Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1905-06-05
STARTS TO DISPOSE OF NEARLY
800 BILLS.
GOVERNOR DEMONSTRATES
Executive Urges That Legislation Be
Enacted to Compel Railroads to
Produce Books to Show Rebates,
in Litigation for Recovery of Al
legged Unpaid Taxes.
Madison, June 2

for the recovery of the $4,000 and
more due in back taxes from the rail-
road companies, veto message re-
turning a bill to- make an ill-adviseu
loan from the state funds, vigorous
debate on the policy of the state
making valuable grants for water
powers for private use and gain ana
the beginning of debate on the pro
posal to restrict corporations in their
attempts to influence and dominate
politics, were the features OF speciai
interest at the first housekeeping ses-
sion of the senate Thursday morning.
Many Bills Killed.
All the remaining bills had been re,
ported the night before and the SEN
ate calendar was In two sections, one
containing some ITO bills and the
other about 16O others. The most
effective piece of housekeeping was
the adoption of a motion by which II
senate bills were indefinitely post.
pOned. Among those were the Freal
bill to require the railroads of the
state to establish the block system so
as to lessen the probability OF ac-
cidents, the Whitehead bill to require
that certain promissory notes specify
the consideration for which they were
given, the Frear bill to perpetuate in
Office the staff officers of the state
militia, two capitol repair bills, mum,
Der OF fish and game measures the
meritorious provisions OF which are
supposed to be incorporated in the
general fish and game provision bill,
and a number of duplicates of as.
sembly measures that have been acted
upon.
Message from Governor.
The message from Governor La
Toilette concerning the recovery OF
railroad taxes expressed surprise that
the senate committee had reported the
assembly bill for inconvenience.
The bill requires the defendant cor,
pOratiOns to produce the books ana
records which show the accounts OF
their rebates and other repayments to
shippers and other items not reported
in their sworn statements OF gross
earnings, upon which omitted items
taxes were payable but not paid. The
governor expresses the assurance that
the committee did not act in full
possession of the reasons for this
legislation and he presents the facts
legal and otherwise why such a bill
should be passed in order to protect
the rights of the state.
The capitol bill was special order
for 1920 but was laid over until 2:3O
in the afternoon.
Against Bad Loan.
The governor also sent back the
bill to authorize a loan from the
state to the Light Infantry company al
Ashland, being the bill introduced by
Senator Wilcox The reasons of the
executive for Withholding his ap,
proval on this measure were stated as
the insecure and unwise character OF
the loan, the fact that previous loan
Of the same kind had not even had
the interest paid upon it, and the gea-
eral reason that it is bad public
policy to authorize such loans.
Frear Opposes Rich Grants.
Senator Frear made somewhat
lengthy objections to several bills to
authorize the construction OF dams at
various places. He argued that he
was opposed to the granting by the
legislature OF valuable franchises ana
rights permanently without the in
terests OF the state being protected
He said that estimates placed the
value of such rights granted in the
past at $25,000,000 and that nothing
was paid for them to- the state. He
said the provision in these bills. ito
improve the navigation" was simply
subterfuge, that the purpose OF the
bills was to grant to private parties
and corporations valuable rights ano
the power Of eminent domain for their
own private use and profit and not fol
public good. He declared that the
interest upon the values given away
Az CAAAO WOu1u NC 1Z.UUUs'
600, more than the taxes paid by all
the railroad property.
Build Up the State,
Senators Sanborn and McGillivray
replied that these granted rights had
operated valuably to build up the state
and increase its wealth and pros
perity. They said the building OF
these dams had assisted wonderfully
in improving the navigation OF streams
for the purpose of making possible
the floating and running OF logs from
the forests to the mills and that the
water powers had cost the state moth.
ing, that the state really had NO
property insterest in the dams or the
dam privileges and that the water
powers, while they were rich grants
to the persons and corporations re-
ceiving them were most effective in
attracting capital to the state, when