Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-05-09

law. And while they provided that
| the life of the commission might con
tinue for period of ten years if sc
| long time were necessary to work
out in all it's details a complete sys
tenn of taxation, yet they foresaw that
the work of the commission would
necessarily be completed subject by
) subject and branch by branch, and
J they wisely provided that the commits
sion should at the beginning of each
| session recommend the changes that
| should be made in the tax laws and
should formulate legislation that is
should prepare the bills for the Iegis-
| lature.
The law was enacted and when the
! commission was appointed under it,
the selection was ratified, approved,
and confirmed by the senate The
men called to the work were certainly
without prejudice. They were pos
sessed Of trained legal minds They
were strong in the confidence of the
people. With great industry, this
able, Independent, unbiased commits
this one subject of taxation. Their
labor was not performed in the midst
of the distractions and conflicting
duties which beset members during
the few months of the legislative ses-
sion, surrounded by influences which
may befog and confuse, but under
circumstances insuring a calm and
JyI6 dor ONT 4 .oI,
commend itself to the public for ap-
prevail.
IF any confirmation of the results
of their investigation were needed, it
is found in the work performed by the
commissioner of statistics upon the
same subject, the substance of which
was presented in my message at the
beginning of this session. Calling at
tention to the figures then presented,
| said that the disclosures made were
positively startling, and unless shown
to be radically wrong that they pre-
sented situation calling for prompt
action on the part of the law-making
power. 1t is true that the commits
siOner of statistics did not give to his
investigation the same amount of time
which the tax commission had given to
theirs; but he did spend several
months upon the subject assisted by
a portion of the working force of his
office. This investigation was prose
cuted by him under the direction of
my predecessor independently of the
work of the tax commission, and sim
ply strengthens it's report and empha-
sizes its recommendations. The peri
cd Of time covered by the tax commits
sion in it's investigation of values and
assessments was five years; that of
the commissioner of statistics one
year. 1t is therefore the more sur
prising and the more convincing that
their conclusions substantially agree
in detail as to the inequalities of the
tax burden borne by different classes
of property Even as to the personal
property where the date is limited,
there is no conflict, though the differ
ence in the figures has been cited as
showing disagreement. But when it
is noted that the tax commission give
simply the value of personal property
now taxed, while the figures of the
commissioner of statistics cover all
personal property which is now taxed,
and to this is added an estimate of
that which escapes taxation, it will
be seen at once that there is no con-
flict, but instead the one supports the
other in this as in all other essential
features of their work
Pursuing the purpose for which it
was created the tax commission,
early in the present session, prepared
and presented bills designed to secure
legislation which would insure a more
equal and just distribution of taxes.
In harmony with it's declared policy
to cOnfine action within conservative
bounds, the commission avoided all
possibility of injustice to any inter
est by so framing those bills that, in
every instance where it was proposed
to increase the tax upon quasi public |
such increase was below
the amount which the statistics
gathered by both the tax commission |
and the commissioner of statistics
showed would be a fair and ap-
propriate tax charged against such
in comparison with the tax
charges imposed upon the real
property of individuals reached by the |
assessors.
mo serious attempt has been made !
by the OPP onents of this proposed
legislation to disprove the accuracy