The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-08-18

Mr.. J. j. Hill. Mr.. Hills friendship
for Mr.. Dunn in the primary fight
seems to have been the excuse for
some people to suspicion Mr.. Dunn.
By an act of the legislature passed in
1896, the Minneapolis & St. Cloud
Railroad company came in possession
of certain proportion of swamp
lands for every mile of road con-
structed and equipped. That road
became part of the Great Northern
system, and consequently the Great
Northern and Mr.. Hill became the
beneficiary of the land grant. In
1898 there were about 300, 900 acres of
this swamp land which had been con-
veyed to the company by Mr.. Bier
man, a former State auditor. The
selection of the land was made by Mr..
Bierman, and the company neglected
to accept the land because it was not
satisfied with the selection. Shortly
after Mr.. Dunn came into Office, the
legislature passed an act by the
provisions of which unused railroad
lands were to be taxed. The question
came up to Mr.. Dunn as the Great
Northern refused to pay the taxes on
the ground that it had not accepted
the land under the Bierman deed, and
made an appeal to Mr.. Dunn for
another selection. After submitting
the matter to the attorney general as
to the legal phases of the question, Mr..
Dunn stood by the Bierman deed and
compelled the Great Northern to ac-
cept the situation as it was and to
pay the taxes on it's land. Had Mr..
Dunn desired he could have reopened
the case, and the great majority of
people would have thought it all right
for him to do SO as the evidence in the
case goes to show that the selection of
the lands by Mr.. Bierman was made
in somewhat arbitrary manner.
I'm the short space of a newspaper
article it is impossible to cover this
question thoroughly and at this time
we shall only refer to one other case.
In Mr.. Dunn's report for 1878 he
suggests raise in the gross earnings
of railroads. The Times differed with
Mr.. Dunn at the time as to the justice
OF this increase in the railroad tax,
but it illustrates Mr.. Dunn's position
so far as corporations are concerned,
and it reveals him as the constant
and persistent friend of the people as
opposed to the corporations. Mr..
Dunn says:
'In my opinion, the time has now
arrived when our railroads are able
to stand upon their own bottom, and
share with all our people the burden
of taxation. An increase of only one
per cent in the tax, making it four per
cent, would produce between 100000
and S500,000 additional revenue an
nually. We do not wish to be under
stood as recommending Or advocat-
ing any change in the method of tax
ing railroads. A change from the
gross earnings system of taxation to
any other method would, in my judg-
ment, prove unsatisfactory and detri-
mental to the best interests of the
State. A tax of four per cent on the
gross earnings would be neither un-
just or burdensome to the railroad
companies.
"Those who have watched Mr..
Dunn's course when the so-called four
per cent gross earnings bill was be-
fore the legislature know that he was
the most persistent advocate. of the
measure, and that the ammunition
with which it was finally pushed
through that body was furnished by
him. If these were the only instances
| it would seem that they were nearly
enough to convince any fair-minded
man that Mr.. Dunn was not and is
not partial to corporations. They
are by no means the only instances.
and the Times may again refer to some
other cases of like character. Be-
cause a man is candidate for COVER
nor is no reason why he should be
maligned. It is really not crime
for him to be on friendly terms with
Mr.. Hill if his official acts are free
from the faint of a suspicion that he
has favored him in any way. Mr..
Hill likes fight and a fighter. It is
more than probable that the friendli-
ness between the two is engendered
because each admires the fighting
qualities in the other. Mr.. Dunn has
shown his mettle on a good many oc-
casiOns. '-Walker Pilot.
| Defeated Second Time.
The Princeton second nine again de-
feated Milaca's second nine Sunday