The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1919-01-01

INTERESTING NEWS FROM u N Nh.
l.$s ,3ss.3s., ,= The STATE CAPITOL.
1919 Session Of Minnesota LsaisIa-tt
B ture Will Commence January II |.
With Much Business. ses. \ 4. 5 &
That biennial leg prler, Tonnage
Tax, is again in the making. On the;
thority Of one who knows a ton
mage tax bill has, been drafted and
will be introduced in both houses at2
an early date. The bill will have the
unqualified support Of the Nonparti-:
san League members in both the.
house and senate, and necessarily q
number Of others outside the League
who have made the inhiction Of such
q tax a part of their campaign for
election. To many who: honestly look
upon a tonnage tax as. a cure for all
tax evils the designation .'leg: puller''
is probably an insult, but honestly
fellows, tonnage tax has furnished
quite a few legislative beef steaks
during the; ten or. more years that
if has been a legislative issue. This
does. not apply to those who lent
their names to it's introduction in
the past or who gave it honest sup
port, but it does concern any num-
Der Of legislators whose knowledge
OF a tonnage tax did not extend be-
yond the white paper on which the
measure was printed. What whetted
their appetites principally was the
large number of Iron Range protest
ants its biennial introduction in
variably brought to St. Paul and the
effect it had on pet measures of their
own. The latter involved possible
trades, In the minds of many ton
mage tax has to do solely with the
United States Steel corporation,
through it's subsidiary, the Minneso-
ia Steel corporation, and therefore
any inf1iction that will separate the
corporation from a portion of it's
profits is right and proper. 1t is a
favorite subject. i'm Bolsheviki cir
cles. If such were true there might
be some justification, but the trou-
BILE is that the corporation is the
last to be hit. It is the independent
Operations and the little fellows who
Iget caught in the wringer and they
mp thu principal end of @the
protestants whom the unthinking
Land unscrupulous like to see and
hear: But get this and get it cold,
tif any member of the legislature
ever wrested nickel from the steel
| corporation he is yet to be known.
AS get it such tax is the least of
their troubles. What does concern
those connected with the big COM
panies and whose interests are in
Minnesota is what effect it will have
on the Range interests generally and
/ the SMALL operators. They are me-
cessary part of the states growing
iron ore industry and if they suffer
their state will naturally be hit. For
ten successive sessions a tonnage tax
has gone by the board and it may
suffer a like fate this time. This is
the viewpoint of the best posted.
/ The Forty first Minnesota Legisla-
ture will assemble Jan7th and al,
ready members elect are preparing
for four months stay in the capitol
city. The election of w. I. Nolan as
speaker has been assured and the or.
ganization of the senate perfected
:tBoth Speaker Nolan and Lieutenant
Governor Frankson have practically
completed their committee assign
ments. Probably the only thing ir
dispute is the distribution of the
house plums of which ten are elect.
i've: Each district will likely receive
an elective position. In the case OF
the senate the elective positions viii
be distributed by districts and the
remainder Of the. patronage which
includes clerks and stenographers
will be handed over to the individual
members who are right. Harmony
will be the principal feature of the
, ,, organization of each house,
The senate this time will have {
Bolsheviki circle. This includes
members bearing the endorsement 81
the Nonpartisan League, all of whom
have been assigned to the last row
Of seats in the senate chamber
Seats in the senate are distributed
on the basis Of first one, first served
and as the Nonpartisan League mem:
bers made no demand for. favored
places until it was too late to place
them Secretary Of State Schmahl
who is in charge of the floor seating
plan, gave the entire League mem.
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