Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, October 4, 1902, Page 7

OF INTEREST TO TAXPAYERS Constitucional Amendments and Their Importance to the People of Minnesota. Religion and taxation have been the most fruitful of all sources of war and national trouble. It is fortunate, there- fore, for Minnesota that there seems no disposition at the coming election +o make taxation a party issue. It is, however, one of the most, important subjects upon which the people will have to vote. When the tax commission was named to formulate a wholly new code for’ the state and report on it in nine months to an extra session of the legis- lature which was expected to act upon and pass it in twenty days, many, per- haps most of the people of this great commonwealth thought the tax prob- blem was settled. Students of taxa- tion, however, either smiled or, if wiser, spoke approvingly, hoping that this start on the road might result in much good. The commission's report truly says: ‘‘At no time in modern history has the thought of students of economic subjects been as earnestly di- rected to the subject of taxation asat present.” There is no doubt in any one’s mind that the present system of taxation ‘n Minnesota is antiquated. The state has outgrown it. It is crude, works injustice, is unequal and does not meet the present needs of the state, but What the remedy should be, how. in so rich a state with such varied indus- tries and sources of wealth property should be reached and taxed isa ques- tion on which few would agree. It is therefore impossible to make it a party question and it is wise that neither party has attempted it. There was a day when there was little wealth in Minnesota outside the farm, The mode of life and property of the people were equally simple and primi- tive and the taxation question was easy of solution. - But now this is one of the richest states in the Union and its interests are among the most complex. This subject of taxation is before the people of Minnesota as a result of the tax commission report. Naturally ham- pered as they were by limitations of the constitution, even as able men as composed that commission could not frame a bill that would meet the situa- tion. As was said, tax experts knew from the first this could not be done, but hoped for good results from the agitation of the subject sure to follow the report. sults have followed. with Certainly those good re- The extra session the commissioners’ report as a was & great school in taxation. ng after hearing was had in joint sssion and in open sessions before the tax committees, at which representa- tives of the state’s varied inte s were heard, where the farmer and banker, franchise magnate and tax stu- dent, the practical man of business and the theorist gave their views on tax- ation. From all this mass of testimony the members of the house and senaie ard, through the newspaper reports, the state at large, secured a great amount of information in regard to the st of taxation and a surprising interest was aroused in the subject. Anything as to taxation was read care- fully and eagerly and still is. The immediate result of all this pro- cess of education was an amendment to the constitution which is to be voted upon by the people Nov. 4. -It certainly is creditable to the legistature that this amendment was treated pure- ly as a business measure. At no time in either house or senate was the vote in any sense divided on party lines, and the final passage of the amend- ment was by a practically unanimous vote in both houses. There was but one vote against it in the senate and three in the house. Such unanimity, considering the subject, is remarkable and is the strongest kind of testimony as to the excellénce of the amend- ment. It is of interest to consider this amendment in connection with the tax commission’s report, which is one of the most important state documents ever submitted to a Minnesota legis- lature. Im framing the amendment which will be, voted upon at this elec- tion, a special regard was evidently paid to the suggestions in the report. For instance, the report considers quite exhaustively the subject of taxation of mortgages and says that the present constitution made it impossible to handle the subject as they thought wise. The amendment makes it possible to cure this evil by a recording fee, or light uniform tax on all mortgages when recorded. Again the report says: “No marked reform in the taxation of personal property can be effected until the legis- jature is afforded greater freedom of action in the matter of legislation upon the subject.” This is clearly along the line of the modern methods to leave