St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-12
SENATOR TAWNEY's BILL.

the mouse ana the senate. Out IL HAS +
claimed for the veriest idiot the right
of being heard, and has expressed the |
fullest confidence that the result of lis
agitation would not be the enactment of
laws inimical to the interests of Mime
sofa.
In illustration of this Oft-repeated
position it has held up to the public
notice Senator DONNELIY'S very re
markable bill for the alleged purpose of /
eQualIzing taxation. as crude and dan
gerouS bluff at laWmaking. 1T has |
shown that the bill, as an effort to sub |
iect mortgages owned by nOn-residents |
to taxation within this state, was uncon- !
stitutional, and that the rest of its pro- |
visions were as unintciligiDle and in !
operative as the famous Lucas lien law. |
which involved the building trades in
such ineXtricable confusion few years
ago But. along with all this. it has al
lowed that Mr.. DoNNELLY ought not 10
he denied the privilege of proposing his
measure, and has propheSied with an
unwavering faith that it would never
become law.
The GLOBE comes forth this morning
anu ItlhCS It's St6tl GdlllilN anu uIIOolNHil
tiously among the later people who
foretold cheerful tidings. Its predic-
ton has been fulfilled. and the public
announcement is made that Mr.. Don
NELLY himself has abandoned this Off
spring of his unconstitutional magma
ton, and is trying to escape the response
bilitv of parentage by cordial indorSe-
mcnt of a substitute bill which has been
prepared by Senator TAWNEY, of Wi
mona. All of this shows what encour-
agements there are for looking at the
futIre in a hopeful way, and how pitt
less is truth which thwartS assaults on
the eternal principles of constitutional
law, whether made by sage or clown.
1t Is to be presumed that Senator
TAWNEY does not hold himself entitled
to amy ngratulations on the features Of
| his substitute measure. The papers
have stated that it is modelled on the
Massachusetts plan, but this is a little
mild. Ii is. with the exception of one or
/ two clauses. q verbatim copy of the
! Massachusetts law on the subject. and
! Senator TAWNEY'N authorship extends
| 10 further than would typewriter's
| who might under instructions transcrbe
! il from the public statutes Of Ithat state.
! 1t is wise to take Massachusetts rather
/ than Kansas as a model. and this is an in
/ lintcIl~bctter bill than Mr.DoNNELLY'S
! which, however. is damnIng it with faint
/ praise because Mr. DONNELLY's was
not 4 bill. but Il burke. 1t is written in
intenigible English. and is fall Of pre-
Scriplivc details: but it is a bad bill in
spite of its source and its merits. and
ought not 10 be enacted
Briefly, it undertakes 10 divide the
taN on real property into two parts-a
tax on the equity and a tax on the
membranes. The fee owner is to
pay the first, and the lien holder the
second, For the purposes of taxation
these two are to be regarded as Joint
owners of the property, ana the tax
! imposed on their separate interests is
to be enforced by a sale of the property
As Il whoIe,aS under The present system
70 protect the property against sale,
the MORTGAGE can pay the m0rtgagor'S
share of the tax and add it to the
mortgage debt, or the mOrtgagUr can
pay the mortgages share and deduct
it from the mortgage debt. The tax
) on mortgages other than this is abol-
lShed. and, moreover, if a mortgage
bears interest as low as Is per cent, it
is exempted from taxation. In such
case the fee owner is taxed on the
total value Of the property, as though
/ it were uniucumbCrcd.
There are two ways of looking at this
bill. In one aspect it is nothing but q
roundabout and entirely unnecessary
! device for rencaliug the personal
| property tax law as far as it affects
mortgages. 70 do this it would be
) simpler to pass the bill Senator LIENAU
has already introduced for the purpose
This is about ali the law amounts to il
Massachusetts. because in the usua
, ! form of mortgages employed there The
| mortgagOr covenants to pay the tax Oh
| the MORTGAGE share. as we'll as on his
| own. This is valid agreement there
I and the final effect Of the statute is no
; one whit different from what it would
be if mortgages were not taxed at all
I If this is the end Senator TAWNEY ha
= in view. his bill is probably uncOnStitu
= tional, because its subject is not eX
t pressed in its title. And if the uSur!
e law making per cent the maximum
rate of interest eXactable is passed, ever,
: mortgage which requires the mortgage
= to pay the taxes, aS this act permits
e will. be tainted with usury if tn
o rate of interest charged and the per
G centage liked in the tax levy aggre-
t gate more than pei cent. There is NJ
5 danger of this kind under the Massa
d chusetts system, because they have III
II usury law there. But in Minnesota
+ should mortgage bear, for example,
L per cent interest. and the mortgage
5 should agree to pay the tax, whic
e might amount TO 2 per cent, his rat
Is would al once rise to per cent ant
7. pass beyond the legal limit. The horro
d OF this result is blood-curdling. becaus
/ il is rumored that the usurer in thi
q state is hereafter to be punished b.
y death. To avoid this dreadful outcom
c it will not be safe to require the NOR!
d gagor to pay all the tax, and in thi
4 view. therefore. the bill Will fail of it
II purpose, if it is this.
II If the object of the bill is to make III
[. MORTGAGE pay the tax on his mortgag
,f himself, the bill is unwise, unconstitu
o tional and impracticable. The NOR
ID gagee's interest in the real propert
IL mortgaged is not an interest in realt
h under the Minnosy-a laws, no matte
al what it may be in Massachusetts. 1t
Is a chattel interest The note is the prii
he cipal thing. The mortgage is only ii
n security. y law which aims TO eNoml
Is real property from taxation to the e
lc tent of the membranes on it rul
OF plump against the constitution of t
he state, which prescrbes that Il shall
ot assessed for the purpose al its full vaIu
e" y bill which undertakes to exact \ Il
10 on a mortgage on real property in III
oN state when the mortgage is owned by
lr- ! rnSidnnf Of nnntilnr ST 20 l. in Ninla tic