St. Paul daily globe., 1891-03-02
This Is What the LeaVitt Bill
Will Do if Given an OPP
poptunity.
Absurdity Of the Demands of
Great Corporations for
Tax Exemption.
The Farmer the Man Most In
terested in Equal and
Just Taxation.
The Feig Salary Reduction
Bill to Be introduced in
the Senate.

This week promises TO be an exceed
ingly interesting one in the senate. AS
soon as the interest question is settled
two equally important measures are
ready to be considered. These are:
Senator Donnelly's bill providing for
the listing and taxation of mortgages,
and Senator Leavitt'S measure repeal
ing the law under which the property
OF the mining companies now operating
III the northern portion of the state
is exempted from taxation. Upon both
Of these measures opinion is divided
and hard fight may be anticipated.
Strange as it may seem. there is con-
siderable opposition to the Leavitt bill,
which aims only to place the property
Of these great mining corporations on
the same basis as the property Of the
farmer or business man, not engaged in
mining, as far as taxation is concerned.
If the design of the Meeker
county senator was to subject the
great Minnesota Iron company to
unjust and unequal taxation the ques-
ton would wear different aspect. but
such is not the case. He simply asks
that the property of these mining COM
panies be taxed as the constitution
orders in proportion to its value. as the
property of all the citizens of the state
should be taxed. How much Of the OPP
position to the Leayitt bill is due to the
WORK of the lobby working in behalf of
these iron companies cannot be told, as
there was objection to the bill before
the chief lobbyist began to spend some
hours daily on the floor of the senate.
But there is not the slightest doubt that
considerable political influence is being
brought to bear against the bill, which,
whether successful in killing the meas
lire or not, may cut some figure in poll
tics hereafter, reaching as far as the
election of United States senator.
OF course the n ain argument used by
the representatives of the Minnesota
Iron company against the bill is that its
passage will retard the development of
the mining interests in the northern
counties of the state. To use the eX-
pressive language of the Sage of MINI
ger this is all bosh." 1t is, indeed.
contradicted by the language of the lob
byiSts themselves; for they invariably
assert that these mining companies are
now paying their just share i'll the way
OF taxes. If this is true, the passage of
the Leavitt bill cannot harm them, for
it is only measure to equalize taxa
ton. Now either one or the other of
the arguments advanced by the repre-
Sentatiyes of the iron companies Is false;
they cannot both be true; for if these
companies are now paying as much in
the way of taxes as they would if their
property were assessed in the usual and
constitutional way they could have no
possible objection to repeal OF the
present law.
The statement, then. that the one cent
EDt. fcx- it.nT. lNxvf
companies and paid in lieu of all other
taxes OH mining amounts to as much as
would fax OH the value of that proper
ty assessed in the same manner as farm
and city property is unqualifiediy false,
as the most casual investigation of the
books Of the state auditor will demon
strate.
This, then, brings the matter equally
to the main argument-will the taxation
of mining property in the ordinary way
retard the development of the mining
industry in this state?
The best answer to this question is to
be found ill the examination of the
leases filed on the state mineral lands
since the passage of the law of 1889.
All land suspected of being underlaid
with ore has been seized by spectators
or is leased. Under the present law
all these people have to dO to escape
taxation is to incorporate mining com
panY and accept the provisions of the
law OF 1881. Then they pay taxes only
on the ore mined and shipped.
If they do not operate their
mines they pay no taxes. This
explains the fact that while but two
mining companies have paid taxes on
their output in the past ten years no
less than six have accepted the pro-
visions of the law, as will be seen by a
glance at the following table, complied
from the records of State Auditor Bier
mans office, showing the number of
tons reported mined and the taxes paid
thereon:
Statement of the returns of the different
mining com panieS OF the state of Minnesota
showing amount of ore returned as having
been mined and amounts paid state treasurer
under Chapter 81 General Laws. Special