The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-04
BICYCLES, DOGS AND TAXES.

BICYCLES, DOGS AND TAXES.
An evening paper has Assessor Seng
assuring the owners Of bicycles that
he has his eye, on them this year, and
that they cannot escape taxation Of
their wheels, but, II they will be good
about 1t, not make him any trouble
and put their wheels on their property
tax list, he will tote fair with them
Just as reminder he tells them thai
ne can fix the value Of the wheels HIM
self and can make 1t 500, If ne only
Wills to, but, theoretically, he will let
them off easily, If they will only plead
guilty on the assessment list to own
ing wheel. They need not hope to
escape, for he has means Of finding
cut just who own wheels and how
many, and. if they try to dodge him, he
Will catch them and make them smart
for it. All Of which is interesting, be-
cause it evinces a desire to corral in the
tax lists property that usually gets
away from the assessor.
SCISSORS to make this minute search for
evasive personal property, the wheel, as
an occupant Of the column of wagons,
carriages and other vehicles" is sub
ject to taxation, and, if the assessor
viii assure wheelmen that he will be as
alert and persistent in his search for
and listing Of all other personal prop
erty as he promises to- be with their
wheels, they will be perfectly content
tc have their vehicles listed at what
they are actually worth. But they
beg permission to remind Mr. Seng
that there are Others They find
some figures In the abstract Of assess
ment Of personal property in the state
in 1895, contained in the state auditors
report, to which they ask the atten-
ton of the assessor. The county of
Ramsey returned last year for taxa
ton 6,S29 wagons, carriages, bicycles
and sleighs." Is Mr. Seng quite posi-
tive that this includes all Of these
articles, even emitting bicycles, that
he really have the outside world be-
lieve that the good people of this city
and county carried in their fobs or
had in their houses only 1852 watches
and clocks? And could he and his
corps of alert assistants find only S63.-
955 worth Of diamonds and jewelry in
all this city, when it would be very
poor entertainment of the Four Hun
dred that did not exhibit in plain
sight very much more value in dia-
monds and jewelrys than that? Is 1t
possible that, with all the trade and
commerce Of this city, its business men
have less than 100000 Of cred
It's other than Of banks Or that there
is owned here only 1915, 599 worth of
stocks, outside of bank stocks? Where
are all the investments IN mining and
railway and other stocks mot of this
state" that only a beggarly $67O of
them could be caught for the tax rolls?
And. coming down to personal property
not only not elusive, but vociferously
obtrusive Of presence, could Mr.. Seng
and his corps find only 1,0O4 dogs in
this city and county? Any wheelman
could take a larger census Of dogs
than that in half a days outing. Mr..
Seng asks the wheelmen to be square
with him; does he not think that the
above indicates that he should tote
fair with the Wheelmen?
But there are other obstacles in the
way Of getting a tax out of all the
wheels in the city. The legislature, in
compliance with the mandate Of the
constitution that personal property
to an amount not exceeding 5000 for
each individual shall, by general laws.
be exempt from taxation" has ex-
empted such property to the amount
Of 800. Nine-tenths of all the wheels
are owned by young men and women
who have no other personal property.
or not enough to exceed the exemption.
Is 1t worth while to tax the remaining
one-tenth2 And, If it is, Is it not fair
then, to bring in all the dogs, for in
stance?