The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-06-16
end OF SESSION
NOW IN SIGHT
Members of State Legisla-
ture Hope to Adjourn
on June IA.
EACH HOUSE is HARD AT WORK
Record for Number of Bills In
troduced Broken at the
Present Session.
; Good Feeling Prevailing Toward the
Close of the Arduons Session
Gossip on Probable Action
Of LaFolIette.
EACH HOUSE is HARD AT WORK

SAu vi tliS lOiIS Legislative SoSSlOu IS
III sight. Both houses seem determined
to end the. session by the middle of
this week. and Il joint resolution has
gone through providing that after June
IA, no business be received, except
communications between the two
! houses. The session will not only be
the longest in the history of Wiscon-
sin. but in many respects the most re-
markable. The number of laws en-
acted will probably not break the rec
ord, though this session holds the rec
ord for the number of bills introduced
In these Hateful closing days there is
an enormous slaughter of measures, as
| there always is at the wind up OF
session, and many measures will
doubtless go down that at the opening
Of the session would have received
favorable action. 1t might be interest
ing in this connection to say that
| Milwaukee man. Senator ROehr. holds
| the record for the number of bills in
trOduced in the senate, with a total OF
fOrty-eight, While another Milwaukee
man. Mr.. RIetcher, holds the record in
| the assembly, with a total of forty
Since the rule was adopted shutting
off new bills, except by committees,
over 100 measures have come in. Leg
islative action has been directed es-
pecially strong along three lines, to-
wards railroad legislation, liquor reg
ulatiOn and the increasing of taxes.
Railway Rate Commission.
Of the twenty-five or thirty bills
aimed at the greater regulation of rail
roads. the most important is, OF
course, the one creating a railroad rate
commission. which will shortly be in
operation The pass of this law
tended to throw a da lper on many
| other railroad bills that had not yet
| been enacted, as many members felt
that the questions at issue in them
could be safely left with the commits
sion to be created
1t was this feeling thar caused the
defeat Of the Henry Johnson bill fix
| ing a maximum rate of two cents a
mile for passenger service on the big
roads. Senator Hudnall, a conservative
man, apparently built on broad lines.
opposed the measure for this reason.
and succeeded in having it defeated in
| the senate This is the second time
that Mr.. johnson has seen this meas
use defeated. and he is inclined to press
it again of he returns two years hence.
and conditions remain as they are. if
such legislation under the new order
can be effected. He says the neigh
| boring states have been waiting for
| Wisconsin, to whom they look for lead
ership along the lines of railroad leg
islation, before they take a like step
for themselves.
Taxation Matters.
An immense amount of time has
been consumed in consideration of tax
alton matters. Practically everything
| along this line originated in the as
sembly, where Mr.. Dahl and Mr.. Hen.
ry Johnson. two persistent members,
were their inspiration and champions
Had Mr.. Dahl's ideas been carried
out there would have been a sweep
| ing change in taxation measures, and
an enormous increase in the states
revenue, had all the proposed laws
been sustained by the courts. His
hobby is the ad vnIOrem system, and
many corporations and interests now
operating on the license fee system
would be put on the other basis. could
he have his way. His bills have sought
to place telephone and telegraph lines
on that basis, street car systems. light
and heating plants. sleeping car COM
panies and boat companies. He would
also put Il tax on franchises for tele-
graph and dam companies. besides as
sessing such companies property. In
these latter days of the session he
made an especially hard fight for three
bills; one proposing to tax life insur.
ance companies on the ad valorem
basis on the surrender value of all
policies in force in Wisconsin: one to
strengthen the present mortgage law
by prohibiting the making of contracts
by which one party was to pay all the
tax of mortga ged property; and one
holding it compulsory of county boards
to pay their supervisors of assessment
enough salary SO that all will attend
to their duties In some counties the
law in this respect has been practical
ly null.
Liquor Bills.
Some fifty bills were introduced to
regulate the liquor traffic. They COW
cred the problem from the smallest in
reference to the establishment of the
Gothenburg system. By far the most
important measure to pass both houses
was the Stout bill, prohibiting here
after the granting of new licenses