The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-05-03
GAVE VALUABLE AID.
Auditor Dunn Assisted Legislators Much
in Making Good Record.

st. Paul, April 80. The excellent re-
cord made by the last Legislature is
the source of much qualification to the
rank and file of the Republican party
and to the people of the state gener-
ally. The work it accomplished has
marked it as the most effective body
that has ever assembled in the state S
legislative halls, and to every member
belongs portion of the credit for
putting into effect many valuable and
| useful measures.
A prominent member of the state
senate, while discussing the work of
the session of 1901 yesterday, drew at
tention to the fact that many of the
valuable suggestions which were acted
upon by the legislature emanated from
the Office of the state auditor.
sit is to the state auditor, R. @.
Dunn, that we owe many of the prac-
teal suggestions that have been offer
ed, and 1 say this without intending
to disparage any other individual.
The recommendation for the creation
of a state board of control was made
by the state auditor in his report to
the legislature, and it is pleasing to
note that in the effort to impress upon
the legislature the value of the sug-
gestion and to secure the necessary
Legislation, Mr. Dunn had the cordial
support and cooperation of Gov. Van
SAINT ...
"The idea of shortening the session
also came from the state auditor in
connection with his recommendation
for the appointment. of a tax commits
sion, and. as you know, the legisla-
ture adopted both suggestions. From
the same source came the bills relat-
ing to the sales of lands forfeited for
non payment of taxes, which by be-
ing made law clean up the tax list
of the different counties, placing a
large amount of money in the county
treasures and leave a clear field for
the operation of the revised tax law,
which I suppose will be reported to
the legislature at a special session a
year hence.
"And, talking about tax matters,
the remarkable reduction of the tax
levy in the past few years has been
made on the state auditors recon-
mendation, and, in fact, by his own
official act. The 1899 Legislature fixed
the levy at +. 5 mills, but the state
auditor, who vested by law with
power to reduce the rate, was able to
do so and no more than Ia mills was
levied in 1899. In 1900 he reduced the
levy to 1.3 mills, and the legislature of
1901 fixed the rate at that figure for
the years 1902 and 1908.
1.-THE question of increasing the
special tax on the gross EARNINGS of
railroads has been the subject of re-
peated recommendations by the state
auditor, with the result that the last
Legislature passed bill increasing the
tax from 3 to per cent.
lone of Mr.. Dunn's pet measures
was the reduction of the rate of inter
est on state land certificates from to
4 per cent, which was provided for
by law passed during the last session.
This reduction of interest makes the
land certificates safe and longtime
investment for the state of the school
and university funds at per cent, the
same rate as is charged on loans of
those funds to school districts, an
other beneficial system which owes its
initiative to the state auditor.
SIT seems to me that when we dis
cuss the division of credit to which
the members of the last Legislature
are entitled, Individually and collec-
lively, we should not overlook the fact
that so much of the work had it's orr
gin with State Auditor Dunn, and that
owing to his experience and active
CO. operation with the legislative COM
mituees, practical form was given to
suggestions which he has made to the
legislature from time to time during
the six years he had been in Office