either as property or railroad right OF
way or as part OF the personal property
of the wners.
An employee of the tax commission
made a trip over the state and made a
pretense of listing all such property
named above particularly leased sites
on railroad right of way. Letters were
then sent to the auditors of the several
counties in]structing them to place on
the tax rolls all such property and to
collect back taxes for the years 1908
1908, 1910, 1911, 1919 and 1913.
This assessment was SO noticeably III
fair and such a radical departure from
the methods of. assessing for the past
thirty years that there has been strong
opposition in nearly all parts of the