The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 30, 1916, Page 16

SIXTEEN ] Paid Advertisement @ crcvcncececs I. B. Hanna, Governor. herewith. Government Grant, acres 82,000 Donation Burleigh County 160 Total 82,160 Acres sold on right of way and patents 51,528.01 Acres remaining unsold 30,631.99 Total purchase price for land sold $647,443.31 Outstanding on land contracts at 6 per cent Invested in bonds from permanent ! fund at 4 per cent 108,250.00 Invested in bonds from interest and income fund at 4 per cent : Cash on hand Jan- uary 1ist, per- manent fund _ Cash on hand Jan- uary 1st., inter- est and income fund 356,675.29 100,000.00 18,608.76 46,289.74 The lands, 30,631.- 99 acres unsold average well and are well located and should bring from $12 to $26 per acre or an average of about $17 per acre, at which price they would net the * Capitol - ‘Building fund Some of the Capi- tol Building funds have been used for purpos- es not authorized under the Enab- ling Act, giving the State the lands for build- ings at the State Capital: Among the are the line, about $20,000.00 Well and tower 7,500.00 Furniture 14,475.00 Purchase of Lots 4,973.75 items trolley The state from its General Fund should and must return this money. : Total to credit of the Capitol Building fund Thete are no Capitol Building Bonds now outstanding. To the House of Representatives, Bismarck: : ; v Gentlemen: I have,before me your resolution asking for informa- tion as to the Capitol Building Lands, and I hand you a statement e ) $629,823.79 $520,743.82 $48,648.75 $1,199,216.37 The Governor’s Message Analyzed MESSAGE OF THE GOVERNOR ‘The following message was received from the Governor: Office of thegGovernor, Bismarck, North Dakota, February 3, 1915, At the time North Dakota was admitted as a state, the state was granted 82,000 acres for Capitol Buildings. ed 160 acres, making a total of 82,160 acres. CAPITAL LAND GRANT Burleigh county also donat- Falling due in install- ments at periods of five to twenty years. Payment in a lump sum of the en- tire amount outstanding _Jecannot be enforced, and, =y )as purchasers are paying only 6 per cent on defer- red installments, a volun- tary lump sum payment s highly improbable. These items constitute the total amount actual- 1y available in the Capitol Building fund February 8 1915, an aggregate o only $273,153.60. This item represents the estimated value of Capitol Building lands re- mainin, unsold. I a ‘sale of these lands were ordered today, under our constitution the entire a- mount” would not become available until twenty years had elapsed, and only one-fifth of the pur- chase price could be col- lected at date, of sale. In- asmuch as a large per- centage of these lands are in coal areas and can- not be sold under our present constitution; and since it would be a poor stroke of business to or- der a lump sale, even if permissible, when these lands are increasing so rapidly in value, this item even at the end of twenty years, is subject to a very heavy discount. { Available if legislature - should order payment; Lotherwise not. Less deferred payments and value represented by lands unsold, leaves $610,- 686.00 which may possibly be available for capitol building purposes July 1, 1922. Probable amount required for capitol re- moval, $2,500,000.00. Deficit for taxpayers to l}g‘ake up $1,899,314.00. All of those issued to pay for the present building have been retired, the last $50,- 000.00 of them within the past two years. 2 The earnings from leases on unsold lands and interest on land ¢on- tracts and bonds will amount to at least $32,000.00 per year. : If there is any further information which the legislature may wish to have I shall be glad to furnish it or have it furnished at any time. 1 have the honor to be, Very respectfully, L. B. HANNA, Governor. What State Treasury Shows STATE OF NORTH. DAKOTA OFFICE OF STATE TREASURER ~ BISMARCK Secretary, Taxpayers’ Protective Associat “ Dear Sir: March 24, 1916. ion, Bismarck, North Dakota. Replying to your recent inquiry regarding the ¢ash on hand and in- vestments belonging to the Permanent Fund Capitol Building, and the interest and income fund of the capitol building, the following are the