Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1929-12-12
favor upon the use of public money
to pay hospital bills of people who are

favor upon the use of public money
to pay hospital bills of people who are
not broke. a
did not urge the county board to
appoint a tax collector at $3.50
month and expenses. What l did do
was to suggest the appointment of
supervisor of assessments but had
nothing to say about his compensa-
ton. The duties of that office would
be practically the same as county
assessor. l am of the opinion that
save the county and the taxpayers a
good deal of money, much more than
his salary would amount to- He could
also save the auditor and the county
board much work and annoyance
caused by improper assessments out
side of wild land. The county board
was required to send out of the cOun-
ty last year for a man to re-assess
several townships. He could UNI
doubtedly be of much assistance to
the county board through supervising
the assessment of wild land thereby
avoiding much of the dissatisfaction
by the people who pay the taxes.
One of the largest owners of wild
land in Wilma township, or in the
eastern part of the county for that
matter, appeared before the county
board two years ago and asked for a
reduction in valuation of his to eight
dollars an acre. The county board
in 70 hot hn 70
see the various assessors and town
boards, which he did. The town of
Wilma, with which l am familiar,
placed a valuation of from nine to
twelve dollars an acre on all the wild
land in the town and the above men
toned person stated that he would pay
his taxes on that valuation, but the
board of equalization raised the valu-
alton to fifteen dollars an acre. This
man then refused to pay his taxes
whereupOn the county board granted
him a reduction of thirty per cent
and then he paid his taxes. The set
tiers. did not get a reduction. This
created much dissatisfaction. If one
person is entitled to reduction, why
not all? The next year the valuation
was again raised to fifteen dollars an
acre and since then this man has not
paid any taxes, which has resulted
in the delinquency increasing about
% per cent in Wilma township and
perhaps more in other towns. Bonds
or no bonds, the taxes are bound to in
crease for the people who pay under
this system. l notice you quote Mr..
Mosbak. Mr.. Mosbak stated at
reforestation meeting in Sandstone
last spring that no wild land any
where was worth over five dollars an
acre and not over a dollar and a half
an acre when it was over five miles
from town.
In the past there has been an atti-
tude on the part of a good many people
to soak the nonresident owners of
wild land, the persons whom you term
spectators. That time has gone and
now is the time to use our heads"
If person is willing to sell his land
at five or ten dollars an acre, why at
tempt to force him to pay taxes on
valuation of fifteen dollars an acre?
The law states that the valuation of
property shall be placed at what the
property will sell for. Another man
county was going to set an amount,
possibly ten dollars on forty, that he
would be willing to pay and if the
| town boards and the county board
could not arrange the valuation and
the levy so that he would not have to
| pay more, he would quit and drop
the land. In one of the forestry laws
state forester was given authority to
purchase lands for buildings or watch
towers at not to exceed ten dollars an
acre. The legislature must have been
of the opinion that ten dollars an acre
was enough for any wild land. I con-
tend that if person is willing to sell
his land at given price, that price.
should be used for basis of taxation.
If you are willing to sell your farm
for two thousand dollars and the as
SCISSOR and equalization board places a
valuation of three thousand dollars on
it, what would you do? Did you ever
hear of the suit Bean brought against
the county? The judge must have
thought his taxes were too high when
he granted him a reduction of $3.50.
Two pieces of state land were sold in
Wilma township recently-one wild
piece at eight dollars an acre and one
partly improved piece at ten dollars