The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-02-21
HOUSE ADOPTS WALLACE AMEND
MENTs ELIMINATING PROVISIONS D
MOST OBJECTED TO
JACOBSON WALKS INTO A TRAP
In Making Play to Agricultural I1Ie-
ment, He Arouses Opposition
Which May Seal Fate
of the Bill.
ROBERTS STARS IN NEW ROLE

The house yesterday adopted the Wal
lace amendments eliminating the dras-
tic and inquisitorial features from the
personal tax clauses Of the tax code;
repealed the vessel tax clause, which
has agitated the Duluth delegation; spe-
Gifted that threshing machines and corn
shredders shall be assessed, and wran-
gled through two tedious sessions, de-
voted to fixing the bill.
Jacobson and the friends Of the bill
fell into trap yesterday morning, which
places them between two fires, and may
result in the ultimate defeat of the code
Wednesday night Mr.. jacobson agreed
to support the Wallace amendments Yes
terday morning he pretended to awaken
to the alleged fact that the amendments
were too sweeping in their scope, and
calculated to aid the tax dodger, to the
injury of the farmer and small taxpay-
er In an impaSsioned speech he pro-
posed a supplement to the Wallace
amendments, to which Wallace and the
opposition very readily agreed, as it re-
ally made no difference, and Jacobson
voted for the Wallace proposition. Mr.
Jacobson's supplementary amendment
play to the farmers gallery in the last
extremity, provides that county auditors
may add SO per cent in penalty to the
assessors return of personal property
which the owner has refused to list
The factions which have most strenu-
ously opposed the drastic features of the
bill could see nothing objectionable in
Mr.. Jacobson's desire to get at the tax
dodger, and while the representatives Of
the agricultural districts declined to be
convinced, and were joined by the DEM
ocrats, styled the amendments "a shame
full compromise they mustered only for
ty-siX votes, as against sixty-tWo. The dis
cusSion of the amendments occupied the
whole morning, and it was not until aft
ernoon that jacobson got a vote on His
supplement, which was made part of
the omnibus amendment. The attitude Of
the opposition was plainly shown in the
vote for the supplement 1t voted al
most solidly for the Jacobson proviso,
which received eighty-one out of total
of ninety-one votes
Mr. Demng, of Hennepin, secured the
adoption of an amendment to the delin-
quent tax clause, calculated to protect
the innocent purchaser of property on
/, which tax may be delinquent through
failure of the proper officials to assess
it. The code provided that from and aft
er the date that the taxes became de-
linquent the auditor should charge
against the property interest at the rate
Of per cent until the back tax was
paid. Mr.. DemiEg argued that the error
. OF an assessor might run along unnOllceu
for several years and then turn up, a
lien on property purchased by an entire
ly innocent party. His proposition elici-
ted considerable discussion, but was final
ly adopted by a practically unanimous
viva voce vote.
Tonnage Tax Knocked Out.
Mr.. Laybourn easily secured the adop-
ton of an amendment replacing the pres
ent tonnage tax on vessels registered in
Duluth. The amendment provides for a
tax of three cents on each ton of the
vessels net registered tonnage. The tax
is to be collected by the state and one
half paid to St. Louis county. The Wal
lace amendments disposed of the gram
in elevators tax and the St. Louis delega-
tion was about ready to sit comfortably
down and wait for, the fight en- their pet
aversion-the proposed tax on .-e iron
mines. The whole thing worked so easily
that the real danger to the bill was loom
ing up squarely before Jacobson, before
he realized the trap he had walked into.
The Wallace amendments which We're
regarded by jacobson and his immediate
followers as a compromise that would
result in showing the bill through at
lightning speed, without seriously Grip
ping the prime objects of lie measure,
proved a two-edged weapon. 1t won over
some of the enemies of the bill who came