FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 161 
property taxes without resort to the sale of tax liens and the subjec- 
tion of property owners to the exactions of tax lien buyers, but that 
the process of collection appears to have broken down in the past 
because of minor defects in the law which could be removed without 
discarding the underlying principle. The most important of the 
desired modifications are: simplification of the procedure, reduction 
of collection costs, and, particularly, shortening of the period of 
delinquency by substituting a biennial for the present quadrennial 
certification. 
It was found that foreclosure statutes were being enforced in only 
29 of the 88 counties, and that even in these counties the present legal 
period of 5 to 5% years between original default and foreclosure is 
usually extended in practice to about 7 years. Nilsson therefore 
recommends that the foreclosure statutes should be rephrased to 
provide that the auditor of the State must ‘‘order”’ (rather than 
‘““cause’’) foreclosure, that he submit copies of all foreclosure orders to 
the State tax commission, that tne treasurers be required to report to 
the tax commission within a short period after the final certifications 
the status of foreclosure suits, and that the tax commission be required 
to force negligent treasurers to take action by writ of mandamus 
proceedings. If these recommendations were adopted he believes 
that foreclosure sales would be undertaken shortly after the biennial 
certification. 
As a final step in his investigation, Nilsson attempted to determine 
the subsequent history and final disposition of lands certified as 
delinquent in 1925. The study embraced 22 counties and the 
delinquency, including penalties, certified in 1925 amounted to $425,- 
968. . Before the end of that year redemptions had amounted to 
$177,033. During 1926 they amounted to $123,970, and during 1927, 
1928, and 1929 up to the date of quadrennial certification, $67,223. 
Thus there remained $57,742 unpaid 4 years after the original certifi- 
cation, which therefore appeared in the quadrennial certification. 
These certificates represented 1,022 of 5,692 parcels originally delin- 
quent. Unfortunately, he was unable to determine the final disposi- 
tion of these lands. He says: 
The value of this study of redemption of delinquent lands would have been 
materially enhanced if it had been possible to determine the final disposition of 
parcels quadrennially certified in 1929. It was, however, impossible to obtain 
accurate data regarding these properties for the succeeding years. It was lea~ned, 
however, that for al: practical purposes the quadrennial certification completes the 
history of delinquent land in most counties, as it is only in the minority that fore- 
closure sales are mzde regularly. 
The statutes provide that property which has been offered for sale after quad- 
rennial certification and which remains unsold shall be forfeited to the State 
and shall be offered for sale every 2 years thereafter. No cases in any county, 
however, were found in which such sales of forfeited lands had been held. 
GENERAL COLLECTION PRACTICE 
The Ohio practice has been described at considerable length because 
it illustrates a common condition. An examination of procedure and 
practice has been made in several other States, and nearly everywhere 
there is delay and evasion in the enforcement of the tax-collection 
laws. This is due partly to official indolence and carelessness, partly 
to political expediency, and partly to weaknesses in the procedure 
101285°—35——-11 
