Warren sheaf., 1921-02-02
ORE TAX COMPROMISE
Authors of Tonnage Tax Bills Get To.
gether In Effort To Draft Single, !,
Bill--compron,ise Bill FIX -.
pected Within Week. IL ,s--r

st. Paul-The house committee on
taxation indicated at the opening OF
this weeks session. that it will appoint
a. subcommittee of five to draft COM
promise tonnage bill for submission to
the house. e.; 81, .,'.t ,.
A motion to this effect was present
ed to the committee at the session
early this week, but was withdrawn
temporarily SO mining men could ap-
pear and conclude hearings on the ton
mage tax which is in progress.
Representative G. M. Bendixen and
A. G. Welch have had conferences re-
garding a compromise on their bills
and both said that an agreement had
practically been reached. .-..-: .
Friends of the tonnage tax want me
to strike out provision in my bill
making the proposed tax of per cent
Of net profits in lieu of all other state
taxes" said Mr.. Bendixen: II inserted
this because the tax commission and
Governor Preus both felt that a ton
mage tax bill would be unconstitutional
without this provision However, l am
for a tonnage tax and whatever the tax
committee and judiciary committee
may agree upon. will be satisfactory"
The committee probably will frame
its bill and have it ready for: introduc-
tion within 10 days :-.rs.. >>rG.;.v.. -~
., The Mesaba iron range is like a
great layer cake, said w. G.. Swart,
vicepresident and general manager of
the Mesaba Iron company, to the house
tax committee. ,.~:, ..,,s. r..
& "a layer cake with per cent raisins
has plenty of good eating after the
raisins are gone," said Mr. Swart, the
raisins in his Illustration being the
high-grade ore mines and the rest of
the cake the lowgrade mines.
Mr. Swart's company, he said, had
developed copper mines in Utah that
had been considered of no account but
through large volumes of operations
had been made to produce 25 per cent
of the copper in the country.
This company had spent $780,000 ex-
perimenting with low grade iron ore in
Minnesota and are constructing a
$3,000,000 mill on Lake Superior. This
mill, he said,l was only a small unit
and the company considered the ex
penditure of $50,000,000 more for the
main plant, but he told the committee
they were seriously considering con-
struction Of: this main plant in Wis
ccnsin or Michigan because Minnesota
hal no settled taxation policy.
Mr.. Swart said the United States
geological survey showed 125, 900, ,000,-
900 tons of iron ore already exposed on
the Mesaba range and if the range dips
to he south the: amount available
would be beyond human comprehen-
Sirn. %ss;s $s,:S.
GO exhaust the per cent of high
graue ore would take from 20 to 30
years, but the low grade ore, at the
present rate Of shipping, will last more
than 1000 years. he said. 'sThe state
of Minnesota can put off Indefinitely
development Of low grade ore fsby a
shifting policygof taxation. 1t is mighty
easy to discourage capital"
Representative c. M. Bendixen and
G. P. Murphy closely questioned Mr..
Swart, Mr.. Bendixen being in favor of
a tonnage tax and Mr.. Murphy against
it..
Grain Traders on Carpet.
Bills aimed at the Minneapolis
Chamber of Commerce and the Duluth
Board of Trade will be in the limelight
in the Minnesota Legislature this
week.
The House marketing and the Sen
ate agricultural committees will hold
q joint meeting to consider the bill to
make the grain exchanges open mar
kets, opening them up to cooperative
associations Of, all kinds. The two
committees will consider the anti-fu.
lures bills.
Following two: public hearings the
two committees will consider the meas.
ures and make their reports to their
respective houses. Il is expected that
the House committee on marketing
viii report the bills in the near future.
Minneapolis grain men are prepared
to protest against any measure which
will open the Chamber Of Commerce to
any type of cooperation organization.
regardless OF the method by which it
distributes it's profits.
State Aid for. Women War Workers.
4 Women who participated in war
work, would be eligible to the state
aid of 5000 for study at the University
Of Minnesota under s. f. 2O9, intro.
duced by Senator G. d. Reed. Hereto
fore llE service men were given this
priv
Of the open season for fish.
tn May, to May Is is provided
In tt7 by Senator g. a. Turn.
ha. long Lake, and was unani.
comm nded for passage BY
s. g. 5a