the legislature so far as possible free to fix a system of taxation subject only to public opinion. There is danger in going too far in this direction, and the amendment, as it goes to the people, is considered by the tax student as on the whole a wise compromise in this regard. It does not bind down the legis- lature too closely, nor limit its powers too narrowly. It rather marks out a course by suggestion than by set lim- itations. It says rather what may be done than what can’t be done, and gives as a rule an alternative in method. The exemptions also, are not wide, being only schools, burial grounds, public hospitals and libraries, colleges, charities and church property when used for religious purposes, and public property. These all, save a very few, will concede should be free from taxation as none are profit-shar- ing and they are strictly for the public good. Also the limit to which the per- sonal property of each individual may pe exempt is increased to $300, but only one member of a family can take ad- vantage of this. In the matter of an income tax the commission’s report says: “Every sys- tem of taxation is deficient which does not provide for a reasonable income tax. Minnesota would take a proud step forward by wholly abrogating a tax on credits and adopting a progres- sive income tax.” Later it quite fully disscusses the subject, and in conclu- sion again says: “While it is not per- missible to impose an income tax ler the present constitution the subject is too important to be disregarded in the tions: omitted from this report. It is due the legislature and the people of the state that they be advised of the views of the commission on the subject.” Gn no branch of the subject of taxation has public opinion changed more here in America than on this. Where it was formerly looked upon as justifiable only as a last resort as a war measure, it is now generally approved. Now, even the wealthy, while naturally opposed in the main to an income tax, admit its jus- tice and that the money product of 2 man’s brain is just as properly sub- ject to taxation as the product of the labor of his hands; The proposed amendment permits an income tax if the people demand it and puts Minne- sota in this regard at the front of progressive states in taxation. But it does not make this form of taxation obligatory, but leaves the legislature to say if personal property of any class, credits, stocks, bonds or tangible personalty shall be’ taxed on the in- come or on value. Inheritances is another kind of es- tate that has never been successfully reached here, though in the states furtherest in advance in taxation mat- ters, estates which come through in- heritance are taxed when they pass through probate. Such an estate is one that comes not through our own ef- fort, but by the accident of birth, and as the public is at the expense in each county of maintaining a separate office for the protection of such porperty and of the rights of heirs, it is but con- sidered just that at least the largest estates shouid pay a special tax for such protection. This is recommended in the report and provided for in the amendment. The report is exhaustive in its consid- eration of the taxation of franchise companies. has It points out that the tangible prep- erty of a public franchise corapany pften does not begin to represent the actual value of the company’s p> erty. That with street railway, electric lighting, water, telephone and such companies, the greater value nay be in the franchise itself. There are two methods of reaching such companies. At present only their tangible property, such as cars, tracks, poles, wires, plants, machinery, real estate, etc., are taxed, but the amend- ment permits the reaching of their other property by either of two way: By getting at the actual value of the franchise, which is the right tie law gives such a company to do business, or by a gross earnings tax. The latter is simply an income tax applied to such corporations, and is the same method that is now used in taxing steam: rail- ways, Other advanced stands taken in this amendment are » along lines pro- posed by the commussien. Wor insta again, the report says: ‘Pub) ests would undoubtedly be best gu: ed under a constitution which divests a legislature of the pov of ent Pp into a contract with te: to i.xa- tion. Every tax system should rest upon the rules of uniformity and equality and /a legislature should not therefore be vested with authority to violate them.” . Along these lines the emenmiment first of all specifically prohii render suspending or cont of the power of legislation, it impossible to fix a form of taxaticn for corporations, or