St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1915-01-01
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lie is again made manifest.
The city of st. Johns, through
its council, has decided to pur.
chase five acres of ground for
cemetery purposes. Two of the
councilmen have protested again
st the selection of a tract known
as the Cation tract for which
the sum of $1,000 per acre is
asked. The records of the
county assessor show that the
land is assessed at the rate of
approximately $33. 33 per acre.
The protesting councilmen are
unable to see any good reason
why there should be such a re-
markable increase since the
assessor made his visit, even
though the ground il intended
to be a burial place for the dead.
There are great many tax
payers who take the same view
of the matter, even though the
land were assessed at $50 or $500
per acre. This is one reason
that taxes are high. They will
continue to be high so long as
the taxpayer remains Indifferent
to the price paid for land for
public use. when compared with
its assessed valuation. Editorial
in Portland Journal.
Because the land is assessed at
a low price is not the fault of
the councilmen. surely. People
as a rule pay for land what they
are able TO get il for. and not
what IL is assessed at. IL is not
by any means the only instance
on the lower peninsula where
the assessed valuation is far be-
low the actual value of the land.
There is not a piece Of land on
the whole peninsula that can be
secured for cemetery purposes
at anywhere near its assessed
valuation, il is safe TO say.
Portland never secured any land
for public purposes at its as
sessed valuation, or anyways
near il. and st. Johns would
never have owned anything il
IL did not pay more than the
land was assessed at. Had the
land in question been assessed
at $1,000 an acre il would be no
more valuable than at its present
assessed valuation. The as
sessed valuation of land on the
whole peninsula is at variance
with the actual worth. The |
actual worth Of anything can
only be determined by what il |
can be secured for under or
dinary conditions. Put almost |
the entire water frontage of St. |
Johns on the market at twice |
its assessed valuation and il |
would he gobbled up with
startling rapidity. What has
the assessed valuation of land in
Multnomah county got TO do with
the selling value. anyway?l
As far as the price of $1,000
per acre is concerned on the
land contemplated for cemetery
purposes, by the terms of the
as we understand il. IL
will be of slight burden to the
city of st. Johns. The money
on the purchase price is paid as
received on sale of burial lots.
and does not come out of the
general fund. II is said that
from one acre sold in burial lots
at the regulation price of ten
dollars a grave, more than $4,000
would be realized.
While the councilmen as a
whole are aware that the price
asked is a stiff one, yet in order ,
TO gain cemetery land suitable
for the purpose at a lower price
seemed TO be out of the ques-
lion. AT least no one offered to
sell at a price as low, while the [
,ouncilmen We're looking up
available land for the purpose. {
There are very few people, ap- Z
)arently. that will have a ceme- i
cry on a portion of their land O
It any price. IL might also be L
we'll TO remember that the five d
lcres in question are by far the {
choicest of a considerable tract c
# land i'm that neighborhood. o
)ff and on for the past eight |
ears the Review has agitated (
he cemetery project for ST, b
ohns. AT various times a
,arties have tried to secure land L
or the purpose. but the price
las always seemed prohibitive. L
10 il finally resolved itself to the ii
act that st. Johns would either is
ave TO pay the price or do with Il
ut a cemetery. Il
That a cemetery is needed for OF
I. Johns none can gainsay. la
here is no city of its popula- I
on in the United States, il is ii
aid. that does not have a bury fin
lg ground. The saving to III
lose who are so unfortunate as uI
, have to bear the expenses of al
funeral will be quite a few la
ollars. And since the land Sc ey
lred will be of little or no bur- Ii
IN to the taxpayers, even if da
Ie land does cost much more da
ian it is assessed at. who is TO
armed by the transaction? 1t tel