Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1903-01-24
TO THE LEGISLATORS.
Gov. Lar ollette's Second Inaugural
Message.
Deals with Important Subj ects-Fs-
{ vOrs Muck Legislation Along Re-
form Lin es That VIII Effect ike
Railroads and the Trusts.


greater part of which is devoted to a thor
Ough discussion of the following subjects:
Condition Of the state finances; taxation,
including the taxation of railway property;
the control of freight rates in Wisconsin;
nominations by direct vote of the people;
combinations in restraint Of trade and ed
ucatiOn. The remainder of the message is
given &c "a consideration of the various
state institutions and to recommendations
for general legislation.
OF the states financial condition the gov
ernor says:
The balance in the-g general fund of the
state treasury on January /, 1903, was $685.
SS4.54, g. sum sufficient to meet all current
expenses, including those incident to the
legislative session, until license fees and
other considerable revenues of the state
are again received. During the last two
years ID transfer from the trust funds to
the ger eraI fund has been made for the
purpose of meeting temporary deficits. The
state treasury has been able to keep the
trust fl.ads fully and profitably invested as
the laW contemplates should be done. In
order to maintain this desirable condition,
it was found necessary by the executive to
delay the expenditure of some eXtraOrdi-
nary appropriations during the year of
1901, when legislative expenses were met,
and until revenues were received for the
year 1907
The subject of taxation is dealt with ex-
enactment Of the law providing for a tax
commission, and the work of the commits
sion is approved, though the last legisla-
tuce is criticised for not having adopted
the measures proposed by the commission
that would have resulted in levying equita-
bic taxation against the public-serVlce cor
porations. III this connection the governor
says:
with u1animity not usual in any leg
islative body, the bills designed 10 secure
a uniform and more complete assessment of
the property Of individuals and private cor
poratlons were passed through both
branches of the legislature, although the
bills designed to insure the payment of a
more justly prcportionate share of the taxes
from railroad and other public-service cor
porations were defeated in the assembly
late in the session, and were never reported
for action from the committee to which
they were~referred in the senate
Of the efforts that he believes should be
made to assess and tax what he terms the
intangible property of the state the gov
ernor says
with the rapid accumulation Of wealth.
the increase in the amount and value Of
intangible property but strengthens year
by year the reason and justice Of its tax
alton in some form. That vast accumula-
Eions of wealth may be invested in inter-
est-bearing securities insuring large in
comes to the holders who throw their share
of the expense of maintaining streets and
schools and public institutions, and all the
burdens Of municipal and state govern
maHt upon the owners of factories and
shops and stores and farms and homes
violates every principle CT equal rights and
equal responsibilities guaranteed to each
American citizen.
mo student of the subject however is
unn1indfuI Of the difficulties encountered in
the admins tration of laws to secure the
direct taxation Of all Intangible property
iS n a
Du9h-going, scientific investigation of it
corjoined with practical test has still
wide field to explore.
with respect to mortgage taxation
which i is to be remembered represents
only a part Of the vast amount of intan-
gible property subject to taxation, it is not
so difficult to discover and secure the as
sessment Of the property interest repre-
sented by the mortgage. This may easily
be done by assessing the mortgage as an
interest in rsalty, and providing that if the
tax levied thereon be not paid 10y the own
er OF the mortgage interest it may be pt id
by the oWner OF the mortgaged property
and deducted from the amount Of the mort
gage debt. AZ no piece Of taxable proper
ty should be taxed twice wherever this
plan is proposed it is agreed that the owner
of the mortgaged real estate should have
the valuation Of the assessment upon his
mortgaged premises reduced at the time
of the assessment, by deducting from the
~
thereon.
In referring to the increase Of the mill
tax, the law for which was enacted in 1885,
for public school purposes, and recon-
mending aschange in its operation, the gov
ernor says:
nearly 70 years, has annually produced for
the benefit of the common schools a
state tax Of about 100000. The state board
of assessment, following the commands of
the statute, fixed the value of the taxable
property Of the state at it's full value in
creasing it from $500 600 900 in 1900 to ST. 1885,
2S4 900 in 1901 and to s1504, 346 coo in 1902 in
creasing the state mill tax from $500. 900 in
1900 to 81, 436,2S4 in 1861 and to 81 ,504 34S in
1902
This is an average increase for the last
two years amounting to $780, 15. Under
this law the older AMI richer counties of the
state contributed to those counties with
2 relatively larger number Of children Of
school age and taxable property of less
value. This is in a measure justified be-
cause of the general interest which all citi-
zens have in maintaining we'll developed
and well balanced SEX DOL system through
out the state. l am advised, however, by
the tax commission that tie amount raised
under the mill tax lsVy, together with the
corresponding tag levisd by the county
board upon the towns, produced such
sum of money in the aggregate when APP
portloned to the different school districts
as TO render it quite unnecessary to levy
any school district ts i'll order to main
tain the school. Indeed, in some instances
the district school was maintained without
the levy OF any local tax and a surplus left
over in the district treas ury.
1T could never have been the purpose of
the legislature to raise SO large an amount
by such tax and relieve the school di trict
from any taxation. 1t is manif est that the
continued operation of such law would
tend to diminish local interest in the COM
mon school, and be prejudicial rather than
helpful. IT violates the principle that the
eAns.nses Of local government should be
borl,e largely by local. taxation as neces-
sary check upon reckless and extravaganza
expenditures. $50
4 recommend that seiate bill go limiting
the amount which can be collected under
She mill tax law to $3.50, CO. be enacted into
tsW, and Isccmaend to yonr exan1ination
che strong presentation of this entire sub
ject il the report Of the tax commission.
which doubtless will soon he placed before
you.
He recomme nds the passing of an inher-