Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1940-07-04

comprehensive article on the MS
tory. purpose and results of the
state net income tax law by HAL
mar Petersen, an article was
written by Senator A. j. Rockne
and published in his Zumbrota
News. Opposing views are eX-
pressed by the two men. Here
with is published the Rockne YER
sion followed by Petersen reply:
As Senator ROckne Sees 1t.
1 was both grieved and surprised
to note the article that my friend,
Hjalmar Petersen, wrote in the Min
neSota Leader on June l in which
article he attempted to justify the in
come tax. l was grieved because
my friend, Hjalmar, seems to think
that he can reform the party that has
made such a miserable effort to run
our state, which party has lot of
Mexican generals and Communists
and that element which disagrees with
the conservatives in the management
of state affairs 1 had hoped that
Hjalmar, who helped us so much
two years ago to clean up things in
the state capitol, would now come
over and join us because we can use
men like Hjalmar Petersen.
1 was surprised to see Hjalmar's
arguments on the income tax law be-
cause it demonstrated to me that
Hjalmar either has not been thinking
as he should or he is uniformed as
to what the income tax law is.
1t is true that we conservatives
opposed the law and our reasons for
voting against it can be found in the
Senate Journal of 1888 as we had it
recorded there under the constitu-
tional provisions. We said then that
the income tax, which was to go to
the schools, would only be another
additional tax and until there was a
constitutional provision enacted to
make the income tax a replacement
tax so far as real estate was con-
cerned, we would not vote for the
law. Now, Hjalmar says this has
helped us out.
Here are the records: In 1888 the
aid to schools was S5,75O,OOO. In 1899,
against the finance committees Wig
orous protest, the legislature gave aid
to schools from the state treasury of
S7,750,000 the first year and $1,000 900
the second year. Now, as everyone
knows, business and industry do not
pay any income tax because all they
do is to add it on to their goods and
the tillers of the soil carry the bur-
den. l want to say to my friend,
Hjalmar, that the farmers are aware
of this now and when he thinks he
is trying to demonstrate that the
farmers get any benefit from the in
come tax law and its enactment, he
is sadly mistaken. On June l., 1887.
all products, including machinery the
farmer has to buy, went up 80 to 40
per cent and the tillers of the soil.
who cannot fix their prices, have
to carry the load. Yet he is stay
ing with party who call them
selves the Farmer-Labor party. The
farmers are wise now and in my
opinion he cannot put this kind of ar
gument over on them any further and
/ was surprised when he attempted
to justify the income tax law.
want to say to Hjalmar that the
thing we predicted has happened with
a vengeance and the quicker he con-
siders little more fully state affairs
the better it will be for the organiza-
ton to which he belongs, or what
would be better still, to get out of
there and come over with us conserv-
atives because know he is reason
ably conservative and a man that I
would trust with most any affairs of
state.
A. J. ROCKNE.