Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-06-09

ness, unless by agreement the 'mortgagor
shall be under obligation to pay such taxes,
without right to to, such offset or deduction.
Section Z. The provisions of this act
shall not apply to, or affect mortgages exc
cuted prior to the time this act shall take
effect and all provisions. of law whereby
mortgages of real estate held by insurance
companies or other persons or associations
are exempted from taxation, either express
ly or by necessary Implication, shall re-
main unaffected by the provisions of this
Section 8. This act, after its passage
and publication, shall take effect and be in
force, from and after the first day OF jan
uary, A. d. 1902. -. ~
Stevens Bill Played a Part.
It must be remembered that during the
session Mr.. Frost belonged to what was
known as the administration faction in
the Assembly. He was a staunch advo-.
cate of the Stevens Primary Election Bill,
the shadow of which hung over the legis-
lature from almost its first day to it's last
hour, and acted with the governors
friends in everything. Such close friends
of the governor as Assemblyman Stevens,
the purported author of the Stevens Bill,
and A. r. Hall acted with Mr.. Frost in
the passage Of the bill, the former having
voted for it in committee and advocated
its passage on the floor of the Assembly.
Mr.. Frost consulted with Governor La
Toilette concernig the bill, which he re-
garded as conforming to the governors
recommendation in his inaugural message
ION the subject of mortgage taxation.
Shortly before the bill came up for pas
sage in the Assembly, Mr.. Stevens took
the bill to the executive mansion and he
and the governor went over it carefully
section by section, and the governor Is
reported to have said that he could sug-
gest no change to improve, it, It met with
his entire approval, ~ = II. ~
On April 26th the bill came up. in the
Assembly for final passage and on an aye,
and no vote there were tiftY,eight mem
bers in favor of it,. eleven, voting against
it and thirty-one being absent Or not vot-
ing. On May 3rd the bill passed the Sem
ate. On May 7th it was reported by the
committee on enrolled bills, and it then:
went to the governors Office. ,..-
While this bill was travelling towards
passage, the fierce fight on the Primary
Election Bill was going on. In one way
and another it affected almost every bill
that was before the Legislature. The effect
of every move upon the Stevens Bill was
figured in advance and measures were
erence to their merits or dement's as to,
whether OF not their passage or defeat
would affect the great fight on the gov
ernor's pet measure. The bill blocked ev-
erything and made it practically impossi-
Bile to give to any measure due considera-
ton. In one way or another almost every
bill was linked to the Stevens Bill.
Through it all Mr.. Frost voted with the
governors friends for the bill and had
aided in every way to advance it.
When the bitter fight arrived at the
final stage and the question was on the
passage or killing of the so-called Hage-
meister Bill, which was substitute for
the Stevens Bill, Mr.. Frost had the decid-
ing vote. The Assembly was a tie if he
voted against the adoption of the substi-
tute; and on a tie vote the bill would
have died. His constituents were in favor
of Primary Election Bill and he had
pledged himself to vote for such bill.
He did not wish to return home without
giving his constituents so much of bill as
it was possible to obtain. In his own
words, he "voted for the Stevens Bill until
it was dead and voted for the substitute
because / did not want my people to &C.
cuse me of denying them all portion of
the Primary Election. principle" That
vote was on April 25th Mr.. Frost had
been actuated by the most conscientious
motives both in voting for the Stevens bill
and in voting for the Hagemester substi
tute, and he felt that neither the COVER
nor nor any other friend of the Stevens
Bill had any reason to feel offended at his
action, and on the Saturday before the
close of the Legislature he went home,
not to return, feeling that he had done
his duty not only in the matter of tie
Primary Election Bill but in all others.
When Mr.. Frost left Madison on Satur-
day his mortgage bill was in the hands of
Governor La Toilette, and knowing that
the governor had recommended such
bill in his inaugural message and had ap-
proved the bill previous to it's passage, he
did not dream that it was in any danger
of defeat. But on Monday morning, May
18th, Governor La Toilette returned the
bill to the Assembly with his veto. The
document read as follows
The Veto Message.
STATE OF WISCONSIN,
EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
Madison, Wis, May IS, 1901.
To the OnoTGbIe, the Assembly,: ..~.