The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1901-04-03
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Gross Earnings Bill asses.
th6 House Last
W66ll.
Has. 6I0nte6n Votes More
Than Enough to
ass.
Special to THE GAZETTE:

i Special to THE g GAZETTE
ssST PAUL, MINI. April The
/ lower house Of the Minnesota legis-
latnre has redeemed the promise
made to the people Of the State IN
the respective platforms Of the diff
ferent political parties Of the State.
before the last election, and by a
big majority has passed the Jacob
son bill raising the tax on gross
earnings of railroad companies In
Minnesota from three to four per
]5cent.
# just what the senate will do is a.
l5question, but it is stated on the best
of authority that that bod will pass
the bill as il came from the house
IJ was the senate that killed the bill
two years ago, but is said that a
number of the senators who then
1 voted against the increased tax
have given itsout carte blanche that
they will vote for the measure this
time, and that the bill will surely
l pass. it isseyen stated that these
senators served notice on the rail
read companies several weeks ago
/ to the effect that theY would vote
for the bill, if it5ever reached them
from the house, and that if the COM
panies proposed to kill the measure.
/ it would have to be done In the
house. Whether this unor has
any foundation IS q question bu ! IL
lis a. a.signi fcant fact that the fight
was made in the house. a place
where, owing to the large member
lSship, a fight Of this kind is seldom
made
In the senate the committee on
taxes and tax laws has been in
structed to report out the bill BY
Thursday, and it is probable that
f i
! it will be made a special order for
some day early next week In case
| the measure passes it will be up to-
! the people to vote for the proposi-s
tion, before the bill can go into
effect. and then the railroad compa
nies will probably test the law IN
| the courts, and they are almost GER
tain to carry il to the highest courts
il the United States.
The fight was opened very uDex-
pectedly last w Wednesday morning
1t was just after the. last resolution
i had been reported. NJ jacobson.
arose from his seat and quietly
moved that the gross earnings bill
+ E((House File No. 291 be taken from
the table Instantly there was q
hush oyer the room, and a whisper,
as to what the motion was The
author Of the bill moved for a call Of
1.-The house and the call was de-
Ina nded. An hour was spent in
rounding up absentees, and every
member was rustled into the hall,
Witht the exec option 81 those reported
excused on account Of sickness, or
I5otherWis and Geo w. Armstrong
who had gone TO- Waseca to appear
as af attorne ia a civil action on
that DAY al pro dings un-
der the call Wel dispensed with,
and then Mr.. acob bison renewed his
argument ID favor Of tax kziing the bill
from the table, contend ing that if
the billWas not consi dered at this
session il would not be at the spe-
cial session. He was backed u s. bp
] As. Peterson, who insisted shat
the bill ought to be taken from TIE la
table and fairly discusses
Lay bourn opposed the mott on with
al the force Of argument bat e
could muster contendi & that the
Legislature had just paid SO ,O00II
and reated a tax commis sion tol
spend that money TO revise The tax
laws, and that the commission |
should first report Oh gross earn
ings tax before the bill vas consid- u