The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 21, 1916, Page 10

- HERE was. hustle and hurry around Crafty’s headquarters— * his- new headquarters, estab- R lished in the Paint Saul hotel at the Sin Twitties. Crafty himself had been called by. wire from the High Flier gummer resort, where he had spent the season.. The wire was sent by Big Biz. It was an .emergency call. It was inspired by a realization of the fact that the Farmers’ Nonpartisan League was raging through Minnesota like the noted Hinckley fire back jn the early ’90s. . This crossing of state lines upon the part 'of the Nonpartisan League Bccounted for the change of sittings from Bigbizmarck to the Sin Twitties. The old guard had been routed from the first line trenches and had retreated to this stronghold. The " retreat from North Dakota to Minnesota had been made in- disorder and confusion even under a heavy curtain fire. At the Sin Twitties the old guard had come to a stand and was preparing to make a long and stubborn fight. * Not only had Crafty been called from the High Flier summer resort but rush messages had been sent to 1. M. Slipry 8nd L B. Dodger, Crafty’s right and left bowers, to report at the new headquart- érs immediately. Crafty arrived on a 10:20 train from the east, took a taxi and rushed to the Paint Saul Hotel. At the hotel he was Wwhisked to the top floor in the elevator - and directed to a large, airy room which fronted on the east and south and over- looked the river. Big Biz was in the _ room, as also was Slipry and Dod‘g‘er.} BIGBIZ UNFOLDS A DIREFUL TALE Crafty breezed in like a school boy and greeted the “boys” and also Big Biz with a hearty handshake and a boister- ous “Hello, old top.” The big boss removed his hat, mop- ped his perspiring forehead, took a seat facing Big Biz and looked'enviously at the ruddy coat of tan that covered the face, neck and hands of the big boss. “Well, what’s'the excitement?” asked Crafty, glancing at Slipry and Dodger and then directing his gaze at Big Biz. “Excitement a-plenty,” replied B. B. savagely while Slipry and Dodger ex- changed winks. Crafty looked surpnsed “While you were off ‘plucking the pin feathers out of the poultry and putting on that beautiful tan them Nonpartisans - have been as busy as a peanut peddler at a County Fair and they are right now making a drive through this state that would make:the Russian army look like _pikers,” said Big Biz in helpless and pa- thetic scorn. New\ PART from the assessment of bank stock, this state is entlre!y w1thout any adequate or sane scheme for the assessment of “either the franchises or corporate excess of “corporations. In addition to the excise privilege ~tax suggested_ of one-fiftieth of one per cent_upon the - porations, admitted to the exercise. of corporate rights within this state, there should be placed upon the franchise or, corporate excess of every . corporation, foreign or domestic, a Ilght tax. v HOW CORPORATION" TAX - WOULD BE FIGURED The state tax commission wxll recom- mend to the. leglslature that.a law be en- ‘acted empowermg the tax commission to levy such.a tax.: It is our.belief.that frem the fair value of the corporate stock, or a_capitalization: of the corporate net earnings, there should -be subtracted, first: the fair value, based upon the as- ~“gessed valuation, of the real ‘property ‘and tangible property of- - the. corpora- tion; . second, in the. case of domestic corporations, . all money. and credits as- : _sessed under either an income or an ex- = eise tax,-should be deducted. ' The re- ”mmnder should be ,sub;ected to a tax of dred As an. 1Uustrétlon ; ooray! The Big Boss Hurries Back From Summer Resort rexemptlons ‘would reach fifty .millions, : \t; to Find the Leaguerm anesota PLANS' PLANS" PLANS '} —BLANKITY- BLANK-BLAN K— Blgblz is sure mcensed tlus tlme' ‘and can you blame him? Here’s that leatherhead Crafty has let the dad-blamed Rubes get the start on him in another state. . Heck' Not a thing done to stop it, by 3N e N Crafty’s jaw dropped and his eyes bulged in amazement. - - “Why in the name of the tornd zZone didn’t .you -let me know -before now?” came back Crafty, flashing a fierce glance at Slipry and Dodger. “For the same reason that you didn’t get busy in North Dakota until they had rounded up some 20,000 members ? re- plied Slipry, unperturbed. “What was-that?” asked the h)g ‘boss. “We didn’t know'a dot gasted thing about it.” “O! Slipped it over on~you did they ?” twitted Crafty. “Yes, just like they did on ‘you in North Dakota,” shot back Slipry. - Crafty squirmed in his seat while Big Biz eyed him menacingly. . “Just in the last-two or three days we have been - reliably informed,” said Big Biz, solemnly, “that they now have some fifty or sixty cars in this state and that the work has been opened up in some 25 counties, some of which have been com- pletely organized and that they are meeting with practically the same sue- cess that they did in North Dakota.” . Crafty. bore a puzzled expression and orporatlon fumbled nervously at his heavy watch - “Has anything- been done?” he said, dxrectmg