Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-02-19

of bank deposits at full value and the
taxation of the same at a rate of one
fourth Of one per cent. Senator Wylie
introduced a bill making all trusts
combinations and monopolies that
operate to restrain trade and com,
merce unlawful. Other important
measures were: Providing for the ap-
polntment by the governor of a state
commission Of architecture. consist
Ing OF three men, the members to re
ceive compensation of So a day for
the time they act and the secretary to
be paid $500 year and expenses:
| the licenses of architects to be granted
upon satisfactory examination and to
cost $40; requiring owners of stocks
of merchandise to notify their credi-
| tors before they sell their stocks so as
to prevent the defrauding of creditors.
increasing the annual appropriations
to the State Horticultural society and
State Dairymen's association from
| $1,000 to $4,000; providing that local
| option election may not be held
| oftener than at intervals Of five years.
to prevent the insurance of children
under 10 years of age. The Wisconsin
! Health Park association asks an ap-
preparation of $4,000 for the purpose
| Of equipping a health park for the
cure Of cOnsumptives. Senator Mar
tin introduced a bill to establish
state board of veterinary examiners
and to regulate the practice Of vetert-
nary medicine. If a bill introduced by
Senator Stout becomes a law, city
councils will have the power to direct,
regulate and require the planting and
| preservation of shade trees. The
| Rogers bill to make the Evening Wis
consin the official state paper was
| defeated.
Madison, Feb. 13-The last day for
| the introduction Of bills produced
! enough measures to make the total
for the session $50 as against 1908 two
! years ago; the most important was
/ the ad valorem railroad taxation bill,
! for the enactment of which the repub-
lican party is virtually pledged by it's
| platform, and for which the governor
argued at length in his message. The
! tax commission handed it to Chairman
! Whitehead of the committee On assess
ment and collection Of taxes today
and after the committee had met and
! considered it briefly it was introduced.
| The bill provides for a complete
| change in the method of taxing the
railroads and it is estimated that I'M
/ der its operation this class of property
will pay about $1,000 G0 more than 1t
| is paying under the license fee sys-
| TEN. The bill does not specify the
! way in which the tax commission shall
arrive at the value Of the roads but
/ it makes it incumbent upon the COM
mission to take into consideration
! everything which will have a bearing
upon the fixing of the value Of the
| roads. The board must not only value
| all of the other property in the state
and it must fix the rate at which the
| companies shall pay taxes. That rate
will be identically the same rate as
other property pays. The second
primary election bill to be introduced
| in the senate during this session by
| Senator Merton and the fifth to ap-
pear in the two houses Of the legisla-
| ture was offered. 1t is similar to the
| assembly committee bill and is not
greatly unlike the former bill on the
same subject by the same senator. 1t
| includes all elective officers, excepting
| town and school officers, and provides
| for the nomination Of United States
senator The principal difference from
| the previously introduced measures is
| that it does not require the voter to
declare that he intends to support the
! candidates on the ticket of the party
! for which the voter casts his primary
! election vote, but it requires the
voter to declare his membership of
the party whose ticket he desires to
vote in the primary. Senator ROehr
offered a bill to require the mayors of
cities to make their nominations of
persons for appointment by councils
from lists submitted to them by the
city committees Of the respective pU-
litical parties from which the appoint
ments are to be made. The crusade
which "the anti-ciaarette" senator, MIR.
Bird, is waging upon the perniciOus
articles, took a new turn when he in
trOduced a bill providing that all per-
sons engaging in the sale Of cigarettes
or cigarette paper in the state should
be required to pay license Of $500 a
year Senator Riordan offered two
bills to provide that the important ap-
pointive officers Of the state, those
now named by the governor, shall be
elected as are the regular state officers
at present. His bills include the SUI
perintendent of public property, dairy
and food commissioner, fish and game
warden, bank examiner and state
commissioner of labor and industrial
Statistics Other important bills pres
ented were: To limit the amount Of
Indebtedness of towns and municipal
corporations to 21a per cent of all the
taxable property; compelling brew
eTs to label their beer and forbidding
adulteration; taxation of requests;
dividing the state into ten factory dis |
tricts with an inspector for each at
$1,000 salary and expenses; forbidd1ng !
spite fences; permitting a farmer to |
hunt on his own land without a Ii |
cense; fOrbidding pools and combines;
for the exemption Of tools from as
sessment; appropriating $4,000 for
experimenting in the growing and cur
ing Of tobacco; tabooing spite fences;
prohibiting slow machines in any pub
ic Mace. FIXING passenger rates at |