The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 1, 1917, Page 15

o= e ——— T ——— T O S AT R Y, - Send Your Broken Pipes to Us Q <5 WE’LL FIX ’EM MAIL THEM TO US by PARCEL POST We wil quete cont of repairing eod i nat it wil be mnodnm expense. THORNE PIPE COMPANY 3 Eighth Sweat S. FARGO. N. D. Savings Bank SHIP US Your next can of cream—sweet or sour. A square deal guarantecd. Daily remittances. Fargo Ice Cream & Dairy Co. (Creamery Department.) RHEUMATISM Acute and chronic treated at-the Fargo Sanitarium by the use of Radio Rem, Osteopathy, and Hydriatic freatments, Write for descriptive literature. FARGO SANITARIUM Dr. J. E. Cavanagh 1329 Third Ave. S., Fargo, N. D. HOTEL PRESCOTT FARGO, N. D. is being renovated and $2000 n ur- niture added. 2 SR ROOMS 50c TO $1.50 City Steam Heat Case and Cousineau, Props. If Your Radiator . Leaks Send it to us. 1002 Frornt St., Fargo, N. D. CHANEY-EVER- A HART CHOCOLATES They Are Good Chaney-Everhart Candy Co. Fargo, N. D. A GOOD SCHOOL Thorough Courses. Trained Teach- ers. Courses: Business, Shorthand, Stenotypy, Civil Service and English. FREE TUITION to first one hundred students who enroll. Write for infor- mation. INTERSTATE BUSINESS COLLEGE 309 Broadway Fargo, N. D. W. H. Bergherm Props. O. C. Heilman DON'T WAIT for warm weather to start your Ford. SEND TODAY For a FREE circular or enclose $1.50 and receive at once a Sandbo Gas Generator for COLD WEATHER STARTING. Attached In five minutes. Always ready. N HOT WATER BOTHER DANGER The Sandbo Starter Co. Over Fargo Nat. Bank. FARGO, N. D. Band Instruments Good Quality — Reasonable Prices—Epsy Terms—Satis- faction Guaranteed. Send for free catalog, with full description and prices. Everything Knowa In Music STONE PIANO COMPANY FARGO: ' GRAND FORKS Dept. B Del’c-Light is every man’s electric lant and provides electric current for fight and power for anyone anywhere, Electric light—clean, cool, safe—for your home and your barns. Agents everywhere B. F. ASHELMAN Distributor Cor. Broadway and Front Street. = z FARGO, N. D. AR Tonnage Tax Bill Before the - Minnesota Legislature Proposes Four Cents Per Ton on Iron Output.in Addition to Present Taxes By Special_ Correspondent“ T. PAUL, Jan. 29.—The big fea- S ture of the past week’s session of the Minnesota legislatiire was the introduction of the Bjorge tonnage tax bill by Representatives Bjorge, Bendix- on, Warner and Tom Davis. The pres- ent Bjorge bill differs from the former bills in that it does not affect the local or state taxes on the advalorem basis but is an additional tax of 2 per cent on the gross value of the ore removed. This change removes the objections voiced by the people on the iron ranges to the former bill, that it would remove their only source of revenue, which was also the reason given by the late Gov- " ernor Johnson for vetoing it. As a result a large number of Northern legislators have expressed themselves as being heartily in favor of the new bill. With an average gross value of $1.95 per ton the proposed tax would amount to nearly 4 cents per ton. The gross value of ore removed from the mines in the past four years is as follows: In 1913 ... eees....$84,033,756 In 1914 ...... eeeees.. 38,495,226 In 1915 ....vvvvviineinnne... 56,244,192 In 1916 (estimated) ....... . 90,000,000 The average revenue under this bill for 1913, '14 and '15 would have been $1,198,487.82, while for the past year it would have amounted to the stupend- ous sum of $1,800,000. The ton value of iron ore is based upon the market price at the Lake Erie ports less what is spoken of as a book cost, being the cost of mining, transportation, etc., which, according to the federal bureau of corporations and also given by the report of the Stanley investigating committee in 1912, was $2.53 per ton. President Cole of the Oliver Mining Company, a subsidiary of the United States Steel corporation, testifying be- fore the Stanley committee in 1911, stated that 40 per cent of the Minne- sota ores were Bessemer producing ores; 40 per cent were high-grade non- Bessemer producing ores. MINES UNDER TAXED NOW, FIGURES SHOW The average market value of the Bessemer ores is $3.82, and that of the non-Bessemer producing ores is $3.14; therefore, the net value at the mine of the Bessemer would be $1.29 and the average for the non-Bessemer ores would be 61 cents. According to the Minnesota tax commission the esti- mated tonnage in the Minnesota iron ore. mines is 1,439,000,000 tons, on which is placed