The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1901-02-22

Those Train Axes in Railway Cars.
! 1t was in reference to this limit
on life and unlimited damage for in
jury that the old lady was enlightened
as to the use of axes in railroad cars
behind glass cases.
What are those for" she asked
the matter-of-fact brakeman.
I'm time of accident, madam the
polite official replied. eve use the
axes in killing the injured
The peddler is to be still further Cir
cumscribed. The department that looks
after him is highly organized in this
state, and a license fee is paid into
the state treasury by every haWker,
whether he sells coal or buttons from
a basket or drives a four-hOrSe rig.
Mr.. Ralph Vernon, who was treasury
agent for a term of years, as the head
/ Of this department is styled, tells me
that the rapid settling of the state is
lessening the number of peddlers, di-
! minishing the revenue, and that their
area of operation is now mainly in the
northern counties. The present law
I cOmpels a one-horse rig to pay state
license of $40 and the Evans bill al
. lows the community which he visits
to put a local tax on top CT this not
! to exceed $50 per day. It seems that
peddlers representing large stores in
the cities go through the country doing
! large retail trade, to some extend ON
! the installment plan even, and Of
course the local merchants, who pay
taxes and support their towns, DO not
like it.
Legislatio Affecting Capital City.
Apart from the university appropria-
ton bills, there is a plan of lighting
the state institutions at Madison by a
state plant. This is an old proposal
but the local lighting company has al
ways been able to defeat it by show
ing the economy of private lighting.
This year the plan takes in Mendoza
hospital, the electric current to be
driven by wire some four miles. 1t is
understood that Governor LaFOllette
insists that renewed contracts with
the lighting company must be for
short terms that a prompt transition
to public lighting system may be pos
sible.
Among minor university measures
is one by Senator Mills of Superior
abolishing all tuition at the university,
normal schools, and day deaf schools.
At the present time these charges are
on very low basis. 1t is also ru-
mored that a bill is coming designed
to discourage the fraternity system at
the university and one by Mr.. Saurau
of Oshkosh to give a gold medal for
the best physical development and for
bid degrees to students who cannot
pass a medical examination. Things
of this sort are not to be taken too Sc
riOusly.
Fresh Political Divisions.
Really, the most important matters
before the Legislature are apportion-
ment, the primary election, railroad
and insurance taxation. There is a
committee of twenty assemblymen and
ten senator's, three from each con-
gressional district, at work on cary
ing out new districts, to equaliZe the
1900 census. One can readily see how
no plan can be drawn to suit every
body. Apart from the fear of present
! lawmakers that their districts will be
put in such shape that they cannot be
controlled politically, is the alarm
raised by many lest new political
forces be set at work in old districts.
Hearings on the primary election
are now on. The opponents Of the
measure nave Uoeu cOulCut W CIItl-
else it as a whole, without suggesting
any improvements on the present sys-
tenn, which the friends of the meas
ure consider a sign of it's strength
and of the bad faith of the opposition.
Some want the measure referred to
the people before being adopted, but
an answer is made to this that the
unanimous approval by the Republican
party at the Milwaukee convention has
met this demand. Governor LaFol-
lette's political opponents are doing
what they can to discourage the meas
ure in one way or another, although a
number are Oh record in at least par
tial approval.
How Many Signers Neces airy?
The Madison State Journal recent
ly figured on the last election returns
to show how many signatures a can
ddate for office would require to get
his name Oh the ballot at the pri-
mary election. In the First ward
of Madison a Republican would have
to secure six signatures, three if a
Democrat. This to be listed as a can
didate for alderman. Coming to may.
or, Republican would need fifty OF,
his petition; Democrat forty-two. To
be q canQl0ate TOT county once, say
sheriff of Dane county, the Repub-
lican candidate must have 1873 signers
the Democrat 1913. The same for a
candidate for state senate. If a man
wished to file a paper for the nomina
ton as Madison assemblyman, he
would need siXty-nine signers for a
Republican and fifty-one for a Demo.
crat. Roughly speaking, to become a
candidate for state office one would
need $500 signatures, we'll distributed
over the state, for Republican and
200 for a Democrat.
Mr.. E. Ray Stevens, whose name
the primary election bill bears, in adj
vocating it, lays stress on the fact
that the primaries and the counting OF
the ballots are in the hands of non
partisan public officers, the same as
manage general elections.
Taxation of Insurance Companies.
There are only rumbles of the com
ing fight over the attempt to repea
the Orion bill, which imposes a tax
of nearly $25O,000 a year on the North
western Mutual Life. That company
has issued considerable literature up
! Ioldipp tic claim of ininctioa on1 ~,