The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1909-01-28
VERY LITTLE DOING.
Legislative SoIons Seem to be Resting
on Their Oars Over Three
Hundred Bills introduced.
Two Iron Ore Tonnage Tax Bills Be-
fore the House Lively Con-
test for Normal School.
Unions Special Correspondence.

Unions Special Correspondence.
st. Paul. jan, 26th, 1909
In the minds of the average layman
every session of the legislature starts
out with a we'll organized assault on
predatory wealth, desire to correct
everything imaginable and the mod1-
hcation Of morals consistent with the
ten commandments and then some,
but he who busies himself with things
legislative this time has got to look
twice to find anything out of the or
binary. Though better than two hun
dred bills have been introduced in the
house and almost the same number in
the senate, the absence of any d.
rected effort is so pronounced as to
Call for comment. The whole thing
seems to be case of go-as-you please
with erybody playing No. and no
one interested in any general PROPOSE
ton. In the matter of the taxation of
the iron properties in the state only
two bills have materialized, while in
the case of the railroads, always a
fruitful source of legislative regula-
tlon, one can count the measures in
troducted on the fingers of one
hand. Honestly, I never saw a ses-
sion of the legislature where things
were more on the go-as-you please or
der than the one at present holding
forth in the marble pile on Capitol
Hill.
Matters legislative though began
Thursday when the house took up as
a special order the Spooner bill call
ing for a s3,ooo,ooo appropriation for
the new state prison at Saltwater.
Added to this was the committee hear
ing on the S. D. Works administration
act for a new department of lands
and mines, so that between the two it
could be said that both houses had
their time well taken up. The chief
feature of the Spooner bill is a plant
for the manufacture of farm machin-
cry which naturally has the best
WISHES of a majority of the rural men,
:bers,' but is not to the liking of i'm
plement dealers over the state who
are flooding both houses with petit
tions against it. They are willing to
permit the manufacture of harvest
ers, but they draw the line on other
machinery. In the case of the Works
bill for new state department senti-
ment to date in both houses is against
it and its chances of realization are
slight.
!. /. !;
Representative Bjorge Of Lake Park
has changed his mind regarding the
taxation of the iron properties of the
state and this time it is bill calling
for graduated tax instead of fiat
rate of five cents per ton offered by
him at the beginning of the session.
Mr.. Bjorge would have the tax range
from two to five cents ton, it to be
apportioned according to the value of
the ore. The tax would be on ship
ping mines only with the revenue for
the district affected to be realized from
the housekeeping mines which are
taxed on an ad valorem basis. Mr..
Bjorge's latest bill was offered We'd
nesday and greatly complexities the
situation.
Taking the gossips at par Minnesota
is sure of tonnage tax law yet fail to
agree with them. A week ago the SUBJ
ject started off with a rush; it was on
every members tongue and the up
state country was picked as victim
that nothing could save. Today con-
versation covering the subject is
rarity, and while interest may be re-
vived when the tax committee of the
two houses takes it up, T. doubt whether
it will ever assume the proportions of
a legislative issue. The members
seem to be getting wise.
!. i. i.
I am not Offering it as substantiated
goods, but talk connects former Attor-
ney General Young with the tonnage
tax bills introduced in the house to
date. They show careful editing and
familiarity with the subject that in
dictates master mind, and the presence
OF the former attorney general about
the legislative chambers of late lends
color to the talk.
I. :. i.
Though confronted with an unfriend-
ly appropriation committee. Repre-
sentative r. J. Wells of Breckenridge
was convincing enough Monday to in
duce the house to stand for his bill
providing an emergency appropriation
of $1,000 for the Moorhead Normal
school. To start with it looked like
def for the Rockne powers that be and