The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-12-16
JUST As We FORETOLO,
THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
II Is Now Claimed that the Bill to Tax Railroad
Lands Wipes out the 8 per cent gross earn.
ings Tax and the Million Dollars
Collected Under IL.

"~' "ipoS ouI Inc . per cent gross earn.
ings Tax and the Million Dollars
Collected Under It.
The st. Paul Dispatch Of Dec. 18th.
has this to say:
ut is expected that there will be a
trong effort made by the Legislature
to institute some innovations in the
matter OF taxes and tax laws. The
recently adopted constitutional
amendment places it within the pow
er OF the Legislature to practically al.
ter the entire system Of taxation, with
the single reservation that the gross
earning system of taxing railroads
shall not be tempered with. Auditor
Dunn has given good deal of study
TO This subject, and his recommends.
tions will be given considerable
weight by the Legislature.
The effect OF the adoption Of the So
called Anderson railroad taxation bill
Is already being felt-in fact 1t was
felt before its adoption by the people.
1t has been cOntended by some Of the
pest lawyers in the state, many of
them being members OF the Leglsla-
ture, that the effect of this measure
would be to invalidate the gross earn
ingS law, even though it expressly
stipulated in it's text that it should
not affect that system of taxation.
The gross earnings law provides that
the payment Of certain per centage
OF the cOmpany's earnings shall be
accepted by the state sin lieu Of all
other taxation" Now, these lawyers
say, II company pays its gross earn
lngS tax. and is taxed again on its
lands that is double tax, and If the
land tax is paid first the company
may refuse to pay tax on its earn.
ings. This on the theory that COM
pany can not be taxed twice on the
same property any more justly than a
man might be hanged twice for the
same offense."
Read these extracts together: The
first states that the coming session OF
the Legislature will have it in its
power "to practically alter the entire system
OF toration." with the exception Of the
three per cent gross earnings tax,
which now yields the state about a
million dollars annually. And then
the second paragraph sets forth that
the adoption of the tax on railroad
lands has wiped out the gross-earn-
ings tax. therefore the Legislature
will have it in its power to alter the
entire system Of taxation as to rail-
roads!
Then read the following:
'"The railroad companies, owning
land subject to taxation under this
act, it is said, have exerted them
selves to an unusual extent during
the past year, and have sold vast guam
titles Of landed holdings in anticipa-
tion of the adoption Of the amend
ment. Should it transpire that the
Anderson bill, in spite Of it's inten-
tiOnS, annulS the gross earnings tax,
then there will be a mess. The
amount of taxes paid under the gross
earnings law. of course, increases with
the earnings Of the roads, and it is
predicted that within twenty years it
will pay all the expenses OF the state
government. While it is not at all
probable that the Anderson bill will
be construed to annul the law, there
is just enough Of the probable in it to
excite good deal Of interest in the
matter, and the suggestion OF Auditor
Dunn that there be no experimental
"monkeying" with the tax laws,
should be duly weighted"
Three or four weeks before the re-
cent election The REPRESENTATIVE
published long editorial and claimed
that there was game on foot to de-
stroy the three per cent gross earn
ings tax, and have the present Legis-
lature make a new law: and what that
law would be,-we told our readers
would depend upon the honest of the
legiSlators-an unknown quantity.
But it may be asked, how did the
people come to vote themselves into
such trap after such warning
from paper Of the prominence OF
The REPRESENTATIVE? The answer
is plain. This paper and its editor
had been largely shorn Of their infiu.
ence, at that time, through tn,
Vaccinations of S. NJ. Over, "a man W.
had twice supported for governor; but
who, through his friends, initiated a
battle against the life Of this paper,
in the midst of the campaign, which
came very near destroying it. We had
to fight for existence at the very time
we ought to have been battling for
the people. Even when the Populist
state central committee sent US out
to make speech for the ticket at
Moorhead, Mimi, we found that the
local committee had neither hired a
hall nor given any notice of our meet
ing. When the Republicans saw us
on the streets of Moorhead, and found
out the circumS tanceS under which
we we're there, they declared it was an
insult to us and a disgrace to their
town, and they at once made arrange
ments for an open air meeting, for US.
that night, at which more than a
thousand persons were present. We
we're and are grateful to them for
their kindness and courtesy.
This illust rates the internecine war
which was raging in the bosom Of our
party: and hence our influence was
shorn and crippled. and mems minds
turned against US. II we had been
Loyalty supported by the whole Peo-
pies Party we might have defeated