fer any » ‘ner class of persons, or property, that a future legislature could not chang It pro- vides further that all taxes for “state purposes” shall be uniform throughout the state. The word “state” is used because of the clause which provides that when a special tax levy for state purposes is not necessary that then there shall be “county optioa” in tax- ation, In view of the fact that the revenue tax will probably he reduced next year to less than one mill ond that the increased tax on railroad gross earnings alone would umount te a half of the total revenue tax raisei, it is. not at all improbable vhat in the very near future there may be no direct tax levy for state purposes; that all state taxes will come from the railroads, franchise companies and inheritance taxes, foreign corporation and income taxes. Then each county would be free to assess and tax its own property in its own way, according to its own local interests, to meet its own local ex- penditures for yoads, bridges, schools and general expenses. This is again along the most advanced thought of many tax students and places Minne- sota among the states such men are eagerly watching for d2velopments. So it is that the passage of this proposed tax amendment is being watched with interest by public men in all states. The proposed amen.iments and there are four of them, will come first on the ballot. This tax amend- ment will read as follows: “Amendment to sections one (1), two (2) and three (3). of article nine (9) of the constitution, providing for a ‘ax on real estate mortgages and on the franchises of corporations, and upon the income of corporations and ‘ndi- viduals in excess of, the 3um of cne thousand dollars ($1,000) per year.”"— “Yes."—“No.” Each elector voting upon such proposed amendments shall place a cross (X) mark in the space opposite the word “Yes” or “No” as he favors or opposes it. And just here comes in a peculiar consequence of the constitutional provision which requires that no amendment to the staie con- stitution can be carried or adopted un- less it receives a majority of ail tne votes cast at the election. This makes it necessary that to carry this or any amendment over half of all those who vote at the election shall put the cress (X) opposite the ‘Yes,’ for these who do not mark the amendment at all are counted with those who mark “No.” ‘For example, if there were 200,000 votes cast in all at the election and on 100,000 of them the voters had voted for the amendment and not one vore was marked against it, yet it would not carry for it would need just one mcre vote to make a majority of all the vores east. So the importance of every «ne voting on the amendment who favors these changes in the methods of taxa- tion can ‘easily be seen. In no cther state, we believe, is there any such re- quirement for passing a constilutional amendment, yet it Is not a.bad idea to make the people study such a question and actually register their votes upon it, if they wish It adopted THRIFT OF THE FRENCH. Get the Last Vestige of Value from Everything They Use. There is no better place to study French frugality than in the parks and open squares of Paris. Go to one of the second-hand fairs held on the outer boulevards. What in other countries would be cast aside as use- less is here exposed for sale, having been carefully sorted over by ragpick- ers, whose sole support is the rubbish which you see—broken china, bits of glass, pieces of stone, old nails, old pots and pans, old shoes, old combs and brushes. Does a woman need a cup? Has she broken a saucer? For two cents she can replace them. Is her lock broken, her key lost? . Be- hold a thousand from which to choose! The poor students may find their’ books, mothers their children’s shoes. Each house in Paris is provided by the city with a large box. Into this the servants throw all that is not needed by the family, whether of food or raiment. Every morning the chif- foniers or ragpickers are privileged to search through these boxes before the contents are carted by the city to dis- tant fields, where the refuse is em- ployed in fertilizing the soil. From the homes of the wealthy, the poor re- ceive many articles of real value. Fif- ty thousand ragpickers, say the sta- tistics, realize $10,000 daily from their pickings—Anna Seaton, Schmidt in September Donahoe’s. PRINT IN MANY LANGUAGES. os American Newspapers Read by Many Nationalities. On occasions when the Anglo-Amer- ican kinship is celebrated it is cus- tomary to refer to the seventy- six million and odd United Statesers as people who, in the phrase of Wordsworth, “speak the tongue that Shakespeare spake.” But this is a