The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-02-14
SEVERAL CHANGES
Important Changes Are Sug-
qested to the Tax Bill.
Friends of the Move for a Consttu-
tionaI Convention Hopeful
for Success.

81. raul, Feo. l2.-Tne cOnsG1tu-
tional amendments submitted by the
tax commission are scheduled for an
unfriendly reception by the judiciary
committee of the house, to whose ten
der mercies they have been consigned.
This section of the tax commission
report was referred to joint commit
tee, consisting of the committee on
taxes and tax laws and the judiciary
committee. The former committee has
its hands full, and will probably turn
the amendments over to the judiciary.
which will take them up in a few
days This course was followed in the
senate.
Members of the committee are al
ready preparing amendments. w. Some
of them are in line with the suggestion
of State Auditor Dunn. who is opposed
to the amendments drawn by the COM
mission. He does not want to see the
matter of exemptions left wholly to
the judgment of successive legislatures,
but would have the constitution state
the exemptions in explicit terms, and
submit the questions to the people.
Sections will be propose d as substi-
tutes to those drawn by the tax COM
mission. They will provide among
other things, for tonnage tax on iron
ore, for an income tax, and for the ex-
emption of mortgages. They will pro-
vide for fee of half cent per hun
dred on all mortgages when registered,
which will catch those held by non
residents, and will not be burde
upon any,
The committee may also undertake
to revise section II of article 8, which
provides for the taxation of telegraph
and telephone companies, express COM
panies, etc.
The constitutional convention bill is
also in the hands of this committee.
There is a disposition on the part Of
some friends of the tax bill to shy at
the constitutional convention. They
suspect that the bill is schem for
sidetrackihg tax legislation. This is
strenuously denied. Even if the con-
stitutional convention carries now, it
will take five years to get the new
constitution in effect, and no one is
going to claim that tax legislation
should wait 30 long. Nor does con-
stitutional convention interfere with
the proposed amendments. Sherman
Smith, author of the convention bill,
says he is in favor of some tax
amendments, and is also in favor of a
tax bill, if the friends of the new bill
make the necessary changes. d..
The principal objection raised to the
constitutional convention comes from
the senators who have consistently
turned the proposition down three
times. They say sit won't carry, .
and point to the attempt of 1896. At
that time there were 342, 752 votes cast,
and on the proposition F'shsll here be
a constitutional convention" there
were SO, 30S votes in the affirmative
and 70, 500 in the negative. 1t was
necessary then, as now, to get ma
jority of all the votes cast, but at that
time less than half the voters marked
their ballots either yes or "no' on
the proposition.
This was the principal arg ument
used by senators in the legislature of
1899. when the house passed the bill
and the senate defeated it. Last win
ter Senator Wilson introduced it in
the upper house, where it lost by one
vote, two-thirds being required. Later
it was started in the house by James
A. Peterson and passed unanimously,
with 101 votes recorded in its favor.
In the senate it lost by a vote of "a to
80. .'' ...'T.
1t was then understood that the op-
position to the bill came from certain
corporate interests, which feared thai
new constitution would put their in
rerests under greater burdens. These
same interests see in the new tax bill
a greater immediate danger, ani
would welcome the constitutional
convention. Now that their opposite OF
is concentrated on the bill, friends of
constitutional revision hope to get thu
proposition before the people ono
more, hoping more favorable recep
tion. If it should pass this fall tn
next legislature would have to pro
vide for calling the convention, and
it's members would be elected at thu
general election of 1904. The work o
the convention would then have to b
ratified by the people at the election
lof 1905, and the legislature of 1907, fiv'
years hence, would be the first ont
that could take advantage of the new
constitution. If the legislature passe
the matter up to the next session
will be delayed another two years
There seems little doubt that the hous
will again pass the bill. but it will b
hard matter to muster forty-two G
the present senate to vote aye on tn
, proposition.