Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1897-01-21
After Milwaukee Tax nodDers

After Milwaukee Tax Dodgers.
Tax Commissioner Brown, of Milwau-
kee, makes the startling statement that
not one-half of the taxable property in the
city paid its share of taxes, and that this
was the reason why there is not money
enough to pay the running expenses of the
city government. Mr.. Brown stated that
If the property which ought to be taxed
was assessed the same as other property
the assessed valuation of the city would
be $oOO,OOO,OOO, instead Of $143, OOO,O 900,
as at present, and the weight on taxpay-
ers would be reduced one-half, while the
city treasury would be in shape to meet
all demands upon it, The cause of this
state of things, according to Mr.. Brown,
is the long list of exemptions. 1.-THE list
Includes" said Mr.. Brown, ''the big in
surance companies, the telephone COM
pang, the street railroad company and 9th
er organizations, which have vast hold
lngs of property for which they have po-
lica and fire protection and on which they
only make small return in the shape of
license fees. The fees in the greater part
arc paid to the State and the city, which
furnishes the protection, gets nothing eX-
cept the little tax on such real estate as
They have been unable to get out of the
way of the assessor. There is the tele-
phone company, which has real estate
worth $4,000, on which it does not pay
a cent of taxes. The exemption of the
st:eet railway company is we'll known,
and the insurance companies, with their
millions, pay only small license fee to
tie State. Thus the list goes until there
is more property free from taxation than
is assessed" AS remedy for this state
OF affairs Mr.. Brown suggests the appoint
ment of q special commission for the pur-
pose of revising the assessment and eX-
ellption laws of the State and recon-
mandlng such law to the Legislature of
It'99 as will make a change in the system
such as will tend to distribute the burden
OF taxation more equally among all classes
oe citizens. This arrangement attracts
TIE more attention from the fact that the
city is going to be hard put to make both
e.lds meet this year. The trouble over
tie school funds is an old story, but now
1t IL likely that the fire department will
have to suffer, and the new fire boat and
apparatus which has been provided lie
iGle, owing to an insuf1iciency in the ap-
preparation for this department..
Tears His Debtor from the Altar.
Inc vengeance or solomon SandrOW1tZ
followed Joseph Kruger to his wedding
dey and tore him from the altar where
he was registering his hymeneal vows to
pass the night in Jail. Joseph Kruger
is a Milwaukee retail dry goods merchant
and Solomon Sandrowitz is a wholesaler,
ard the feud began q year ago. Joseph
bought a bill of goods from Solomon for
which he did not pay. Solomon was de-
termined to have his revenge. lie waited
until the engagement of Joseph to Esther
WAS announced, and then watched for the
wedding, which was performed Sunday
afternoon. Saturday Solomon secured a
wit from the Circuit Court ordering the
arrest of Joseph for obtaining goods under
false pretenses. He kept the order until
late Saturday night and turned it over to
the sheriff with request that it be serv-
ed at once Two deputies found Joseph
in the midst of an ante-nuptial celebra-
ton at the home of the bride. The cele-
bIation was brought to an end when the
dc puties announced their errand, the bride
tainted, and the male guests accompanied
joseph to Jail. He was under $1,000
bends when the ceremony which united
him to Esther was performed Sunday
afternoon in the presence of 200 guests,
WHO, while they congratulated Kruger,
were loud in their denuncation of the cum
niag of SandroWitz.