The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-09-09

has been, delinquent for sometime.
To induce title owners of land, which
is tax delinquent. to pay part of their
taxes, laws were enacted by the Legis-
lature, authorizing so-called bargain
sales of taxes, at which sale any one
interested could purchase the taxes de-
iinquent for certain years for three
fourthS, one-half, or one-fourth of the
total amount. This has not worked out
in practice. Owners of land have per-
mitted their taxes to become delinquent
in order to take advantage of such re-
duction and this has not been fair to
others who have paid their taxes. This
method has not proved to be a remedy
for tax delinquency.
In 1927 the Legislature enacted Chap
ter 119 providing that lands sold for
taxes in 1926 would become the property
of the actual buyer of the taxes, or if
there is no actual buyer, of the state in
1888. Although the act does not so
state, and we are informed that rul-
ing by the Attorney General is necces-
sary, the theory of the law is to re-
move such lands from the tax rolls
The act provides that the lands shall
be classified and appraised by the
counties and sold, fifteen per cent of
the appraised value, and the value of
the timber paid down, and the balance
in inStallments over period of forty
years at four per cent interest.
This law authorizes any taxing dis
trict, including the state, when other
wise authorized, for public purpose,
to purchase these lands upon the same
terms.
No provision is made for the distri-
button of lands found to be not sale
able.
This brings us to the research work
by the Minnesota Reforestation Com
mission.
The Minnesota Reforestation Com
mission recommended, among other
things, that tax delinquent land not
suitable for private ownership. should
go into the state ownership, and pro-
posed an amendment to Chapter 119,
Laws 1927, that all lands classified by
the land economic survey as forest
land" should be held by the state free
from any trusts in favor of the other
taxing districts. Lands classified as
agricultural lands, suitable for sale,
would not be affected by such an
amendment, and when such lands are
sold, the money received can be ap-
portioned among the several taxing dis
tricts as provided in Chapter 119.
The state does not now pay anything
upon state-owned land. However, the
Commission proposed that the state
should pay to the local taxing districts
vf1ve cents per acre per annum on all
land owned by the state withdrawn
from sale and classified as forest land
A fair tax rate on forest land was de-
termined by the Commission to be five
cents per acre.
The Minnesota ReforeStation Com
mission recognized frankly that some
of the lands in the forest area are not
agricultural land, or recreational land,
or suitable for private ownership and
are, therefore, not saleable. From the
foregoing, it is apparent that there are
two conflicting views concerning the
use of tax delinquent lands. One is the
statewide view, the view of the ex-
perts who have considered the problem
of land which is found upon a survey
to be unfit for agricultural, recreational,
or private ownership and, therefore,
unsuitable for sale to settlers, should be
owned by the state. Only the state can
be expected to appropriate the necessary
money to devlop this land and restore
the values which have been destroyed
by cutting, by fire, and by erosion. On
the other hand this view also contem-
plates paying the counties five cents
per acre per annum in lieu of taxes on
state-owned forest lands.
The other view, which is the view of
some people in the forest area, and
some other people In the state, which is
interfering with the intelligent man.
agement of this marginal land is that
it is Of some value, and all of it can be
sold somehow and sometime to settlers,
and, therefore, 1t should be simply held
for sale. There is nothing new in this
view;no conception of remedy for the
distress of the forest area; there is no
admission of the fact that large part
of this cut-over and burned-over area
has no value for agricultural, for recrea-
tional, or anything except forest or
flood control.
BY failing to recognize actual con-
ditions in the forest area of the state
the tax delinquency has become so SER
ious that temporary measures of relief
have been adopted. One of them is the
Red Lake Game Preserve created by the
Legislature in 1929. Under the pro-
visions of this law the state pays the
principal and interest of the bonded in