St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-23
But the Lawmakers Have
Been Granting Special
Favors to Some.
How Millions of Dollars in
Mining Property Escape
the Tax Collector.
Senator Leavitt'S Bill to Re-
peal an Unconstitutional
Law and It's Object.

Minnesota.
1t is now quite generally conceded
that the greatest issue in politics in
many states is not the tariff nor the silver
question, but that of taxation. As SEN
ator Ignatius Donnelly so we'll put it in
the course of an eloquent speech in the
state senate few days ago. the middle
classes OF this country are rapidly COM
ing to the conclusion that this is a gov
eminent of wealth; nay, more than that,
for he asserted that not even i'll ariSto-
cratic England do the wealthy exercise
the influence in the affairs of govern
ment that is welded by that class in
this land of liberty, so called.
There are many ways of evading tax
alton in this state. Many wealthy men
and some not so wealthy return but
1.-THE of their property to the assessors.
This is illegal, and if discovered and
the law were enforced would bring its
punishment.
But this is due 70 the depraved condi-
ton of public honesty; the laws are not
to blame, and, perhaps, the lawmakers
are equally clear from fault; for it is
admitted that dishonest man can not
be made honest by legislation, just as
! temperate man.
The failure of the taxing powers of
the state to reach personal property is
due to the inadequacy of the laws, not
to their favor.
1t is one thing for subject of the
state to escape paying his just share to-
ward the support of the government
which protects him by swearing falsely
and quite another for the government
to make law by which this same sub
ject is relieved OF large portion of his
just share OF the burden OF taxation,
while his fellow men are forced to
make up the difference by increased
payments. So we'll settled was this
proposition that when the representa-
tiveS of Minnesota met to draft funda-
mental law for the new state they de-
clared themselves as follows on the sub
ject OF taxation:
Article9-Section 1. All taxes TO be raised in
this state shall be as nearly equal as may be,
and all property on which taxes are to be
levied shall have cash valuation and be
equalized and uniform throughout the state.
The above section, which declares
for equality of taxation, is followed by
| another section specifying what shall
be taxed and how far the exemption
laws shall reach; under no possible con-
| struction of these sections has the legs
| lature of the state the right to change
! the method of taxing property unless
| the taxes shall remain equal and uni
form. The third section of article 9
| of the constitution runs as follows:
Laws shall be passed taxing all moneys.
credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint
| stock companies or otherwise, and also all
real and personal property, according to their
true value i'll money; but public burying
| grounds public school houses public hos
| pitfalls, academies colleges, universities, and
| all seninaries Of learning, all churches,
! church properly used for religious purposes,
| and houses of worship institutions of purely
| public charity public property used exclu-
| siyely for any public purpose, and personal
| properly to an amount not exceeding in
! value $500 for each individual, shall, by gen
| eral laws. be exempt from taxation.
| In the General Statutes of 1878, chap
| ter IL, section l, is found a list of
property declared subject to taxation,
! following out the doctrine laid down in
| the constitution. This list is stated in
| the following manner:
| Property subject to taxation: All real and
! personal property in this state and all per
| sonal property of persons residing therein;
| the property of corporations, now existing or
| hereafter created, and the property of all
| banks or banking companies, now existing
or hereafter created, and of all bankers, ex
| cept such as is hereinafter expressly ex-
| cepted, is subject to taxation, and such prop
| erty, or the value thereof, shall be entered
| in the list of taxable property for that pur-
pose in the manner prescribed by this act;
| provided, that railroad, insurance and tele-
| graph companies shall be taxed in such man
ner as now is or may be hereafter fixed by
=! law.
| Section 2of this same chapter defines
"real property" which is declared Ito
| include the land itself, whether laid out
In town lots or otherwise, and all build
ings, structures and Improvements.
| trees or other fixtures of whatever kind
| thereon. and all rights and privileges
! thereto belonging or in anywiSe apper-
| tanning, and all mines, minerals, quar-
rieS and fossils in and under the same"
| And yet. in spite Of the constitution
| of the state, the Legislature. at the extra
session or 1881. passed what was termed
| IAN act to encourage mining in this
state by providing uniform rule for
| the taxing of mining property and
| products Agriculture was very much
| depressed in certain portions of the
commonwealth about that time, but not
| one of these lawmakers suggested tnat
the taxation of farm property be less
! ened by providing uniform rule' for
| It's taxation by which man with
farm worth $4,000 should evade taxa
tiou entirely. supposing that he allo wed
|
actly what that legislature did when
it passed the law which provided:
That all corporations now organized, or
! that may be hereafter organized under the
| laws of this state for the purpose of carrying
| OH the business of mining, smelling or refn-
| ing copper or iron ores or for the purpose of
mining coal within this state may pay into
| the state treasury annually. on or before the
| first day of January in each year, i'll lieu of
| all the taxes or assessments upon the capital
J ct0 al Qrfx afan rao1
| estate of such corporation in or upon which
! real estate such business of mining may be
| carried on or which real estate is connected
Herewith and set apart for such business,
| the following amounts-that is 10 say on and
| for each ton OF copper. so cents; and for each
| ton of iron ore mined and shipped or dis
| posed Of cent for each ton; and for each
! ton of coal raised, the sum OF / cent per ton,
! each ton to be estimated as containing 2.240
| pounds, half of such payment to be credited
| to the general fund of the state, and the
| other half credited to the county or counties
| in which such mines are located.-Ex. Ses-
sion 1881, CHI. 81, sec. 1.
| This law, plainly contrary to the con-
| stitution, was gladly accepted by the
| mining companies OF the state. because
| it practically exempted their vast prop
| erty interests from taxation. 1t hos
| been in force ten years, and in all that
| time upon millions of property these
| mining corporations have paid in the
way of taxation exactly S31, 734. 70, or
about $4,000 per year, as appears more
| fully from the state auditors reports
| for the period in question:
Statement of the returns of the different
mining companies 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
Session 1881:
Name Tons Amt
Year. of Company. Mined. Paid.
1sS4-ylinnesota Iron Co -. 3l,062 $40 81
1sS5-Minnesota Iron Co.. . ID, 484 2254 81
1856 Minnesota Iron Co. ,94S 500 As
1SS6-Florella Mining Co 800
1886 Northwestern Ming Co - 49,.
1SS7-Northwester Min geo -.
iSS1-Union Mining Co... - -
1SS7-Vermilion Il ge Min Co.. $3.50
1sS7-Minneso,a Iron Co. 394,255 3,942 81
1sSS-Minnesota Iron Co.. .50639 4506 30