The Saint Paul globe., 1905-02-26
BILLS SLIP IN WHILE
HOUSE is SLEEPING
Wallace Gets Two important
Measures on General
4ass'
~s~e Orders

Two of the most important bills
pending in the house were agreed to in
committee yesterday morning and re-
ported to the house with a favorable
recommendation, and not third of
the house membership knew anything
about the proceeding.
Unable to get a quorum for his COM.
mittee on taxes and tax laws Friday
afternoon, Chairman Carl L. Wallace
called a meeting of the committee for
Saturday morning at o'clock. There
was fair attendance, and as result
of the meeting Burdette Thayer's tax
ferret bill and Ward Stones inheri-
tance tax bill were both recommended
for passage When the committees
report came into the house the bills
were read by their numbers and the
members knew nothing of their inn
portance.
81 Loud Roar Goes Up
A loud roar went UP from members
of the tax committee who had been
absent from the committee meeting,
and from members of the committee
present but who opposed the Thayer
bill before the committee Charges
that the bill had been inconsiderately
reported and that undue haste had
been employed in rushing it into the
house were banded about and Mr..
Wallace was importuned to withdraw
the bill that the full committee might
have opportunity to more fully eX-
anime it. Friends of the tax collecting
measure are said to be hostile to this
plan and declare that now the Thayer
bill is before the house it will be con-
sidered on general orders and nowhere
else. 1t will be necessary to suspend
the rules to return it to the committee.
Mr.. Thayer has armed himself with
formidable data as to the results of the
operation of the tax ferret law in Iowa
and will make a determined fight for
his bill in the house. The opposition
has primed itself as we'll and claims
to be able to prove that the law in
Iowa has driven millions of dollars in
capital from the state.
Representative Stones inheritance
tax bill was amended before being
agreed to by the committee. 1t pro-
Vides a tax to be devoted exclusively
to state revenue purposes on all in
heritances of $4,000 and over. The
committee reduced the tax from 1a to
Il of l per cent on inheritances of
widow and of minor child, but made
no other changes in the original bill.
The bill provides a 1 per cent tax on
1nher1tanceS OF father, mother, huS-
band, child of legal age, brother, sister,
grandchild, wife or widow of a son or
any child legally adopted ten years be-
fore the death of decedent or donor,
and a 5 per cent tax on all other in
heritanceS.
@. Iverson Urges Stone Bill
State Auditor Iverson, by invitation,
appeared before the committee to urge
favorable recommendation of the Stone
bill. He told the committee that twen-
ty-eight states have Inheritance tax
laws or taxes on transfers by inheri-
tance, and that the principle was rec
ognized as a wholesome and Just
means of raising state revenues by
modern tax economists. In many
states, he said, it is an important item
of state revenues. Pennsylvania, where
the law has been in effect for more
than half a century, was cited as an
example of it's benefits
Tax inheritance laws were passed by
the legislatures of 1897 and 1899, but
were declared invalid by the supreme
court. The law of 1902 was held un-
constitutional by the attorney general
because the constitutional limitation
of 5 per cent was exceeded. Mr.. Stone
says that his bill has been drawn with
the earlier errors in mind, and that he
is confident that it will stand the test
of the courts if it is passed 'by the leg
iSlature.
The bill, it is said, is almost sure to
pass the house In the senate the Sit
uatlon is not so promising.