The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-02-22
HOUSE SAVES sioux
COUNTY DESIRE TO
81
MOVE ITS CAPITAL
Fort Yates Held InconvenientIy
Located for Transacting
/. Public Business
F0UR.YEAR TERMS : URGED
Appropriation Of $4,000 for
#. Yates Bridge Get Com
mittee Of Whole O. K.

Voting on party lines the lower
house Of the state legislature Thurs
day killed a bill to require the state
board Of equalization to consider pro-
duction value of land in arriving at
its assessed valuation. The bill caused
q lively debate.
Whether Sioux county should have
the right to move its county seat from
Fort Yates to Selfridge by a ma
jority vote also brought fight on the
floor. The house finally adopted
minority committee report for pas
sage of bill which would permit
such removal and the bill will 60 on
the calendar. v
Appropriation OF $l3oOO0 for a
bridge across the Missouri river at
Fort Yates was recommended by the
committee Of the whole. The house
passed is bills, among them being two
measures to govern inspection and
certification of seed potatoes.
A bill to provide four-year terms for
state and county officers also was
recommended by the committee Of
the whole.
Would Change Values
L. L. Twichell. Independent leader
from CasS county, declared that the
bill to require that production value
Of land be considered by assessors
would change valuation according to
the crops each year. He said that II
there were poor crops for three years,
valuation would be reduced and II
crops were good for three years
! it would be raised. On this basis
where would the state be assured of
Its tax money, he questioned.
j. H. Burkhart, Nonpartisan leader
from Ward county. replied that the
state board Of equalization could con-
suit with the agricultural college.
which has experiment stations over
the state, to arrive at basis of valu-
alton for different parts of the state.
Twichell maintained that such a
scheme Of taxation was new to this
state "or anywhere else" and said that
he did not want the agricultural COL
lege to dictate his tax rates.
Production Value Necessary
r. e. Swendseid. Mountrail county,
contended that provisions of the bill
are not new. He pointed out that In
another bill before the house public
utilities sought basis for true valua-
ton and asserted that production
value OF land was a necessary conSid-
Grafton in evaluating land.
Twichell also led the attack on the
McCay bill to permit removal of
coanty seats on navigable streams by
q majority rather than q two-thirds
vote. He held that the measure was
m effort to amend the law so that q
coalnty seat fight could be held every
two years. +. would put the county
seat on wheels" he commended.
j. II. McCay, Sioux county, de.
tQAded the bill. Five counties have
lc41lnty seats which arc not on rail.
rod and four Of them have the right
To- move the county seat by a ma.
ljoeity vote, he said. Sioux county i;
ic1npted from that right and in thi.
M asks the same privileges as tn,
Ger counties, he continued.
~ Urges Equal Rights
Albert Van Rerkom, Burke county
G1ported McCay. He asserted that II
~ not fair for Sioux county to have
Z two-thirds vote when other counties
have the same right by majority
V0fe. 4. r. Lembcke, Mclean county
ldDelared that the house should legis-
1ate for today's needs and not 60 BY
old laws which are unfair.
McCay contended further that the
county seat should be located near.
Eest the center Of the county. that For,
Yates was difficult to reach from
Iot1er parts of the county and that
Taxpayers had to bear an extra ex-
ipense because Of the present location
he described the present law as class
t1eehlation and maintained that Sioux
county should not be discriminate
AGAINST.