Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1937-05-06

of taxation can for the time being
be laid aside. If the state wants to
remedy the matter before it is too late
it has to get down to hard, cold facts
which may even be brutal-and that
proposition is that the state has to
raise the money where the money is,
it has to tax those who have an in
come and are able to pay whether
it hurts or not. Piling up more de-
linquent taxes will not help in the
least. There is still time to do this
as the situation is not beyond control.
Minnesota is a rich state, it has
plenty of resources to tax and plenty
of means to raise the money neces-
sary. I have before me report of
bank resources of Minnesota released
by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation of Washington, D. c.,
dated April %, 1887, covering the
banks of Minnesota. 1t shows the
deposits between December 81, 1885,
to December 81, 1886, increased $78,-
525 900, standing at $878,856, 900 De-
cember 81, 1886. The bank deposits
in 1886 increased SO per cent, not so
bad. All the wealth has not moved
out of Minnesota as our Republican
friends have been telling us it would
do the past six years. Now let us
analyze a little further, let us see
where all this money is. In travelling
through Minnesota person will
notice that towns which used to have
two or three banks fifteen or twenty
years ago, now only have one, if
any. 1t will also be noticed that
the deposits of the country banks are
low, in fact in some cases any of the
three banks fifteen years ago had
more deposits than the one there now.
The money is hardly in the country
or country towns.
Right here l want to dynamite the
contention of the Republicans who
say that wealth is not concentrated
and centralized. 1t is centralized,
Sand in order for the state to raise
the revenue necessary it must tax
wealth hidden and otherwise. 1t
must get the money where the money
is-from the large money centers,
from those having high incomes and
from property able to pay. Business
should be encouraged and not taxed
too heavily unless it can stand it.
But to say Minnesota is broke and
that its people cannot pay further
taxes is nonsense of the worst order.
The ideas that the pioneers of the
tax question had in 1880 are sound
today. These ideas were sound and
were so stated in the Askov Amer
lean and other liberal papers of the
state as early as 1880. Anyone hav-
ing substantial income should pay
some towards the upkeep of the state
and its institutions. This means peo-
pie of small incomes also with eX-
emptions as they are now or even
lower. The scale should be grad
uated one, those having high incomes
paying higher rate of course. In
heritance taxes should be increased
There is no sense in the sons and
daughters of the rich inheriting large
fortunes to do with as they please
They, as general rule, do not know
how to handle money, but the posses
sion of money can cause industrial
Stagnation. In order to get at hidden
wealth, money and credit taxes
should be increased. Business and
industry should not be stifled with
higher taxes than they can pay and
at the same time make a profit.
After all, the whole thing depends
on business and industry including
farming and they should be encour-
aged to expand and employ more
people. This cannot be done under
system where the receipts of bust
ness work into large money centers
and lie idle in the banks. The turn
over should be greater.
With the farming communities fac
ing bankruptcy and at the same time
with S878,856,000 in the banks in
Minnesota, it should be easy to see
where the wealth is. 1t should be
equally easy to draw up a sensible
tax bill that will work and raise the
necessary funds to pay for the states
expenses which cannot be materially
reduced
S. J. SIMONSEN.
Pease, Mimi, April 20, 1887.