Morris tribune., 1913-03-07
STEVENS COUNTY MINES.
Protected from Unjust Tax by
Mr.. Spooner.

Never in his long legislative career
has Hon. l.. C. Spooner. representative
from this county. performed the
valiant service which he did this year
in raising bis mastery constitutional
objection to the imposition of the ton
mage tax on iron ore.
The owners of the extensive ore de-
posits and producing mines in Stevens
county we'll know that he has saved
them from a calamity which would
have brought rum to the extensive
iron ore industry of this county. Peo-
pie living in other parts of the state
may be so mean as to lnsinuate that
the iron mines Of Stevens county are
owned and controlled by the steel
trust, but we who live here know that
this is not so. The steel trust does
not own single mine here, but the
great fund of iron wealth with which
providence endowed this county is
owned and operated by patriotic and
unselfsh citizens.
The agricultural portions of the
state sometimes argue that the iron
mines of Stevens county do not yield
their share of the revenue to the state
but we iron mine owners pay our own
taxes and that's all the farmers do.
These iron mines we're placed here in
Stevens county for our especial bene
fit-we've grabbed 'em and got 'em
and we're going to keep 'em,r and
Well set up an independent state of
our own before we ever let the state
of Minnesota exact any unjust tribute
from us. Thanks to Mr.. Spooner, he
killed the tonnage tax bill with, his
constitutional objection. OF course,
this constitutional objection gag
is little threadbare, but it did the
/ usineps all right. Tom Noswai, of
the Mortified News. who is such i
blamed fool as to think that iron mines
should pay just taxes. does not agree
with MI. Spooner. bet then NoswaI IL
one of those foolish newspaper men
who can't be brought up. Noswal
says -:
St. Paul. Feb. 19.-, The defeat Of
the tonnage bill thss year prasasy
due to Mr.. Spooner's constitutional
objection. Whether the house beliesssd
it had It OF not. it will doubtless be
used as a convenient shield for some
who voted against the bill to hide be-
hind. state it in Mr. Spoone g
words quoted for bis own version of a
speech delivered by him two. years
ago:
''That because the bill then under
iconsssseE ution definitely undertook to
divide iron ore properties producing
ores Of exactly the same grade. of ex-
actly. the same quality, of exactly the
same per ton values into two classes
for taxation purposes, and undertook
TO tax one of such classes on the tom
lnage tax basis while it undertook to
tax the other of such classes on the
advalorem basis, it proposed a law ne.
cessarily and certainly violative OF
that provision of our state constitution
which definitely say Taxes SHALL
be uniform upon the same class OF
subjects and that, therefore such q
law would certainly and necessarily
be, and be held Unconstitutional.
The statement above is scarcely
accurate. or rather it does not state
all the facts. There was a vital dis.
tinnction between the iron ore proper
ties lying side by side which fully
warranted, in the opinoin of many,
Mr.. Bjorge's placing them in different
classes. One property was produc-
ing property-it was being operated
as an iron mine-he other was lying
Idle. But the point which | wish tc
make here is that if Mr.. Spooner was
Ireally desirous of seeing iron proper
ties adequately taxed, as he professe:
to be, it seems strange that be with
lheld his constitutional objection I'll
the eleventh hour when it could orly
be used to defeat the bill. and eiiC
not, while the bill was still in COM
|mittee or before it was made spe
ciaI order, seek to have it amended 81
as to remove the constitutional ob
| lection which he regards as vital. !
real friend of the tonnage tax woul'
scarcely have fcted so.
II / wish to note further that Mr
1 Spooner is not such a sticker on thi
same constitutional point when it suit
l. his convenience not to be so. He ha
J prepared or has helped materially t
) prepare a bill for the classification
t of property for taxation. Althoug
: it is provided in the constitution. a
: Mr.. Spooner here points out, tha
taxes shall be uniform on the sam
tclass of subjects, Mr.. Spooner divide
in bis bill farms, the distinction be