The Saint Paul globe., 1896-11-20
MANY THOUSANDS OF ACRES
NOT RETURNED IN THE TAX
LISTS FOR A SINGLE
COUNTY.
NOT SURE THEY ARE ACCIDENTS,
The Commissioner Lets the ASSESS
Ors Rest Under a Very Serious
ImputatiOn of Guilt.

the meeting Of the conference of off,
cials of state bureaus of labor statis-
tics that Minnesotas affairs and in
vestigations took up no small part of
the time of that conference. Mr.. Pow
ers explained, in making his report,
that the department of labor in this
state only had an appropriation of
$4,000, which left only about $1,000 for
statistical work
I'm our statistical work." he said,
I'VE are carrying on two leading Sc
ries of Investigations. One relates
largely to the prices of agricultural
products and live stock in the United
States The problem we set before
ourselves may be briefly stated thus:
There are two great factors that have
operated in the world in affecting
prices. Down to about a century ago,
aside from temporary causes, such as
changing crops, varying supply and
demand, ETC., there had been but one
great cause affecting prices, the f1uc-
tuations in the medium of exchange
In this century we have the changes
that have come with invention in pro-
duction and transportation. Through
these forces there has been a decline
in average prices, or in other words,
an appreciation of gold. The investi-
cation which we are carrying on seeks
to separate as far as possible curran-
cy or invention changes by taking out
the amount of these price variations
that are due to invention, leaving the
changes that can properly be charged
to a change in the supply of the cur
rency operating in the United States.
The object is simply so to treat the
facts, if possible, as to bring out all
that is in them that may throw light
upon each possible trend of prices as
they are affected by the invention Of
our day and by the possible effect Of
the changing supply of precious met
ais in the present generation and the
use of those metals and the changing
currencies of the world
''The second investigation which we
are carrying on relates to taxation and
the relative burden of taxation in the
several counties and cities of the state.
In connection with this we tabulate
every real estate transfer made in the
year 1895 in every county in the state.
We also tabulate every mortgage for
closure in the state, and for portion
of the state we shall also tabulate
every mortgage recorded, and from
these three tabulations we seek, by
varying calculations, to determine the
relative burden Of taxation in the sew
eral counties of the state. We shall
ascertain the amount of assessment
and the taxes for each piece of property
represented in the three tabulations
mentioned. For the lands sold by war
ranty deeds we shall ascertain the per-
centage which the assessed value bears
to the selling price shown in the deeds.
Tn, %1oa Of 1o,o 1e,, Il
shall obtain this percentage indirectly
as follows: We shall take what the
real estate men or the loan agents say
is the relative amount of money that
they would place as a loan upon the
real estate. 1t is said in Minnea polls,
for example, that the loan agents cal
cUlate to place a loan on mortgage Of
40 per cent Of what the real estate man
states to be the actual value of the
property.
1--WE find that the assessed valuation
is 80 per cent of the sale value We find
that the burden Of taxation is larger in
st. Paul than in Minneapolis, and larger
in both cities than in the country We
find, too, that there is far more dis
honesty of taxation in the country than
in the city. We are also making an in
quiry to see whether the factory in
spection law, as it stands, is enforce
able, and If not enforceable, in what
respects the statutes Of Minnesota need
to be amended in order to make that
law a practical force, and 1 am inclined
to believe that we shall demonstrate
to the educational authorities Of the
state Of Minnesota, with whom we are
cooperating and who we have got to
cooperate with US in the larger towns,
that the law as it is and has stood for
ten years need not be a dead letter, if
they will only take hold of it with a
spirit that involves tact and good judg-
ment and a regard for the rights of
others so far as it involves the ques-
tion of religion, which has been a per-
picking question in many of our West
ern states touching compulsory edit
cation. 1 believe that this law and the
| child labor law can be made; what
| they have not heretofore been in more
! than very few states, a factor for the
| uplifting of our people,
| Robert Schilling, of Milwaukee, asked
| Mr.. Powers whether he considered it
an advantage to the statistical branch
! of his bureau to have the factory in
| spection department connected with
his office; in other words, if it was not
q seeming advantage to the statistical
| department to have the other depart
nlent as part of the bureau? He would
| also like to inquire whether the as
| SCISSORS in Minnesota, in making up
| their field-books, assessed the land
values separate from the improvement
! values.
Mr.. Powers stated that the law re-
! quired the assessors to assess the
! buildings and other improvements sep
! arate from the land itself.
AS to factory inspection, he was con-
vinced that it was dangerous to COM
! bine it with statistical work.
Statistics gathered under compulsion
could not be worth anything. They
must be the result of earnest co-opera-
L. Il, -s1,I-s
| them. However, through the factory
| inspectors he had endeavored to keep
the moral and not the legal force to the
| front. When he began the factory In
spection work the legislature had re-
fused to pass a factory inspection law.
He instructed his statistical men to
recommend the adoption of safety de-
vices. The adoption of these devices
gave the bureau a moral support and
the next legislature passed the factory
| inspection bill without a dissenting
vote. However, he doubted if he could
continue in the future to secure along
all lines the development and extension
OF the laws for the protection of the
working people that must come from
the work of a factory inspection de-
partment, and yet be left free to take
up all phases of statistical investiga-
ton that ought to be treated in our
statistical work
Mr. Wadlin, of Massachusets asked
Mr.. Powers whether he means by the
the term, improved land" simply land
having buildings upon it, or whether
he aplies the term also to land without
buildings, but otherwise improved il
the ordinary sense.
Mr. Powers said that by the WORD
improvements the assessors under
stand fences and buildings.
Mr.. Wadlin, however indorsed the
work done by the Minnesota depart
ment. Mr.. Powers explained that hi
4 had been deferred from undertaking
certain lines of statistical inYeSfiga.