The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-25
AFTER 1T HAD BEEN AMENDED.
OPERATION OF THE BILL Is RE
sTRECTED TO Personal PRO-
PERFY ALONE.
CALL FROM GRAND ARMY MEMBER,
Pleasant Break I'm the Routine pro
ceedings-New BILLS Still Fall
ing Fast.

| L.
| bill for a graduated and progressive
inheritance tax Oh. F. A., which was
passed by constitutional majority Of
5S votes after the bill had been ma
terfally amended and had narrowly
escaped defeat and mutilation several
! times. The bill as originally drawn.
| provided that the tax should apnlv
! to real and personal property Of the
value Of $500 and over, being graduated
| from this amount to 100000, with
| successive steps from 1 per cent to
5 per cent.
| Mr.. FoSs at the outset presented an
amendment changing the graduation.
which was defeated, after the bill had
| been discussed somewhat as to it's
merits as general proposition.
| The first amendment which the house
adopted, was one proposed by Mr..
| Underleak, limiting the operation of
the measure to personal property alone.
i The argument given for this proposi-
ton was that real property lying out
OF doors does not escape taxation as
| does personal property, and that the
| real motive Of an income tax is to
| allow the estate Of the wealthy make
! good part Of the unpaid tax which
! has been escaped upon personal prop
erty. Mr.. Foss was strongly opposed
| to this proposition but conceded the
| point, realizing that as the bill was
originally drawn, it could not pass the
| house.
Mr.. Littleton introduced an amend,
ment changing the graduation, and IN
! creaSing the maximum limit of estates
| free from this taxation
Judge Littleton said that the income
tax was not new proposition; it had
| been adopted in England and in some
Of the older states of this country, and
that It's object was to get what Is
due the commonwealth in the way of
escaped personal property tax. He
| stated that the average man in the
| course Of lifetime might, by industry
and thrift, accumulate $4,000, in prop
erty, to leave to his family This would
| leave them in only moderate circum-
stances, and it should not be considered
the business CT this great common
wealth to take any portion Of such a
moderate accumulation due for the
| benefit of widows and orphans He
| therefore proposed that the graduation
/ be changed as follows: l per cent upon
! the personal estate from $4,000 to
! $4,000; Per cent from $4,000 to $780,
/ 600; 3 per cent from $40, 900 to $30, 900;
per cent from $50, 900 to $4,000, and
per cent from $4,000 and upwards.
| He argued that this tax would not be
a great hardship on any one, and his
motion was adopted without further
| discussion.
Mr.. Donnelly called attention to the
| question as to whether limiting the
| operation of the act to personal prop
! erty would not involve it's constitution.
/ ality. Judge Hicks Joined him in rails
| ing the question and suggested that
! the bill be referred to the Judiciary,
! committee. MI. Foss insisted that this
was simply move to defeat the bill,
and it was voted down. During his
| remarks Mr.. Foss said that the bill
was modelled after the New York law,
! and that its cCnStitutionalfty has been
! attested by numerous decisions of the
| supreme court of that state.
Numerous sideshots were made at
! the bill; one Of these was by Mr.. West,
| who wanted the amount exempted to
| be raised, saying: THAT after an esta te
! gets through paying the bills of the
| doctor and Withstamding the ravages
! of the undertaken it ought not to be
! plucked by the state"
Judge Hicks, who, except Mr.. Simon
| son, was the only Hernepin member
| to vote for the bill, made some telling
remarks in favor of the measure. H.
said it was the great middle class
that pays the taxes; the great mass
| of rich men don't pay their taxes, and
he was in favor. of a stringent inner
| itance tax, in order to secure for the
state the money thus unfairly withheld
| Mr.. Schmidt, of Duluth, presented
an amendment to section II, providing
that the tax should be payable to the
county in which the estate was pro-
| bated. This was carried by a small
vote, after some hasty discussion.
Thereupon, Mr. Foss, in imprisoned
tones, made a minute speech in
support Of a motion which he had made,
to indefinitely postpone the bill. He
said that the proposition to make the
tax payable to the county was simply
| TO MUTILATE THE BILL
so that it could not become law, and,
| rather than have the measure proceed
any further along that line, the legis-
| lature had better defeat the measure
| as 1t stood. At the same time he gave
| TuII warning to the enemies of the
| measure that there was a crying de-
| mand from the people Of the state fol-
| such a bill.
This had been evinced by the vote
| at the last election, in which $4,000
| votes were cast for the amendment
permitting inheritance taxes, and only
| 1000 against. He said to his enemies,
shaking his open palm in a purely
| Fossesquian gesture: 1--WE might try
10 bridge over the ever widening chasm
| between the ulti-millionaire and the
oeggar, between the rich and the poor,
| between capital and labor. You will
remember that the downfall Of nearly
| every great nation dates from the
Time when few people absorbed all
the rights and all the property"
Mr.. Jacobson Joined Mr. Foss in his
appeal to the country members, and
from the representatives from the
cities. He made ther point that the
amendment introduced by Mr.. Schmidt
would Kill the bill, and he urged that
a great deal of the wealth Of the three
larger cities was from the country,
IN TACT from the whole state Hence.
the tax should be paid to the entire
| state.
At this point the sergeant-at-arms
announced the visit of the state en-
campment of the Grand Army, and
the visitors who were at the house
entrance were hidden into the chamber.
turing the recess, Eoss, Jacobson ct al,
| mace quiet skirmish among the coun-
| Try members and secured enough votes
70 reconsider the vote upon the
ochmldt amendment, which was subse-
| quentiy repealed by g. vote of SO to 25,
ana the Dill was passed. The vote was
| as follows:
| Ayes-Abbott, Anderson. Belden. Bergley.
RoutWell, Donnelly, Douglas, Drumerhausen,
| Dyer. Elgenbrodt, Emerson, Feig, Ffnney,
5osness ross Froslee, Gilbertson, Goar, Gron-