The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1920-09-02
Will benefit THE
RURAL DISTRICTS
OPPOSITION TO BABCOCK ROAD
AMENDMENT. CAUSED BY
MISUNDERSTANDING
Nd Land TAX is PROPOSED
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO AID
MATERIALLY IN CONSTRUC-
TON OF HIGHWAY

The following article taken from
Farm, Stock and Home, explains in a
very concise way the proposed Mime
sofa road law. All of the Minnesota
farm papers are supporting the Bab-
cock amendment, but that is not suf-
ficient reason for any individual to
blindly vote for the measure. A little
intelligent thinking and study of the
problem is advisable, and this article
is republished because it enlarges up
on some features not fully under
stood.
"There seems to be widespread
opposition among farmers to the
adoption of amendment No. 1 to the
Minnesota Constitution. known more
familiarly as the Babcock Amend
ment. In view of the fact the object
of this amendment is to permit the
state of Minnesota to build seven
thousand miles of hard surface roads.
it seems peculiar that there should DC
opposition manifested from this
source.
We believe a large part of this OPP
position is due to lack of full under-
standing of just what the Babcock
Amendment is, just how it will work
and wrle.v .i.e effects will be on the
maintenance of the various county
roads. In the first place the adop-
ton of this amendment does not bind
the state of Minnesota to anything at
all. 1t simply permits the state to is
sue bonds for the construction of
paved roads.
Zone question frequently asked is
Why a constitutional amendment !.
Why not simply raise the tax on auto
mobiles ana motor trucks to a point
high enough to provide the necessary
FUNDS? The attorney general of Min
nesota has held that any very mater
lal increase in the automobile license
% tax. This license fee is held to
be fee for police protection and reg
llation and constitutionly none of
this money can be applied to the
roads. The money raised by high
auto tax over that required to give
police protection and regulation,
would have to go into the treasury of
Minnesota as a part of the general
fund. Under the state constitution
the only tax that can go into the road
fund is the mill tax which law Itself
is the result of constitutional
amendment.
N"The federal government is now
appropriating large sums annually to
assist the states in road construc-
lion, but the states must match the
government appropriation dollar sor
dollar. Therefore as matters now
stand the only federal money Min
nesota can get is sum equal to chat
yielded oy the one mill tax referred
20 above. This amounts to 2,8OO, 300
per year. When it became apparent
as the law was first drafted, MINES
ota could not get its fair share of
government road money without
further amendment of our state con.
stitution, Senators Nelson and Kel-
logg got an amendment attached
which provided that where the con-
stitution of any state prohibited it
from meeting the government appro-
priations for internal improvement,
or restricted the state from entering
into the construction and improve
r1ent of roads and bridges, the funds
allotted such states is set aside and
held until such time as the state
will have had an opportunity to
amend their constitutions. In plain
English this means that unless MINI
esota amends her constitution neyt
November by adopting the Babcock
Amendment, the opportunity to pa
ticipate in federal money will Re
lost and the monev that shorld
go to Minnesota will 90 to other
states.
whether we could have another
chance 70 amend the constitution and
eventually get the government aid
is question of how the law will he
1t seems to us very
clear. however that if we refuse next
to permit ourselves to
issue these road bonds and levy a
rpecial road tax on motor vehicles
the opportunity to get the govern