Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-10-08

| And on the basis Of the mile
age in this state. the value
| Of the Wisconsin portion of
the road would be. -...-..... 81 ,6l2, 4T6. SO
| / say that the railroads were under
| valued, not overyalued, by the tax COM
| mission This valuation as a basis for
| taxation has for its impregnable founda-
/, ton the decisions OF the supreme court Of
the United States.
Duty of Public Service Corporations to
Cheerfully Bear Their Share of
| Public Burdens.
| ~ all classes Of property that should
| pay without waiting for coInpulsion, aye,
that ought to pay cheerfully, the railroads
and other public service corporations
should come first. They are the crea-
| lures fine state. They require from
| time to time the protection of the state.
The railroads are carriers, the trans
| porters of the products Of labor. They
| owe some consideration to the right Of
| those who furnish them business. They
| should remember that their profits are
| tax upon the labor and those who ere
| ate. Then immense surplus, their in
| creasing net profits, every dollar of it
| comes from other taxpayers, and justice
| and good conscience demand that they
pay their full share of the cost of the
| government that gave them life, that mas
ever protected that life for them in the
| past and will in the years to come
They are only asked to do what is
| plainly right. They are not being "held
| up" or "sandbagged' or ''raided" They
are asked to carry their own load and NOT
| impose it upon the manufacturer, the
merchant, a." farmer. the mechanic, the
| labOrcr, their own employees.
The threat to make shippers and to
make people generally pay the taxes of
| the company by imposing extra rates
amanates from the men who run the
mol oysff aevv4p 81 he 1fo-
service corporations, and are always be-
lieyed to speak by such authority as
| makes their menaces effective.
That they would not dare to execute
these threats against the shippers or the
| people generally, does not signify. They
| are intended to coerce all. and they do
| coerce some. This is enough to indicate
| the methods used to defeat legislation,
and the methods which are being en-
ployed in this campaign.
Stop for a monet a2d consider this
| question i'll all its seriousness, all it's evil
| consequences. all its far-reaching impor-
lance to a government where equal rights
and equal responsibilities are wholly de-
| pendent upon the integrity of the repre-
sentaton of the voter. These public-serv-
| ice corporations ignore their obligation
| TO the state that clothes them with cor
| pOrate power and furnishes them every
| protection OF the law; that has taken
| every precaution that they shall not suf-
! fer any injustice from ill-considered legis-
! lation, and whatever is passed shall be
| impartially and conservatively framed.
| They ignore their obligations to the pro-
| ducers of Wisconsin in every field Of la
| Dor, who furnish them their enormous
! earnings Of nearly sixteen million dollars
| year. They ignore their obligation TO
| the taxpay ers, who have paid approx
| mately ten million dollars for the rail-
road taxes in the last ten years-and ex-
| ercse all their influence 70 defeat just
! and conservative tax legislation with a
| mastery that is only acquired by long eX-
| perience in wrongfully welding a great
| power.
They are not for parties nor for men,
! but seek to make all political parties and
/ all public officials who can be useful to
| them subseryient to their interests. They
| hire lobbyists who will do for them what
| any man Of character would refuse to do
| in private business. And then, made
| bold by their successful defiance of pub
| lie sentiemnt and their coHtrol of iegisla-
| ton for years, threaten that if their
| taxes are raised to the just level. they
/ will make the people of Wisconsin pay
| 1t by increasing their freight rates.
| How unworthy this attitude of Rggre-
| gate wealth toward the state, toward i'll
| divdual taxpayers and private corpora
| tiOnsl How mean the spirit How un-
| patriotic this defiance of the plain, simple
| demands of Justice! And they control
! representative government only that they
| may escape the payment Of an equal
| and just share Of the public tax.
| | say 10 you today that the situation in
| this state is one requiring the exercise Of
| unyieiding hrmnesS upon the part OF the
| people and their public officers. The
| position OF the Republican party as de-
| clared in its platform was the same in
1898, in 1900 and in 1902 | drafted the
! taxation plank in the platform of 1898.
| | stand upon it today. As n private
| citizen | declared that If | were in q posi-
| ton to pass officially upon a bill to
| change existing law, it would be my first
care to know whether the rate therein
| proposed was just in proportion to the
property of other corporations and indi-
! vlduals then taxed, or MS therein proposed
! TO be taxed. The determination Of that
| question would be controlling If such
| rate was less than the Justly proportion
ate share which should be borne by the
railroads. then | should favor making it
| justly proportiOnate. II the proposed
rate was more than the justly proportion
| ate share in comparison with the property
| of other corporations and of individuals
| taxed under the law. then | should favor
| decreasing it TO make it justly proportion
ate. In other words, | would favor
| equal and exact justice to each individual
| and to every interest yielding neither to
| clamor on the one hand nor being swerved
| from the straight course by any interest
| upon the other.
stand on the same platform today.
| These companies must pay their Just
| share. no more, no less And with the
| experience Of this great struggle inn
| pressed upon me in a way TO remember,
| with these great corporations manifesting
| the same determination to continue 10
cast their tax burden upon the people of
| the state, to continue the same methods
or subVertlng popular government, re-
sorting even to threats Of retaliation,
say that Prospecting. honorable
brave people W =. uerer permit the wrong
| to continue. These resisting, public serv.
| ice corporations musl bear their Just and
equal share of the taxes and not one
dollar Of ii shall be taken from the
pockets OF shippers or the general public
| For ii should still he remembered that
there is ever lodged in the hands of the
free and Independent citizenship of this
commonwealth the final power of self.
! preservation. Let it not he forgotten
when it is proposed 10 take il out of
the people by increasing their rates"
that there rests with the state itself
secured to it for all time by that great
jurist, Chief Justice Ryan and his as.
sociates upon the supreme bench, ample
authority TO fix " lrOad transportation
ut proper and reasonable rates, protect
ing all shippers and all citizens of Wis.
consin.
say to these public-ser>ice corpora,
tons, you can afford To go hc further
in tins business. Your own Interests
challenge you to stop. Justice cries