The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1919-02-15
TONNAGE TAX IS
BUG OF S0L0NS
No Real Philosophy Of Taxation
Involved They Just Want
: the Money.
By n. w. HITCHCOCK.
Representative, Goth District.

ST. PAUL, Feb. 15.-The ignorance
of the legislature in regard to northern
Minnesota is colossal. The general at
titude is that northern Minnesota is a
vast, good-for- nothing wilderness,
place that is always irritatingly want
ing something. The one bright spot
in northern Minnesota, the legislature
thinks, is the iron range. The legis-
lature's idea of the iron range is that
it is a. place owned by few multi
milliOnaires back east who in ten or
eleven years more will have carted
away from northern Minnesota the one
and only thing of value there is in
that benighted section. That there
are any real folks in northern Min
nesota, to be helped or hurt, never
occurs to the legislature; of course,
there are few settlers living in log
huts, as Minnesota's erudite geologist,
Professor Sardeson says, but they are
IAN unambitious lot" Northern Min
nesota IS nuisance; but the iron
mines are a. chance to get even for
the trouble that northern Minnesota
causes the state. That northern Min
nesota is the states greatest asset,
vast storehouse of resources such as
no other state in the Union possesses,
never occurs to the legislature. The
legislature never thinks of making
something of it's northern Minnesota
possessions; its one idea is to-. grab
something from it. The legislature is
like man with a valuable farm, re-
fusing to work it and make it a great
revenue producer, determined only to
sell it for what little cash money he
can get for it.
It is this fact that makes the ton
mage tax inevitable and so formidable
at every session. The author of the
Bendixen tonnage tax bill made the
| astounding statement at the first ton
mage tax hearing last Thursday that
the tonnage tax is not a sectional ques-
/ ton. IF I lived on the iron range. I
would be just as strongly in favor of
the tonnage tax as am now" he de-
clared. Mr.. Bendixen is absolutely
honest-but almost absolutely ignor-
ant of what he was talking about.
Either that, or people on the iron
ranges none of whom believe in a
tonnage tax, are all dishonest.
One southern Minnesota member.
not knowing I was from the north.
said to me: 'Do you know what 7
| think of northern Minnesota? It's
nothing but waste land-good for
nothing" Another member thought
that the iron mines cover practically
all OF northern Minnesota, so that
when they are all dug out there will
be absolutely nothing but yawning
holes. 'You can't farm those holes"
he said.
The Nonpartisan league had several
able lawyers at the first tonnage tax
nearing last week. These LAWYERS
thought the Bendixen bill, which lew
les a two per cent tax on the gross
value of the ore is just as bad as we of
northern Minnesota think it is. But
they thought that the Nonpartisan
league bill was absolutely all right
at least they said SO quite cleverly.
The next day, however. they found
out that 1t wasn't all right, and they
withdrew it and substituted another
IN its place. The new Nonpartisan
bill has all the features of the old one
but it expressly declares that the ton
mage tax it seeks to impose is a. "super
tax and in addition to the taxes now
levied. There will be one or two more
hearings before the bill is reported to
the house. The fight on the floor Of
the house will not come for throo
weeks or more. but when it does come