The Sauk Centre Herald

Proposed Constitutional Amendments
The proposed amendments to the Constitution of Minnesota to be submitted at the election November 6th, will be found in this issue on page four. There are five amendments, three of which appertain to the tax laws.
The first amendment to be voted on is to ratify the expansion of the state trunk highway system as authorized by the 1933 legislature. It will also prevent further expansion until 75 per cent of the enlarged system has been constructed and permanently improved. It is described on the official ballot as "allowing additions to trunk highways."
The second amendment is for the purpose of giving the legislature the power to place a tax on state owned lands and to provide for the payment of these taxes out of the Rural Credit Department; and to appropriate to counties, towns, school districts, cities and villages, in which are located any of these state owned lands, not to exceed the amount of money which would be collected as tax from individual owners.
Amendment No. 3 is to grant the legislature the additional power to exempt from taxation such household goods of each household and such farm machinery on each farm, as it may see fit. At the present time only $200 of personal property is exempt from taxation for each individual or head of each household.
Amendment No. 4 is to authorize the legislature to provide for exchange of the public lands of the state for land owned by the United States and private individuals. These exchanges to be made with the approval of a commission which shall consist of the governor, the state auditor and the attorney general. All mineral rights, water rights and water power rights will be reserved by the state. Lands transferred will be subject to the same trust as the lands disposed of. If school land is exchanged, the land received will also become school land, etc.
Amendment No. 5 is for the purpose of definitely defining the tax exempt properties of academies, colleges, universities and seminaries of learning. At the present time the law states that the property owned by these institutions is tax exempt. If the amendment should be adopted the only property of these institutions to be tax exempt will be that which is used actually and exclusively in the instruction and housing of students thereof and the residences on the campus actually occupied by the instructors.
It is not the Herald's mission to attempt to tell people how to vote on these amendments. However, a safe plan to follow is, if in doubt, vote No.