River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-10-27
BIENNIAL SESSIONS.

When the joint resolution proposing
an amendment to the constitution to
provide for biennial sessions of the leg
islature was pending in the session of
1880, we took occasion to urge its
adoption and gave reasons therefor
which seemed to us to be good and
sufficient. A minority report of the
Senate Committee on State Affairs to
which the resolution was referred
meets our cordial approval, and we
make thu following extracts there
from, regretting that we have not room
for the entire report:
''Its adoption and ratification by the
people viii in all probability reduce
the amount of legislation one-fourth
to one-half of what has heretofore been
INDUCED in.
An access of law-making has been
the misfortune of this State from its
organization, and at least one-half of
it, if not a far greater proportion, is
attributable to the annual opportunity
which has been thus far afforded by
annual sessions. 1t is idle to assert
that the opportunity does not furnish
the temptation for multiplicity of leg
islation. No one who has ever held a
seat in legislative body, can fail to
know that the great majority of acts
which are annually passed are simply
in the interest of some one individual,
or of some corporation, or Of some dis
appointed attorney or afflicted client,
as way out of, or by way of relief
from, some uncomfortable dilemma
or suppositious burden, which, for the
time being, they can see no SO easy
way to escape as by statutory enact
ment.
1t is not an easy matter for men,
Der to refuse an active constituent his
support of little bill which is to put
money or power or place within the
constituent s reach and control. 1t is
rare, indeed, that member has not
from one to dozen such constituents.
The principle usually controlling lin
all minor matters of legislation at
least): You vote for my bill and |
will help pass yours, effectually Sc
cures the passage of by far too large
a number of such acts at each meeting
of every legislative body-acts which
perhaps in themselves are well enough,
but just as well not passed. There is
no use of speculation as to why it is
so, or why it cannot be otherwise so
it is, so it has been for over thirty
years, and so it will continue to be TN.
til human nature changes, or until the
opportunity is removed.
Few, if any, will controyert the
proposition that such excessive legis-
lation, such frequent change of laws.
is the great, the principal cause of lit
| igation and strife among the people,
and the overcrowded dockets of all our
courts. For instance, hardly a winter
has passed in thirty years in which the
laws upon the subject of taxation, or
| in relation to tax titles, have not been
in some way materially altered, so
/ that there can hardly be said to be any
rule by which to Judge of the working
of any law upon those subjects. No
| sooner have the courts decided upon
the validity or invalidity Of a given
! tax law, than some active-minded in
| dividual or individuals have been able
to secure repeal or change of it to
suit their individual cases or prefer
ences and so it is a fact that you must
Judge of the validity of nearly every
years tax sales by itself-hardly any
two years governed by the same law.
| This certainly need not have been.
| Our tax laws in their main features
are to-day the same as they were in
| the year 1850-certainly no more eff
| fectual for the production of revenue,
/ probably none the less sO-no more
offensive, no less burdensome = and
/ had the same remained unchanged,
the assertion is ventured that not one
| twentieth part of the litigation, costs,
expenses and accumulated void tax
certificates would have afflicted the
people of this State. Time will not
permit me to go over, in review, other
fruitful subjects of legisation-thls
one is sufficient for an example.
The only remedy which has proved
effectual in other States. is the removal
of the opportunity. Human nature is
largely the same in all civilized coun-
tries-that IS, educated human nature.
What has been the result in an adjoin-
ing State may fairly be cited as prob
able result here. Our elder sister,
Iowa, became a State in 1916. We,
adopted our constitution in 1913"
The report then gives comparisons,
showing that though Iowa-a biennial
contains a greater area, a larger
population and greater number of
miles of railroad than Wisconsin, she
has been able to exist and prosper with
the enactment of 1859 new laws
passed at thirteen sessions of her leg
islature within a given time, while
this State was afflicted with 9,045 new
laws during the same time, passed by
twenty-one sessions. The report also
shows that the cost of biennial ses-
sions in Iowa was much less than that
of annual sessions in Wisconsin during
a given number of years, and contains
letters from the Governors of several
biennial States bearing testimony to
the superior advantage of the biennial
system over that of the annual.
Rock ELM CENTER REMARKs.-
Wolves are occasionally KILN 6 off
the sheep.
Mrs. Laurent has received stock
of millinery goods.
The Ducklow brothers took n drove
of cattle to st. Paul last week.
Alphonso Abair has moved his goods