MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



production of revenue for the payment of pub- quarter of section :((>. town 16-14 west, was may pay the tax if he desires. Under this p 



lie expenses. It seems to be 'based upon the sold for the taxes of 1889 to 1897, inclusive, vision lands would be assessed by the sup 



idea that taxes are levied upon the land with $27.20, to Lewis Retterstoff, who in turn sold Lands advertised for sale in May must 



the hope that the land may ultimately become it to the Alaska Refrigerator Company, by withdrawn from the market." 



the property of the state, and not to secure the whom it was lumbered and who cut 150,000 



necessary funds to pay the obligations which feet of green pine worth $1,500.00 on the UHMIDI. 1 he bill was introdui 



have been incurred by the state, counties, stump. It is these gifts that make speculators at the instigation of the Commission J>f 



townships and school districts. Acknowledged eager t<> buy delinquent tax lands. Will any 



by its promoters to be a makeshift, it is crude one have the effrontery to maintain that the 



and ambiguous in its terms." 



MR. SCHMIDT. "This paragraph is non- 



quiry, and is part of a carefully thought i 

 plan to improve conditions in the State L: 

 Department. If the editor of Senator Post' 



state made a gain in this and thousands of sim- 

 ilar instances? Would it not have brought paper had taken the trouble to read over the 



sense. As the bill only provides~for the with- g^Jn.. tt^ferffM if the state had sold the 



drawal of the lands until adequate laws can be 

 enacted, it does not go into the diverse prob- 

 lems involved in the care of delinquent tax 

 lands. As explained above, the bill was intro- 



Townships Cannot Lose. 

 RECORD. "In considering this 



it. he would not have made the many errors 

 has in discussing the bill, unless they are 

 tentionally misrepresented and meant to ( 

 tort the truth. In the report it would h 

 found that the bill only intended to withdi 



bill which .., .. .. 



duced with a definite purpose, and its provis- supposes the state to have an absolute title to the lands until the legfslature could take c 

 ions leave nothing to the imagination, which is these lands, it is only fair to ask where did nizance of the existing conditions, and en 

 one of the reasons why it is opposed. Answer- this title come from? When one is investigat- ; n to law the bills proposed for remedy 

 ing, however, the statement that it is based ing this matter it is discovered that certain them." 

 upon the idea that taxes are levied with the taxes were levied by the state, county, town- 

 idea that the lands will ultimately 'become the ships and school districts on these lands, which 

 property of the state, it is well to call attention tqxes were not paid. Under the tax law a lien 

 to this fact: Taxes are levied on the timber existed for the payment of these taxes. The 

 lands of the state for the purpose of creating tax law makes the state, acting by the auditor- 

 These taxes are paid until the lands general, a trustee for the 1 foreclosure of these 



revenue. 



Drastic Action Was Necessary. 



RECORD. "The bill practically repi 

 and renders nugatory a large part of the 

 law, without reference to the act." 



have lost their merchantable timber value, taxes. Upon the foreclosure and sale it is the 

 when the owner stops paying taxes and allows duty of the auditor-general to send the county 



the lands lie the 



the lands to revert. Then, when the young treasurer where 



MR. SCHMIDT. "The request of the 1 

 islature to the land commissioner and the a 

 taxes as- jtor-general not being heeded, it was necess 

 growth again becomes valua'ble, some one sessed by the county townships and schoo. to pass a j aw nullifying temporarily the f 

 buys up a few years' taxes, gets a tax title, and districts. Under the law all revenues obtained v ; s i ons o f the present law, which are a de 

 proceeds to skin oft what lumber may have from these lands are distributed pro rata ment to the state and a menace in their p 

 become valuable in the meantime. Then, auto- among the different municipalities according ent f orm anc ] ar e not producing the effi 

 matically, the tax payment stops, and the lands to the amount of taxes levied for their several intended " 

 The interval serves the country benefits. After these lands have been delin- 



Senators Are Careless. 

 RECORD. "This bill is conspicuous r. 



again revert. 



newspaper to get its share of the state's quent for not less than five years they may be, 



money in advertising these delinquent taxes, and most of them have been, deeded to the 



and so the merry game goes on 'ad infinitum.' state turned over to the land commissioner's __ ______ _____ ____ __ _____ c __ 



The laws which are to follow this withdrawal office and termed state tax homestead lands, because of what it enacts and what it fail: 



bill, and which have been introduced in the The trusteeship of the state is still recognized, en act. Granting for the sake of argument 



house, will do away with this graft, and ex- and the funds produced by their sale are still the present law dealing with these delinqt 



plains the attitude of some of the senate mem- distributed proportionately among the differ- tax ] an ds is not entirely satisfactory in op 



bers toward the bills." cut localities having had taxes levied upon the t i orlj should the legislature make a confes 



land for which these lands are delinquent." o f incompetency by passing a bill which 



vides no remedy for existing ills, bn: say 



State of MR- SCHMIDT. The present law pro- effect that those provisions of the ,,r,-,ent 



Another False Statement. 

