Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-11-29

benefit of his audience that the city
of St. Louis paid each year IN ex-
cess freight upon goods delivered to
it from the surrounding country in
farm wagons s250,000. He stated that
this sum was paid by the city rather
than by the farmers because of the
well known fact that the consumer
pays the freight" In other words,
the farmer must make a living and
IL 1t costs him a dollar more to haul
load of potatoes to town over
bad road than it would over good
road the persons who buy those po-
tatoes must pay dollar extra In
order to give the farmer that which
he has right to demand for his Ia
Dor. For these reasons, therefore,
the application of state and county
money raised by taxing not only
farm property, but city property and
railroad property as well, is justi-
fed, even in the consideration of
actual cash returns.
The giving of state aid is also
JUSTIFIED for the reason that it edu-
Gates the farmer in the value OF
good roads and teaches him to build
them for himself. This has been
the case in ever state where such
course has been pursued. State aid
has not been sufficiently extensive
to pay for its share of all the roads
which the farmers desired and as a
consequence after once experience
ing the benefits of good roads
they have gone ahead and built
them at their own expense without
waiting for state money. Nowhere
in the United States have good roads
been built to any extent where the
total cost has been borne by the
farmers themselves. Some such
means as state or county aid has been
necessary to get the movement
started SO that people will build good
roads, but after once started they
have almost always gone much
farther than state aid could allow.
The actual situation in Wisconsin
with regard to money for state aid
is different from that in any other
state. In 1905 the taxes levied by
the state were the school taxes, the
taxes upon railroads, and license
fees which other corporations paid
into the state treasury. OF this
revenue there is returned to towns
and cities more money in the shape
of aid for schools than the districts
themselves have raised and paid into
the state In other words, the state
has levied a certain amount for
school purposes which it has returned
to school districts, together with Ger
tain money with it has levied upon
the railroads and other corporations.
The money left from the corporation
fees and railroad taxes, after deduct
ing the sums returned to the towns
for school purposes, is sufficient to
provide a large reserve in the treas
ury for the purpose of building the
new capitol and paying all ordinary
state expenses. Therefore If the state
chose to appropriate money in road
building such money would be in eff
feet a gift to the towns. They would
have this much in addition to what
they might raise by taxing them
selves. AS far as known, in no
other state is this situation possible,
in which state aid can be granted
without costing the people them
selves one cent in taxes.
From this statement Of conditions
it is at once evident, as the bulletin
says, that the people of Wisconsin
are losing most excellent oppor-
tunity If they do not demand of their
legislators that laws be passed adopt
ing the plan of state aid in this state.