The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-24
Is it?" And invariably the answer is
"NoWheren
Ingenious but Inaccurate.

Ingenious Dut inaccurate.
A contemporary, that may be we'll
meaning but is woefully deficient in its
methods, can find no other solution for
the school revenue problem than a
resubmisS on Of an amended charter to
be prepared by the charter commission.
The same issue that contains it's ulti-
matum that the plan of a revaluation
suggested by The G l b e Is not to
be thought Of and that the charter plan
is the only one also contains an opin-
ion by the chairman of that commission
that that body is functus officio, its
existence having expired in the use Of
It's powers. SO the best that the Pioneer
Press is able to suggest as q way out
of the difficulty is a new charter, to
be prepared by a commission that can
not prepare one because il is dead.
The promulgators of the scheme for
escaping the payment of taxes find in
our contemporary an ingenious but not
All accurate apologist. 1t was not
"foreseen" when, in 1885, the little
coterie Of tax evaders were crying for
retrenchment and reform, and laying
pipe for a reduction of land valuations
that the schools would suffer-" That
was not discovered until after the as
sessment was completed, and it was
then that the effort was made to get
relief from the legislature that met in
1897 Nor is it accurate to say that the
thirty odd millions of reduction was
made ''to reduce the burden Of state
taxation" The state taxation, aside
from the school fund tax, in 1894 was
20 mills; in 1895, 1896 and 1897 1t was
Is mills In 1894 the local rate, less
the state rate, was 1872 mills; in 1895
it was 1873 mills; in 1896 it was 1876
mills. 1.-THE burden of state taxation"
was being diminished by the state It
self. It was the vastly greater local
taxation from whose burden these per-
sons were seeking escape. There is an
absurdity that is childish in talking
about the purpose having been to Ere
duce the burden of state taxation"
which formed less than one-tenth of
the whole burden.
Possibly the restoration of valuation
was suggested two years ago when it
was realized into what pitfall these
tax dodgers had thrown the schools.
and possibly it was objected that 1t
would make Ramsey county pay lit
tie more state tax; but it was dis
carded, in fact, because it was PR pos
ed to ask the coming legislature to in
crease the tax limit, a sch 2me that was
defeated by the same element that had
secured the reduced valuations, who
would willingly see the whole school
system wrecked if it would save them
few dollars in taxes. But it is not
accurate to say that the restoration OF
the $S0,C00,000 would then or would now
Involve the payment by this city Of a
large part of other peoples taxes" 1t
would have added and will now add
about $4,000 to the amount Of taxes due
the state, while it would add enough
to the school funds to restore the
schools to the former .conGi ion, prevent
reduction Of the school year or teach
ers' wages, the other alternative, would
allow new buildings to be put up and
repairs. too long postponed now, to be
made. The suggestion may be, as our
contemporary terms 1t, "shopworn." but
even then it is better than the misfit
which is al 1t can propose.