The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-09-04
Work OF Tax Commission Gould
Be Much SimpIified BY
Their Enactment.
Recommends the Assessment OF
Automobiles; Filing Fees
We're for Year.

st. Paul, Aug. 3l,-New laws to
provide for accurate records of all
corporations doing business in Mime
sofa by plan that would materially
increase the state revenues without
hardship to the corporations will be
recommended to the legislature by
Julius A. Schmahl, secretary of state,
in his annual report now in prepare
tion .
Briefly stated, Mr.. SchmahPs plan
is that all corporations operated for
pecuniary gain, wheather they be state
or foreign corporations, shall be re-
quired to file in the office of the Sec
rotary of state annual statements of
their business status and to pay a
filing fee of S. or $40 each year.
He suggests that hos annual state
ment should show the officers and
directors of the company at the time
of filing the report, the principal
place OF business and the location of
it's plants and warehouses, and should
state the amount of stock sold or
transferred in the year and give a
list Off the stockholders. The pro-
posed law, he says, should contain
a clause giving the secretary of state
the right, case no statement be
filed within a reasonable time after
the date fixed, to declare the char
ter of corporation forfeited
Need of Such Law.
To show the need of such law
Mr.. Schmahl directs attention to the
fact that under the present system the
records of the secretary of state are
encountered with records of corporations
that long ago ceased to exist, and
that names that are desired by new
corporations are unavailable because
they were at some time in the past
by companies now defunct. He also
suggests that the work of the tax com
mission would be greatly simplified
by such law.
The recommendations contained in
Mr.. Schmahls reports are numerous
and cover nearly all branches of the
business of the state that come Within
the scope of the department of state
He advises that, for the sake of greater
accuracy and saving of time, legisla
tive bills be engrossed and enrolled
hereafter with typewriters instead OF
with pen and ink. He suggests that
the printing of 10000 instead of 10000
copies of the legislative manual and
says that the present limit is far toe
small.
Would Register Autos.
Mr.. Schmahl strongly recommend:
1.-THE enactment of a law to provide fol-
uniform system of licensing an6
numbering automobiles throughout thu
state. He says that the present sys
tenn whereby each municipality OF
township organization issue. licenses O
its own, has resulted in great confusion
and he suggests that all licenses shoult
be Issued by the state and the privilege
which they represent should extend
throughout the state. He suggests thai
the license fee need not be more
than $l.5O or 50 year to bring thu
state good revenue from it's 10000
AUTOMOBILES.
In Mr.. SchmahPs financial report i
| is shown that the amount received il
fees for the filing of articles of incor
poration in the fiscal year closing Jul.
81, 1908, amounted to $68,450 /ant
those for the preceding year $l52,28O
The fees paid into the state treasur,
for filing the names of candidates AM
general elections were $2,49S.45 in tn,
present year; s2,565.3O for 1907; an,
1920 for 1906.
Included in the report of the secre
tary of state are those of the stat
department of boiler inspection and tn
state expert printer. By the report o
H. T. Mannix state printer, it il
shown that the total cost of printin!
for all the departments of the stat
government for last year was $40,29527