Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-01-16
INAUGURAL MESSAGE BY
GOV. ROBERT M. LA TOILETTE


as the work demands. 1t does not, how
ever, appear reasonable that II should
require ten years TO revise the tax sys
TEN, or that when a revision has been
completed BY the Legislature that 1t
should require the services of the com
mission as standing committee on re-
vision for six or eight years thereafter,
The period covered by two biennial ses-
sions Of the Legislature would appear
to be a generous allowance OF time i ! a
thorough and complete performance of
all the work contemplated by the law.
Vt is IL no sense a disparagement of
the value of the commissions services. or
the Importance Of the work, which
prompts me to recommend that either the
powers and duties of the commission be
greatly extended OK that the term of ser
vice be shortened 10 a time consistent
with the accomplishment of the duties
defined by the law as it now stands.
That the law with respect 70 the as
sessment of all property can be SO
amended, supervised and enforced as to
secure uniformity of assessment and
| enormously increase the tax upon classes
of property which now escape wholly or
| in part, there ms not the slightest reason
to doubt.
! One of the questions you will have to
determine in dealing with this subject Is
| whether railway companies shall be tax
ed directly by assessment upon the value
of their property, or whether they shall
| continue to pay under the license sys-
| TEN certain percentage upon their gross
earnings. The strong objection to Ii,
cense fee upon gross earnings IS that IT
| allows the corporation to make its own
report of the amount of its gross earn
| ings, or, in other words, to assess itself
| 1t is but just to note in this connection
] that the railway companies have been
! fairer than the average of individuals,
| who, as to the great mass of personal
| property, assess themselves; the percent
/ age of assessed of market value of the
railways being 20 5-100 as against
/ II 9-100 for all other personal property
/ in 1899. In no case, however, should the
assessment be left to- the taxpayer.
whether corporation or individual, with
| oul some check or safeguard for the
State.
With no other class Of property is
there presented so fragrant an example
of open disregard of the law as in the
case of bonds, mortgages, securities, and
the average amount of money in posses
sion and or deposit. a conservative es-
innate, based upon the latest accessible
data together with the census figures for
1890, show real estate mortgages in
| Wisconsin amounting to S110O00000.
| This takes no account of unrecorded Sc
| curities. computed at S165,000000. 1t
| is therefore safe to say that not over )
per cent of the taxable notes, bonds and
mortgages in the State pays any tax
| whatever. The average amount of money
in possession and on deposit which the
assessor succeeded in finding and return
ing as taxed in 1893 was only 81, 1863, 444.
On the first Monday in July, 1898, the
State and private banks alone reported
TO the State Treasurer money on de-
pesit' amounting to $40,976,312.10. The
report Of the United States Comptroller
of the Currency shows that on the 9Th
day of May. 1898, the very month in
| which assessments were made, there
was IN the national banks of Wisconsin
SAG, 2o4, 201 AZ. Or in both national,
! State and private banks on these two
dates in 1898 an aggregate of SST .200,-
513.50. More than $S0,000,000 of this
money wholly escaped taxation that year.
| know well il is urged that any at
tempt to place these Sinking millions on
the assessment rolls will be wholly flu
tile, and end in paying premium on per-
| jury. increasing the interest rate, and
driving money out of the State. But if
| il is driven out of the State, where will
it go? In every State in the Union to-
day public sentiment is strongly aroused
and organization everywhere moving to
make aii taxable property, individual and
corporate, meet its assessments and pay
its taxes On all sides laws are being
revised and, in some States, constitution
al amendments are being adopted to Sc
cure this result. 1t is reasonably GER
tain that the day is at hand when no
State in the Union will offer an asylum
Of refuge for capital seeking to evade
the payment of taxes.
1t is asserted that it will raise the in
| terest rate to make money and mort
cages pay taxes. Possibly it may increase
the interest rate somewhat to enforce
the lax as to money and mortgages.
Wha:ever may be the exact fact as to
thr effect on interest rate as between the
borrower and lender, the principle is to
be commended, because it taxes each
man justly on the record. The mort
gagor has to the extent of the mortgage
parted with an interest in the real estate.
The mortgage has acquired that inter-
est, and each is taxed only upon his pro-
portionate share There is another as
neet of the case worthy of attention. The
individual possessor of wealth and the
corporation of large capital engaged in
evading and violating the tax laws are
doing much to beget a disregard and
want of respect for all law, and to ex-
cuse violation of its letter and spirit
with all classes. But there is further
answer to be made to the objection to
taxing money, because it is claimed it
will increase the interest rate. 1t is a
manifest injustice to each taxpayer to
compel him to pay an additional tax, oc-
casioned by allowing several hundred
millions of money and securities to go
untaxed in this State, in order to main
tain a lower interest rate for the advan-
tage of che comparatively few who bor-
row.
a Primary Election Law.
Commissioned by the suffrages of the
citizens of this State to represent them.
you will have neither in the session be-
fore you nor in any official responsibility
which you may assume, a more important
duty than that of perfccting and writing
upcn the statute books of Wisconsin a
primary election Jaw 1t is n fundament
al principle of tais republic that each
citizen shall have equal voice in govern
/ = 4r.fs &