Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1904-10-22
BRUNSON'S ANSWER.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ~

hlooiOA Cldlmcu tuc du NdlOfcm Jill WOoiN
bring in more taxes to the state from the
railroad companies. concluded to vote
for the ad valOrem bill and did, both in the
committee and on the floor, and against the
license fee bill.
When the license fee bill came up voted
against it in the committee. and when the
bill was reported, Mr.. Dodge from Green
county, who was one of the men against
primary elections, said to me that he thought
II the bill was to read 5 per cent in place OF
81. it would pass. and | told him / would
vote for it and did; but it was defeated 81
to 30. Hail then amended the bill to read
AZ. and voted for it. 1t was defeated SO to
to 80.
We then took up the al valorem bill and l
voted Tor it, in committee and on the floor
ana worked for it. 1 went and told the
Governor that Overlook was going to vote
against the bill. He said he would see Over
peck. But Overlook voted against 1t anu
against all freight bills aud the Governor
appolnGed him state game warden at 90
uay ana expenses, while the word went ouO
Vn la nad voted with the railroads.
Inc Governor said voted against Dill
IA the committee and then voted for IL on
Ohe moor. L admit that But why did Ii BE-
cause he and his friends urged me to- ana
SAID we could not pass the ad valOrem Dill:
DuU you see III these three men L spoke VI
oelore: VINO were posing as staunch Support
erS OF the Governors reforms, would nave
VoUed Tor this ad valorem bill, we would
nave passed it, as it was only defeated by
Ihree votes, and think the Senate woulu
nave passed it as they did last session. Gut
II you remember the Governor made MS
campaign two years ago advocating the al
valorem bill and dropped that license fee
oiil' ana this year is making his campaign
on the freight rate bill. But if we passed
both OF these bills when 1 was there ne
would not have anything to talk about this
thls fall and perhaps could not have been
nominated and elected with a Legislature
that he picked out that would vote for nlm
or for whoever he said fer U. s. Senator But
IL thlS Legislature elects him U. S. Senator
some other Governor will have to carry out
the reforms. Now don't think LaFollette
wanted to hurt the railroads during his first
Term, for you will take notice they forced
tnlS bad bill 165a, the license fee bill, out
ahead OF 164a, the ad valOrem bill, and
enough of his near friends voted against 1T
a mean the ad valorem billy which was the
good one, to defeat it, The Governor said in
his first message that the railroad companies
were. paying nearer their share of taxes
than the average individuals and it is a
fact that he had. a long conference with the
leading officials Of the railroad companies
before his first nomination and campaigned
all over the state on special train.
The railroad companies favored the license
fee bill, If they had to have any change. and
LaFollette seemed to favor the same thing,
as he thought the Senate would kill it, and
get the blame for defeating the BILL 6NOw
there was no time, when the license fee bill
was as strOug with the members in both
honseS as the ad valorem bill, and I had
good reasons to believe this; and believe to
q no fvuo haxy
ad valOrem bill up to the Senate they
would have passed it. But the Governor
tried to make me believe it hadn't a ghost
OF show. You can see it did by the votes
The Governor in his speech mere paid me
the compliment, though in a sarcastic way.
oflsaying / wasaa shrewd fellow. Well,
am rot uery shrewd, but it did not take me
four years to find him out; and I may have
some friends left after he and his cohorts
are through whackfng away at me. =
Mr. LaFollette is in the eyes of many, a
great man. Yes, he is, l agree with them.
He has been Governor four years; let US see
what has happened, There have been a
great many bills passed. among them the
primary election law, which is now up to
the people to vote on. If it becomes law,
it neceSSitateS tax of about the same as a
general election, which costs the people
about 100000, with no show for a man to be
press or has a big pull somewhere. Well,
they also passed a law to do away with in
surance on the capitol and of course had no
insurance when it burned. They say the
Legislature passed that law. Yes but the
Governor recommended it and signed it
when it was passed. Then they also great
ly increased the army of game rdenS. oil
inspectors, factory inspectors, and the like,
into the political field at good wages. The
expenses of the state are larger than was
ever known. But they say we did not have
any state tax. OF course we did not, Why?
Because a war debt of between four and
five hundred thousand dollars due the school
fund. was paid in by the general government
and deposited in the wrong fund, to fool
the people and make them think there was
no state tax on account of economical gov
eminent.
When l was in the Assembly that John
Thomas refOrmer, now railroad commission
er, under the supreme guidance of his god
father, Bob LaFollette, offered bill to
Ob1ige all counties to elect a supervisor of
assessments / wanted to amend it and
leave it optional with counties to do as they
pleased about it, but they wouldn't so 1
voted against it. Another bill was passed
to compel assessors to assess everything at
full value. Supervisors of assessment were
elected and did their duty as prescribed by
law. The money lOanerS raised the interest
rates. hid their money, left the state, what
was due called it in, and where it was on
long loans at low interest had to stand it.
And last session the Legislature passed a
law to exempt the mortgage provided in
the mortgage it said the mortgagor agreed
to pay the tax and of course all mortgages
say so. But the next thing is to get inter-
est rates down where they were. and [ don't
blame the money loanerS. for think they
will change it this winter again and tax
mortgages One session they pass law to
tax little pigs and nexv session they pass a
law not to tax them.
La Toilette vetoed the Frost bill equaliZ-
ing the tax on the mortgage and mortgagOr,
and gave as his reason that it was uncOn-
stitutional, and the next session signed a
twin sister to it. But he signed Overlook S
ice bill that the Supreme Court said was un-
constitutional. Oh. he is a great business
Governor and about as full of it as a cram
berry merchant; keeps business so unset
tied that the people don't know where they
are at. for they don't know what will come
next.
The way the law is handed down to us now
by this czar. if you give note to John
Smokes for 500 signed by Vanderbilt and
Rockefeller, you must pay more interest on
account of lis being assessable. but if you
will give the note and a mortgage on lot