Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-02-28
frees SEVER1SON FROM
Charge Of CONSPIRACY.
SENATE PASSES /
SS57
single TAX.
Constitutional Amendment Re
ceives it's First Ratification.

The North Dakota legislature has
put its approval upon a single tax
amendment to the constitution of the
state. Its first ratification took place
yesterday when the senate without
opposition passed the concurrent res
olution submitting to the people the
general proposition of single tax.
This resolution amends the consti-
tuition by giving the legislature the
power to exempt buildings and i'm
provements on land from taxation.
The action is not mandatory, but in
event another legislature ratifles the
amendment and the people adopt it,
the way is paved for single tax legis-
lation.
Several bills have been killed in
the senate committee on taxes and
tax laws which had for their object
the lowering of the tax rate on farm
buildings. One bill specified levy
of not more than one mill and others
went only as far as four mills.
The senate committee on taxes yes
terday amended the house money and
credits tax measure by reducing the
rate from three to two mills. This
bill which caused considerable dis.
cussion in the house has been amend
ed to make it more practical than in
the shape it came from the house.
The senate again yesterday deferr-
ed action on the capital punishment
bill and staale Hendrickson's bill for
unanimous decisions.
A mass of deficiency appropriation
bills passed the senate withou Opposi-
tion
The senate also concurred in house
bill NO. 46S which repeals the present
law providing for immigration work
in the department of agriculture and
labor. If the house fails to pass the
senate bill, creating state immigra-
tion board, the state will be without
any provision for carrying on this
work
It seems likely that the house will
pass the senate bill. Major ]. S.
Murphy, immigration agent of the
500, has collected a strong array of
figures on the value of immigration
and has pl,ced them in the hands of
every house member. Mr.. Murphy
has been doing some good construc-
tive work in getting the advantages
of immigration before the members
of this legislature.
We quote some startling figures:
When new farmer comes to the.
state, he becomes a customer, of the
business men of the state. When he
sells grain, he pays commission;
when he buys anything he pays a
commission. When he deposits his
money, the bank makes profit;
when he borrows money, a profit is
made. Every transaction he makes
gives someone profit; most transac-
tions give two or more profits, for
there are a lot of retailers and job.
bers in the state. All farmers were
formerly emigrants-the question is,
what is the average farmer worth to
the balance of the state.
From the census we learn that
there were 74,360 farms in the state
in 191O-we assume that many far
mers. The census also shows that
those farms produced in 1909 the fol-
lowing crops:
Grains, grasses, vegetables, etc 49,.
............ $18O,635,520
Dairy products ....... 4,S72,304
Wool 381,722A
Eggs 3,O45,687
Poultry raised ..... 1,53O,402
Livestock sold and slaughtered .....
1445e 742
74,36O farmers therefore
produced .......... $204,922,3S3
That means that the average far
mer produced $2,754 worth of crops
in 1909. Substantially all of that
was expended invested or de-
posted in the state-most of it spent
for articles sold by other residents of
the state Assume that the average
farmer spent s2,70O.oO-that the av-
erage total commission received by
other residents of the state was 20
per cent-that means that the aver
age farmer paid other residents of
the state 5000 year. If he pays
that in the average year, and4 his
children pay like amount after he
is dead and gone, it means that he is
quite an asset. If we figure the rate
of cor,,n,i cciop Ok nor pont II rnoanc