TAX LANDS AND FORESTRY. 107 



divided into small parcels — aS small as ten to the acre — and then sold 

 at any price obtainable as resort lots — fruit farms, etc., to people unac- . 

 quainted with the conditions. These lots, or parcels in large numbers, 

 revert for non-payment of taxes, and then become a source of great 

 expense to the State. Thus, for instance, an acre of land sold by the 

 State for 50 cents is divided into ten lots, sold and reverts to the State. 

 The State originally paid for advertising and clerk hire on the basis 

 of a description of forty acres, or 40 cents for advertising. The State 

 now, after the division, pt^ys 40 cents for advertisement alone, and prob- 

 ably twice this sum for clerk hire. That this is actually going on is 

 shown by the following letter received from the Auditor General's office : 



"$15000 



May 27, 1908. i 

 Mr. Carl E. Schmidt, Detroit, Mich.: 



Dear Sir: — In reply to your letter of the 23d inst. I have to advise 

 you that there has been paid for advertising the sale of delinquent tax 

 lands, in Roscommon county, the following amounts, for sale of May, 

 1901, to May, 1908, inclusive: 



May 1901 $1,734 40 



-1902 1,259 10 



1903 696 90 



1904 217 50 



1905 1,028 30 



1906 1,557 10 



1907 1,855 10 



1908. 2,655 10 



The increase is due, as you are undoubtedly aware, to the delinquency 

 of resort lots and property about Higgins Lake.. 



Very truly yours, 



James B. Bradley, 



Auditor General. 

 By John F. Wilkinson, Deputy." 



That this condition may readily lead to fraudulent land dealing, 

 merely for the purpose of getting advertisements and register of deeds 

 fees needs no explanation. 



Another very serious condition is involved in our present system, in- 

 sofar as any person may buy for the taxes, a tract of land, such as a 

 cedar swamp, and thereby obtain a title under which he may skin off 

 the timber, much to, the detriment of the real owner and the State. 

 Such a case is that of Lewis Ke1,erstoff, which we have mentioned above. 



If the State really desires to protect our forests and secure conserva- 

 tive treatment, this method should be modified. The land should not 

 be sold for taxes, but should be held for the full period of redemption, 

 and if the real owner of the land then fails to redeem, it should be- 

 come State land and be treated accordingly. 



At this point, attention should also be called to the fact that the 

 importance of the taxes to be gathered from the north counties has 

 been, and is now, much exaggerated. In fact, the efforts such as those 



