Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-01-17

The meeting was one called several
weeks ago by the board of equalization
with view to arriving at proper
and uniform basis of timber assessments
among the counties for the coming
year. 1t was conducted in the hall of
the house Of representatives with a
large attendance of county commission
ers and assessors Of Fathead, Lin
coin, Missoula, Powell, Granite, Sand
ers, Ravalli and Mineral counties.
Tax Agents Present
I. There were also officials representing
the public service commission, the for
estry office and other state depart
ments together with lawyers official and
tax agents Of the Weston Montana
Lumber company, the Neills Lumber
company, the State Lumber company,
the Somers EaifiDDaef cufn panysthe Howe
Lumber company, the Clark Montana
Realty company, the Anaconda Copper
Mining company, the Northern Pacific
railway and other owners of timber
lands.
Sidney NJ. Logan, an attorney of
Kaispell, representing the combined
timber interests of Flathead, Lincoln,
Ravalli. Sanders and Mineral counties,
conducted the case for the lumber men
and opened with statement to the
effect that the timber lands Of western
Montana have been assessed far in ex-
cess of their values and that if the sys-
tenn is persisted in it will mean confis-
cation.
Attacks Assessed Values
He said the government valuations of
timber is far below that fixed by the as
SCISSORS, selling the timber at an aver
age of about $1.5O per thousand feet,
that the land, with the timber standing
upon it, is of no value and that much
; of the timber, larch, fir and spruce, has
no market value.
Walter Neills, general manager of
the Neills Lumber company. Libby,
testified at length concerning that COM
pany's properties in Lincoln county. He
said the forestry service was selling
larch and spruce at so cents to 81 per
thousand and that as to pine, 15O,-
100000 feet of lumber of which 50
per cent was pine, had been sold in
Lincoln county, practically all along
the kootenai river, at approximately 81
per thousand feet He said his company
had bought government timber a year
ago, running 30 per cent pine, at 81
per thousand
Lose 50 Thousand
He stated that with q small market
for spruce and fir in the middle west
his company had sold that class of lum-
ber at loss of 50 per thousand, and
that for the year 1921 had operated on
all classes of lumber at q oss of $3.50
per thousand.
As to the value of cut-over lands he
said the only market was for few
small tracts with springs of water upon
them, which had been sold at about 81
per acre, that the Libby creek coun-
try was mostly gravel and farming
could not be carried on successfully
and but little had ever been leased for
grazing, several quarter sections being
leased at from s. to $40 per year for
that purpose.
He said his company has approx
mately 35O,OOOOOO feet of timber in
Lincoln county which is assessed at So
per thousand for pine, 81 for larch and
81 per acre for the ground, approx
mately $3.50 per acre.
Hill Operations Costly
George Millett, land agent for the
Neills Lumber company, said the gov
ernment had sold from 1911 to 1921,
inclusive, 16O,OO0,0OO feet of timber in
Lincoln county, at an average price of
$2.32 per thousand, that most of the
timber cut had been taken from the
valleys and the companies are now
working on the sidehills at cost of
30 per cent more than the timber al
ready logged
He said the Libby Lumber company.
predecessor of the Ncills Lumber com
pany, had in 1915 paid $16,749 in taxes
upon 102,g5O acres Of land, that in
1921 the Neills and the Libby com
panies paid $21,S7O upon but 9S,23S
acres Of timber and that during this
period 261 ,OOO,O 900 feet of timber had
been cut and removed from the land.
He thought the average value of the
cute lands was about 81 per acre.
that the sales had been made at an
average price of So and that some
OF the land could not be sold at any
price.
The commissioners and assessors
from several counties here took excep-
ton to the manner in which the in
uuiry was Ibeing conducted, one object
~ saying he was encOuntering quasi
judicial procedure, that the timber in