Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1937-10-21
State Capitol News
BY A. I. HARRIS

The conference of farmers and
farm leaders held in the capitol in
st. Paul recently undoubtedly had
some effect in inducing the Presi-
dent to call special session of Con-
gress for the purpose of passing farm
and labor legislation.
Governor Benson, fresh from de-
livering the opening address to the
farm conference, which he called,
boarded the Roosevelt train at Fargo.
The need for enactment of legisla-
ton to bring security to the farm
population was a subject of lengthy
conversation between the President
and the Governor.
While they were travelling across
the state, the farmers were deliber-
ating on their program and when the
train pulled into st. Paul commit
tee representing this statewide con-
ference was ready to tell the PreSi-
dent of the demand for a progress
sive farm program-right now.
The farmers will probably be in
better position to demand farm leg
islation by Congress than ever be-
fore since the Governor is prepar-
ing to expand this conference into
a midwestern conference, to give the
program the backing of a united farm
er front from large bloc of states.
A united front of all the farm groups
of the midwestern states is certain
to have a salutary effect upon our
national lawmakers.
The weakness in the past has been
the failure on the part of the various
farm groups to unite upon a COM
mon program and to present show
of force in backing that program.
This may not be the case when the
lawmakers meet in the national cap
itol on November Is.
The TAI mills on homesteads for
the first $4,000 valuation fixed by
State Auditor Stafford King in his
certification of the 1887 property tax,
payable in 1898, is at least IA mills
too high.
This is the allegation of tax ex-
pertS who have made an analysis
VI AuOltOl ming > inquiries IL ID
charged that reason for it may be
found in the fact that the conserva-
tives seek to keep the benefits of the
homestead exemption law to home
owners as low as possible so that the
liberals, who forced the measure
through the special session on rec
ommendation of the Governor, can
not claim much credit.
The homestead exemption law was
a bitter pill for the conservatives in
the Legislature to swallow In the
regular session, the liberal House
passed the measure, but the conserv-
alive Senate turned it down. The
Governor again asked for passage of
the homestead exemption law at the
special session.. The House readily
complied. The conservative Senate
at first refused to consider it, but
after public pressure compelled them
to take action, they did so but only
after amending the law in such way
that its full benefits to the home
owners Getty homes and farms) could
not be realized for some four or five
years.
A one-year levy last year was
equivalent to producing S1,371,95O
In the latter part of July, Mr.. King
informed the Legislature that a one
mill levy could be estimated as yield
ing S1,250,000. The levies spread in
the 1888 certifcation would indicate
that one-mill levy is expected to
yield only S1,00O,O0O.
The general property levy, in &C
cordance with the maximum rate
fixed by the Legislature, was certi-
fed at 10 mills, which is the lowest
that the state property levy has been
for five years and the first time since
1929 that it has fallen below the
previous levy. For property located
in Minneapolis, ST. Paul and Du-
luth, the levy is only 9.77 mills, due to
the fact that those cities have local
levies for the teachers retirement
funds.
October apportionment of state
school funds released last week to
Minnesota counties amounted to ST.
AIT 673 81 at g. 25 p,lpi1 If was