The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-02-05
Mankato Machine Owners Talk
About State Measure.
OPPOSE WORKS AMENDMENT
Club Gives 500 to Be Expended In
Assisting Eagle Lake and Wash
ington Lake Roads.

The Mankato Automobile club held
a well attended meeting at the Com
mercial club rooms in the city hall
last evening, and transacted good
deal of important business President
J. II. Hohmann presided, and NJ
ID. Fancher acted as secretary.
Mayor Andrews presented a report
of the meeting of the State Automo-
bile association. which he attended re-
Gently in the twin cities as Il delegate
from the club At this meeting the
automobile license tax was adopted.
as it has since been presented to the
legislature. and Mayor Andrews eX-
planned its features. The Free Press
has published an outline of the bill
The provisions of the bill were dis
cussed at length bv members of the
club. and it was the general opinion
that the bill is all right. except that
the tax of 81 Il horse power is too
high. \ man with IA forty-horse power
machine would be taxed $40 year.
which would be IA very neavy tax in
proportion TO the tax on other personal
property. 1t was thought that Il tax
of fifty cents Il horse power would be
plenty, and Il motion asking the Blue
Earth county delegation to get the bill
amended III this way was carried.
Oppose Works Amendment.
The amendment which Senator Works
proposes to offer, that the tax be
spent on the roads in the counties
where it is paid, was discussed, and it
was thought that this amendment would
not be beneficial, and it was decided
to ask Senator Works not to offer it.
As the bill now stands, the money de-
rived from the tax is to 90 into the
good roads fund of the state and be
expended under the direction of the
state good roads commission. If the
amendment was to be adopted. then the
two smallest counties in the state.
Ramsey and Hennepin, would get the
most money, as more machines are
owned in those cities than in most of
the other counties put together. The
automobiles of those counties do not
want the money expended there but
would rather have it expended OH the
main roads of the state, connecting
the larger inland cities, SO that touring
about the state will be made more en-
joyable. This would also benefit the
farming communities more. As the
bill now stands, all of the license
money paid by owners of cars in the
twin cities would be expended in other
parts of the state, and this is what
the automobilists want, and there would
seem to be no objection to it us long
as the twin cities favor it.
Will Assist Road Work.
After lengthy discussion on the
matter of improving roads leading out
of Mankato, the club voted to offer
500 to be expended in assisting tol
gravel each the Eagle Lake road and
the Lake Washington road, provided
the farmers living on those roads will
cooperate The money will be used to
defray the expenses of the farmers
if they will haul the gravel, as is
being done on other roads leading out
of the city.
The club voted to send two delegates
to the state highway convention to be
held in St Paul in May. and NJ. ID.
fancher and George NJ. Palmer were
chosen. d
Protests were received from the Ro-
chester and Austin Automobile clubs
against the proposed tax on automobiles
in the bill now before the legislature.
Inc Austin club favored tax grad
uated according to the weight of the
machine, so for machines under | 800
pounds weight and So for each addi-
tional 500 pounds of weight The Man