The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1907-03-15

Beggs. of course, deplOred the anti
corporation sentiment now sweeping
the country but said he thought the
railway commission all right, only
he wouldn't let every petty complaint
be brought to it, Perhaps the most
astonishing statement made by him
was this:
II know of no business that brings
such small returns on the invest
nIents. considering the risks, as that
of the public service corporations.
am surprised that capital will go into
them."
However. Beggs' own success is not
calculated to deter such ventures.
Road Measures Pending.
If the number of petitions received
is any index of what the people want
then the legislature would do we'll to
enact some measure looking to the
construction of better roads. Petition
upon petition have filed into both
houses in favor of the bills providing
for state aid in the building Of high
ways.
There are two measures now before
the legislature on the subject which
are receiving serious consideration,
One OF these is senate joint resOln-
ton which seeks to amend the CON
stituti0n so as to permit the state to
aid in the building of roads and the
other Il bill appropriating $4,000 an
nually for the next two years to the
state geological survey for the pur-
pose Of enabling the survey to build
experimental roads and determine
what arc the cheapest and best materi-
ais for roads in the different districts.
Of course good roads are bound to
come as the state becomes richer.
more thckly settled and conditions
more stable. Twenty-four states
have already adopted the system Of
state aid. One reason for the poor
reads is Of course the fact that they
are under local and therefore often in
competent supervision and another
that the expense OF building them has
heretofore been borne by the farmer
alone. The people are beginning to
see the injustice of this system. 1t is
pointed out that it is as much to the
advantage of the city if not more as
to the farmer that the latter have
good roads on which to transport his
produce The road is not for the
farmer alone. but for every citizen
and every interest and the cost of
building aud maintaining it should
naturally be borne by all. The bills
are now before the committees and
some amended or substitute measure
is likely to come in. AssemblymaE
John Scott of Columbia county, Il
practical farmer, has given the sub
ject much study and is inclined to
favor the Michigan county system.
Will Oppose Block System.
A somewhat drastic bill, which the
railroad companies are expected to Op-
pose, is that which seeks to empower
the railway commission to order all
railroads in the state to adopt block
system upon q quarter of their mile
age within the next two years The
railroads object to this on the ground
that the block system does not Oper-
ate as much of protection on branch
lines and that it becomes of value
only ON double track systems. where
trains constantly follow each other.
Asscmblyman Bancroft, of Richland
Center is the author of the bill.
Inspired by the success marking the
work Of the railway commission, Sena-
tor Owen, of st. Croix county. has
introduced bill providing for the of
fee of waterways commissioner, whose
incumbent would have practically t..a
same control over waterways that the
rate commission now has over rail
roads. Senator Owen points out that
there is much traffic on navigahle
rivers in the state and that there i,
need of its regulation also.
Duncan McGregor.
One OF the remarkable men Of the
legislature is Assemblyman Duncan
McGregor, of Platteville. Although he
first came to the legislature at the age
Of 10, two years ago, after serving near
ly forty years as a professor or presi-
dent of the Platteville normal school,
the first of its kind in Wisconsin, he
at once and sprang into prominence at
The start. If it was assumed that his
usefulness to the state ended with his
retirement from the educational field
those holding to that view were most
gratifyingly mistaken. The tradition
al mediaevaliSm of the school room
has been unable in a generation to
dim the clearnesS of his vision Or dry
the freshness of the heart. He too.
the practical work of legislation
a trained hand and seemed as
much at home as anyone in the in
formal political atmosphere of the leg
islative halls. This may be due to his
practical Scotch blood. In recognition
Of his eminent services as an educator
he was at once made chairman of the
; committee on education.
Giant in Debate.
But he takes a keen interest in all
i subjects of legislation and is one OF
| the most effective debaters on the f1oor
! one Of the half dozen giants WhC /,