Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-01-16

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tFibution of these powers concerning
the several classes of public service
| corporations, however, is a matter for
; legislative determination. should ii
be deemed advisable to place the con
troll of these corporations, or any OF
them under a separate commission,
the expense thereof should be met by
a moderate license fee to be imposed
uEon the corporations subject to such
supervision. Public service corpora
| tons are entitled to secure a fair
profit upon the actual cost of their
properties, and no more The valu-
alton of the property, therefore, be-
comes an important factor in the
problemg of rate making. Specific
authority should be granted to the
commission to ascertain and deter
mine the true cost of such properties
and to use this determination to aid
IA fixing fair and just rate of com
pensation for services rendered.
A limit should be placed upon the
capitalization Of local service cor
porations, and the issue of stocks and
bonds by them should be under the
supervision of the state commission
charged with regulation of such cor
porations. Massachusetts and New
York have provided that no stocks or
bonds shall be issued by this class of
corporations without application hay
| ing first been made to the state com
mission and its approval obtained af-
ter an examination as to the neces-
sity of such issIe, and the methods
and purposes of the investment of
the proceeds. With capitalization
measured by actual investment, just
rates can readily be ascertained.
Municipal Ownership.
| The governor thinks that encour-
! agement should be extended toward
municipal ownership especially with
respect to water works and gas and
lighting plants and he recommends
! the necessary legislation 10 enable
j any city or village to establish pub
lie utilities, or TO acquire such rs may
already exist under the power of
/ eminent domain, and to pay for the
same out of the proceeds of certif-
Gates of Indebtedness, which nay be
made a lien on the property SO ac,
/ quired In the purchase of such
utilities by the municipality, it
should not be required to pay an ex-
orbitant sum for the franchises where
che same have been granted without
consideration. The governor adds
that there is no desire on the part of
the people of the state to needlessly
interfere with the ownership and
operation of public service corpora
tions or to impair the value of legiti-
mate investments.
Insurance investigation.
| The governor dwelIs on the ex-
haustiye investigation by the special
/ insurance committee and says that
! the report of the committee. includ-
ing its recommendations for addition
al legislation, will be placed before
I the legislature
/ State institutions.
| The necessity of purchasing adj
ditional land at certain of the state
institutions in order that the inmates
may be provided with labor. and
many Of the supplies necessary for
itneir maintenance be grown without
/ expense to the state is urged. Certain
additions and new buildings are called
OF hn OF \
priation of $4,000 is needed to com.
plete and equip the cell house now
under construction At no institu-
! ton are conditions so crowded as at
| the home for the feeble minded at
Chippewa Falls. In the ten years
since its establishment the population
has grown to $751; yet the facilities
/ now provided fall far short of those
| needed. The governor thinks it may
i be well for the legislature to con
slider the question of materially en-
larging thl1 institution, and he rec
ommends that appropriations to i'm
/ prove the sanitation and heating ia.
cilities at several of the state institu,
/ tions. AT the state hospital at Men.
dota there is urgent need for the re
construction of the plumbing and
| sewage system, a receiving house
similar to the one at the northern hos
pital and a new cold storage and a
| bakery.
Common Schools.
Reports show that Wisconsin does
not stand as high in educational re.
suits as it should. There is but one
apparent reason for this condition
and that is the Indifference manifest
ed on the part of large number of
parents, and those who have children
under their control, in the matter OF
sending these children regularly to
school. BY far the most serious
hindrance to profitable school work is
the one resulting from irregularity OF
attendance. 1t is not necessary to
enlarge on this point. but it relates
vitality to the progress of the rural
schools. those upon which three.
tlfths of the children of this state
! must depend for their education Ir.
regularity of attendance compared
with the fact that but SO per cent OF
the strictly rural school population
/ between the ages of and IA attended
school 100 days or more for the year
ending June 30, 1906, raises a ques.
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