The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-16
SpERRY BILL GOES
PASSES THE HOUSE WITH A NUM-
BIER OF AMENDMENTS
TO 1T.
AS SUGGESTED BY Mr.. DARE.
PROVISION MADE FOR THE MONTH
LY PUBLICATION OF THE MIN
NESOTA HORTICULTURIST.
STOOD TOGETHER ON 1T.
JAG OLSON Has His Tonnage Tax Bill
Revived and Placed on the
Table.

The Sperry state printing bill, ham,
mered into shape by the addition of
the Dare amendments, was taken up
early in the afternoon and so amended
as to include the monthly publication
OF the Minnesota Horticulturist which
had been stricken out of the list Mr..
Lang rallied the farmers to the sup
port Of the publication for their benefit
and they joined in voting for it. Mr.
Dare said he simply desired to call the
attention of the house to the fact that
it cost $1,000 a year Of the states
money to issue a monthly publication
with the regular subscription price Of
dollar and regular subscribers Mr..
Scott stated that the subscriptions and
advertising paid the cost of the pub
LEGATION, but, notwithstanding, the
farmers stood together, adopted the
amendment and the bill was passed.
Mr.. Staples constitutional amend
ment BILL providing that state senators
from even and odd numbered districts
shall be elected at alternate elections
was killed. There were no speeches
after the bill was taken up, but the
house politicians had an understand
ing that the bill was to be SmOtheTcd
and they voted against it without cere-
mony. Mr.. Feig urged the passage of
the bill, saying that it was really moth
ing more than the trainers of the con-
StitutiOn intended. But there was the
understanding and the bill received but
fOrty-fiVe OF the necessary fifty-eight
votes.
The bill to abate the royalty on iron
ore, mined on state lands and smelted
within the state Oh. F. 1922 which, a
few years ago was quite an issue Slip
thVODCh with
ton. Mr.. Jacobson suggested that there
should be some time limit as TO it's
operation. Mr.. Feig said this was not
necessary as the legislature would re-
tain the right to amend or repeal the
law at any time Mr. Jacobson was
afraid the lawyers might step in at
some time and make out that this was
in the form of a contract
Early during the afternoon session
Mr.. Jacobson moved the recOnsidera-
ton Of the vote by which his tonnage
tax bill, H. F. 444, providing for
straight tax of one cent on COAL five
cents on iron and fifty cents on cop
per- was Indefinitely postponed. In
support of this the Lac qui Parle mem
Der explained that the Reeves bill, pro-
Viding for a combined tax, both ton
mage and assessed valuation, had been
killed in the senate and that he thought
the sentiment of the house was in favor
mineral properties of the state.
Mr.. Smith, chairman of the commit
tee on taxes and tax laws by which
the bill was recommended for indefin-
tie pOStponement, stated that the
jacobson bill had been indefinitely
thought that the Reeves bill covered
the ground, and that the Jacobson
measure was not killed in committee
after being considered.
Mr.. Schmidt, the Duluth member, ex-
planned that in his opinion the senate
had killed the Reeves tonnage tax bill
after keeping 1t nearly twenty-four
days, and that if there had been any
sentiment in favor of it, the bill might
easily have been amended. He was
strongly against any reconsideration Of
the Jacobson measure. Mr.. StOckwell
said he had canvaSsed the senate and
found that the tonnage tax scheme was
not at all popular, which statement
Mr.. Feig corroborated. An aye and no
vote called for by Mr.. Lloyd showed
IS votes in favor and 81 against, so the
bill was revived and laid on the table
The Reeves bill was not so fortunate,
the authors motion to have it recon
sidered being lost. This bill is H. F. 41U,
to provide an ad valorem tax on miner
ais and mineral lands. and the author
made a somewhat lengthy explanation
Of it's provisions. Mr.. Laybourn, who
led the fight which carried the bill to
its death, laid open the fact that one
of it's chief features deprived the peo-
pie of st. Louis county of the right to
make their own valuations, and this
he thought was enough to earn oblivion
for the measure. Mr. Laybourn re-
iterated his position on the iron ques-
ton, and said he was opposed to a ton
mage tax, on principle, but strenuously
objected to giving the state board Of
equalization the function which was
clearly that of the st. Louis county
board. He made strong argument
against even reconsidering the bill, and
in reply to Mr.. Reeves statement that
he expected opposition from the ST.
Louis member, remarked that St Louis
county would never oppose in any way
any fair system Of taxation, but would
oppose with all its might the slightest
effort to deprive it of the same right to
appraise the value Of its own property
as was enjoyed by other sections re-
garding their own interests. The mo-
ton to reconsider was lost, and the
bill will never again show Its face this
session.
BILLS PASSED OR LOST.
The following bills were passed or lost an
indicated:
e. F. 491 (Sparry)-The new state printing