a tax valuation of $265,- 500,000. Taking President Cole’s esti- mate we should have 557,600,000 tons of Bessemer ore and 557,600,000 of non- Bessemer ores. Upon the above stated valuation the Bessemer ores should be worth $724,624,000 and the non- Bessemer producing ores $351,116,000, leaving 287,800,000 tons of lower grade ore not valued at all. It will, therefore, be seen that the value of this ore should be $546,820,000 taxed at 50 per cent, compared with the above stated tax valuation of the Minnesota tax commission of $265,500,- 000, or nearly twice the value placed upon it by the tax commission. “Over- taxed already,” say the mine owners, but-in view of the above one might be apt to somewhat discount the steel barons painful and pititful plea for their poor widows'and orphans. i Those who oppose the bill say that with the modern scientific.methods of mining engineering they can accurate- 1y estimate the total amount of ore in a mine. However, taking a list of 20 mines as a basis we find these esti- mates to be mere guess work. The total estimated number of tons in these twenty mines in ‘1909 was 7,668,058, while the records show that the total < shipments from these 20 mines from 1909 to 1914 was 16,065,526 tons, or that during these five years alone 8,397,468 more tons were shipped out than the total estimate of 1909, not to mention the tonnage removed since 1914, or what remains inthe mines today. REMOVAL OF ORE DEPLETES ASSETS Another argument is that the tonnage tax is wrong because it is a tax on industry and inconsistent with the ex- emption of improvements from taxa- tion idea. Howeyer, they fail to state in what way, form or manner either the community or the state is improv- ed by the removal of the ore. It seems that they fail to realize that instead-of improving the community and increas- ing its resources‘it is depleting it to just the extent 'of the value of the amount of ore removed. z - e According to the Stanley committee report in 1912 the cost of transporta- tion was, by rail, 24 cents per ton; by lake, 35% cents per ton, while the average charges were: by rail, 60 cents, and by lake, 60 cents, or a total trans- portation charge of $1.20 per ton, or a profit of 601 cents per ton. The lake rate alone is now $1 per ton. No won- der that the dividends of the companies involved in this business beat farming dividends all hallow. The Duluth, Mesabe & Northern Railway company’s dividend for 19608 was 110 per cent; 1909, 145 per cent; 1910, 240 per cent; 1911, 125 per cent. The Duluth & Iron Range railroad dividend for the same period is as fol- lows: 1908, 120 per cent; 1909, 140 per cent; 1910, 100 per cent; 1911, 125 ‘per cent. According to- the Stanley report the United States Steel Corporation made a net profit of 60 cents per ton on the transportation. of 77,304,164 tons or $46,547,167 from 1902 to 1906. Their total ore shipments from 1906 to 1916 were 325,478,631 tons, and if the profit was the same from 1906 to 1916 as from 1902 to 1906 the United States Steel has made a profit on transportation alone from 1902 to 1916 of $241,834,167. "FOUR CENTS A TON WILL NOT RUIN THEM The argument that the tonnage tax would drive the mining companies out .of business is not taken very seriously. Mr. Bjorge cities statistics of two years, one a bad year, the other a good year, 1907 and 1908, when the average year- ly net earnings of the United States Steel corporation was $259,000,000. ‘Which, after deducting 7 per cent divi- dend on the actual money invested, would leave $147,000,000 in excess pro- fits, or $9.20 per ton on the 16,000,000 tons, being the average yearly output of the finished product for that two- Yyear period. It takes about two tons of ore to make one ton of finished ar- ticle, or an excess profit of $4.60 per ton of ore. Therefore, it is not likely that the small tax of four cents per ton would drive them to the poor farm. Mr. Bjorge is a member of the Farmers’ Nonpartisan League of Minnesota.. The tonnage tax on iron ore is a League demand. It has been before several previous legislatures, was passed at one time, but was vetoed by Governor Johnson. There was no Farmers’ Nonpartisan League at that time. There i§ now. The League took no part in the past election.- It will in 1918. How many of the legislators will want to be recorded against the ton- nage tax? LIKED LEADER ARTICLE Hawley, Minn., Jan. 21. