The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-05-12

"OCner BODY Will knock tnem Oh Tue
head If not Governor LaFollette can
be depended upon-at least. Madison
people so beleve-to stand by his
own.
The forestry bill will likely become
q law and at last Wisconsin put be-
You'd the academic stage in this matter.
Mr.. Griffith, the expert. sent by the
Washington authorities, is man Of 80,
who knows his business: and the plan
is to set up an actual reserve on
which trees are to be planted and the
crop cultivated on the lines of Ger
many and other countries where tree
culture is a science. With Wisconsin
in actual possession of hundreds of
thousands of acres of lands being
grown to pine and other woods, the
citizen may feel that there is check
to the old policy of destroying every
green thing in sight Moreover, there
will be system of fire wardens to
suppress promptly fires in the woods
An annual appropriation of $500 is
made with which to carry out the pro-
visions of the bill The state already
owns lot of land and more will be
added by gift and purchase.
State Parks for the People.
Along with this effort Of the state,
not merely to conserve the water sup
ply, but to save the trees. is the project
of withholding for the state desirable
park areas Madison is a center of en-
thusiasm in this sort of thing; there is
a knot of enthusiasts who study beau
ty points in nature with an idea OF
keeping them for public uses. What
they have done in Madison is well
known, having built up a chain Of
driveways and parks so that when
Madison is a big city, it can never be
a crowded, unlovely one.
There are state areas and points,
as the Dells, Devils lake, the st. Croix
region, ETC., which it is the idea of some
should be set apart for the public now
when they can be secured cheaply, and
a commission is being authorized UNI
der a bill to recommend such for pur-
chase.
The School Book Question.
Veteran teachers say that parents
exaggerate the frequency of change
of text books; they say the growing
mind of a child demands new books.
Nevertheless it is an old grievance and
there are always proposed laws to
change the system. For the state to
print the text books is "a favorite
method of attack, but Wisconsin has
never been willing to do it. The as
sembly, however, has passed bill
(40 to 36) setting up commission to
establish uniformity in text books so
that there may be fewer kinds OF
books in use in the state. Indiana
and Canada report precedents of this
sort, sometimes the option of these
classes of books being offered the local
board, with NO change for five years.
The fact is, great progress has been
made in children's books. To learn to
read is play nowadays, the geog-
raphies are fascinating, the arithme-
tics deal with problems at everybody's
hands, the science is more real, and
the supplementary readings open the
world of literature to our young peo-
pie at a tender age.
Liquor Legislation.
The many temperance bills have
caused a world of anxiety to politi-
clans, as well as to ''the trade" but the
worry will soon be over. The resi-
dence district bill and the 3OO-foot
bill are most seriously considered. The
Gothenburg system will not be adopt
ed, and with all the claims of county
option" it will not likely be accepted,
certainly not until it has been made
an issue to some extent in campaigns.
have chance, though they are be-
ing contested bitterly. Such measures
on which so much is ut stake often
get lost in the chaos of the closing
hours. Milwaukee put in a petition
of $4,000 names aimed at Senator
Stout's bill, which forbids saloons
within 300 feet of church or a school
house. The Milwaukee members do
not take kindly to restrictive measures.
They have their arms in the air and
say ''It may be all right, but my con-
stituents won't stand for things of this
Sort" and that settles it. This applies
to the Socialist members, as to Others
Aimed at Trolley System.
One of the vigorous bills and one
likely to pass is a tax bill-we haven't
heard much Of taxation hitherto this
which proposes to assess street
car systems ad valorem, as other prop
erty is taxed. At present they pay a
percentage fee on gross earnings, a
small matter. For instance, the Mad
ison system paid last year the 2 per
cent on gross earnings, matter of
$500. The plant is worth, say $780,
600. If it were taxed as other prop
erty is supposed to be taxed, say 1
per cent on full valuation, the burden
would be $4,000. 1t isn't strange that
with possible changes of that sort
threatening capital, it is restless until
our tax system is finally revised