Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1929-11-21

go to these gentlemen and collect
even $50 of the taxes? The owners
of those lands see the future. the
bonded Indebtedness staring them in
the face and no chance for relief as
long as the bonds are there.
The assessed valuation on wild
lands in those townships is not any
higher than on wild lands of other
| townships and even much lower than
wild lands in some of the townships
of the county. If the assessed valu
alton is cut down that will autOmati-
cally raise the mill rate from 100 or
more as at present to 200 or 300 mills,
depending on how much the assessed
valuation is reduced, because the
same amount of money must be raised
to meet the obligations of bonds and
other levies whether the valuation is
$1.OO an acre or $1,000. 1t means the
same amount of dollars in actual
taxes, so there is no relief there. The
spectators all know this and they
also know they can't sell the land
under present conditions, so they have
practically all quit paying taxes.
There is some tax delinquency all over
the county, but this is mostly on
lands that are sandy, stony, or
swampy. Such lands have no value
and we can't expect taxes from them
So what will we do with a tax COL
lector?
Thanks to our county commissioners
for having the courage to say NO
when these sharpshoOters appear
footing their tin horns. l also wish
to compliment Mr.. Petersen for pub
fishing those letters and informing
the public as to what is going on in
the county. He is opposed to creating
new job in the county and | think
that is his own privilege, think that
he is right and his efforts should be
appreciated by every taxpayer of the
county when he comes out in the
open and tells these sharpshooters
where to head in at. They come out
and accuse him of injecting cheap
politics and trying to gain political
prestige and what not, when he is
only doing his duty as newspaper
man and public servant 1t is time
that we sit up and take notice and
when time comes to vote then vote for
the man who is himself a taxpayer
and has the taxpayers interests at
heart and who will represent his con-
stituents and not his own selfish in
terests or some political machine
| h .h s, trI
land a soft job on the county or state.
We have too many bureaus, depart
ments, appointive offices and jobs al
ready and those are the boys that
are responsible for our high taxes.
They tell us what to do and how we
must do it. That is just what makes
our taxes so high. 1t is time we call
a halt and instead of putting more
of these boys on our payroll take a
few of them off. Let us get busy and
do little political house cleaning
and elect only such men that have
for these principles, will play a fair
political game, and then we will have
accomplished a relief and things will
right themselves automatically.
Pine county is in much better shape
financially than many other counties
of the state, and yet to listen to these
calamity howlers you would think
that we are all ruined. Mr.. Rash
says he can see the hand writing on
the wall and that if the same con-
ditions continue to prevail, inside of
ten years all of Pine county will be
in the same financial situation as now
prevails in the northeastern townships
of the county. He says the same
holds true of the state, that all of
the state will be in the same boat
as the northern counties inside of
ten years if the same conditions con-
tinue to prevail. Well considering
where the statement comes from it
is not very surprising, neither very
alarming. Will say that if we all
follow Mr. Rash and use the same
methods as used in Belden township
we surely will go broke. But 1,
taxpayer of Pine county for the past
40 years, say that we are not going
broke, if we can keep our heads and
stand on our feet as Mr.. MOsbak
said in one of his letters to the Amer
lean some time ago. l think it is a
good statement: Don't lose your
head and stand on your feet"
Ever interested in Pine county af
fairs, l am
Yours truly,
STANLEY ZIGMANT.
Rural Route g Willow River, MINI.