The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-02-07

representatives in the legislature:
In their zeal to increase the rev.
enues of the state of Minnesota from
the iron mines located in this state,
certain members of the legislature,
in the Bjorge-Frankson tonnage tax
bill, propose to impose upon the
products of these mines special
.mpost in the form of a tax upon the
ore produced. This proposed law,
which is generally known as the
Tonnage Tax Law" would work
disastrous consequences upon the
,eoplt and schools of the iron range
and We most earnestly protest to the
people of the state against the enact
ment OF any law that would deprive
the iron range communities from
ontinuing in the enjoyment OF their
rights to their proper share of the
revenues accruing from the taxation
of properties located in the political
subdivisions in which they live.
The proponents Of the tonnage tax
found their arguments upon the dec
laration that the state is entitled to
large revenues from the iron mines
that are being worked in this state
70 this claim we have no rejoinder
% make beyond submitting the fol-
owing facts, which have not been
sufficiently set forth to the people:
St. Louis county, in which the
greater part Of the mines now OPP
Grating are located, will pay over to
the state, under the last assessment,
the sum of $9lS,660.40 as it's share
f the tax levied upon the mines of
the county. The railroads operating
in St. Louis county paid to the state
under the per cent gross earnings
law, upon earnings for 1912 within
St. Louis county, the sum of ST.
100000 or one-third of the total
ncome of, the state from this tax.
III Of this revenue is produced or
'aid for by the iron industry. An
industry that pays co large a share
if the burden of state government
:annot be fairly regarded as not pay
.ng it's proportion of the expense of
government. Based OH the taxes of
1912 and the ore output of that year,
The Bjorge-Frankson tonnage tax
would yield the state $780, 6,909.26,
as against $91S,66O4O on the ad
valorem basis, a gain OF 81, 49,
24SS6, of which $957,554.24 would
be furnished by St. Louis county.
$223,451.65 by ltasca county and
$7,242.57 by Lake county. The fig
ures do not show the effect of the
bill on the new Guyana range. Last
year St. Louis county paid p per
cent of the state taxes, and under
this bill this county's contribution
would be more than doubled
There are less than 100000 peo-
pie in the iron districts Of St. Louis
county and if the same per capita
tax derived from the range was ap-
piled to the other counties of the
state the revenues of the common
wealth for state purposes would be
-" "nH.tut per year. So that it is
merely matter of what is to be
considered large" share of the
expenses of state government. st.
Louis county does not stand as a
beggar before the state. 1t has no
objection to make to the state secur-
ing more revenue from the iron
mines, hut we school men, as rep
resenting the most important evi-
ience of civilized government-the
choOls-do protest against the i'm
position of any tax, which, by it's
nature. must operate to deprive the
schools Of the means of sustaining
| themselves. 1t is the proposition m
| volved in tonnage tax that changes
the form of collecting the taxes,
| which constitutes the menace to our
| schools and which we protest against
The merits of a tonnage tax as a
revenue producer must be discussed
by the authorities.
| Good Intentions No Safeguard.
| Confidence in the desire of the
legislature to preserve the schools
that have been built up in the iron
country for the education of the chill
dren of the foreign population, is
not all that is necessary in the pres
ent case. We are likely to be de-
stroyed by this confidence. No citi-
zen whether a member Of the legis-
lature or not, would deliberately
support a measure which he knew
carried the elements Of destruction
of the public schools of any county.
1t is the assumption that tonnage
tax would be merely an additional
tax upon the mine owners, leaving
the local revenues undisturbed, that
constitutes the dangerous aspect OF
the proposed legislation.
| Our schoolsein the iron country
are practically wholly dependent
upon the mines for the revenue with