Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-06-09

viii impose ii the legislature makes
it law. Madison is ready to pave TO
the center of all the streets, and bear
one-half of all the expense, where its
property abuts on the street, if the
state of Wisconsin will do its share
to pave with asphalt the streets
around the university. No one will
seriously contend that all the cost OF
paving these streets should be borne
by the abutting lot owners on one
side; nor that the state should not
be required TO contribute to the ex-
pense precisely as other property
owners are required to contribute I'M
der similar conditions. While
churches and church property escape
general taxation, they are all liable
for special assessments for street i'm
provement. Is there any reason why
the great state of Wisconsin should
be exempt from burdens it imposes on
the humblest and poorest of its home
owners?
Mr. Smith said he was advocating
the passage of this bill because he
wants to see the walks and streets
around our university clean, useful
thoroughfares, harmonizing with its
buildings and grounds, and while he
was expressing his individual desires
in this matter, he also was voicing the
wishes and desires of the citizens of
Madison who believe in beaurffying
public grounds and public thorough
fares
1t must not be forgotten that the
improvements contemplated in this
bill are improvements of a state in
stitution and no one will receive as
much benefit from them as will the
boys and girls from all over the
state attending the university. We
are now engaged in the construction
of an imposing state house which
when completed, will be one of the
finest products of architecture in the
state. We have located our state
house on a beautiful site, on every
side of which are we'll paved streets.
Our state university, also splendidly
located, has grown by leaps and
bounds. until acknowledged by Presi-
dent Eliot of Harvard as the leading
state university in America Our
Legislatures have all been generous
in appropriations for the purchase of
necessary grounds, the erection of
buildings and the purchase of appli-
ances. They have been generous in
providing sufficient funds for the con-
struction of walks and drives in and
through the university grounds. The
matter of putting the streets sur
rounding the grounds in a condition
to harmonic with interior walks
drives and buildings has either. been
entirely overlooked or else left to the
overburdened owners of AUDITING
property residing on one side of these
streets.
The state, continued the speaker,
has no right to ask the property own
ers on streets adjacent to the univer-
sity grounds to pave the entire street
at their own expense, neither has it a
right to demand that this work shall
be done wholly by the city of Madi-
son. The university and is grounds
belong TO all the people of the state
of Wisconsin, anu they, and not the
city of Madison, should bear the ex-
pense of paving to the center of each
stree. all the streets surrou1. ding the
university. 1t should be borne in
mind. also that while the people of
Madison are fully appreciative of the
fact that our city is singularly fortu-
nate in having located here the fore
most state university in America, and
also this magnificent state house in
process of construction, the fact still
remains that the state OF Wisconsin
owns and controls many millions of
dollars worth of property within the
limits of our city, which does not
share in the general burden of taxa
ton, nor contribute one cent to the
city treasury. This is another rea-
son why the state should bear its just
proportion of The expense of the i'm
provement contemplated in this bill
In conclusion Mr.. Smith called at
tention to the fact that the amount
called for in the bill is but a small
part of the interest on the money Civ
en- to the university by one of Madi-
sons citizens.
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