Year: 1879

The Little Falls& Dakota r.. r


It has been decided to call specia


election about the middle of December tt


vote on the question of issuing bonds te


aid in the construction of the Little Falls


& Dakota Railroad. The petition to the


County Auditor, asking that a special


election be called, is being circulated


and it has been decided to hold the cleo.
tion as soon as convenient, for the reason
that the railroad company wish to begin
the purchase Of ties very soon. The
building of the road now depends upon
Morrison county alone, and the sum
asked is $4,000. This subject has re-
ceived considerable attention through
these columns, and we believe that the
opposition to issuing bonds is not as
great as it was few months ago. A few
of the people of Little Falls are opposed
to the road, and express the belief that
the little: villages that would spring up
along the line in this vicinity would
draw trade from this place, and especial
ly after the line is extended to Lake Su-
perior through Rich Prairie. 1t is under
stood that after the company makes the
construction of its line from Little Falls
to Browns Valley certainty, they will
Immediately take steps to have the line
extended at both ends, the western end to
connect in Dakota with the Hastings &
Dakota and the Winona & St. Peter, and
the eastern end to unite with water CON-
munication on Lake Superior. Some
seem to be opposed to the road on the
general principle that railroad centres
are bad thing, and tend to interfere with
the serenity and easy going habits of con-
tented poverty. Others, and a much
larger class, are opposed to bonding the
county because their property happens to
be remotely situated from the county seat


But the principal point upon which op-
position to issuing bonds is based, is that
the rate of taxation would thereby be
greatly increased. This, in our opinion,
is very great error, and we hope that
those who think that way will take the
trouble to do little figuring on the ques-
tion before becoming. firmly fixed in that
view. The road will probably be CON-
pleted, if the bonds are voted, in the fall
of 1882, certainly not sooner than that
time. The valuation of the taxable prop
erty in Morrison county will exceed one
million dollars by that time, whether we
have the railroad or not. The interest on
the bonds, at eight per cent, would re-
quire tax Of two and four-tifths mills on
the dollar. A person whose property is
assessed at one thousand dollars would
have to pay two dollars and eighty cents
yearly to meet this interest. Now there
is not man in this county, whose prop
erty is assessed at one thousand dollars,
who would not be benefited more than the
sum of $3.50 yearly by this road, no mat
ter how remote his property is from Lit
tie Falls. But we will go further than
this. We assert, and will prove, that the
payment of the interest and principal of
the bonds would not cost any. tax payer a
cent; and not only that, but would re-
lieve him of paying. taxes that he other
wise would be compelled to pay. The
average rate of taxation, for all purposes,
in the various counties of this State is
about thirty mills on the dollar, and it is
only reasonable to expect that all the ad-
ditional property and increased valuation
resulting from the construction of the
road, will pay thirty mills on each dollar
every yearinto the public treasury. The
road, if built, will add $15O,000 to the
valuation of this county by the time it
reaches Big Stone Lake. The railroad
company alone will have to expend $780,
600 in this county, and much of this will
remain here in some form of investment


No one expresses doubt that the road
would cause an influx Of immigration,
and the investment of considerable capt.
tai, without including the improvement
of the water power, which would be in
evitable, and would at once add 100000
to the assessed valuation of the county.
$150,00O of additional property and in
creased valuation, paying thirty mills of
taxes, would place in the public treasury
$4,000 each year. That would pay the
$2,SO0 of interest on the bonds and leave
a balance of $1,70O, considerable por-
ton of which would 60 toward relieving
the tax payers in respect to the several
items of local taxation. Of course the
collection Of State tax against this addi-
tional property would not help us any ;
but the State tax is proportionately small,
and the additional taxes collected for local
purposes would pay all the interest on the
bonds, and part of the other public ex-
penses. Now we challenge any person in
this county to show that the issue of these
bonds would increase the rate of taxation
to any degree whatever, and we open our
columns for the use of any intelligent
person who desires to accept the chal-
lenge. 1t might be said that the increase
Of wealth and population would cause ad-
ditional public expenses enough to cover
the additional tax. This is an error.
Several months ago we published list
of the counties that we knew had issued
bonds for public Improvements, and their
rate Of taxation as shown by official sta
tistics, and also list of counties which
we knew had never issued bonds for such
purposes, and their rate Of taxation, and
it was shown that the rate of taxation in
the counties that had issued bonds was
not only the lowest, but was very much
the lowest. We shall again publish that
list before election day.