River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-09-23
The Insurance Investigation.

Early in his first term when the
wave of insurance investigation was
sweeping over the country, a Mime
apolis company became involved and
Governor Johnson Immediately took a
hand and forced the resignation OF it's
officers, placed the company in the
hands of a committee of business men
and pursued the matter until he land
ed one of the guilty officials in states
prison. From this he became a leader
in the movement for uniform state
laws on life insurance and upon his
suggestion to President Roosevelt the
insurance commissioner of the Dis
trict of Columbia called meeting of
governors and insurance commission
ers and drafted model law which has
been adopted by number of states
The Campaign of 1906.
The campaign of 1906 opened with
the republicans having some difficulty
in selecting a candidate for governor
and finally nominating Cole who was
believed to have the support of the
corporations altho such was not the
case. MIR. Johnson made another rap
id-fire campaign making 119 speeches
in seven weeks in rs counties of the
state paying his fare himself for every
mile travelled. The result was not in
doubt from the start but this plurality
was a surprise as he polled 168,480 to
96,162 for Cole while all other repub-
lican candidates were elected by a
plurality as high as $4,000 on attorney
general This time with the legisla-
ture again strongly against him polit-
ically Governor Johnson received more
consideration for his ideas and among
his recommendations which were
adopted were:
A maximum schedule Of freight
rates.
A two cent passenger fare law.
Abolition of railway passes and
franks.
Reciprocal tonnage law.
Increased taxation for sleeping car
companies.
Permanent tax commission with
wide powers.
Registry tax on real estate mort
cages.
Uniform life insurance laws.
Abolition of private banks.
A "Muellar law"
To facilitate municipal ownership.
Increase state drainage operations.
Better salaries for the state Nnivers-
ity faculty.
This made a good grist for \ single
session. The permanent tax commits
sion was vastly more important in
stitution. Johnson named on this
commission one republican, one dem
ocrat and one university professor,
all men of ability and special fitness.
The announcement of their names had
the spontaneous approval of both
houses and in less than year they
justified his selection by adding $112,-
100000 to the assessed valuation of
iron properties. Governor Johnson's at
titude toward the iron interests was not
one of antagonism but one of fairness
as was shown in the 1909 session of
the Legislature in which he vetoed the
proposed tonnage tax law which he
believed to be exhorbitant, unfair and
unconstitutional, after it had passed
both houses by strong vote of both
parties.
The Governor had some other sug-
gestions in his 1907 message that are
of value in showing his personal plat
form; the license tax on foreign cor
porations; investigation of the lumber
trust; the employers liability law; a
uniform divorce law; an initiative and
referendum and the registration of
professional lobbyists.
The Iron Range Strike.
In the summer of 1907 Governor
Johnson came into contact with the
people of Minnesota in a new line,
handling a very difficult situation in q
wise and judicious manner that result
ed in making him a friend of both
sides. A strike of 10000 foreign
workmen in the iron region was be-
coming threatening. They were a
| branch of the Western Federation of
Miners and at the head was an Italian
socialist from Colorado, Teofilo Petri-
| ella. Although the strike leaders in
sisted that they would keep the peace,
| local officials and the business men in
| the district feared the ignorant aliens