Daily Kennebec Journal

ABANDONED FARMS
Becoming Serious Problem to
Some Maine Towns.
Otis People's
Personal
Property
Seized to Satisfy Town Debts.
AND EACH ONE MAY PLAY SAME
TRICK ON HIS NEIGHBOR.

Bangor, Me., Dec. 9.-The abandoned
farms of Maine have long been a serious
problem, and one which the State
authorities have thus far tried in vain
to solve. While prosperous conditions
seem to prevail throughout most of
eastern and northern Maine, there are
many small towns which have no industries
and depend altogether for revenue upon the soil. When the farmers in
these towns are poor and allowed to
run out and property generally degenerates,
a condition of financial depression
exists which in some cases leads
to disastrous results.

A striking instance of this kind has
just come to light in Hancock county,
where the little town of Otis is having
serious troubles. The citizens have had
hard luck of late years; their farms
have not been productive and valuation
has dropped off so that there has
not been sufficient revenue accruing
from taxes to pay the town's bills.
Some of the creditors who are determined
that their bills shall be paid
have now resorted to legal methods
and personal property of some of the
townspeople have been attached and
seized to settle the claims.

A Bangor attorney has bills amounting
to nearly $200 on which he obtained
judgment and an execution against
the town. Deputy Sheriff Crosby of
Amherst, empowered with the right to
seize personal or real property of the
inhabitants to satisfy the claims of
creditors whom he represented, made
a descent upon the town and carried
off some of the finest cows to be found
there. First Selectman J. R. Grant had
a pair of oxen seized, Arden Young
had three cows taken, George Jordan
lost two cows.

The property thus seized was sold at
auction in Amherst. The proceeds of
the sale were not enough to satisfy the
execution and another raid upon the
town property is expected.

Under the provisions of the law, the
men whose property has been seized
to pay the town's bills can collect from
the town the full value of such property
with 12 per cent. additional.
Acting upon this legal authority, one
man has already levied upon a farm
which is advertised to be sold at auction.

While the matter is a serious one to
the townspeople, it has its humorous
side, inasmuch as the whole thing
seems to be forming itself into an endless
chain. Every man who has lost
property in the way above mentioned,
may obtain redress in the same manner
and attach the property of his
neighbor who will, in turn, pursue a
similar method. Many such actions are
now in progress, and there seems to
be a mad rush to be first in attaching
the more desirable property.

It is argued with reason, that in a
short time what little property there is
in the town will have been consumed
by the fees of attorneys and sheriffs,
so that the people of the town are
bound to be in worse financial condition
than they are now. It is understood, however, that an attempt will
be made to effect a general settlement
in some way.

Several other towns in this section of
the State have had troubles of a similar
nature, but in most cases have
not proceeded to the methods recently
adopted in Otis.

Foxcroft was in a bad position at the
time of the Hale defalcation and there
was serious talk of repudiating the
debt and asking that the town revert
to a plantation. In this case the trouble
was not due to the running out of
farms, but the result was the same.
Foxcroft is now slowly recovering, a
settlement having been made with the
creditors on a percentage basis.

The town of Orneville presents a
parallel to Otis, inasmuch as her farms
have deteriorated in value and there
is no other industry to furnish revenue
or valuation. Orneville not long ago
was in serious trouble, but some kind
of a settlement was made by her selectmen
whereby the property of the
citizens escaped seizure.

Two or three towns in Lincoln county,
it is said, narrowly escaped dissolution
on account of abandoned or run
out farms.