Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1920-06-10
COST OF THE
TONNAGE TAX
Will Not Profit Minnesota but
viii Kill the States Iron
Ore Industry.

advertisement prepared and pub
Iished by the Minnesota Fair Tax
Association, an organization Of the
to save the state from the evils
which will follow the enactment
OF tonnage tax measure.
What the people Of Northern Min
nesota ere trying to dc is to talk with
their ghbors and fellow-citizens of
Southern Minnesota-to talk to them
STRAIGHT, and without the use of
mediums that confuse and distort and
create mutual antipathies and misun-
derstandings.
The people OF Northern Minnesota
are trying to talk straight to the peo-
pie of Southern Minnesota about the
tonnage tax on iron ore-trying TO
talk WITH them-trying to talk it all
over fairly and squarely.
In the past high wall OF misunder-
standing has been built up because
there was no effort to get the people of
the two parts Of the state to talking
straight to each other
So it was that a lot of people in
Northern Minnesota got to talking as
though the people in Southern Mime
sofa were bunch of highbinders and
highwaymen bent on running the peO-
pie of the North.
So it was that lot of people in
Southern Minnesota got to talking as
though the people in Northern Mime
sofa we're bunch Of corporation tools
who were trying to help the steel trust
dodge their taxes
1t isn't so. Neither end Of it is So
North and South, they are just peo-
ple-the same kind of people, inter-
ested in the same sort of justice,
helped by the same things and hurt
by the same things If tonnage tax is
good. it will help Northern Minnesota
at the same time that it helps South
ern Minnesota. II tonnage tax is bad,
it will hurt Southern Minnesota just
as surely as il hurts Northern Mime
sota-just as surely, If less vitality.
The Story of Tonnage Tax.
This is the story of the tonnage tax
in Minnesota:
When the tonnage tax was first in
troduced in the 1907 legislature it's
primary purpose was to compel the
manufacture of iron and steel in this
state, and its secondary purpose was
to compel the iron mining interests to
pay their fair share OF the expenses Of
the state government:
The first tonnage tax bill was for
tax of 25 cents ton. 20 cents to be
rebated on all iron smelted within the
state; this shows the primary purpose
of this proposed legislation This be-
ing obviously an attempt to tax ex-
ports from the state, which the Fed
eral Constitution forbids. this first
measure was dropped and the straight
tonnage tax BILL followed later by a
"supertax" bill, came in
While the tonnage tax was pending
in the 1907 legislature efforts thereto
fore made by Duluth citizens to in.
duce the United States Steel Corpora
ton to begin the manufacture of steel
in this state were brought to head
and when the bill was defeated. there
was promise from that company that
steel plant. to cost $6.000000 to
81 1000, 900 would be built in Duluth.
Today there is in Duluth great. up
to-date steel plant of the United States
Steel corporation, costing 1000. 600
instead of the promised $4,000. 600 or
$1000,00O. and plans are drawn ready
for immediate extensions costing So
coo, 600 more.
Though happily the tonnage tax has
failed. this aim of the original tonnage
takers has been met-to the great ben
eft of all Minnesota.
How about the taxes? In 1907 the
total assessed valuation of all the iron
mines of Minnesota was S644S6. 400, on
which the state in that year got a total
OF Sl79,272
This year. 1920. the assessed valua-
tiuA VI Tie lIpu uliuSS Vi minnesota is
$2SS.931 $50 more than four times that
of l907-and the states direct tax
from this wealth will be $o,34O. 4O3-
more than thirteen times that of 1907
So the secondary purpose of the
original tonnage takers has also been
met
The tonnage tax agitation, therefore.
has given the state a monster steel in
dustry, and has compelled the iron in
terest to pay taxes on just valuation
multiplying the states revenue from
this source by twenty-five.
Ii has served both the purposes for
which il was started Why should il
be continued. when the threat of il
jeopardizes the creation of a great in
dustry that cannot fail TO benefit every
part Of the stater
Politics VS.. Business.
The tonnage tax had served the pur-
pose for which it was proposed. II
had reached Its climax, had dwindled.
and had all but died-as it should.
since its purposes had been served
when Townleyism. carpet-bagging
from North Dakota. exhumei il as a
votegetting issue. This is proved by
the history OF the tonnage tax in the
legislature