St. Paul daily globe., 1892-08-31
And Also Enable the Mining
Corporations to Evade
Taxation.
Another Curious Clause in
This Amendment Fully
Exposed.


The Herald is on the right track re-
garding this amendment. but there is
another point covered by it that de-
serves the attention of the people of
Minnesota at this time. If this amend
ment is adopted, the loop-hole will be
made. not only for the escape of the
railroads from taxation, but also for the
great mining corporations of Northern
Minnesota. At the present time this
method Of taxing the railroads upon
their gross earnings is part of the
state constitution.
The law providing that the mining
companies shall pay tax of one cent a
ton upon the output of their mines in
lieu OF all other taxation is not sane
toned by the state constitution, and is
therefore unconstitutional, coming in
conflict with that clause in the cOnStitu-
ton which provides that all taxes to be
raised shall be as nearly equal as may
pc, and that all property Oh which taxes
are to be levied shall have
A Cash Valuation
and be equalized and uniform through
out the state. This would make min
ing property subject to taxation the
same as any other.
But, in case of the adoption of this
second amendment. this sort of tax on
mining companies will be authorized by
the state constitution.
This is exactly what these wealthy
corporations desire. 1t will be remem-
bered that Senator Leavitt, of Meeker
county, at the last session of the legis-
lature, introduced bill repeating this
one cent per ton law, and in the debates
which took place when the bill was
nm ANr fiD., ctotx 81, Il .
eenstitutiOnality OF the law. The Op-
position to the Leavitt bill refused TO
consider the question of constitution
allty, but:tried 10 hoodwink the people
by raising the tax to cents per ton.
Strange TO relate, this second or rail-
road amendment winds up with the fol-
lowing declaratOn:
'And there may be levied and COL
lected, in lieu OF other taxation on min
ing property, a specific tax upon the
product of all mines in the stale, but no
such tax shall be construed to
Prevent the Taxation
by law of any real estate belonging to
the owners of such mine not used in
the business of mining or in connection
thereWith.'
The history of this mining tax law is
interesting, and shows that the mine
owners were wide-awake when the con-
StitutlOnality of the law was questioned.
AT the extra session of 1891 (see chap
ter 81 OF said extra SESSION., the legisla-
ture of Minnesota passed an act that
corporations organized under the laws
OF this state for the purpose of mining
iron ores may pay into the state treasury
annually, on the 1st OF January of each
year, in lieu of all taxes on capital
stock, personal property, income and
real estate OF such corporation i'm or
upon which real estate such business of
mining NAY he carried on or which
real estate is connected Herewith and
set apart for such business, one cent
FOR each ton of iron ore mined and
shipped or disposed of.
This of course does not include the
lands of such corporations which are not
| III some way connected with the mines :;
and as matter of fact the companies
! (there have never been but two COM
| panieS which have mined iron extens-
lively in Minnesota until this year, viz. ::
The Minnesota Iron company and the
Chandler Iron company have paid
taxes upon the lands upon which no
mines are worked as other parties have
done upon wild lands. The state au-
ditOr'S books show that for the year
1890 the Minnesota Iron company and
| the Chandler Iron company mined and
| disposed of 100000 tons of iron ore. And
the amount of taxes under this law
would be $500. The legislative manual
says So, ,444.55.
Careful inquiry among well-informed
gen who ought to know, reveals the
fact that the personal property alone of
these two companies was worth at that
time, at a fair valuation, $1,000, 600.
The Minnesota Iron cOmpany'S mines
are worth from S12. 600, 900 to SIC. .0OO, 900.
and the Chandler Iron company's no
less than s4.000,000.
The Chandler does not own the fee to
the land but pays royalty of 80 cents
per ton. The above valuations are what
men of good Judgment familiar with
the values o. mines give.
1t is ,-rally admitted by lawyers
that the above law is unconstitutional.
With view to rectifying this great
wrong and forcing these
Enormously Wealthy Corporations
to bear their proportionate share of the
burdens of taxation Senator Leavitt in
troduced his bill repeating the law
passed in 1881. The strongest lobby of
the session took hold of the matter. and
Senator Leavitt's bill was defeated. An
attempt was made in the senate to kill
could not be done. the friends of the
hon companies amended it, increasing
the tax to three cents per ton,
and in this form it went through
the senate. This failed in the house,
and instead of accomplishing anything
10 correct the evil the proposed amend
snent, chapter of General Laws of 1891,
was passed. and the ballots which will
be presented t5 the voters are so in
geniously wordea that the voter would
ne led to believ,' that he is voting to
ak xs.sleeping cat companies aud tele-
phone companies"
I of course the Tsaople are all in favor
of taxing sleeping car, dining car and
telephone companies, and the authors
( of this amendment cunningiy prepared
it.so as to secure votes. They did not
{ place at the top of the amendment a
statement that it will repeal the section
providing for the taxation of ra;lroads,
nor the further fact that if adopted it
will enable the mining companies to
continue to evade taxation.
Republicans and Democrats alike.
aside from interested parties who are
profiting by this injustice, believe
that srsn mines should be taxed as other