The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1929-02-01
LEGISLATIVE LETTER No. 4.

rich returns and that it will eventually
add enormously to the productive
wealth of the. state.
Something Worth While.
But when Northern Minnesota dis
covered and began to make money out
of its treasures of that most common
and most valuable of all minerals, iron
ore, the whole state knew that there
was something worth while In the
north. Something that it could lay
hands on. Something that it could
take. Not satisfied with its share of
the prosperity from thriving indus
try of world wide Importance, not con-
tent with the millions poured into its
Golfers from its own iron lands, it set
up to justify its strong arm measures,
the heritage theory. Iron ore was
deposited in the north by the Almighty
for the benefit of the state, etc, etc.
Whereupon, having basis to work on,
the state began to pile tax after tax
upon the iron ore industry.
All went merry as a marriage bell
for time. More millions poured into
the states strong box. Statesmen Of
of the occupation tax and the royalty
tax pointed with pride and :ho.ght
very well indeed of themselves. But
times began to change. The price of
steel and of pig iron advanced, but not
the price of iron ore. Machines began
to take the place of men in the iron
mines Mining changed from the un-
foreground shaft to the open pit and
from an all the year around industry
it changed to seasonal occupation.
Sans men, sans winter employment,
the prosperous mining towns began to
lose their prosperity and at the same
time the mining interests began to
complain of overtaxation.
Propaganda Runs Amuck
Came the Legislature of 1929 and
the twin city press as one newspaper
began to cry that the mining indus
try was overtaxed. Once they got that
idea they turned in fury upon the de-
fenSeleSS towns of the iron ranges and
shouted: "You wastersi You squan-
dererS! Why will you tax the iron ore
industry of the state to death?" For
more than three weeks the twin city
papers have Numbered their denun-
Citations of the range towns. Seldom
has such an avalanche of propaganda
been let loose upon the state
Altho there had never been COM
plant of the overtaxation of the iron
ore industry until after the levying of
the occupation and royalty Supertaxes,
the erudite editorial writer's of the
twin city press are convinced that
these taxes had nothing to do with it.
Why, look, they say, the state only
gets 80 per cent of the taxes assessed
against the iron industry-only three
or four times as much as it gets from
other property. How can the state be
to blame?
The Road Dilemma
Between politics and pork the road
program is cropping thru the darkest
hour it has encountered since the
trunk highway system was proposed in
1919. Bonds are boyle man to the
farmer when they are road bonds, but
when they are rural credit bonds they
are friend to be welcomed with open
arms. We love the farmer, even after
election we love him, but he is even
more inconsistent than the rest of us
because there are more of him. How
ever since the farmer is against road
bonds there will be no $20,000,000 bond
issue for the extension of the trunk
highway system. Perhaps we shall be
able to "whup OF Satan round the
stump" by refunding the county road
bonds. New bonds are wicked but old
bonds are righteous; even so great Is
the difference between tweedle-dum
and tweedle-dee.
Minnesota has safeguarded the pro-
ceeds of its one-mill road tax for many
years by a sound provision for state
supervision, but it is proposed to aban-
don this system in the distribution of
the one-third of the gas tax to be di-
verted to the secondary roads of the
state. Turn the money over to the
counties and let EN- spend 1t. A nice
fat pork barrel that one-third of the
gas tax will make.
The Minnesota road program is more
seriously endangered today than at
any time since it inception.
Blood in Their Eye.
According to the twin city papers a
senate bloc" is again breathing out
threatenings and slaughter against the
governor because of the Big Three
Two years ago senate bloc" did that
very thing. 1t voted greatly increased
appropriations and it attempted to so
tie up appropriations that the COVER
nor could not veto individual items.
The body of the senate, however, did
not seem sufficiently enthusiastic over
the plan; part of it was abandoned
and the rest of it failed. The temper
of the legislature does not seem to be
much different this year in regard TO
this matter than it was two years ago.
The budget this year provides near