his® questxon at hls super- ior. NOTHING. CAN STOP SPREAD- OF THE LEAGUE “Absolutely nothmg . rephed B. B, “except, as I anderstand it, a few of the country papers, have taken shots at. the orgamzers 2 “What effect: d1d it- have," questioned Crafty, gingerly, . Crafty. dreaded -to -hear the answer to that question. It was on the local pap- ers that he must depend.:to:carry on the forefront of the fight, He recalled .with painful memory “that in North Dakota the warnings and appeals of country papers fell. upon deaf and unheeding ears. " Not. only so byt the reaction that E . came as a. result of hostile expressions upon .the . part of the country: papers oft- en resulted in.a Japdshde of orders from farmers demanding the editor to stop, their papers. This made country editors reluctant to phinge m,where more thor- oughly armored soIdxers would hesitate ~Tax Commission Will Ask Leglslature to Levy on _“Corporate Excess” i - ByFrankE capitalized at $200,000. It has mort- gage:and bonded-indebtedness-of $40,000. Its stock-is: worth‘ 150. ‘The' actual va]uev of the capxtal ‘stock of plus capxtal md,ebtedn S8, 3 000. . If the: ¢omoratlon owned real: and: tangible personal - property ‘assessed at $50,000 on a-twenty-five per cent basis, $200,000 wopdsk' bedeductedy ify it was as- sessed 9 §50 000 money ‘and credits, this would. 5 50.be “de ted; making a total deduction’ o{{ $250 000 Whlch would leaye: a corporate excess-of. $90,000. Apply- Jing your thirty cents on $100, you would - get a tax of $270. Outside of ‘banking corporatlons, the " capital stock and capital mdebtedness of corporations in this state is in ' the nelghborhood of “séventy ‘million “dol-.. lars. . It is probable that their property ‘A rpo tion is - mi Packard on the- hundred or the three miH - tax 3 This. would nge ‘us a net Tevenue of $60,000, -It. is- probable that th 'vtax ‘on domestic -corporations would ‘not be m: excess of that a.mount. SR ol * This wouldbe a very hght burden fip- ) on aomestxc corporattons. ; SR % PURPOSE OF LAW TO REACH FGREIGN EORPORATIONS o Fagg : to- tread. 1 ~ “Absolutely none,” ‘ax Propose Crafty recalled this exper- ience- with misgivings. “He was cling- ing to. the desperate: hope that such ‘would ‘not be the . ‘tase in Minnesota. Therefore' he braced * himself - for the ‘answer to - the questlon, “tht effeet did it have?” - "It was well that he braced hunself too. ‘replied ‘Big sz, i hls emphatic” and - positive manner. - : ~ Crafty clutched the arms of his chair with both hands and never batted an eye. - His gaze was directed toward ‘the floor about two feet i in front of hls toes. Suddenly he raised his eyes to B. B. and asked, in‘ quavering tones, : “Have you any plans?”. e “Plans! plans" plans""’ roared Bxg Biz, supplementing the exclamations ‘with” a volley "of language that would . land the’ pubhshers of the Leader behmd the bars if it was all set ‘down here. f‘rafty cringed under.. _the bomba.rd ‘ ment while B. B. contmued. BERE’S WHERE CRAFTY GETS HIS A-PLENTY “What in the~ blankety blank blank blank are we paying you for? Dxdn’t you take the job of kiling off that organ- ization? - Didn’t you tell us there was no danger? - And then you lit out to the High Flier resort to spend - our good money scratching -on the seashore with the chickens and diving for mermaids in the surf. Then you: come back here all excited and amazed’ at the conditions that have grown- up around us and want to know if we ‘got any plans.' Plans, bah! You get busy now and get some plans or else get off of the ‘)oh and lét somebody on there that’can. Crafty had settled down in_his chzur : hke a snow man at‘ter a ‘hard days thaw, - “This is getting to be /serious matter, Wwill B.. Crafty,” . continued 'Big. ~Biz, gravely.” We have had an mklmg that these. Nonpartlsans are also wnrkmg “in South Dakota and Montana.” If they are and if they meet with the same sue- s cess that they did in North Da.kota they are going to make slim pxcfcmg Ior such as you and me before long.” Big Biz paused, while Crafty still star- ed at the floor. Slipry pretended mudi interest in a newspaper while. Dodger watched Crafty ‘out of the comer of his eye. © “That'’s all,” 'saui Big Biz, waving his hand. 'Crafty gave a start, looked around in bewilderment, arose “and went over fo Slipry and Dodger, said some- thing to them in an undertone, to which_ the nodded assent and then shuffled out of the room. ) bears to the’ total . gYoss eammgs, or, in “yet other cases, what the mfleage or the the total mile haul in’ this state bears mileage or. mile haul,, : It is lmposmble to estunate the reve- nue from this source, but it would prob- ably, after the law .was in good workmg - order, reach well. up into the hundreds of thousands. of dollars. : .. This law, together . w:th the pnvxlege\ excise tax; would enable .the states to secure probably one:half million: dolars from foreign corporatn - Rhode Is- ) g land ‘Collects under $525, *The real purpose of the law is 0 s sessment of foregn orpo condl;ct an eno; atxon was not eammg on |ts capltal stock cess (ascertained domestic corporation.