The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-05-14
STATES HOME
BUILDERS LOSS
BRINGS TAXES
Tax Now Being levied Not
Sufficient, and Is Likely
To BE Continued
HOW, LOSS IS FIGURED
$24O,OOO Now Levied TO Make
Up Deficit in Four Years
BY Taxation

The sins of the Home Building As
ISOLATION of North Dakota, one of
the state owned industries, will be
visited on the taxpayers of the state
probably longer than was expected
when the legislature decided in 1928
to close up the business. Taxpayers
now are contributing one-twentieth
of mill of their taxes to meeting
the deficit in this enterprise, but the
amount of money which will be rails
ed by this tax for the four years it
was imposed by the legislature lro-
badly will not be sufficient to meet
the deficit. The next legislature
is likely to be asked to continue the
tax to further reduce the deficit.
The tax provided by the legislature
was calculated to raise about $4,000
year for four years, and the deficit
was estimated at about $3.50, 900. The
tax is being collected this yeal, and
reports show that $54,4566S is realiz-
ed from the tax.
The great difficulty faced by the
Industrial Commission in winding up
the business, and the difficulty which
is likely to make the deficit greater
than optimistic legislators figured
it, is that the Industrial Commission
cannot by clever "horse trades" or
plain business get any more out of
a large number of houses built by
the association than the supreme
court decided it could get.
One of the bones of contention
when the Home Building Association
was the center of state politics, was
the contention on the part of indie
pendents that the law provided no
house could be built costing more
than $4,000, while the Nonpartisan
administration held that this was not
the correct Interpretation. However,
District Judge Thomas Pugh, nomin-
ated by Nonpartisans, and the SUI
preme court, when it got through
with the case, left the IndustI ial
Commission with an order to deliver
to any person to whom an estimate,
or verbal contract, was given that his
house would not cost more than
$4,000, the house at the estimated
price.
Settled At Estimate
There were Is houses built which
the state owned enterprise estimators
said would cost less than $4,000. AL
although some of these houses actu-
ally cost the state $4,000 to $4,000
more than the estimate, the Indus
trial Commission must deliver the
house at the estimated price. For
example, one house in Fargo was es-
timated to cost $4,700. 1t actually
cost $7,572.67. The state is forced
to deliver the house for 81, 700, the re-
by losing $2,s72.67 in addition to ad-
ministration cost in the liquidating
process. Another house of the same
class was estimated to cost $4,700
and actually cost $7,712.0O. These
houses are worth more than $4,700,
according to the appraisement, but
under the court decision the Indus
trial Commission must deliver the
houses at the original figure, so that
in each case the home buyer is pro-
fitting from $1,000 to $1,000 by the
mistakes Of the Home Building As
sociation employees.
ne 1uOuSCTldl 10 PRIV
ceeding as rapidly as possible to
carry out the orders Of the legisla-
ture to liquidate the Home Building
Association business. To date % of
the so houses left on the commits
sion's hands, with home buyers in
them and no price fixed, have been
settled. Excepting where the COM
mission was forced to deliver the
houses at the original price, the set
Element price has been that of APP
praisers, The commission was faced
by the problem, of getting the most
a possible out Of the houses. Under
= the court decision the home buyer
could turn the house back and de-
mand the money paid in, but most
of them have been willing to accept
the houses at fair appraised value.
Houses Settled
With the deficit of the association
\. listed at approximately $215,00G at
>present, it is apparent that final set
Elements will carry the figure to
100000 or more, or almost $4,000
house. The Association built or sold
So houses and barn. The Associa-
ton had an appropriation of 100000.
The loss on houses settled for is at
present as follows Fargo. w.
Boeing, $4,77s.64; c. L. Sonquist, ST.
386.8O; w. o. Folendorf, $3,487.96;
Edgar Potter, $2,O42.s5; Fred VIM
mer, $1,S29.33; ]. 7. Erickson, ST.
927.65; Nels Anderson, $2,33769; c..
O. Borg, $3,31s.47; A. C.sSeely---;
Bismarck. S. Fossum, $2,453.15;
A. Svendsgaard, $2,3s796; j. B. Hol-
lenbeck, $2,991.26; j. N. Hagan, $4,-
014.52; T. J. Taylor, $2,465.64; A. j..
Arnot, $2,879.77; DR.. G.. R. Lipp, $5,-
1856; George Wallace, $3,7O6.99; O..
s. Jacobson, $2,097.04; Mandan-B. l..
Surface, $2,393.lO; A. ]. Peterson,
| $2,152.91; Anton Finz, $2,710.57; w.
N. hurry, $2,O67.26.
The average loss is $2,699.31, which
is less than the average loss on
houses in cases where the Industrial
Commission was without any discre-