The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1919-05-22
COUNTY AUDITORS CLOSE
SUCCESSFUL SESSION


COUNTY AUDITORS CLOSE
SUCCESSFUL SESSION
Choose Bismarck for Next Conven.
ton. Present Session Best in
History of Association.
The County Auditors are holding
their annual convention in this city
yesterday and today. The meeting
is the best attended in the history
of the organization and there are
but few auditors absent. In addi-
ton to the auditors attending the
meeting there are noticeable a great
many county tax supervisors. In
the program this morning the prin
cipal address was given by George E.
Wallace, state tax commissioner. He
spoke on the question of redistribut-
ing the taxes paid by the railroads
Of North Dakota In handling this
subject, the speaker among other
things said: "After years of study
on question of distributing the rail-
way taxes l am firmly convinced that
the present system is wrong. The
law now provides that the railway
valuations shall be distributed back
to the counties upon a mileage basis.
and that the county auditors shall
further distribute the valuations in
each county to the cities. villages and
townships. Also based upon the
number of miles in each taxing dis
trict. In this way, the township
which has no railway located within
its borders receives no tax from that
.,o,,~oo 60 x,,o11 Lno,s,v kho+ no
heaviest burden of taxation in this
state is our school tax. You doubt
less would be interested in COM
parison between the taxes paid by
the railways and the taxes levied by
the school district. desire to pre-
sent for your consideration two town
ships at random in Burleigh county
and also two townships in Ward
county.
''In township 1877, range rs in Bur-
leigh county, the total assessed value
on the township is $2O8,O82 and the
total. amount of taxes collected by the
township amounts to $12,185. The
railway valuation in that township
amounts to $165,O18 and the amount
paid ii taxes by the railway in that
township amounts to- 5000. The
school tax levied by the school dis
trict amounts to $4,263, thus you will
see that the railway pays an amount
of taxes equal to So ITO per cent Of
the total school tag. =
Township lao, range Is, Burleigh
county contains no railway. The
total assessed valuation amounts. to
SHOOT and the total taxes 5.140.
The !, On, ssh g !, az 81 in this township
"Ins-township adjoining Minot 81.
the,tMest we find the total assessed
valns,samounts to $367 ,655 and the
total amount of taxes $20,099. The
railway valuation amounts to $780,
O24t,and the amount of taxes paid by
thearailx,ay in the township amounts
to $11yO61 and the school tax equals
$4,Ol0. sssItf this township it is there
fore apparent that the railway pays
a tax amounting to 36 $40 per cent
of the total school tax.
Township l53, range SO, Ward
county, contains no railway. The
total valuItion of the township is
$124,297. and the total tax is $4,000
while the school tax amounts to ST.
1877"
In giving the seasons why the pre-
sent system is not equitable the speak
or in continuing on the said subject
as follows: "A county or commun.
ity without railroad facilities, Of
course, labors under a great handicap
and are not fully developed until they
have adequate railway facilities.
There is always rivalry in the diff
ferent communities when the railway
is headed their way to see who will be-
the fortunate community and capture
the prize. When the railway is fin
ally built the community through
which It is constructed is benefited
in two principal ways. First, the.
land values Immediately advance and
secondly, ready market is near ct
hand. The community which fails
to get the railway not only is further
from the market but under our pre-
sent system it is robbed of all valua-
tions assessed against the railroad
company. This is done in spite Of
the fact that the latter may indeed
produce more revenue towards the
maintenance Of the railway than the
former. This conditions cannot con-
tinue very much longer. It will pre-
sent a live question to the Legislature
at its next session and we desire to
get the informatio Of the county
auditors as to whether or not a
change is desirable, and it SO, in
what way. In distributing the taxes
it would be possible to have all the
proceeds go to the State General
Fund. If this were adopted it should
be in lieu of all other state taxes.
The distributor might be part Of the
general fund Of the state for the sup
port of State institutions and part to
state roads, or it might be distrlbut,,
ed so that the state institutions, and
roads would receive a portion Of the
benefit and the balance distributed to
the counties on d per capita basis,
with final distributions to the school
districts on basis of school popula-
ton or instead of distributing on the
basis Of school population the same
might be distributed on assessed val
nations. I am not advocating any
of these methods but have my own
private views as to which is the bet
ter. Whatever action the State Con-
ro,n&,, A ,,Js%nvc koEo will