The Irish standard., 1899-04-08

be accomplished meant the breaking OF
the greatest OF the ring rulers, to-wit,
corporate control OF the law making
power Realizing the force and justice OF
the recommendation, and Selling on a
great political opportunity, the Repub-
lican leaders rushed into the breach will,
the bill OF Mr.. Jacobson, drawn under
the eye of the Republican state auditor,
who had made the same recommends
ton in his report to the legislature.
And so the bill, which followed substan-
TALLY the lines OF Governor Lind's mes
sage recommendation, went into and
through the lower house, the railroads
not seriously showing their hands, evil
IDENTIFY reserving their ammunition" for
the senate, the much smaller body
Gulled into the belief that the propo-
sition would be heard on its merits in
the senate, the friends OF the measure
proceeded to make known the utterably
unanswerable arguments there were in
favor Of the bill, both as to the law and
the question OF policy and justice For
the first there were the results OF pre-
vious contests involving the gross earn
ings tax law, extending back to the
Foley and Markham bills for taation
of railroad lands, and covering the An
derson law and its final test in the su-
preme court. The present bill landed in
the senate judiciary committee, OF which
several of the most prominent members
were on record for the constitutionality
of the proposed legislation. Finally, as
the greatest encouragement, the chair
man of the committee, Senator E. T.
Young, of Swift county. was OH public
record as having made the celebrated
minority report on the Anderson bill,
finding it constitutional on exactly the
same questions involved in the present
BILL
1t was ominous, when consideration
could not be longer delayed, that the
railroads made no open appearance, new
ertheless the committee, in the form OF
hearing which they went through, were
supplied with all the old and new state
ments of facts and law They were
shown that Governors Austin and Davis
recommended the increase of tax. Were
shown from Lind's message that the
railroads are paying but moiety OF
taxes. compared with those paid by the
people. That the 5 per cent on gross
earnings. paid in lieu OF all else, was
nearly 2 per cent lower than paid by the
roads i'll the neighboring states, the diff
ference exceeding 100000 year. That
it the roads were taxed as other prop
erty, even on the low valuation OF $1o,-
600 per mile. it would increase the state
revenue over 100000.
MIR. Jacobson presented a perfect
OF undisputed facts. His doc
ument. part of the official record. will
long stand as monument to his over
confidence of accomplishing reform
through his old party. He took tip the
earning power OF the roads and their
dividend paying capacity. On Jan. 1,
1899, the roads OF this state had market
value, stocks and bonds, Of $3.50 122, 900.
They had net earnings Of $1886o, 1000
for last year. They paid an average OF
per cent dividends on their enormous
capitalization of $11o. 562, 900, and the
average interest on their bonded debt OF
ST 55,8oo,o 900. The roads had gross earn
ings OF $4o,oo8ooo in 1897. on which
their 3 per cent tax would be ST. ,12o, 400,
and the total Of all the taxes they did
pay for the year was $1,127.o5o.24. Com
pared with taxes paid generally it was
but 8 mills on the dollar OF fair valua-
ton, against the average OF "a mills paid
by the people. Furthermore their net
earnings of over $18,ooo,ooo is per cent
on 5000 600, 1000! And finally while the
rate for the roads in Minnesota is 3 per
cent OF their gross earnings. the roads
of ten other leading states pay an aver
age OF 5 per cent on the comparison OF
earnings to taxes.
After going through the form OF hear
ing, the report OF the committee was
made by Chairman Young, against both
the policy and law, the latter on the
ground that the state is barred from
changing the gross earnings law, be-
cause it was passed when Minnesota was
a territory, and constituted contract
rights. Then, in open hearing i'll the
senate, came the bombshell from Gov
ernor Lind in letter to Senator Hal
vorson, who made the principal fight
for the bill. 1t was shown by official
state reports, that these roads had never
paid one cent OF tax under the territorial
charters, but had each and all obtained
new tax laws, after the admission of the
state, changing the law so that they paid
one, two and three per cent, as their
lines were constructed, and the time OF
operation increased. The later act could
not be contracts, because the making OF
contracts Of that kind is expressly for
hidden by the state constitution. And,
finally. came all OF the tests which have
been made since the passage OF the An
derson law, including the supreme court
decision affirming the right OF the legis-
lature to change the gross earnings law.
To which may pertinently be added,