Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1898-11-02

Inc Reform PreSS mas given ITS read
| ers the facts of the escape of the Lowry
Twin City Company's property in Min
| neapolis and St. Paul. from having it's
assessment for taxation raised by the
Republican state board Of equalization.
The bearing of that case the general
question of over capitalizati ton and the
enormous burdens imposed by what may
we'll be termed false wealth, is most per-
tinent to the issues of the campaign
1t was shown, in the Lowry cases, that
at! the rates charged for street car fare
the company in the last year earned a
| net surplus of s235 900, after paying all ex-
penses, and interest on outstanding bonds
the exact amount of which is not known,
but believed to be not less that $4,000. 600
to SIS. C0C,000 and dividends on it's out
standing stock known to be nearly ST.
GOO, 900. Also that the such net surplus
for the four years, 1894 to 1897 inclusive
was S1,O13,OOO, no part of which was any
where taxed. The company has prop
erty and assets aggregating $29. 0ON, 0O0 as
its statement to bondholders and others
snow; mas l'ooo in Hennepin county and
6Oo in Ramsey. which are valued as "wag-
ons' at $40 each. as against wagons of
farmers at $42. The company is valued
(gfor taxation at s710.e00 in Hennepin
county, and a little less in Ramsey, total
about 81, 100000. on which it pays taxes
1t escaped raising by showing the board
that its whole property could be repro
duced for $3,000,o00: yet its rates earn the
surplus of a quarter of a million year.
after paying the interest and dividends
on nearly s3O000,000 of stock and bonds.
The difference between what the COM
panys property is worth. SO. 00C 900. and
| what its rates of fare makes the people
pay interest and dividends on. $50 OOO OOO
| is false or counterfeit capital. It is
| tow c%no oh
ton. Under the Stevenson decision rat
cannot be charged for this bogus wealth.
The company which has gone scott
free in the peoples attempts to have it
pay taxes commensurate with the privi-
leges it enjoys. is the same company
which candidate Eustis favored by fight
ing the people of Minneapolis in their eff
forts to obtain transfer privileges COW
ering into the companys pockets thereby
100000 a year.
The people have no quarrel with the
corporations. their own creatures but
with the abuse Of the privileges grant
ed them they may justly deal II is a
hopeful sign. as in the Great Northern.
concerned in the Stevenson case. that
people when the latter assert their own
rights.
SHOWN IN SOUTH DAKOTA
Inc appIcallOn OF lalSe values OF cOun-
terfeit capital has been made very
emphatic by our sister state Of South
railway. AS showing the railway
plan of having one valuation for basing
freight and passenger rates on, and an
other for taxation, this case IS worth
| noting. The valuation for taxation for
| 1897 was on an average of $1,000 per
mile, The people claimed that the
companys rates should be based on
such approximation value. but tine
company claimed that its value for such
basing rates was muct greater. not less
than $4,000 per mile, being the actual
cost.
Judge Garland. to whom the case came
on appeal, after hearing all the facts.
fixed s10.00Q,0O0 as the value of all the
company's lines in the state. The mile
age being 1,l0O this was little under
to the United States supreme court. This
was last year
This year the populis1 governor Lee.
led the people in their effort to have
the valuation Of the company for taxa
ton raised. and used the same showing
the company had made in the former
case to fix its valuation at from SIS 600
to $4,000 per mile. The company re-
sisted, claiming that valuation was far
too high. Gov. Lee and the people only
asked that the valuation be made an
Lowry case in Minnesota. the company
had sufficient pull with the Repub-
lcan board and the people were de-
feated. The valuation for taxation re-
mains at $1,000 per mile. But. in fact.
the capitalization of the company is
$4,000 PER MILE. ON WHICH ITS PRE-
vA1L1NG RATES FOR FREIGHT AND