Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-10-25
IMPROVEMENTS
) ARE NOT TAXED
Western Canada Does Not Tax
Stock or Improvements but
Collects an Additional Tax
From Land Spectators.

Owners of uncultivated lands in
Western Canada are loud in their pro
tests against an extra tax on their
lands because they are not under Gull
tivation. Western Canada. through it's
provincial governments, is endeavor-
ing to force the speculative land owner
to either sell his land to Il settler or to
cultivate 1t himself. AT present a sur
tax of q few cents an acre is levied
against all Wild land. so that the own
er of land held In its natural state.
without improvements, is contributing
more taxes to the government than h
owner Of a farm that is cultivated and
eve improved with buildings and
stock to the value of thousands of dol
lars. In order to encourage he farm
er to improve and to go into stock rails
ing, he is no charged one cent of taxes
on any of his improvements. imple-
ments or stock of any kind.
AS n result of this SurtaN ON an
cultivated or speculatively held lands.
the owners are now trying to sell them
to actual settlers, and, in nearly every
instance, have been Offering on very
CdtSN lSIIiS vi pay iISilt, uNustiiS 81 HNN'
ter down, and the balance extending
over II term of years at prices much
lower thar their productive value
would warrant.
a worldwide shortage in farm stuffs
has given Il new value to all asIicul-
tural products and the margin of profit
today is greater than ever in the past.
1t is true labor and implements have
Increased in price, but it is now pos
sible to secure 500 profit in farming.
and higher. Possibly not on the 500
to 5000 an acre farm lands but on land
that can now, under existing condi-
lions, be purchased ut from SIS to $50
per acre. Western Canadian farm
lands are as productive as any in the
world and can be as economically
farmed. Wheat yields of from 30 tn
so bushels per acre have been common
IN Western Canada during the past
few years, and the farmers have been
too busy farming all they can so as tn
4 bushel, that they have not had time
to do any talking or writing. 1t is
doubtful If there eve was such an
opportunity to make big profits In
farming. The value of each years
crop has been in hundreds Of cases
more than the market value of the
land 1t was grown on. 1t is UNI
reasonable to suppose such q con-
dition will last long, rs the land nov
being forced onto the market by sur
tax on speculative owners will soon
become absorbed by those who have
learned of these highly profitable,
wheat lands. The news is spreading
gradually throughout the high priced
land districts III the United States,
where there is II renewed awakening
to the realization that the maximum
profit in farming is not heing obtained
when it is possible to secure from
forty to seventy per cent return on the
investment in Western Canada. Many
ern Canada for the purpose of person
ally investigating conditions are leav-
ing this month, when the good weather
al be enjoyed. AS threshing opera
lions and marketing of grain is under
way, no better time could be selected
to secure first hand and reliable infor-
nation from the farmers themselves.
The winter months afford ample time
for completing moving arrangements,
to allow the settler to take up resi-
dence in early spring, so as to get
something done e yea and to make
. a start on the big and profitable farm
ing operations In Western Canada
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