St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-12

be released from theirs, and would re
fuse to pay the gross earnings tax
The state could then impose a gross
earnings tax, but only upon freight OF
passenger traffic from one point to an
ether inside the state. This fact is a:
clearly manifest as the decisions of the
make it. The growth of business ives
of Minnesota, the senator declared
would pay constant and ever-increas
ing tribute to us under the provision.
of the present law, but if the presen
law were repealed the railroad ta1
would constantly diminish instead o1
constantly increasing.
Upon the conclusion of Senator Nor.
gan's argument he was met by a cross
fire of questions from Senators Allen
Wyman, Thompson, Knatrold an6
others relative to various points OF
his argument, the senator explaining
his ground and declaring that wher
any company made it's first payment
under the gross earnings system il
accepted the terms and became
amenable to the provisions of that
law, leaving themselves powerless to
escape it so long as their lands were
left off the tax roll, but the day the
state placed their lands on the tax
rolls they were released from the
gross earnings contract and become
subject only to direct taxation.
Senator Hodge interjected, at this
point, that under the contention OF
Senator Morgan, only the Northern
Pacific, Great Northern and st. Paul
& Duluth roads would be released
from the gross earnings tax, since
they were the only roads holding un-
used lands. Senator Morgan frankly
admitted that this was the case but
thought it would be impracticable to
have two different systems of tax
alton in vogue in the same state.
YOUNG WAS MILD.
Senator Young followed Senator
Morgan, and while conceding the sin
cerity of the opposition he held that il
should become a law. The people
want it, and the public conscience is
seldom wrong. There are legal argu-
ments on both sides, but let the people
have the benefit of the doubt, and lei
them decide the question at the polls
While holding to the support of the
bill he admitted the correctness OF
Senator Morgan's position with refer
ence to the repeal of the gross earn
ings tax by placing the lands of the
companies on the tax roll Admitting
that such was the case he still, urged
the passage of the bill, gross earnings
or no gross earnings.
Senator Heneman urged the passage
of the bill on political, as well as
business grounds. All parties had beer
committed to it, and the Republican
party would be held responsible for its
defeat.
Senator Wyman discussed the bill
as he said, from the standpoint OF
right and wrong. In the frontier coun-
ties the settlers paid the taxes, built
the roads, improved the country and
enhanced the value of the railroad
lands which were paying no taxes.
The passage of this bill would tend to
induce the sale of these lands to set
tiers, thereby filling up and improving
the unused lands. If the railroad COM
panies refuse. to pay gross earnings
or any other class of taxation pro-
Vided by law, let them face local tax
alton, the thing they dread worse than
all else. There need be no fear that
the railroads would take any steps
leading to an application of local tax
alton.
REISHUS RAISED A POINT.
Senator Reishus made a strong plea
for the passage of the bill, holding that
the bill carried with it its own argu-
Tho Pny,11h1inoJo ~ ho
tween the devil and the deep sea- On
one hand was the party pledge, and on
the other the obligation to the rail-
roads. If the Republican party agreed
to take care of this bill for the railroad
companies, then it was the duty of
Republican senators to vote against
the bill in support of their pledge to
the railroads. If they held their pledge
to the people to be more sacred than
that to the companies which had con-
tributed to the campaign expenses, then
it became the duty of Republican SEN
ators to vote for the bill, and the Pop
ulist senators stood ready to aid Re
publican senators in saving themselves
from their party.
Senator Culkin said it was idle to
say that politics could not be injected
into the issue. The issue was already
in politics, and the Republican party
was pledged to the support of the bill
If Republican senators perfidiously
defeated the will of the people they
must expect the condemnation Of the
people, who will recognize the extent
of the outrage.
M'HALE HITS IT HARD.
Senator McHale, in support of the
committees adverse recommendation,
urged that politics be eliminated from
the discussion, and that the bill be
acted upon purely in it's business bear
ing. He held that 100000 of the 49,
100000 acres originally ceded to rail-
roads had passed into the hands of
private owners and become taxable
1t was not proper to say that the rail-
road lands were not taxed, as the
gross earnings tax was a tax, in ef-
feet, upon the lands, and the railroads
are today paying, by this indirect sys-
TEN, a greater tax than they had ever
paid before. These lands were ceded
to railroad companies as a considera-
ton for the investment of capital and
the employment of labor at a time
when capital could have been Secured
in no other way. To tax the earnings
OF the roads and then tax the land
which had been ceded as a considera-
ton for their construction would be
an obviously unjust burden upon the
companies which are a party to the
transaction. The gross earnings tax
was a system which was graduated
on. an equitable scale, the greater the
earning the greater tax. The direct
taxation plan for local purposes would
be an injustice to many localities.
Only those counties and townships
through which a railroad runs would
receive a local benefit. He held that
the title of the bill was such that the
matter of gross earnings could not be
involved in it, as the constitution
clearly says bill must pertain to
only one subject, which must be ex-
pressed in the title, and as there was
no reference to the gross earnings
tax in the title it was incompetent for
the bill to treat of that matter. He
urged that no discretionary powers or
choice be left to railroad companies,
by which the people could be left at