The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-03-11
OWNERS HANG BACK
Do not Make an Eager Foot Ball
Rush to Tell the Assessor
ali About Them.
CLASH IN TIE HOUSE
Or. Gates and Former Speaker L. II.
johnson Wash a Limited Supply
of Dirty Linen
tSDecial to The Herald)

tSpecial to The HeralO
ST. PAUL, March 1O.-While the leg
islature does not take kindly to the
proposition to exempt credits from
taxation, there is considerable senti-
ment in favor of taxing them by the
gross earnings method. The rate 1T is
proposed to levy on their gross earn.
ings is 4 per cent. If credits were
listed this would mean a large increase
in revenues from this source. The
trouble always has been to get the
owners of credits to report them tC
the assessor, and no way has yet been
discovered to prevent their being COW
cred up. The tax dodger, like the
poor, we have always with us.
have been interested in little
bill introduced in the house by Repre-
sentative Peterson of Nicollet county.
1t provides for the naming OF farms
and the registering of such names in
the official records of the county on
the payment of small filing fee. The
bill is permissive and not compulsory.
An amendment added that no two
farms should be given the same name.
The idea appears to me to be good
one. In Norway and in Scotland, and
probably elsewhere the custom OF
naming farms is almost, If not quite,
universal, and in both countries the
owner of the farm is known by the
farm name, which, In Scotland atleast,
is regarded as an honorable distinction.
Saturdays session was made notable
by a sharp passage at arms between
Ex-Speaker Johnson and Doc. Gates.
Each in a sense Is leader in the
house, the ex-speaker having to some
extent organized the insurgents, and
Dr. Gates representing the Rockne
wing. Doubtless, too, there is an ele-
nent of personal antagonism. At all
events between the two there has from
the first of the session been more or
less friction, and Saturday MIR. John
sons reporting out hotel inspection
bill from his committee on general
legislation, which the doctor thought
should have been referred to his COM
mittee on pure food, led to an open
rupture and public washing of un'
clean lirien. Gates referred to John
Son's'committee as a railroad" COM
mittee, through which measures were
railroaded out without sufficient con.
sideration, and Johnson referred to
Gates committee as slaughter
house." where meritorious measures
were strangled to death. There was
at least modicum of truth in both
assertions. Gates got rather the bet
ter of it in the melee, as the house
passed a motion referring the hotel
inspection bill to his committee, as he
insisted should be done.
The Armour packing plant at New
Brighton Is still the all-absorbing sub.
ject of conversation in ST. Paul. The
hill designed to prevent the location
of the plant at New Brighton has been
reported to the house without recon-
mendation, and was ordered printed
and placed on general orders. The
Minneapolis people wanted to make it
"A special order for some day this week,
but the St. Paul delegation opposed
the proposition, doubtless in the hope
tAat more sentiment for the bill would
he developed later, SO it was decided
to let the bill take its regular course.
=, Unless there is a very decided change
the fate of the bill seems sealed. The
members from the county very gener-
ally think the establishment of the
plant at site easily accessible to most
of the railways would prove of advant'
age to stockraisers, and that as be-
tween New Brighton and South St
Paul the advantage with regard tc
shipping facilities is decidedly with
the latter location. They are not in
clined to give much consideration to
the contention that the odors from the
plant will render outlying districts in