The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-12-16
f!l!(!!3t3a3,
-
Edited This Week BY
VICTOR A. JOHNSTON

West Coast where he addressed meet
lings at Portland, Oregon and San
Francisco At Portland, Governor Ben
son advocated an increase of taxes on
| industry and said that industry must
be taxed sufficiently to balance the
budget. Outlining the progress of the
Farmer Labor administration in Min
nesota, the Governor stated that his
administration was now working largely
on immediate aims and issues but that
ultimately production for use must
supplant production for private profit
that government should promote
publicly owned industries to absorb the
unemployed"
| Critics of the governor were prompt
to point out that Bensons advice to
the Oregon audience on balancing the
budget, devising tax program for in
dustry and the proper governmental
handling of labor disputes was not well
exemplified by his own administration
and that of his party.
Critics Score Governor
On the mater of balancing budgets,
his critics point out that during the
Farmer Labor regime in Minnesota
since 1880 the state has achieved the
third highest increase in bonded in
debtedness in the entire nation. They
also point out that during the period
between 1880 and 1887 when eighteen
states of the union were able to cut
their bonded indebtedness, Minnesota
increased its debt by twenty dollars
per capita. On the matter of saddling
still heavier tax burdens upon industry
on a national scale, critics of the Gov
ernor pointed to the fact that industry
in this state has been continually
harrassed and curtailed by the present
state administration.
! Support of this criticism of the Gov
ernor is seen in the recently organized
velop Minnesota industries. This local
organization, which is known as the
Inter-organization Committee for the
Economic Development of Minnesota,
met recently in Minneapolis with Mayor
W. L. Nicholas of F'aimont presiding,
and L. A. Rossman, Grand Rapids pub
Usher, in charge of committee which
has been making an intensive industrial
study of the state.
| Contained in the RoSsman report are
some very alarming figures. 1t is shown
that in 1919 more than 115,600 wage
earners were employed in manufac-
turing plants in Minnesota and in 1886
there were only 86,100; that in 1919
there were 6225 manufacturing estab-
lishments in Minnesota and in 1885
only ASA loss of TOO plants.
| Mr.. RoSsman, in his report, also
pointed out that scarcely more than
half of the industrial employment in
Minnesota is found in the three largest
cities; 29% of this employment is found
in Minneapolis, 1870 in st. Paul, and
l5% in Duluth Outside the three large
cities are 1000 plants employing 47@o
of the industrial workers.
The report stated that high taxes is
one of the principal reasons in retarding
land destroying economic welfare. Clear
ly indicated in the report was the fact
that Minnesota during the past fifteen
years has lost ground industrially and
that what the state needs most of all
| just now is favorable public senti-
Iment toward industry that will at
tract and hold payrolls instead of
driving them away.
Critics of the governors advice to his
Portland, Oregon audience point out
that the present state administration
not only does nothing to encourage
local industry but that in fact it goes
out of its way to ridicule and nlalign
small local industries in the name of
attacking big business.
This procedure of harrassing industry
for political purposes, it is said, damages
the whole state and the consequent
loss of industry makes the state poorer,
dries up sources of taxation, and puts
more of the tax burden on farming
and other occupations that cannot move
away from the state. Also clearly in
dicated is the fact that large variety
of farm products have lost a great
market in the industrial field and that
a vast number of jobs have disappeared
| for labor
Journeying down to San Francisco,
Governor Benson was one of the prin-
cipal speakers at Free Tom Mooney
meeting. Benson charged that Mooney
was framed" and convicted at the be-
hest of powerful wealthy and priv
ileged interests" Speaking on the same
platform as the Governor was Harry
Bridges, director of CIO Maritime &C
tivities on the Pacific Coast. Bridges
asserted that the California Supreme
Court which recently denied MONEYS
bid for freedom was controlled" by in
tereSts which want to keep Mooney in
prison. The mass meeting went on
record as condemning Governor Frank
F. Merriam of California for failing to
pardon Mooney.
| Benson On CLIO Program
Following his speaking tour on the
West Coast, Governor Benson planned
to return to the state where he IS
scheduled as one of the principal
speakers at the State CLIO Convention
which is to be held in Minneapolis,
December 10th, 18th and 18th. At this
convention Governor Benson will ap-
pear with Homer Martin, president of
the United Automobile Workers Union,
and George Cole, regional directo., of
the CTO in Minnesota Mr.. Cole ex-
poets between three and four hundred
delegates representing about SO thous-
and members of CIO Unions in the
State" to attend the conference
Rumblings against the Governor S
participation in the local CIO conven-
ton are already being heard from the
American Federation of Labor spokes-
men. The A. F. of L, has long sus-
pected that the Governors sympathy
1 liac 1rnr.rr ct,.nranlrr tho C,In