The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1914-08-13
v. ]. ROBINSON
GIVES REASONS
For County Commissioners, 40.
tion IN Regard to Leased
Railway Sites
STATEMENT TO The PUBLIC

railway Sites
STATEMENT TO THE PUBLIC
Which M!ll % Read with Inter-
est Whether You Approve
Or otsapprove
Wahpeton, N. d., Aug. II, 1914.
10 the Editor of the Times
Several of the newspapers Of
he county have made inquiry as
o the reasons for the Richland
iounty Board of Equalization
lullifying the assessment of leas-
ID sites ON railroad property as
assessed under orders of the state
ak commission. and last Thurs
!ays Fargo Forum contained the
oilowlng article concerning my
'elt and evidently inspired by a
certain member of the tax COM
mission.
STATE TAX COMMISSION
MAY BRING CHARGES 10
REMOVE COUNTY OFFICIAL
That it is probable the
North Dakota State Tax com
mission may take active steps
TO remove from office w. J.
Robinson of Wahpeton.
County Board of Commits
sloners. was noA denied today
by two of the commissioners
when they We're here to con-
fer with officials of the local
branch of the Standard Oil
Company.
1t is stated that an opin-
ion has been rendered hv
Judge John Carmody, assist
ant attorney general that Mr..
Robinson is subject to re-
moval from Office.
The Commissioners if ;s
understood. charge Mr.. Rob
lhson a prominent lumber
man of Wahpeton with hav-
ing the Richland County
commissioners take no ac-
tiOn to assess certain proper
ties he himself holds in that
city along the Great Northern
right of way.
For the information of the pub.
nc, who have right to know the
lacts and also in justice to myself
ana 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 as
'essing OF leased sites on railroad
tights OF way to the renters of the
property hut this law apparently
conflicts with the state constitu.
ION and has never been enforced.
leased railroad property has new
y been taxed in any of the coun.
les OF the State, except in isOla.
ed Instances for special reasons
I being taken for granted that the
property should be taxed to- the
.allroads and that the railroad tax
ixed by the State board of equali-
.allon covered all property be-
onglng to the roads.
sometime last year the state fax
commission took it upon them
selves to assess all leased sites on
abroad right of ways to the par
.les renting the property and also
10 assess all property both real
and personal belonging to lodges.
clubs, fraternal So.
;letles and also to- make separate
assessment of structures on leas-
ad sites. These latter have al
ways been assessed either as pro-
perty on railroad right of way or
as part OF the personal property
of the owners.
An employee of the tax COM
mission made a trip over the state
ana made pretense of listilt. all
Sucn property named above par
Llcularly leased sites on railroad
right OF way. Letters were then
sent to the Auditors of the several
counties instructing them to place
on the tax rolls all such property
and to collect back taxes for the
years 1908. 1909. 1910, 1911, 1912
and 1913.
This assessment was so notice.
ably unfair and such radical de-
Darture from the methods of as
sessing for the past thirty years
that there has been strong oppo-
sition in nearly all parts of the
state. am not reliably inform
ed as to the action of the boards
Of equalization in any counties
except that of Cass, where the
board ignored the instructions as
TO back taxes and practically null
!ified the tax for 1914 but in a diff
ferent manner from that pursued
in this county. In this county
The county auditor followed the
instructions of the tax commits
sion and laid the matter before
The county board.
The Richland County Board re-
1uced the assessment of leased
sites on railroad right of way one
hundred per cent which wipes out
The assessment. This was done
for the following reasons:
list. Leased sites have never
been assessed to the renters. The
property belongs to the railroads
and there is no valid reason Yhy
it should be assessed to any one
else. nor in the opinion of the
board could the tax be enforced
against any one other than the
The railroads are as
sessed by the state board and the
county commissioners have moth.
ing to do with tie assessing Of
property.
CONTINUED on page 81