6 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 327 



During the five years 1928-32, tax certificates or tax liens were sold against 

 a very minor part of the delinquent acreage. By the end of 1931 about one- 

 third of the acreage delinquent on the 1928 and later levies had been cleared. 



The delinquent area in 1928 equaled 63 percent of the area in farms in the 

 37 towns. Ihe corresponding figure for 1932 was 85 percent. In the towns 

 here included is located 12 percent of the farm area of the State. The com- 

 parison with area in farms is probably more significant than a comparison with 

 total area as most of the delinquency reported was on farm land. The area 

 delinquent in the 37 towns in 1932 was reported by types as follows: 70 per- 

 cent in farms, 13 percent in forest, and 17 percent in miscellaneous types or 

 not classified. 



For the five-year period, 15 percent of the properties sold were later redeemed. 

 The proportion redeemed from each year s sales decreased from 39 percent in 

 1928 to 8 percent in 1932. None of the properties sold to private buyers in 1931 

 and 1932 were reported as redeemed. 



Ihe situation indicates a substantial increase in rural tax delinquency. It 

 is apparent, however, that only a minor part of such delinquency led to dis- 

 possession of title or even to the sale of tax certificates against the property. 

 In many cases the taxes are paid soon after becoming delinquent, and many of 

 the remaining delinquencies are allowed to continue without further action on 

 the assumption that they will be paid. 



Cn the other hand, many of the properties appear to have been delinquent 

 on no more than one levy at a time. This delinquency was largely "short- 

 term," but chronic. It was short-term in the sense that few of these owners 

 let any individual levy remain delinquent for more than a year or two, but it 

 was chronic in the sense that the properties became delinquent year after 

 year, on successive levies. The most typical case from among these would be 

 one of a property going delinquent repeatedly, but on which each delinquency 

 was paid before the following levy became delinquent. Furthermore, the 

 number of tax sales indicates that in relatively few cases was procedure started 

 to dispossess the owner of title to the land. 



Milk as a Municipal Utility. (R. L. Mighell. ) The emergencies of the 

 recent depression years have hastened the growth of the belief that there is a 

 public interest in the distribution of milk. For example, the opening section 

 of the Massachusetts Milk Control Law of 1934 states that milk production 

 and distribution is a business with "a paramount public interest." Many 

 people are even ready to say that the providing of milk is as much of a public 

 utility as the providing of water, electricity, and transportation, and that 

 regulation and possibly public control and ownership are close at hand. 



This project was initiated to determine whether handling milk distribution 

 as a municipal utility in a particular municipal market is economically and 

 socially desirable, and if possible to throw some light on the extent and type of 

 public control or operation which would be most sound. 



As yet there has been little public experience with any business similar to 

 the milk industry. As contrasted with other public utilities the following 

 peculiarities may be noted: 



1. Threefold division of the industry between producers, transporters, and 

 distributors. 



2. Large numbers of producers and distributors as compared with one or 

 two firms in the usual public utility. 



3. Difficulties of fixing rates with many enterprises of different types handling 

 milk. 



