The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-03-29
COMMITTEE REPORT IS ADVERSE

COMMITTEE REPORT IS ADVERSE !
TO the tonnage Tax Idea, and Meas.
ure Practically Certain Of Defeat.
The long looked for report of the
tonnage tax commission was finally
formulated and submitted Wednes.
day evening, and cites that iron ore
should continue to be taxed on an
ad valorem basis, but recommends
a material increase in the assessed
valuation of iron properties.
This report does not of necessity
bind the legislature to this view of
the question, but will doubtless
have bearing on the final action
of the body.
The exhaustive report, as prepar-
ed by Chairman L. q. Cooke, deals
with every phase of the question,
the full text of the report as sub
m1tteQ Deln& a9 tOllOWS:
"Your committee has taken large
amount of testimony in this inves-
tigation which is herewith trans.
nitted and filed with the secretary
of the senate. Your committee went
to the iron ore ranges in st. Louis
and Itasca counties, making a jour
ney of five consecutive days, travel
ing from Ely, the extreme end of
the Vermilion range, or hard ore
belt, to Coleraine, the extreme west
end of the Mesaba, or soft ore belt.
A large territory about Ely com.
prising large part of the eastern
territory of St.Louis county is;whol-
ly unsettled and the land 80 rocky
and barren at present as to be of
little value for taxation purposes
aside from the mining industries.
The entire length of the Mesaba
range, the territory is composed of
low, swampy land interspered with
bluffs of varying heights, sparsely
settled, and until the swamps are
thoroughly drained and made;pos-.
sible to agricultural purposes, is. Of
very little value for taxation pur-
poses aside from the mining indus
try.
"Over this entire route from Sly:
to Coleraine we find cities and vii:
lagos at short intervals of goodly
size, moderate development and
maintaining schools as well equip
ped and appointed az any in the
state, all of which have grown: up
by reason of the mining industries,
and are, almost wholly supported,
by the taxes levied upon the min.
ing properties. We find that these
mining properties paid taxes last
year rsforsstate,scl lu1tty and ;school
purposes il: st. Louis county alone,
81 49,, ,574.3O, and in Itasca county a
sufficient cum sum to make the en-
tire amount of taxes paid by these
industries 81, 10000 in round mum.
bers. Of this amount $4,000 ap.
proximately was: paid to the state.
The total sum equals five cents per
ton on all ore shipped during the
season of 1906.
"From the best information we
can obtain there is about l,40O,OO0,:
600 tons of ore in sight on the Vers
million and Mesaba ranges alone!
We find that the railroads and boats
handling this ore were worked to
their full capacity during the open
lake season of 1905. Based on the
amount of shipment of ore for the
year 1905. it will require more than
fifty years to- exhaust the iron ore
now discovered on the Vermilion
and Mesaba ranges.
"There are two ways of estima ting
the value of these iron industries.
We find that the iron ore miners are
willing to and do pay from 20 to 80
cents per ton royalty, payable when
removed from the mine without in
terest, yet these same operators are
unwilling to purchase the fee of
those iron bearing lands even on a
basis of less than 10 cents per ton
as estimated by test pits and bor-
ings on the number of tone thus
disclosed.
"The reason for this wide differ
ence is:
First, the practical impossibility
of obtaining the enormous sums of
money that it would require to pur.
chase the same.
Second, the interest on such
sums of money necessary to be in.
vested for a long period of years
would amount to az much. or more
than the above named royalties
payable az the ore is removed.
"Third, the delays that might oc.
cur by reason of the depreciation in
value of iron to point so low tina,
they could not afford to mine at any
price. -
"For instances a mine containing
100000 tone of ore will cost, at il
cents per ton, $l0N0o00. 1t would
require at least Eve years and the
expenditure of a million to three
million dollars to get the property
ready for shipping ore. The inter.
30 :