The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-09-02
gu TOWER LAND
MUCH DELINQUENT


TION INQUIRY GIVES OPIN-
IoN-BEST USE OF LAND I'M
NORTHERN PART OF STATEl
FOR FORESTRY - SOLUTION
TO TAX DELINQUENCY.
Prof. H. H. Chapman, SeniorI
Forester on the U. S. Taxation In
quiry, following a recent visit to the|
northern part of Minnesota with the|
State Interim commission has giyen|
his opinion on the taxation and rel
forestation question in the follow
ing:
The formerly forested area in
Northern Minnesota is approx
mately 100000 acres. This lies
largely in sixteen counties. After
three decades of effort to bring this
region into agricultural use follow
ing the cutting of pine and other
timber, it is now possible to take
stock of the results as shown in the
census figures for agriculture.
These figures reveal that for this
region in 1925, 1884 per cent of
the surface was owned by farmers
engaged in tilling the soil as COM
pared with 1854 per cent similarly
owned for the rest of the state. The
amount of land put under the pillow
totaled 5.44 per cent as against
65.O8 per cent for the remainder of
the state. At the rate of increase
shown between 1900 and 1925, it,
would take 165 years to bring into
farm ownership the remaining lands
which on a liberal estimate has
possibility of agricultural value,
and it would require $50 years to-
put this same area under the pillow.
This indicates that there is plenty
of room for agricultural expansion
in Northern Minnesota which has
not yet taken place, while at the
same time devoting the remainder
of the area to other purposes, the
chief of which is forestry. The
amount of non-agricultural land not
included in the above area and which
is wholly unsuitable for farms con-
stitutes 10,545, 900 acres or 1884
per cent of the total area of these
counties.
Can Produce Timber.
Quite large proportion of this
land is muskeg swamp and will pro-
duce crops of spruce or tamarack
timber if the water level can be
properly adjusted by controlling
the drainage bitches. Otherwise,
these swamps will either be too wet
or too dry for timber.
In this region exist the only large
bodies of publicly owned land re-
naming in the state. The national
government owns 2,13S,0O0 acres or
11.05 per cent of the sixteen coun-
ties. The state owns 1926, 600
acres which includes state parks,
a total percentage of 9.9S per cent.
4ogether these public lands consti-
tute FL IO3 per cent of the 19,000,-
600 acres studied, and in Koochi-
ching county 47.57 per cent is thus
owned, while in Cook county the
percentage reaches 45.01 per cent.
The state, however, is in a fair way
to acquire great deal more land
under tax delinquency, the session
laws, chapter 119, of 1927 having
provided that after five years from
the date of sale for tax delinquency
the purchaser, or the state, If 1t
bids it in, will become the absolute
owner of such lands.
The delinquent tax lands are in
creasing rapidly and constitute
largely the cutover non-agricultural
lands which have no value for min
erals or recreation. In six counties,
namely, Lake, ST. Louis, Koochi-
ching, Hubbard, Cass and Beltrami,
the total area now delinquent is
2,216.O0O acres, of which 950,000I
acres have been delinquent more
than three years and is known as
absolute unredeemed" land. De-
linquent lands constitute 1897 per
cent of the total are The percent
age exclusive of ST. Louis county
is $500 per cent. If only the area
on the tax list in these counties
is considered, tax delinquent lands
amount to 27.81 per cent, but ex-
elusive of st. Louis county this has
already reached 37.72 per cent. This
delinquency is distributed between
owners of large tracts and owners
of small tracts in proportions of go
per cent to 70 per cent. Large own
ers have paid 76 per cent of their
taxes and "a per cent is delinquent.
Small owners have paid 81 per cent
and 43 per cent is delinquent.
Must Be Made Useful.
The question of delinquency is
not so much a matter of ownership
and the reason that so many small
owners are delinquent is that they
purchased these lands from large
owners and were unable to make
profit out of them. Unless a use
is found for cut-over lands which
will permit owners to pay taxes,
delinquency will occur whether the
tracts are large or small. There are|
two typical reasons for tax delin-
quency, a. high taxes and (2) lowl
values, due to the removal of tim
Der from the land.
Standing timber is seldom, i'll
ever, tax delinquent, and the same
is true of land on lake shores havingl
a value for recreation, or lands onI
which mineral values are present.