figures shown this date according to the books ef the State Treasurer: Permanent Fund ‘Capitol Building Cash on hand Bonds Mortgages $ 51,388.01 131,350.00 19,150.00 $201,888.01 Interest and Income Fund Capitol’ Building Cash on hand Bonds Mortgags Total in both funds (Signed) Yours truly, 19,465.23 169,700.00 - 2,900.00 192,065.23 Deputy State Treasurer. THE NONPARTISAN LEADER ; Bk $393,053.24 J. 0. LYNGSTAD, - SWAPPING “SIGHT UNSEEN” Most of us, from sad experience in our younger days, know that swapping “Sight Unseen” is dis-- astrous to the party of the second part. The party proposing the transaction generally holds all the trumps and gets the best of the bargain. . Just’ now, the land speculators interested in New Rockford and Eddy county are asking us to swa; capital sites, “Sight Unseen.” They know what they will give, but the Taxpayer has only a very hazy idea of what he will get. Because, this Association does not believe in applying “Sight Un- seen” methods to so important a transaction as a trade in State Capitals, the actual faets in the case are printed on this page for the benefit of North Dakota Tax- payers—the men who pay the bills. WHAT THE TAXPAYER PAYS The most consérvative estimates of the expense of moving the state copital, erectinzy a -new capiizl buildi; and governor’s mansion and autifying the capitol grounds place the cost at $2,500,- 000.00. uthoritative, unbiased statements gublis_hed on this page prove that July 1, 1922, the state will have available in its capital building fund $610,686.00. This leaves a deficit of $1,809,314.00. Do the <o ations which are spending their money so liberally in an effort to make New Rockford the capital expect to inake up this amotint from their profits on land sales? We aie-tather inclined tp believe theg do not. As usual, MR. TAXPAYER, YOU WILL PAY THE FREIGHT. : The good state of North Dakota is already in debt for $120,000.00 more than its constitution allows —$§320,000.00, to be exact. The constitutional four-mill levy does not now protduce sufficient revenue to pay expenses. It is certainly out-of the question to raise almost $2,000,000.00 in state taxes on the present valuation. What = then? Increase the assessed valuation, of course. The New Rockford cap- ital will add $3.00 to the state tax- bill - of every man, woman and child in North ‘Dakota. In order to raise this $3.00 ‘per capita, the assessed valuation of our state must be increased $600,000,000.00. Then there will b2 levied against this higher valuation all local as well. as state taxes, so in the end in order ‘Yo contribute $3.00 per capita toward New Rockford’s cap- ital, each taxpayer will be compel- led to add $10.00 to $15.00 to his tax burden. Your tax bill last year, MR. TAXPAYER, was $25.16 for every man, woman and child in North Dakota. If that is not enough, your signature to a capital removal petition will help to make it more. The land spec- ulators, with no improvements to pay for, can easily stand more taxes; but how about you, MR. FARMER? Forewarned is Fore-Armed Now, MR. TAXPAYER—you who foot the bill, now, always and forever—knowing that the New Rockford capital will cost you al- most $2,000,000.00; knowing that the New Rockford capital will ne- cessitate the surrender of hun- dreds of thousands of dollars® worth of valuable property; know- ing that by waiting a few years you can have a new capitol build- ing without depriving yourself,; your family or your neighbor of one penny; armed with the facts do you feel that New Roekfo land speculators should be given the profits of ca%ital removal? If, MR. TAXPAYER, you now see the wisdom of biding yotr time until inéreasing 1and values have added not half a million but sever- al millions to the capital building WHAT A LOST -'C%_gsn WILL RESORT Seiling the Voters &t Ten Cents per Head Pembina, N. D., March 15, 1916. Taxpayers’ Protective Association, Bismarck, N. D. : Gentlemen :— A week or so ago I signed what I have since discovered 'to be ‘a petition to have our_state capital removed from Bismarck to New Rockford, This petition is in a local store now (Name given on Trequest) and he is securing a bunth of signatures TELLING PEOPLE THAT THEY uUsT A LIST OF THE VOT- S T'VE H&RD £ T HE GETS EACH BIGNATURE. ‘Wishing you well, and sorry for my mis- e, I am ¥ & Yours truly, Originél letter, with narie of merchant and signature of writer on file in offices of Association at Bismarck. < Paid Advertisement The Truth About Capital Removal fund, and wheri North Dakota without asking you or your child- ren for a capitol building - worthy of this great state, do not be deceived into signing a petition; make certain that your neighbor is warned, and, if you or he have already signed, remember that it is not tod lite - to write in to Secretary of State Thomas Hall at Bismarck, “TAKE MY NAME OFF OF THE CAP- ITAL REMOVAL PETITION.” For furthet information, without charge, on this or any other subject relating to taxation, address 7 THE TAXPAYERS’ PROTECTIVE AS- SOCIATION OF NORTH DAKOTA, OF- FICE OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMIT- TEE, Bismarck, N. D. LAND COMMISSIONER’S REPORT In response to a general demand for accurate information as to the condition . of the capital building fund, Major Frank K S. Henry, state land commissioner, recently gave to the press a report showing that there is available ot the pres- ent time $393,953.24; as against available funds of $373,248.50 re- ported by Governor Hanna in his message of February 3, 1915. Major Henry’s report shows that of the original land grant of 80,160 acres, 51,628 acres have been sold for $647,448.34. These lands were sold under the provisions of See- tion 158 of the constitution, which decrees that “The purchaser shall pay one-fifth of the vprice in cash and the remaining four-fifths as follows: one-fifth in five years; one-fifth on or before the expira- tion of ten years; one-fifth on or before the expiration of 15 years, and one-fifth ‘on or before the éx- piration of 20 years. The state had received in cash on lands so sold February 3, 1915, $290,768.05. Of this amount §208,250.00 had been invested in bonds, and the balance was rcported as cash in the hands of the state treasurer. There rcmained due on lands sold $359,675.29. Under the provisions of the constitution, some of these contracts will not mature for 20 years, and only about one-third of them by 1922. To the $393,953.24 which Major Henry finds available in the cap- ital building fund at the present time, he pasl agded the interest and principal of every payment which falls due before 1922 and in addition has counted in the aver- age new salgs for the intervening years. Making all of his estimat- es very liberal, he arrives at a pos- sible total of $610,686.00 which may be available for capital build- ing purposes July 1, 1922. The differénce between this amount and the amount required to build New Rpckfm‘d’s capital—$2,500,- 000.00—is $1,899,314.00, and it is this amount which North Dakota Taxpayers will be called upon to pay out of their pockets if they sigh @ capital removal petition. STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA OFFICES OF TAX COMMISSION BISMARCK - hRE March 24, 1916 Secretary, Taxpayers’ Protective Association, Bismarck, N. D Dear Sir: ' plying to your favor of fecent date inquiring as to ¢ash on hand in the permanent capitol building fund, there is available, today March 24, 1916, in the hands of the State 868,24 is in cash, $22,050 is invests &d in mortafis .and $301,060 is in- vested in bonds. While sirictly snpeakmg only the $70,858.24 cay- ed 3s cash ‘on hand by the State Treasurer is actually available for building purposes, it is probable that the state board of university and school lands, in an émergency, would purchase the $323,100 in- vested in mortgages and bonds, and thus make the total cash avail- | able $893,953.24. The original land grant was 80,160 acres. During the 26 years of statehood, the state has sold 51,628 acres and received ¢ash pro- ceeds from the sale aggregating but $398,953.24. It seems highly imptobable that the present avail- able amount will be greatly in- creased within the -next. half- dozen years. It will probably not aggregate more than five or six hundred thousand dollars by 1922, e Sincerely yours : (Signed) F. E. PACKARD, hr. Tax Commission. {)enn'y can give you a . | ate Treasurer John Steen, - $398,968.24. Of this amount $70,- { 3 e T