The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1907-03-06
FOR A PERMANENT REVENUE FUND
Bill introduced to Convert Annual Receipts from Tonnage Tax
Ores into Permanent Revenue Fund, to Earn
Interest for State.
Rate Reduction Measures for Raoed Express and Other Public
Service Corporations Already Bearing Fruit
Other Legislation.

There is but very little doubt but
what the present session Of the legis-
lature will pass bill providing for
a tonnage tax on the iron ore taken
out of that portion of Mother Earth
now lying within the boundaries of
Minnesota. The question has been
before many previous sessions of the
legislature. Each time the question
has arisen as to whether such a bill
would be constitutional. When the
people, by anarrow margin, adopted
the wide-open tax amendment to the
constitution at the last election they
made it possible for the legislature
to provide for tonnage tax.
What shall the tax be and what
shall be done with the receipts is
what is bothering the legislature at
the present time. There is different
qualities of ore taken out of the
iron mines, and the proposition to
place these qualities on a sliding
scale is the only fair one and the
proposition to make this scale range
from 5 to 10 cents per ton seems
to be the popular one 1t is esti-
mated that this tax will bring into
the state treasury at least 100000
per year for the next 20syears, with
the indication that it will continue
to Yield that much forzfrom so to
100 years to come.
This leads to the proposition as to
what shall be done with the fund.
Minnesota had the grandest perma-
nent school fund of any state in the
Union. This has led Representative
r. J. Wells Of Wilkin county. chair
man of the house committee on APP
preparations, to believe that a per-
manent revenue fund ought to be
created out of the receipts of the
tonnage tax. His proposition is that
the legislature ought to make the
annual tonnage tax receipts a per-
manent revenue fund to be invested
in securities at about 4 per cent. an
nual interest, the state using only
the interest of this fund each year
Mr.. Wells contends that if this is
done, and when all the iron is taken
out of northern Minnesota, and
there is nothing left but the holes
in the ground, and when people
shall ask the question: What have
we to show for the holes?" we can
point to this permanentrevenue fund
and say there is the legacy we have
left to you and your children and
their children for all time to come
The proposition is a beautiful one
and of gigantic financial interest to
the people of the whole state, be-
cause at the end of 20 years alone
this fund would reach the enormous
amount of 0,000,0 900 and invested
at A per cent. interest would annual
ly WELD to the revenue fund 81, 400,-
600, or more than one-half the
amount that is now required to con-
duct the running expenses of the
state government.
The steel corporation and the peo-
pie interested in the mines are
strongly opposed to the tonnage tax
and are fighting every inch of the
way, but my faith in the legislature
is such as to lead me to predict that
a tonnage tax bill will be passed,
and something along the line sug-
gested by Representative Wells. Al
ready the steel corporation, which
has been shipping all of the ore out
of the state. is attempting to coun-
teract the legislative sentiment in
favor of the tonnage tax, by an
nouncing in the Duluth papers that
it proposes to erect gigantic refining
and smelling works at the head of
the lake for the purpose of reduc-
ing the ore to a saleable article
within the boundaries of the state
from which the ore is taken. If the
steel corporation was sincere in its