St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-30
TAXING RAILROADS.

One OF the bills which went through
the house last week and has been trans
mitted TO the senate, where it awaits
consideration. has as its ostenSible OBJ
Ject the subsection of lands owned in
the state by railroads to ordinary taxa
ton. Railroads in Minnesota now paw
into the state treasury > per cent on
their gross earnings in lieu of all other
taxation. The local assessments of the
city Of st. Paul, for example, carry 10
burden to the railroad corporations own
ing land and buildings on our streets.
They cannot be compelled to contrib
ute at all for any improvements which
may be undertaken. Each year they
make up a schedule of the sum total of
their earnings. and. when they have
made over to the state 3 per cent of this,
they are absolutely free from demands
and eXactions of every character.
This system was introduced when the
railroad companies owned vast amounts
of u%nproductiye property within our
borders. Had they been taxed at that
time OH the value OF their plant and
holdings. the amount which they would
have contributed would have been
vastly greater than that secured from a
percentage of their incomes. Their
property was of tremendous size, but
their earnings were small, because they
were only new enterprises in an unde-
veloped country. 1t was very much to
their interest at such a time to have the
present method Of taxation adopted.
They were willing and their desire gov
erned.
Things are different now. The rail-
road companies have sold off a large
share OF their lands. The districts
through which they run have grown
populous and rich. The ratio of gross
earnings to the value of their property
has increased UNNECESSARILY. They
have reached q position now where it
would be just as profitable for them to
pay q property tax as it is to pay an in
come tax. In a few years things will
have changed still further. Every
thousand people added to the states
population e so much increase in
the railroad company's gross earnings,
and SO much more to the state from its
share of them. BY and by, if this syS-
TEN of taxation Is maintained and prop
erlY enforced, the annual revenue of
the state from this source alone will be
sufficient to pay all the expenses of its
maintenance, and will make it feasible
to abolish all other forms of taxes for
state purposes.
The railroad companies see this and
they are scheming every session to eff
Foot q ohopno p-ITol ,in ,ol, +ID -.o4o
ofthis income. Their ingenuity is devil
iShly effective. Their attorneys, who
joke about the corruption fund the y
have to diSburSe, are capable of
using honest grangerS as instruments
in their Vaccinations. Under the
guise of increasing the taxes to
which they are subjected they Gun
ningly drive the wedge which will dis
rupt the present system. Is this bill 10
tax railroad lands as other peoples are
anything more than a-subtle device TO
weaken and eventually repeal the tax
on their gross earnings?
The GLOBE raises the cry of danger.
1t is unalterably opposed to any change
in the present system. The importance
of its maintenance and honest enforce
ment cannot be overestimated. 1t
mean a sum for the states support in
capable of calculation. Let the senate
not be deceived by the false yerbiage of
this measure. Beware Of the railroads
when they come with gifts in their
hands. There is some dark design
back of it. There must be no abroga-
ton or modification of the plan of tax
ing railroads which is now on the stat
ute books.