generalization that largely ignores the facts. There are no less than twenty-five newspaper languages in this country. The news of each day and comments thereon are presented to multitudes of readers in types that represent, besides English, the following tongues, or some com- bination of them: Arabic, Armeni- an, Bohemian, Catalan, Chinese, Dutch, F¥nnish, French, Gaelic, Ger- man, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, In- dian, Irish, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Scandinavian, Slavonic, Spanish, Volapuk and Welsh. Yet the steady tenlency from decade to decade is to increase the number of newspapers and periodicals printed in English, and to diminish the number printed in other lan- guages. In the last census year 94.3 per cent of all our newspapers and periodicals used English type; in 1890 92.9 per cent did so, HE KNEW ALL ABOUT IT. Long-Headed Man Not Wasting Money in Advertising. He came into the ; office looking greatly worried. “I wish,’ said he to the advertising man, “to advertise a lost dog, and I want you to put it in big type—the bigger the better—and say I’ll give a sovereign for the. return of the ani- mal. Now I think of it, you can dou- ble the reward, for I’vé got to have that dog back.” “When was he lost?” inquired the advertising man. “Yesterday. He went away with lone of my boys and failed to return.” “Couldn’t the boy tell you where he lest the dog?” “No; he was lost with the dog, and I haven’t found him yet.” “What!” exclaimed the newspaper man. “Yougdon’t mean to say that the boy is lost and you are only ad- vertising for the return of the dog?” “Certainly I do. The boy will be returned free of cost, but it takes money to get a dog back. I know all about it. I’ve lost them both before.” And the newspaper man had ac- cumulated some more knowledge. “Roughing It” Up to Date. “Hello, old man! Where have you been?” asked a shirtwaist man of a sun-browned friend, as the two met in a Sixth avenue elevated train last Friday, according to the New York Herald. “Up. in the Adirondacks; camping out. Had an invitation from a friend who-has a camp up there, and I tell you we had a grand old time,” he answered. “Lots of fun roughing it in the “Fun! I should say so! It beats all the other ‘roughing it’ I ever came up against. My friend who ‘extended his hospitality has a-new log cabin up there. Two stories, 11 rooms; finest beds you ever lay on; hard wood floors, Oriental rugs, stained glass windows; fur trophies and huge ant- lers in the broad hall; six servants, with a French chef at the head; and such meals; every delicacy of the season; guns, rods, dogs, horses, } boats; icehouse full of everything that requires ice, and all that sort of thing without end. “I tell you, a little roughing it for a few weeks is a fine thing after a gay winter in the city.” New Use for the Pulpit. There are queer nooks and corners din England yet. x A country parson lately went to preach in an-old remote parish one Sunday. : The aged sexton in taking him to the place insinuatingly said: “I hope your riv’rence won’t mind preachin’ from the chancel. Ye see, this is a quiet place, and I’ve got a pulpit.” mountains for a few weeks, isn’t it?” duck sittin’ on fourteen eggs in the A HARD STRUGGLE. When you have 2 bad back, a back {nat’s lame, weak or aching it’s a hard struggle sometimes to find 1¢- u1ef and cure, but it’s a harder strug- gle when the dangers beset you of urinary disorders, too frequent urina- tion retention of the urine with all the subsequent pains, annoyances and suffer.ng. There are many medicines that relieve these conditions, but you want a remed7—a cure. Read this statement; it tells of a cure that lasted: Veterar Josiah Heller, place of resi- dence 706 South Walnut. St., Urbana, Ill, says: “In the fall of 1889 I pro- cured Doat’s Kidney Pills. at Cun- ningham’s drug store in Champaign, and after taking the remedy conscien- tiously I made a public, statement of the results. I told how’Doan’s Kid- ney Pills relieved me of kidney trou- ble, disposed of my lame back and the pains across my loins, beneath the shoulder blades, etc. During the interval which has elapsed I have had occasion at times to resort to Doan’s Kidney Pills when I noticed warnings of another attack, and on each and every occasion ‘the result obtained was just as satisfactory as when the pills were first brought to my notice, At this time I just as em- phatically indorse the preparation as I did several years ago.” A FREE TRIAL of this great Kid- ney medicine which cured Mr. Helle: ‘will be mailed. on application to any part of the United States. Address Foster-Milburn @o., Buffalo, N. Y. For