The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1897-04-29
IT'S WORK Is OVER.
THE MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE AD-
JOIRNS SINE DIE.

q THE MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE AD-
JOIRNS SINE DIE.
"A Brief Sketch OF the Legislation
Enacted-The Tax Levy Remains
the Same, and the Appropriations
Are Smaller-An Inheritance Tax
Provided for-Ranling Legis1a-
tion-Constitutional Amendments
affairs and adjourned. In considering
'the legislation enacted during the ses-
sion the matter of state finances
greatest interest to the people at large
who pay the bills. In the matter of ap-
preparations the legislature has made a
record for economy that will commend it
self to every taxpayer, without regard to
political bias. The total for the session
will be considerably under that of any
session for a number of years. The ON
nibus bill carried $1,955, $50 Is. This total
rs slightly in excess of that of 1898 and
1895. but the bill took care of more in
terests than the bills Of those sessions,
a strenuous endeavor being made to get
everything possible into the one bill. The
other appropriation bills of the session,
aside from those which appropriate out Of
specific funds which are not made up OF
the common contributions of the people,
or which are in the nature of loans and
whose repayment may in large measure
be expected, have not been numerous.
and will probably not swell the total
above a quarter Of million in addition
to the omnibus bill. ~,
The tax levy has been allowed to re-
main at the figure of the last two years,
Is mills. 1t might have been somewhat
reduced, perhaps, to Ia mills, or even
lower, but such procedure would have
wiped out the surplus and would almost
certainly have necessitated the increase
of the levy two years from now, some
thing the people would have resented a
great deal more than they would have
appreciated slight reduction now. In
addition to this levy the school levy has
been increased OS mill in order to give
the university a larger income.
In addition to this direct taxation the
legislature has embarked on a series of
experiments in the matter of taxation Of
corporations under the constitutional
amendment adopted last fall. The bills
2 of the house levying gross earnings tax
upon the earnings Of express companies,
sleeping car companies and telephone
companies and valuation tax upon
freight line and equipment companies
have passed both houses The freight
line and the sleeping car bills were
signed by the governor yesterday. The
other two are still in his possession. 1t
was estimated when these bills left the
house that they would produce an aggre-
gate revenue of well on to 100000. The
senate cut down the tax upon the ex-
press companies from to 3 per cent,
and made similar reduction in the tele-
phone company tax. They also greatly
limited the operations of the express tax,
so that it is exceedingly problematical
whether it will produce more than a mini
mum sum. The sleeping car tax was left
at per cent, and the freight line tax at
g per cent. 1t is doubtful whether these
four bills, If the remaining two are
signed, will produce $5O,OOO but the leg
islation is, as has been Indicated, largely
experimental in it's nature, and will serve
as the foundation upon which future leg
islatures may build with knowledge.
The matter of a special form OF taxa
ton upon iron properties and their out,
nut was decided in the negative by the
action of the senate in rejecting the
Reeves bill, which provided for double
system of taxation, cents per ton or
iron mined, and valuation tax upon th@
"a unoperated property Of this character
The failure Of this legislation leaves these
properties subject to the ordinary method
of taxation, and it is but fair to the leg
islature, or rather to the senate, to sa!
that competent judges of this subject arr
of the opinion that quite as much will b'
realized by ordinary assessment and tax
alton as would have been produced b.
the Reeves bill. The foundation for ade
quate taxation Of these properties wa
laid when the 1 cent tonnage tax law o
1881 was repealed.
The Inheritance Tax. -:
One other bill is in the hands or thu
governor. 1t started as H. F. 4, and pro
'vided for a graduated tax upon inheri
tances. It was amended in the senate 81
as to provide for tax of per cent upo1
all requests of value in excess of So O
going to collateral heirs and l per cen
personal property in all sums in ex
cess of $4,000 going to direct heirs. l
is impossible to approximate the sum tina
will be raised by this bill if it becomes
law. % " .' >
When this review was written the in
surance tax bill of the house was still
pending in the senate. If it becomes
law this bill will increase the tax upon in
surance premiums from 2 to 3 per cent
and will give an increased revenue Ier
haps larger than that raised by any o
these other taxation measures.
One law directly connected with tn
general subject of taxation, although no
a revenue measure, must not be forgotten
It is the law-for it has already been ap
proved-giving the state board of equal
liza ton power to increase Individual as
SesSments. The promoters Of this meas
ure hope for beneficial results. Under tn
present system the state board only ha
X power to treat with assessments as re
turned by the county boards in classe
and by counties. This law gives them au
thority to require of county auditor
statements of individual assessments an
the further power to take testimony look
ing to the equity of these assessments
with view to increasing them. The a
tentative power Of reduction is not giver
so that to the extent that the law is i1
vOked at all it must be in the directio
of increased assessments upon those prof.
IA critics and property owners that as
sessed at VIGOROUSLY low figure.
In the matter of railroads, the Volun
of legislation has been small, but tw
bills of no little Importance on this sui
q ject have been passed and one Of thel
8 is already law. 1t gives to the railroa
n and warehouse commission the power
initiate proceedings looking to a redut
5'a. ton Of rates Hitherto the commissio
has been forced to await complaint mao
in due form before it could take up an
Ia of these matters. Now they may procee
y on their own motion. The other hi
passed yesterday. 1t was the result
the joint consideration Of the two house
It left the house carrying two subject
and came back with one Of them elm
mated and the other elaborated It pre-
s386 vides that il the future when an orde
made by the railroad commission redut