The Ely miner., 1925-02-27

i've appropriation bills. These are
the board of control bill for state in
stltutions already mentioned, ths
state departments bill which carried
about 9o,oUu,uUu two years ago, the
Oil tor miscellaneous state activities
such as PARKS, hsh haLcheries, agrI-
cultural AID, etc. which for the past
Dlennlum amounted 20 approximate
~ S3,oU0,uUU, the educational bill
caring for the state university, the
normal schools ana providing state
anu TO school districts IN total sum
of SzU,0uU, ,UUU, and, finally, a bill
IN which are grouped all the claims
against the state. The total APP
piopriations made by the Legislature
OF 1928 were S40,U00,000 and the
present legislature Is making val
iant effort to keep within that fig
ure.
Earnings Of the State.
1t is estimated that during the
coming bIennium the receipts OF the
state Irom indirect taxes such as the
gross earnings tax on railroads, tele-
phone and telegraph companies, the
occupation tax on iron Gre, inherit
ance taxes, etc., together with the
earnings of various state depart
ments win total about $50, 1000, 900.
If this is the case and if the ap-
preparations of the present legis-
lature do not exceed those of two
years ago the direct tax levy for
the state revenue fund may be kept
down as low as two or two and one
half mills each year.
In the past a favorite point of
political attack has been the Eek
travagance of the administration" !"
1t promises to be difficult to press
this attack effectively against the
present administration, which, under
the leadership of Governor Chris
tianson, is hewing vigorously close
to the line and letting the chips fly
all over the state. 1t is interesting
to note in this connection that the
earnings of the various state de-
partments often exceed their ex-
penses, so that in the administration
OF government the state of Mime
sofa almost makes a profit.
If craftsmanship can work out
the road problem it will be some
thing really worth while accomplish
ed at this session of the legislature.
1t will not be done, however, with
out playing the usual amount of
petty politics. A strong movement
is again under way to cut the mini
| mum on motor vehicles from SIP to
$40. This will save every farmer
SO on his Ford and make every
country member a great man in his
home town. This is the stug that
statesmen are made of. But we do
not rest our claims to greatness sole.
ly upon this So cut. We have al
ready extended the time for the pay
| ment of this years motor vehicle
tax from Feb. Is to March /. OF
| course we did this in face of the
fact that fewer automobile owners
are delinquent this year han ever
before and in the face of the fact
that the more we juggle the due
date of the tax the more we confuse
the public mind thereby piling UP
penalties and increasing the states
cost of colleetion-but the part of
craftsmanship is to "do something
for our constituents, so out of 400,-
600 Minnesota owners Of automo-
biles we have singled out the delin-
quent $4,000 who are least deserv-
ing of consideration and have done
something handsome for them and
we are patting ourselves nightly on
the back about it.
Sticking Stilettos Into 1t.
1t begins to appear that the in
term report on the reorganization
of the state government will have
to fight for its life. A lot of dag
gers are seeking out its fifth rib.
Grave and reverend senators who
were expected to support it are
openly knocking. Farmer-Labor lead
ers who once, in fine spirit of
state loyalty, laid down the political
hatchet have picked it up and are
making wicked fourishes. A thou
sand officer holders are lying in wait
for it. Twelve years ago a some
what similar attempt came complete-
ly to naught. Two years ago an in
term commissions report on educa-
ton was partially adopted by the
legislature, the only interim COM
mittee's report in the history of
Minnesota to win its way into the
statute book of the state.
The Probers Are Probing.
Every Legislature has it's frenzy
for investigation and we are hot on
the trail of all sorts of disorders
and rumors of disorders. A COM
mittee is giving the state prison and
its $4,000,000 revolving fund a
thorough going over; our own Geo.
Lommen heads another gang of
| probers who want to know what's
the matter with the game and fish
commission 1--WE could tell 'em with
out their spending cent of the
$500 granted them to probe with
it's politics.; investigation shows
that with the $35,000,O00 it has
loaned to it's farmers in the past
two years under the new rural
credits law the state has bought at
a whopping price a great many
tracts of land, and the end lis not
yet; and last, but not least, if there
are any holes in Highway Commits
sioner Babcock's arnnor we have a
committee which is out to find
| them.
| It's. No. This Time.
Amendment No. / on the ballot
for changes in the state constitution
in 1926 will be the reforestration
}samendment, and there is every rea-
son to hope that this great reform,
so long and so ardently hoped for,
will be voted by the people, and
that, within the next decade, a
policy of reforestration on an ex-
tensive scale will be well under way
in Minnesota. After a number of
members from the treeless prairies
of Minnesota had found various
more or less trivial objections to
it for three days, the house passed