The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1929-01-04
TWO COUNTIES
RUINED BY BONDS.
PRESIDENT w. A. COVENTRY HAS
SENT OUT THE FOLLOWING LET
TER TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE
ARROWHEAD ASSOCIATION.

"The emergency in the ditch encum-
bered counties requires sober thought.
It was touched upon in the annual
meeting; it was reviewed in the month
ly meeting at Grand Rapids on Deem
Der 18th by F. r. Duxbury of Bemidji;
it is considered in the report of the
ReforeStation Commission; and it will
engage the attention of the legislature.
1T is an emergency in which the
state, one way or another, must take
a hand. Two counties are insolvent,
Beltrami and Lake of the Woods.
Koochiching is distressed and other
counties are seriously affected, but
the state intervenes.
"Beltrami owes $1,354000 on ditch
bonds, against an assessed valuation
of $4,000, 000-that is the valuation of
property still paying taxes. Lake Of
the Woods owes $1,02O,0O0, against an
assessed valuation of $1,050,000.
Those are debts for ditch liens on
which assessments are not paid and
will not be paid For the most part
the assessments can't be paid for there
is no value present from which to
pay them. They come back on the
county. The county debts otherwise
are not excessive, $4,000 for Beltrami
and $4,000 for Lake of the Woods.
1t is the ditch bonds and those alone
which reduce these counties to bank
ruptcy.
"They are debts which were imposed
on the counties on the petition some
times of six property owners, some
times one Signer. They were imposed
on the counties, as Mr.. Duxbury points
out, without the consent of the voters
and often over the protest of other
taxpayers. When property owners ap-
peared to object, it was held that they
had no choice-only those whose prop
erty was liable to assessment were en-
titled to be heard.
And now they find themselves liable
to an assessment of 35 per cent of
their property valuation! And the
nearest ditch in the district is forty
miles from Bemidji
mo wonder they contend that, while
it is legal debt, it is not morally an
obligation of the Bemidji taxpayers
They turn to the state. They present
the practical consideration that the
state can i'll afford to let any taxing
feet the credit of every school district
in the state and every assessment dis
trict issuing debentures.
"On practical grounds also, the state
has other interest in these two count
les to protect. There are loans from
the trust funds to villages and school
districts. There are loans on farm
mortgages from state funds. If the
;x,&o
if there was an impossible levy of
more than 100 per cent of assessed
valuation, no taxes would be paid. All
values would be wiped out. Farm
equities, though rs miles from the
drainage district, would be destroyed.
All collections would cease.
ut may as well be recognized that,
one way or another, the state will
have to intervene.
"Refunding has been proposed. The
ReforeStation Commission suggested
that the state take up these bonds and
give the counties a long time and low
rate of interest on which to work them
out. It was a sympathetic and
thoughtful offer, though the Commits
sion itself recognizes that it would
not provide a permanent remedy. In
the two counties, however, it is felt
that, even on such generous terms, it
would be impossible to meet the con-
ditions. 1t is, in their belief, bigger
dead horse than they can ever bury.
Shifting the terms does not save
the situation if the values are not
there to sustain the load
This is discussed with much detail
in brief subscribed to by the Off
cial boards of Beltrami and Lake of
the Woods counties and by the civic
organizations of Bemidji and Baudette