sale by all druggis:s, price 50 cents per box. TRADES UNION DISCIPLINE. British Workmen Fined for Allowing Apprentices to Help, Even -When Fingers Were Being Mzshed. The story of the Spanish princess being allowed to burn to death in the presence of her attendants, because for them to have touched her -would have been a breach of etiquette, is generally regarded as the example, par excellence, of old-time idiocy, but a re- cent example of trade union methods would appear to run it close. A work- man, engaged in guiding a cable intoa conduit, got his fingers caught be- tween the cable and the conduit. The men at the other end continued to pull, being unaware of the mishap, but an apprentice, seeing the serious situa- tion of affairs, rushed up and pulled back the cable. A delegate of the union, having witnessed the affair, re- ported the workman for having broken the rules of the order. The injured man had to go before the executive to explain his conduct, and although his damaged hand was a ‘strong witness in his defense, he was fined “for ilowing | an apprentice to do helper’s work—to- wit, assisting a journeyman drawing wire into a conduit.” Discipline is all very well in its way, but with such master minds at work one need not wonder that we suffer so much from intelligent competition—Pall Mall Ga- zette. A Catch in the Back. Grand View, Iowa, Sept. 29th.—Mrs. Lydia Parker of this place, says: “I was troubled with backathe all the time for years. When I-would stoop over a catch would take me in the back, and I could not straighten up for some time. “T tried everything I could think of, but got no relief till I sent and got Dodd’s Kidney Pills. “IT used one box and part of anoth- er before the trouble all Jeft me, but now I am well and strong, and I have not been troubled with my back for some months. “I believe my cure is a permanent one, and I am very grateful, indeed, to Dodd’s Kidney Pills for what they have done for me. ‘ “I would most heartily recommend them to anyone suffering with lame back, for I believe they will cure any case of this kind.” Boston is to have forty new portable school houses to follow the shifting: school population. There is no escape for the Boston youth. “It was almost a miracle. Burdock Blood Bitters cured me of a dreadful breaking out all over the body. I am very grateful.” Miss Julia Filbridge, West Cornwell, Conn. In Hate Evil Hall’s Home. Mrs. Sabrina Watts Hall of Jones- poro, Me., celebrated her ninety-eighth birthday on Sept. 8, aud during the evening some fifty or sixty of her neigbors and friends gathered at her home and passed the evening with her. Several useful presents were left. Al- though Mrs. Hall has nearly reached the century mark, she is still bright and active, retaining her faculties to a remarkable degree. She resides with her daughter, Miss Laura, in a house that was built 105 years ago by Hate Evil Hall, father of her late husband, Horace C. Hall. Her father, Samuel Watts, Sr., assisted the citizens of Ma- chias in the capture of the British war vessel, Margaretta on June 12, 1775, in the first naval-battle of the Revolution- ary war. Maine can boast of but few such remarkable women as Mrs. Hall. —Bangor (Me.) Commercial. Proof Positive. Cross—Do you think that dyeing the hair is as dangerous as the doctors make out? Crabbe—Certainly; you may take my word for it. Only last year a rich uncle of mine took to dyeing his hair, and in three weeks he was married to a widow with four children—Glasgow Evening Times. uae RI Sasa The amateur pickpocket is always waiting for an opportunity to get his hand in. . Monarchover pain. Burns, cuts, sprains, stil Instant relief. Dr. Thomas’ Eclec- tric “At any drug store. i Most men get married before they are old enough to know better. ‘ The wigmaker is a locksmith that love never laughs at. " Double. : “What's the matter with Jones?” “Why?” “He goes along as abstractly as though he were drunk and were seeing double.” “He is. They have twins at home.” Easy to Decide. Press Agent—The papers won’t print any more of my stories about you. Soubrette—Oh, what shallI do? ° Press Agent—Why, do any of those things I said you did do.—New York Times. LYDIA E. PINKHAT'S VEGETABLE COMPOUND A WOMAN’S REMEDY FoR » WOMANS ILLS. His Opinion. Mrs. Dashing—How can you possibly find fault with my own bathing ccs- tume? It’s certainly a revelation. Dashing—Yes; and it’s the revela- tion I object to.—Chicago News. NO UNSIGHTLY SCARS result from Burns, Cuts or Scalds if you use Cole's Carbolisalve. Quick cure guar- anteed or money refunded. 