In Re Jefferson County

This appeal involves the validity of an order of the state tax commission fixing the values, for the purpose of taxation, of certain timber lands in Jefferson county.

It may aid to an understanding of the controversy if some preliminary statement is made as to the general situation. Jefferson county lies between the waters of Puget sound on the east and the waters of the Pacific ocean on the west. Extending north and south through the middle of the county is the Olympic mountain range, which has been set apart by the national government as a forest reserve. This reserve approximates thirty…