The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1907-03-20
previously passed the house, the state
treasurer received over $1,000. 900

previously passed the house, the state
treasurer received over $1,000,000
from the railroad companies for taxes
The Great Northern during that week
paid in S810,574.4S and this they do
not admit to be correct, as they claim
under portion of their charter they
cannot be taxed 4 per cent, conse-
quently the state treasurer lets them
make up their own statement of what
they admit is legally required and then
turns the deficit over to the attorney
general to sue them for the rest.
Payments by Other Railroads.
The Northern Pacific sent in one
check during that same week for $751;
1888. The Duluth, Missabe and
Northern sent check for $4O2 1873 So
This was originally Rockefeller's
road, which he practically gobbled
from the Merritt brothers in his ia
nous iron range suit. The Duluth aud
Iron Range road, not to be forgotten
in the irc1 procession, sent in a
check for 1897 1909. These checks
from the iron Sads speak very loudly
for the great industry in st. Louis
county. Take the great Chicago, Mil
waukee and st. Paul system, which is
supposedly far greater than the iron
roads, and they paid during the same
week to the state treasurer 1890. 79S.-
81. The Northwestern and Omaha
roads paid in $30639O
These payments | have cited were
all made during the same week when
the 2-cent passenger fare bill was
passed and the treasurer tells me it
have ever made in the same number
OF days in the payment of taxes.
Demurraee Bill Strikes Snag.
/ The house during the same week
passed the reciprocal demurrage bill
and very largely advanced the Iowa
distance tariff bill These bills are
/ pending in the senate and there have
been numerous hearings granted the
railroads on the matter The recip-
rocal demurrage bill has run against
quite a snag. which was not orig
inally thought of. The railroads have
raised the question that the state can
not interfere with the interstate COM
merce legislation made by congress
and that consequently in any business
going out of the state the state law
governing demurrage cannot apply
Those who have supposed that the re-
ciprocal demurrage bill would cover
panacea of evils are now giving good
deal of thought to this question, for
they make no claim that great as Min
nesota is she is not as powerful in
| legislation Is congress. This is only
one of the riany points which the rail
roads exIect to use to upset a good
| deal Of he legislation this winter
TIC senate the other day gave its
finance committee very vigorous rak-
ing over. The custom is that every
bill carrying an appropriation must go
to the finance committee and on the
theory Of the committee that they
must know the aggregate Of the APP
preparations in order to determine
what they can grant the bills lie for
weeks in their hands without being
reported back for consideration. Many
of these are doubtless meritorious and
many a pet measure is thus sub
merged and seemingly hopelessly gone.
Cause of the ScoIdns.
What made the great eruption this
week was the fact that early in the
session a bill was introduced in the
senate appropriating $4,000 to pur-
chase a silver service for the battle
ship Minnesota, which the government
has built and which is soon to be sent
into foreign waters. The desire is to
have the battleship equipped in style,
with silver service from the state
costing 100000 This bill has been
quietly resting in the finance commit
tees hands until the time has been
reached when if it is to remain prac-
tical at all the appropriation must be
Immediately available. The conse-
quence was that after giving the
finance committee good scolding as
far as delay is concerned the senate
took up that particular bill and passed
it without waiting for reports.
One senator has announced that he
would offer a new rule requiring the
finance committee to report all it's
bills out fifteen days before the last
day of the session. The custom has
been for the finance committee to re.
port out the omnibus appropriation
bill the last day of the session. or pos
sihly the next to the last day Then
it is too late to revive any pet scheme
which is not covered in the omnibus
appropriation bill and as large ma
jority of the bills offered in the legis-
lature carry an appropriation they go
down in one grand crash for lack of
funds. The consequence is that no
matter how earnestly member of the
Legislature tries to get some scheme