The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-02-19

THE HOUSE SESSION
Much Emphatic Oratory Devoted to
the Tax Bill.
Chairman Allen of the judiciary COM
mlttee opened proceedings in the house
| to-day by securing unanimous consent to
report the bill for constitutional con-
Vention, without recommendation
Mr.. Smith, author of the bill, moved
that the rules be suspended and the bill
| placed at the head of general orders. On
viva voce vote the motion was lost
The bill is before the house, but has not
had it's second reading.
One John F. McDilfon sent a rambling
letter warning the house that it was being
watched, and that if it did not behave
properly there was a Czolgosz to get after
them. Speaker Bowling, with a twinkle il
his eye, referred the letter to the cor
mittee on taxes and tax laws.
Governor Van SAINT sent message cali
ing attention to a defect in Chapter 28O
of the laws of 1901 prohibiting the
manufacture and sale of adu1terated lard,
lard compounds and substitutes. H. F.
No. 40, by Mr. Bush, correcting the error,
was passed under suspension of the
rules.
Public Examiner Needs Funds.
The governor also called attention to
letter from Public Examiner johnson,
showing an imperative necessity for work.
ing funds and recommended that suit
able appropriation be made. The public
examiner set forth that he should have
an appropriation of s23,5OO, and if new
tax law is passed even more would be
necessary The funds are now exhausted.
and the fees of the Office for this year
have only been $5,223.6S. No more will
be available until August.
n nj o6
The Tax Bill Taken Up.
At 1880 Speaker Bowling announced
that the special order had been reached
James A. Peterson of Hennepin rose for
a set speech He opened after the style
of Webster's reply to Hayne, calling the
house back from it's Wanderings of the
past few days to the original proposition.
He arralgned the present tax system of
Minnesota For, twenty-five years the
evils had been growing. They were gem
orally recognized a year ago, when the tax
commission was created. That commits
sion had drafted bill designed to i'm
prove the law. The conditions had not
changed, but certain interests had at
tempted to blind people tofthe merits OF
the new law. The legislature was not sup
posed to represent interests, but the peo-
pie of the state.
He then took up the leading features
of the new act, defending them in de-
tail. He defended the provision requiring
the county treasurer to collect personal
property taxes. 1t would have been bet
ter for Hennepin, ne said, if the sheriff
had never gone out to collect personal
property taxes 1t had cost more than
was ever collected.
Under the old law the tax title shark
and the owner of property sold for de-
linquenr taxes, would come to the court
house together, set the tax title aside
and the shark would go in and draw down
his money with 10 per cent interest.
Corporation Taxes.
The section relating to municipal fran
chise corporations, he declared, was alone
worth the extra session. Not one of
these corporations pays cent Of taxes
on its franchise.
81 want to ask the opposition to contra
dict this statement he said. eff this
bill is passed it will add $50 900, 900 in
franchises to the assessed valuation. Can
we afford to let them go another year?
The gross earnings bill Of last year
dwindles into insignificance beside this
question.
eff we fail to pass this tax bill, we will
have to go home and tell our constitu-
ents we wanted to pass a tax bill but
there were certain interests that had not
been paying their taxes. They did not
want the bill passed, SO we did not pass it,
Inc cnleI argument against THIS Dill
is that we want to wait till we can amend
the constitution, and next year get real
good tax code. These gentlemen who have
appeared before us have all made this
plea. They say they want an income tax.
I say 1t deliberately, this argument is not
made in good faith"
Mr. Roberts Position.
Mr.. Roberts sent up series of amend
ments to the bill. BY way of introducing
them, he said:
l want to emphasize the fact that in no
page of its report does the tax commission
apologize for the bill. In view of the hue
and cry raised over certain so-caled drastic
features of the bill, they have agreed that,
in order to pass it, these features may be
eliminated. 1t is for us to pass the bill and
to amend it as we see At. Many of those,
however, who talk about amending the bill
admit that they are opposed to the whole bill.
have prepared list of amendments, some
of them amending the drastic features Of the
bill I prepared them for Comparing notes
with Mr. Wallace, who has amendments bear
ing on those sections. I ask that mine be
read seriatim, and that when those sections
are reached, those drawn by Mr.. Wallace be
submitted first move the adoption Of the
amendment changing the exemption back to
500.
Mr.. Dobbin rose to reply to Mr.. Peter