Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-03-08

ton is incurred in support of the
schools. The lower departments,
under consolidation, would continue
as they now are, but one high school
would be sufficient, not only now but
| after we have become a city of very
| great Importance. Leading cities,
| like Oshkosh, La Crosse and Green
| Bay, have but one high school. All
| the high salaried teachers are in the
| high school. Under one high school
| system great saving can be made.
| A less number of teachers would do
| the work. One high school library
| and one set of apparatus would do
| where two such are now required. 1t
| is a we'll recognized fact, in case
the two cities remain as they are now,
that each must, within a very short
time, build and equip a new high
school building. AS one city. one high
school building is enough. A large
| part of the yearly expenses in running
a school is in repairs, fuel and jani-
.or's services. For one building in
stead Of two these expenses would be
| practically cut in two; and to sum up
the situation on this point, it will
readily be seen that at much less eX
pense the consolidated city could
maintain a much more efficient and
serviceab1e high school than can be
done by the two cities acting separ
ately. The city of Grand Rapids has
a S15, 900 library, a valua BILE aid to pu-
| pills and teachers. and of profit and
pleasure to the inha bitants at large.
| Under consolidation the people of
Centra1ia would be admitted to this
| privilege.
5. There is a general awakening
now in the Wisconsin valley. 1t is
asserted upon good authority that
| from Nekoosa to Eagle River there is
available at least one hundred thou
sand horse waterpower. What an
immense center of population, wealth
and business this valley ought to be.
The Wisconsin Valley Advancement
| Association has been organized with
the avowed purpose of bringing set
tiers, capitalists and manufacturing
esta blishments into the Wisconsin
valley. Statistics are being gathered
and sent abroad through the land for
the purpose of inducing people and
business to locate here. AT this par
| ticular time nothing ought to be
omitted, nothing forgotten that would
| help this immediate locality. 1t is a
puzzle to outsiders that Grand Rapids
and Centralia should be under two
separate governments. 1t is to the
outsider an indication that the inhabi
tants of the two cities are not in har
1nony with each other, are not pulling
together. Members of our Business
Mems Association have good reason to
know the truth of this tatement. I'm
der two separate governments we can
not we'll pull together and capitalists
looking for investment are repelled by
evidence of diScord and are attracted
by evidence of harmony and united
push and enterprise.
Some of the good people of Grand
Rapids are openly opposed to consol1-
dation because they claim that under
consolidation the city of Grand Rap
ius viii be paying the taxes of the
city of Centralia, or at least a cOns1d-
erable portion thereof. In Centralia,
opponents to consolidation assert that
| under consolidation Centralia will be
paying the taxes, or a considerable
portion thereof, of Grand Rapids.
These two assertions, of course, cannot
both be true and it is believed that
neither of them is true. Among the
! opponents of consolidation can be
found those who frankly and openly
admit that consolidation would work
little, if any, difference in the matter
of taxes. Under consolidation the
inhabitants of the two cities would be
represented in one common council,
taxes would be levied for the best i'll
terests of the whole people of one city;
they would be assessed, equalized,
levied and collected as and for one
city, and would be charged upon all
the property equitably and upon the
same basis pro rata, each person pay
ing his fair share thereof irrespective
of which side of the river he may live
: on.
/ DiStyuSt and breJudice are tz00 Of the
strongest factors n0zO 7OOrklng against
consolidation Who of to-day would
consent to a disunion of these United
States? Who of to-day would deny
that the union of the thirteen original
states into one government under the
constitution of the United States was
the very perfection of wisdom? Yet
consolidation in that case was fought
by large portion of the population of
the country and in order to have it
carry, the united efforts of the greatest
statesmen and patriots of the day were
required.
Rhode Islands fear that if it joined
the Union it would be paying the war
taxes of the great states that did SO
much to bring the war of the Revolu
ton to d successful termination. kept
it out of the Union for more than two
years.
The opponents of consolidation of
these two cities ought to read the his
! tory of the reasons that kept Rhode
Island out of the Union for so long d
time. No forward step was ever taken
in any place or at any time without
having its opponents. Centralla's
much priced waterworks system had
very bitter opponents. The retaining
wall, public buildings, maCadamized
streets, in Grand Rapids had bitter
opponents; but substantially all these
now recognize their error. Effect
consolidation and in a years time YOU
will wonder how you ever came to be
opposed to it.
Dated March 2nd, 1900.
THERON LYON.
A L. FONTAINE,
3. r GOGCINS,
F. J WOOD,
II. WIPPERN1AN.
L. M. NASH,