Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-01-16

L purposes bnould DC exempt from general taxa
ton. doubt the policy Of exempting any
property from equal taxation. The granting
| OF special privileges TO any class affords just
cause of complaint TO the masses commend
this subject or exemptions TO your careful
consideration.
Many who have given thought to the sub
| the collection of delinquent taxes. / believe
II would be less expensive and more efficient
than the present system, which is, in my
opinion, cumbersome and costly.
IL each county we're required 10 pay TO the
state its proportion OF the state tax, and then
given fun control Of all proceedings 70 enforce
collection by the sale of land, etc, believe a
| large saving TO the state would follow, and IL
would make the officers of the townships and
| counties more watchful of their duti in sec
ing that the tax Is properly and legally laid.
| certain.
Another feature Of taxation which should
have your attention Is the taxation of real es-
tate on WHICH there Is mortgage emcumbrance.
Justice to the owner of the real estate forbids
| have in the land, yet, for various reasons, Il
may be difficult 10 ascertain his exact interest
All agree that the mortgage is evidence o
them, pay taxes on the full value
under which the full tax1nay be paid by the
| owner OF the land, and such proportion of the
tax SO paid as the Indebtedness bears TO the as
sessed value becomes q legal set-off against
| the mortgage AS our law stands, the owner
OF the land pays tax on the full value. be his
real interest great or small, while the mort
| gagee, who Is usually the better able to pay,
| either escapes taxation, or pays another tax
on the same property. II the mortgage Is a
nonresident of the state he pays no tax, which
| Is a discrimination against our own people
who have money TO loan. In the interest OF
equal taxation call your special attention &c
| this feature.
consider this question of taxation the most
| important with whiC you have to deal. Nearly
all questions would be easy OF solution if tho
| cost was not to be considered, but every move
money. na,
| pay. The time has come when our people de,
mand that unnecessary taxation must cease
state taxes must not increase. Let every re.
| quest for public aid be sternly denied unless /.
can be shown that the money is needed 70!
public purposes.
STATE BOARDS.
In this line of economical thought call your
attention TO the number of state boards OF
from three to six members now authorized by
| law. There are fifteen ex-oflicio ana thirty
Omcial boards, the latter comprising more
than lOO different members. No salary Is raid
the members, but many of them receive ex-
penseS ana per diem compensation, and some
| are allowed n secretary or clerk at a fixed
salary. Aside from the question of expense, |
believe the public interest would be better
served by abolishing many of these boards.
favor having one board of control for all our
prisons and reformatories, instead of one for
each institution, as at present. Such a board
would have the advantage OF being able to
compare financial and reformatory results in
the dlHerent institutions, and could establish
such comparisons available. Clerical force
could bic reduced anc more economical and
existent administration of these institutions &c.
cured. such board would be as well qualified
to advise in the matter of pardons as the board
now organized for that special purpose and
could also perform the duties now entrusted
| TO the state Board Of Corrections and Chair.
ties. a single board controls the prisons OF
England, another those of New York State
and am informed the same policy is followed
III most other states of the union.
A. similar board could control our education
al ln5titutions. We already have a State
Board of Education whose principal duty is
the management of the State Normal School.
believe good results would follow if all our
state schools except the University and the
AGRICULTURAL CONege were managed by the
| state Board of Education, and their present
| boards of control abolished.
With third Board of Control for our asy.
lums and charitable institutions we would
| have five boards instead OF a dozen or more for
the management of the institutions named
The establishment Of a single Board of Con.
troll for each class ofinsttutions. penal, chart.
table and educational, with full control over
and responsibility for their proper manage
Important interests. The business of the state
should have the best executive talent obtain
able, and, so far as practicable, the officers
should not be liable TO interference except for
business reasons. IL is for the interest of
every citizen that the business Of the state be
done correctly and economically and based
The duties of the State Board of Health con-
tst largely OF the collection OF statistics of
sickness and meteorological conditions which
affect the health of our people, and of scien-
tihc experiments relating to the nature and
causes OF disease. Provision Is already made
for the collection Of these statistics in many
other ways, at public expense. and such other
information as is useful could | g collected and
| published by the Secretary Of State.
e. FoS tste aPbprDpE@Sc more thap
continued should give us the meteorological
statistics needed. The medical department
| of the State University is supplied with an
able
| tiles peeded for experiment and inst ruction in
the nature, causes and prevention Of diseases,
Gated under these advantages, are scattered
| throughout the state. The State Board of
| Health costs the taxpayers Sl5,OO or more an
whether the iiscontinuance Of this beard
would be injurious to the public health.
INSURANCE POLICY COMMISSIONED
We have an Insurance Policy Commissioner,
who, with the Commissioner Of Insurance and
the Attorney-General, form a commission TO
provide a standard form of insurance policy
! suggest the discontInuance of this commits
sion and that the Commissioner OF Insurance
be required TO perform its duties.
STATE GAME AND FISH WARDEN.
The preservation Of our game and fish from
wanton and unnecessary destruction should DO
| wisely guarded by law. The present law pro-
vides for the appointment of State Game and
| Fish Warden, az a tiye[ s.sary, whose duty it
is with the aid of C Ttain deputies, to enforce
| the statutes reiHt ing 70 birds, game and fish.
There seems to be no valid reason why this
| class of laws cannot he enforced, like any
other, by the proper prosecuting and police
officers of the counties. | am informed that
| the Game Warden has very rarely conducted
| n prosecution in person, but 1t Is done by the
local prosecutor at his request Without such
request IL Is still the duty OF a prosecuting
attorney to see that all offenders are punished.
The Deputy Game Wardens must get their
! pay through the Boards OF Supervisors. and in
many cases the boards have refused any rea-
| sonable compensation, and hence the law has
been unenfoTced.
recommend that the law be 70 amended that
| the Constables Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs of
the counties be especially intrusted with It's en-
forcement such officers TO receive the sau fees
\ that are allowed them In other criminal mat
i tiers. IL the changes suggest ed are made, the
| office of State Game and Fish Warden would
| seem unnecessary, and In such case i suggest
| it's discontinuance. The opportunity you have
| for the discontinuance of appointive offices,
without being charged with partisan motives,
| should be improved where IL viii serve the
public good.
THE WORLDS COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
The Worlds Columbian Exposition, TO BIO
| held In a neighboring city. will be an event of
great interest to the world at la.Se. cnd par
| ticularly TO the citizens of the United States.
| The Federal Govern ment has literally aided in
providing the funds needed by the ma nage-
ment, and Michigan Is honored In the s.slec-
81 .sN I.W