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I was very agreeably surprised to read your article in your last issue touching on the political activity of the Minnesota, railroad and warehouse commission. There is much to be said on that score before the next general election is held and anything I can do for the cause of the farmer I will glad- ly do. KNUD WEFALD. READY TO HELP Rolla, N. D., Jan. 18. * Editor Nonpartisan Leader: Here is letting you know that we ‘were not able to get to the massmeet- ing on account of the weather, but we want to let you know that if thére is any way we can help in the fight we will be in the trenches with rifles load- . ed, ready to help put ‘through the League program in North Dakota at once. H. L. LENTZ. LUMBER DIRECT TO THE CONSUMER Builders Lumber Co. WRITE US SEATTLE, WASH. 24 Percheron Stallions—2 to 6 years. 22 Percheron Mares 2 to 10 years 4 Shires Mares 1 Shire Stallion 1 Belgian Stallion be offered an unusual opportunity. climate. The Pure-Bred Live Stock Associat FIFTEEN 'REGISTERED STOCK SALE AT WILLISTON, FEB. 27 AND 28, This stock is all registered in the correct books and will be sold as repre- sented. To those who want good, young, sound mares and stallions or bulls, will These animals are just right to go out and do service in this western Remember this stock will: be at the Great Northern barn the day before the sale and we ask buyers to come on that day and go over the stock. . Remember also that Williston is a Percheron Horse and Beef Cattle centre and buyers will have a chance to get the best of the young stock, oy Terms of sale, Cash; credit may be obtained by responsible parties at the following banks: First National, Williams County State, Williston State. Hon. Frank Hyland, W. W. Keltner, Harry Brown, Auctioneers. ion of Williams and McKenzie Counties, Owners. A ANCIENT ORDER UNITED - WORKMEN OF NORTH DAKOTA Insurance in force $12,000,000.00 Reserve 1,500,000.00 Issues policies from $1,000 to $5,000 at 256 per cent less than old line life companies. Life Insurance is mneeded because nine out of every 'ten men leave no estate and ninety per cent of estates of $5,000 or over are lost within 7 years. Without obligation write for informa- tion and sample policy. HOME OFFICE, Fargo, N. D. Treat your seed oats be- gms fore seeding again, with the Imperial Smut Machine the . only perfect Smut Machine made. Guaran- teed that you will have no smut jn your grain next fall. If you have we will refund your money in full, Isn't that fair? We also have a machine that takes wild oats out of tame oats for seed and the best cleaner and grader for all grades. All machines trial guar- anteed. Write us. MINNEAPOLIS SEPARATOR CO., 314 Erie Street Minneapolis, Minn. Clyde Hardware Company CLYDE, N. D. Specializes on high quality Hardware such as The Great Majestic Range De Laval Cream Separators” Heath & Milligan Paints and Oils Louden Hay and Barn Door Car- riers Zenith and Hickory brand tools of all kinds. We also have for sale a Case tractor threshing outfit, complete, run fifty days, Will sell separate. ——-—_\ MR. FARMER ATTENTION! Your children need a typewriter as well as yourself. TAKE advantage of this opportunity: 500 ma- chines of all makes such as Underwoods, Reming tecns, Olivers, ete., from 310 to $v5, guaranteed D 'IVEE years. Write for _ REE trial offer. A. M. MEu., Cu., 162 N, Dearborn St. .Dept. MPL, Chicago, Iil. » and Tumors successfully treated » (removed) without knife or pain. All work guaranteed. Come, or write for free Sanatorium book Dr. WILLIAMS SANATORIUM } 3023 University Av., Minneapolis, Minn. Hotel Columbia GRAND FORKS, N. D. Across the street from G. N. Depot. Centrally located. European plan. Rooms, 50c to $1.50. Popular priced cafe in connection. OSCAR KNUDSON, Prop. R MULEFOOT HOGS FOR SALE Prize’ Winners in the North Dakota Pork Production Contest. Very easy keepers. Have never seen one sick. This is your chance if you want to produce pork cheap, if you want to win prizes and if you do not want losses. $50 each, for boar or sow; $75 for sow with pigs. Just a few left. E. SCHERE, Bisbee, N. D. SIZE! SIZE! SIZE i o X PRI, POLAND CHINA BRED GILTS These gilts are of the highest qual- ity and are by or bred to Mankato Wonder, our 2-year-old, 1000-1b. kerd boar. Special service to mail orders. Mankato Stock Farm O. S, LASBY, Manager MANKATO, MINN. For Quick Results Use “Classified” Ads. 12 Hereford Bulls 14 Shorthorn Bulls 5 Shetland Ponies 10 Bred Sows—Poland China and Duroc-Jersey. Mention Leader when writing advertisers Lk e