Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-01-10
HILL FLIES HIS COLORS
Advocates Ballot Reform in His Mes
sage to the Legislature.
FaVors Greater Secrecy in the Man
ner of Voting.
Recommendations TO Effect a Clean
and Pure Ballot.

ALBANY, \. Y, Jan. The governor
annual message was presented to the leriS.
lature today. The governor begins his
message 10y urging the legislature to pro.
vide for an enumeration of the inhabitants
OF the state. and then takes up the subject
OF electoral reform which he deals with at
great length, suggesting the deSirahiliiv
OF changes In the present laws relating to
elections. He says: 1T is core ceded by
| good citizens everywhere, | think. that
all legislation intended to improve our
election laws should have for its nam pur-
pose the correction of these two evils. cor
ruptlon and intimidation. All other sub-
| JectS sought to be attained are of subor-
| dlnate Importance, and should not he
| permitted to delay or prevent the accom-
plShment OF tins great reform Many
well meaning citizens and political ass0-
clatlons are Just now urging the adoption
! OF what Is known as the Australian Svs-
tenn of voting and apparently believe that
| II VIII furnish a panaCea for all the per
nicieus practices which now surround our
elections. Nv own opinion is that many
of ITS features are admirable. while Others
are DECIDEDLY Objectionable, constitutionally
! and otherwise. 1t has not been adopted
IN ITS entirety anywhere in this country.
In several states Its principal provisions
! have been enacted, but not however, with
out essential modihcationg. 1t is not A
dlthcult task to discover those features of
| the Australian system which it is desirable
| should be incorporated into our laws.
'FrSt-l recommend the adoption of the
! secret compartment system. This propo-
| Sltlon reaches the two great evils of bri-
| berry and intimidation. believe that the
| adoption of this single feature would
| secure the chief benefits of electoral re-
| form.
Second Whatever system is adopted
should be applied to all elections -grner-
| al, municipal and local.
| "Ghlrd--A general registration of cleo
| tors throughout the whole state should ac-
company the secret compartment system
| otvoting.
Fourth recommend that provision
! be made for both official and unofficial
ballots. There are a number of desirable
provisions which ought to accompany any
complete and comprehensive measure on
this subject.
1.-THE Massachusetts, statute entitled
An act to facilitate voting by employees,
| should be included. 1t provides in sub
stance that all employees in manufacturing.
mechanical or mercantile establishments
shall be entitled to period of two hours
on election day in which to vote at any
general election.
''2-That species of intimidation fire.
quently resOrted to before important
elections by the use of political pay en-
yeIopes should be specifically prohibited
and heavy penalties imposed for viola
ton.
''3-Each candidate and the executive
committee of each political party should
be required to publish an itemized veri-
fed statement of all the moneys expend-
ed by them in each campaign.
Illegal facilities should be afforded
whereby d successful candidate who can
be shown to have obtained votes by bri-
berry on the part of himself his agent or
political committees. may be ousted from
office by the defeated candidate, provided
it appears that neither the defeated can
didate nor his committees have used any
corrupt means to promote his election.
SIT should be provided that election
districts should not contain over 800
voters.
hibitiOn amendment and says that he does
not believe the people of the state favor its
adoption. They are opposed to prohibition,
but believe In the regulation of the liquor
traffic by Just and equitable excise laws,
rigidly enforced.
Referring to new methods of taxation.
the governor says: The vast growth of
the state in population and wealth during
the last half century has required cores
pOnding increase in the expenses of state
and local government Yet the system of
assessment and taxation relied upon for the
chief sources of state and local revenue
has remained substantially unchanged.
While that system has served reasonably
well for the purpose of subjecting real
property to taxation, it has been been sub
stantially a system of real properto taxa
tion only.
':Yet the increase in the amount of
wealth invested in personal property dur
ing the last half century has been much
better than the increase in the value of the
real property of the state during the same
period. 1t does not appear Just and
equitable that this vast amount
of wealth should escape its due share of
the burden OF supporting the government
which renders its accumulation possible.
1t may be true theoretically that the bur
den of real property tax, by the working
Of natural laws, is finally distributed
equitably upon all wealth, because all
wealth is primarily derived from land
But 1t must be conceded that, practically,
this process of alleged distribution Is slow,
and that vast fortunes of personal proper
ty may change hands many times while a
real property tax is claimed to be slowly
working cut distribution Of It's burden
upon the owners of personal property.
Some new system of assessment and
taxation must be adopted to impose upon
personal property its equitable share of
taxation. j.: is respectfully suggested as
worthy Of the consideration of the legisla-
ture, whether satisfactory solution of the
problem of taxing personal property may
not be found in a graduated probate and
succession tax upon the personal property
of descedants, developing into a complete
system the theory of the collateral in
herltance tax. 1t seems possible to devise
a system requiring all estates of decedents
over a certain valuation TO be admin
istered in surrogate's court, at least
50 far as to obtain an appraisal Of
the personal property thereof. and after
allowing reasonable exemptions 10 the im-
mediate next Of kin, a percentage tax may
be imposed upon the remainder. reason
ably graduated by an increasing percent
age as the relationship Of those who are
to receive is nlore remote. and the valua-
tion Of the estate is greater"
The governor impresses upon the legis-
lature the necessity Of encouraging by
every proper means the holding Of the
worlds fair In the city Of New York.
Immediate and generous action by the
legislature Is likely TO have an important
influence In determining the attitude Of
congress.
No Quorum.
HELENA. Mont, Jan. 6-The demo
cratic Legislature met in joint convention