 RECORD. "Prior to 1893 the 



Michigan had tried many propositions in the y ldes - f under sect ' J f f , ll l e e ? eral fa .* through the operation of which the lands A 



lin of tax laws. So far as land taxes are con- Law, of 1893 as amended that 'Whenever it acquire d, shall be nullified; that there t 



cerned they proved a failure, for the list of de- sha ap P ear *> y the re , cord '" th< ; a ditor-gen- be no effective effort made to collect pi 



linquent lands kept increasing. Taxes piled up f ral s ? m that y lands are de hnquent for revenues from lands whose owners have 



each year against lands already delinquent, taxes , for fi , ve , or more years and said lands id their taxes for a few years, and that 



and the delinquent land taxes for the various have b n bid off to the state, one or more eople o the counties, townships and sc 



municipalities in northern Michigan embar- times, by reason of such delinquent taxes, * districts, whose interests m the lands 



, ,, 



and the delinquent land taxes for the various have b n bid off to the state, one or more eople o t he counties, townships and sc 



munic palities in northern Michigan embar- times by reason of such delinquent taxes, ** districts, whose interests in the lands 



rassed counties, townships and school districts tlle t] le t to the state shall be deemed absolute about 85 per cen t against 15 per cent in 



t 



' and to said lands. state shal] sit back and wait until this or s 



"Therefore the state has a .title to. the lands future legislature shall show enough, cons- 



orders were hawked about and sold for nomi- ha ' = ome " der thls f description, i. e, that tive ability to provlde some legislation n< 



na consideration. The man foolish enough to have been delinquent for taxes for a period of a merely destruc tive. kind? 



uch an extent that they were many times 

 unable trmt?Lrpenrandb^d and 



five or more years, and the title being abso- 

 it can do with them what it will. As a 



text, __ . . 



Owners of land smiled complacently when 



someone bought a tax title. It meant that 



ttrsjrfi?^ fe^orar^; <*** <*.*#* <** **.* . 



In view of what is above said, where in 

 wisdom in interfering with the steps 



" d " * " 



ness of the author of this article, it should re q u i re d to take to enforce the collection 

 here be stated that the laws proposed by the delinquent taxes? These lands having 



its amendments, changed this. 1'n many north- 

 ern Michigan counties prior to 1893 the tax 

 list included 40 per cent of the land of the 



their report) provie that townships shall 



re " ivc fl "T ^ ^' '" llCU f V"^' ZV?~ 

 "" al s " m f ten cents . P cr acre which shall be 



HAT included 4U uer cent 01 IMC lanu ui LUC . . .. . i *i t. -ij 1 c ^itv-, ^v 



county Under the provisions of this law these used f r . , fire protection and the building of would . be exploiters 



,,,. nf IP than roads, bridges, etc., and for local purposes. that under the j aw 



the nominal ownership of the state, 

 legislature should deal with the lands 

 as with lands in which the whole title is i 

 state, but as trust lands. We doubt if 



tax 



lists have decreased to an average of less than 

 5 -per cent at the present time. A decrease 





that under the law the state never ace 



"While the present system levies taxes on any thjng bu t a title in trust. Such is tin 



acquired upon foreclosure of the tax liei 



owners with- an j tlle subsequent transfer to the >U 



it is effec- out S' vin S something in return, it is really nle " re f y ' an administrative transfer by 



tive and that there "are buyer for tax titles committing an act of confiscation. The pro- the , J 1(]s are turlled over f rom one depar 



rise to " aSon which has P sed Iaws mtend that the taxe ? w , hlc j? are to another, with the trust still attaching, 



brought fort the Maxey bi H which proposes levied shall be used to protect the lands, as as a conclusion> wou ld it not be better fc 



.rwfthdSwVom tTnLket state ta'x Lds we" as being a source^of revenue for the gen- , egis , t wait until i. .decides , upon - 



and tax homestead lands." ^San'to" d^eY^Zhing' "o, 



RECORD. "The bill is entitled a bill to ' 



MR SCHMIDT. "The statement that the temporarily suspend from sale all delinquent MR. SCHMI 



percentage of lands delinquent for taxes has state tax and tax homestead lands. The in- justified in some one not familiar with 



decreased from 40 per cent to 5 per cent is ob- quiry naturally arises what does temporarily the facts, but to a member ot I lie si 



viously not true since the report of the audi- mean. No period is mentioned in which they equivalent to a confession ot negle 



tor-general shows that the area, in acres, of shall be restored to sale. The intention of the in that a report and recommendati 



land delinquent for taxes in 1890 (or three bill is to draw these lands permanently from been prepared by a Commission empo 



years before the present tax laws went into market. If passed, like all other acts of the by the legislature to make an myestig 



effect) was 7 697 000 and in 19fl5 the area is legislature, it will be permanent until repealed and after this report is completed an 



riven, as 5132,000 acres. Why there are buy- or amended. It provides that all lands which tributed, certain members do not ever 



ers of tax 'titles is evident from the following have been delinquent for five or more years the trouble to read it; their time 'being 



.,^,-tli V,i1f nf the southeast ctiall nnt- hf snIH nnlv that the original owner nn in nrotectine their own selfish mt 