25c and 5Uc, at good druggists. PATENTS. List of Patents Issued Last Week to Northwestern Inventors, Edmund Butts, Oberon, N. D., har- row; William Dunn, Smithville, Minn., roller mill and cutter; William Dunn, Smithville, Minn, machine for rolling metal beams; John L. Kelley, St. Paul, Minn., dental bridge work; Chas. Reger, Butte, Mont., pocket compass: Albert J: Studnicka, Minneapolis, Minn., drill chuck; George’ Wagner and B. B. Bird, St. Paul, Minn., frame for motor | | bicycles. 4 “Lothrop and Johnson, patent attorneys, 911 -912 Pioneer Press Bldg., St. Paul, Minn. If a girl is really displeased with a man she doesn’t tell him so. Piso’s Cure is the pest medicine we ever used for all affections of the throat and lungs.—Wm™. O. ENDSLEY, Vanburen. Ind., Feb. 10, 1900. Young widows, like industrious gar- deners, are anxious to get rid of their weeds. FITS permanenty cores. 36 Nts or nervousness after Rist day's use of Dr. Kline's Great Nerve Restor er. Send for FREE $2.00 trial bottle and treatica, On. R. H. Kuie, Ltd., 931 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa One who knows does not talk; who talks does not, know. one Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup.’ For children teething, softens the gums, reduces tn- flammation, allays pain, cures wind colic. 25c a bottle. The man who has a large heart can- not have a light one. A boon to travelers. Dr. Fowler's Ex- tract of Wild Strawberty. Cures dysen- tery, seasickness, nausea, Pleasant to take. Acts promptly. There is no gathering the rose with- out being pricked by the thorns. PUTNAM FADELESS DYES are fast to light and washing. Birds of a feather occasionally prefer to flock apart. HAMLINS WIZARD OIL NEURALGIA: HALLS DRUGGISTS SELLS IP LoLefelolelelele oie Py A Little Book Free ‘ ritethe Lyon Manufactur- ing Co., 45 South 5th St., Brooklyn,N.Y.,fora copy gh of “Points from a Horse Doc- " eee) tor’s Diary.” : Noleeleleleks MEXICAN MUSTANG LINIMENT Ss W. L. DOUCLAS UNION $3 & $3.52 SHOES it? W. L. Douglas shoes are the standard of the world. W. L. Douglas made and sold more men’s Good- year Welt (Hand Sewed Process) shoes six months of 1902 than any other m: REWARD will be paid to can disprove this ma ent. W.’L. DOUGLAS $4 SHOES ~« CANNOT BE EXCELLED. ere montis, $15103,820 | 1223 soscts, $2,340,000 } Best imported and American leathers, Heyl's Patent Calf, Enamel, Box Calf, Calf, Vici Kid, Corona Colt, Nat. Kangaroo,’ Fast Color Eyelets used. Caution ! 4 The genuine have W. bed on bottom. Shoes by mail, 25c. extra. Illus. Catalog free. |, W._L. DOUGLAS, BROCKTON, MASS. ASK YOUR DEALER FOR THE SLICKER MADE FAMOUS BY A PEPUTATION. HALF A CENTURY. TOWER’S garments and hats are made of the best materials in black or yellow for all kinds of wet work. SATISFACTION 1S GUARANTEED IF YOU STICK TO THE SIGN OF THE FISH. ,, A.J. TOWER CO. BOSTON. MASS. NWNU Established 1885 neapolis Cold Storage Co. Dairy Separator and Shipping Cream. Minneapolis Cold Storage Co. DO YOU KEEP COWS FOR PROFIT OR LOSS? If for profit. buy an Kowa Dairy Separator and ship your cream to the Min- If for loss, haul your milk to a creamery. QUESTION No.1. Allowing 26c per hour for a man and a team, how much per year does it cost you to deliver milk to the creamery? QUESTION No. 2. What is the difference in value between warm, sweet skim milk from an Iowa Dairy Separator and sour slop from a creamery, not considermg danger of tuberculosis from latter source? Figure these propositions out carefully and you will decide in favor of an Iowa Write us for fifty Dairy Rules as issued by the United States Government. Sent Minneapolis Cold Storage Co., Incorporated 1891 MINNEAPOLIS, MINN... ... rough, and So} OR IRRITATIONS OF THE SKIN, RASHES, Heat Perspiration, Lameness, and Soreness incidental * to Canoeing, Riding, Cycling, Tennis, or any Athletics, no other application so soothing, cooling, and refreshing as a bath with CuTicuRA SoaP, followed by gentle anointings ‘with CuticurA, the Great Skin Cure. Millions of Women use CUTICURA SOAP for preserving, deautifying the skin, for cleansing the scal| and the st Of falling hair, for sof wigs Of baby, rashes and ebatings, of aoe, et whitening, a the fc » for baby F annoying irritations and inflammations of women, or too free or offen- ee ration, in the form of washes for ulcerative weaknesses, and sive {resigs anal tise] for fall the. ee kin cure, wits tcureaet skin o' flower odours. Noth skin purifiers British Sold the world. Sq., London, E,C, Porter Druc ano which readil the toilet, bath, and ly suggest themselves, as UTI can induce those who have once and beautifiers to use any others. : F. Newsery & hb , ORDERS FOR FOTURE DELIVERY EXECUTED ESTABLISHED 1879. a Reg al Commission, = ey ns gre ANN NS A A LL Ma