Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1899-03-29
A DANGEROUS TENDENCY

A DANGEROUS TENDENCY.
BY declaring emphatically and une
quiv ocally that, in the consideration O
all proposed legislation whether, pri
lnarily, affecting the interests of Mil
waukes or any other portion of the state
he would exercise his own judgment
and sense of right and public policy
Assemblyman Rusk of Chippewa county
has rendered invaluable service to Wis
consin. It needed courage to risk or.
ganized antagonism by opposing, as be
did, the long established but most per.
nicious custom of adopting without
question or due investigation of it's pur.
port any measure recommended by the
Milwaukee county delegation.
There is conclusive evidence OF 9
growing and extremely dangerous tend
ency, on the part of the Legislature as q
whole, to delegate to committees. upon
which the batteries of the "Third House.
arc ruthlessly directed, the entire duty
and responsibility of critically examin-
ing bills submitted for approval and en-
actment, without assuming it's own share
of such duty.
The latest Development of this tend
ency is the introduction of bills drafted
by standing committees and based upon
specific recommendations in the Gov
ernor's message, which, as we have be-
fore said in these columns, is a faithful
and III faltering declaration and elsbor-
alton Of the platform of the last Repub-
lican state convention deserving of loyal
and active support, which by the way it
has not received from all republican
representatives-nor from the lobby.
We seriously doubt the propriety or
public policy of referring such recon-
mendetions to committees. The result
must inevitably be the development of
bureaucracy and a repression of the
sense of responsibility of individual
members. The danger lies in what is
an accomplished fact-the enunciation
on the floor Of the legislature itself, of
the monarchicsl dictum that "the king
wishes it." AS result, whenever q
member opposes law drafted by the
committee, or, if on the first day of the
session even, he has himself introduced
bill on the same subject, his objection
or bill must be sidetracked for the ad-
ministsation measure. IL the member
persists he Is dubbed a factious opponent
of the powers that be.
The serious danger of permitting this
tendency to develop into custom and
precedent is so obvious that mere refer
ence thereto is necessary in order to &C.
cure its suppression through the fearless
and untiring opposition of, politically
and aggressively honest members, of
which Assemblyman Rusk is, demon
strably, pronounced example.
State Superintendent Harvey says,
"Under existing conditions there are
hundreds of sch lols in the state of Wis.
consin where from lack of qualified
teachers and OF proper supervision, the
money used for their maintenance and
the time of the children spent in them,
are absolutely wasted. The children
are the losers, rather than the gamers,
by attendance upon such schools. If
the legislature has right to tax the
public for the maintenance Of public
schools, if it has a right to enforce at
tendance upon these or other schools,
it is not only right, but duty for it
to see that the schools supported by
this taxation are of the best quality
Gttainable for the money expen ded in
their naintanancaD