The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1916-05-06

Many land buyers arrived in Be-
midi today to attend the tax judg-
ment sale which will be held at the
court house Monday. The sale will
begin at ten o'clock in the morning
and j. L. George, county auditor, will
be in charge. 1t is expected that the
sale will last for several days as was
the case last year.
Under Volstead Act.
The sale will be held under the
Volstead act. The act provides that
lands in the drainage district which
have been unentered or unpatented,
may be sold at $1.25 per acre, plus
the usual filing fees, to pay for the
ditching charges. The land is usual
ly sold in 40-acre tracts and the sale
is restricted to 160-acre allotments.
Bidding Keen.
AS several parties are known to be
after the same tracts Of land it is
believed that the bidding will be
keen. All funds received in excess
of the assessment are at present turn
ed over to the government. County
Auditor George recently went to
Washington to secure an amendment
to the Volstead act so that all funds
in excess should be turned over to
the county for the maintenance of
bitches.
Lands Assessed.
In 1908, the government possessed
millions of acres Of swamp lands in
Northern Minnesota which were prac-
tically worthless In that year con-
gress enacted the law providing that
these lands should become subject to
the laws of the state relating to the
drainage of the lands for agricultural
purposes and that the cost of such
drainage should be assessed to the
lands benefited, and the collection of
such benefits should be made in the
same as was the collection of other
taxes, but no obligating the govern
ment in any way.
The following information is given
as to the conducting of the sale:
After a ditch has been established
by the court, the contract for con-
struction is let, and lien is filed
against all the lands benefited by
the ditch, whether owned privately
or by the government.
Lien Twenty Years.
This lien extends for twenty years,
the principle payable in fifteen an
nual installments after the first five
years, the interest payable on all un-
paid balance every year.
If the first years interest is not
paid, it becomes delinquent with
other taxes of that year, and is ad-
vertised with other taxes, and sold
at the annual tax sale.
Under the terms of the "Volstead
Act" of May 20, 1908, purchasers
at this tax sale, may bid on these
government lands, and are entitled
to file on the unentered lands for
homesteads, provided they possess
the required homestead qualifications
and pay to the government the mini
mum price of $1.25 per acre, and the
government fees, on presentation of
the tax certificate at the land office.
Money to Government.
The act also provided that any ex-
cess of money received by the county
auditor over and above the total
drainage assessment shall be paid to
the government as a bonus for the
land, before patent shall be issued.
In accordance with this provision,
bids for any amount will be consider
ed by the auditor in making the sale.
This amount up to the amount OF
the total drainage assessment will
be credited to the ditch lien on the
land. and a satisfaction filed with
the register of deeds to that effect
Bonus is Paid.
For an example, the SW of the
NE of Section %, Town 1853, Range
80 may be placed on the delinquent
tax list for $4.9S, being the amount
of delinquent interest for 1917
against that tract, account of ditcf
No. 10 lien.
The total assessment against thi'
forty may be $116.S0 from benefits
derived from that ditch, which will
the interest for 1914, being to Jun'
/, 1915, and which may be said tt
amount to $7.O1, would make tota
of $123.S1.
Now if several parties interested
in this particular tract should BIZ
it up to $4.00 an acre over and abov'
the delinquent tax, the lien woul'
be satisfied entirely, and the balance
s36.19, would be paid to the govern
ment as bonus. .1. ....... r.
Should the bids only reach $40
an acre on this tract, the lien woul'
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