Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1910-07-12
STATE AFFAIRS.
Address by Prof o. E. Wells at the
Democratic Convention on
Saturday.

Interest in affairs at Washington is
liable to detract attention from state
and local affairs. AS other speakers
have discussed national affairs, / de-
sire to speak for a few minutes of
state affairs.
Some of you still remember the
time when there was a democratic
administration at Madison. l had
the honor to have part in that adj
ministration, and l would like to con-
trast the achievements of those days
with what has been done since
You will remember that the demo-
cratic party was accused of being the
enemy of the public schools, and it
was charged in the campaign that if
we succeeded in the election our sys-
tenn of public schools would be de-
stroyed
AS al indication of our attitude
upon this question let me remind you
that in the first session of a demo-
cratic legislature an appropriation
was made for the construction at the
state university of a dairy building, a
building for the college of law, and a
gymnasium. The dairy building was
built at cost of $4,000, the law
building at $4,000, and the gymnas-
ium at $4,000. Later we built a
large addition to the building of the
college of engineering. 1t was freely
said in Madison that the democrats
had doubled the floor space of the
university.
We also built large additions to the
normal school buildings at Platteville,
Whitewater, where we also rebuilt
the burned wing of the old building,
at Milwaukee, and at Oshkosh, locat-
ed two new normal schools, one at
Stevens Point and one at West Super
ior, built the building at Stevens
Point and made provision, as l re-
member, for the one at Superior.
think it may safely be said that we
doubled the floor space of the normal
schools also.
/ need not say more to convince you
that the democrats were not the enc
mics of the public schools. want
now briefly to contrast the admins
tration of the finances of the state.
From the blue book of 1895, pub
lished by Henry Casson, republican
secretary of state, page 366, / find
that the total receipts of the treasury
from Sept. 30, 1892, to Sept. 80, 1894,
the last two years of the democratic
administration were S4,287, 744.37.
The total expenditures for the same
period were 81 POS, 234. 18, or an annual
average expenditure of 81, 1O4, 1869.
From, the Wausau Record Herald,
quoting State Treasurer Dahl's re-
port, find that the total receipts
for 1908 were $10,417, 473.49, and the
disbursements 1863, Ol2.4 nearly five
times the average annual expenditure
in the last two years of democratic
rule. What have they to show fol-
the nearly five hundred per cent. i'm
crease in expenditure under republi-
can rule?
In the fifteen years since they re.
turned to power again they have
made liberal appropriations for the
state university, built the normal
school building at Superior, estab-
lished normal school at Lacrosse
and provided it with an excellent
building, disposed of the buildings
and sites of the normal schools at
Platteville and Milwaukee, and built
better buildings on other sites, en-
larged, l believe the normal school,
building at Stevens Point, founded
and built the Wisconsin home fol
feeble minded at Chippewa Falls, anc
the Wisconsin state reformatory be
tween Green Bay and Depere.
In short, they have in fifteen year:
hardly more than equalled in build
ings and equipment of public institu
tions the record of the Democrats il
four years, while they multiplied
annual public expenditures nearly five
p times
Credit should have been given the
Republicans for the state historical
and university library building, cost
ing 100000. They should also have
been credited with the burning of the
capitol through gross carelessness an6
inexcusable negligence, and the con
sequent rebuilding at cost Of
$6,000,000. The combined expense o.
these two buildings does not equal the
excess in annual expenditure of the
last reported Republican year over
that of the last Democratic year.
l. is evident that there has beer
no increase in the number or size Of
public expenditures to neceSsitate
more than quadrupling public ex
penditures. The state is overruT
with an army of useless and NEEDLE
and parasites. Extravaganza runs
riot everywhere.
You complain of high taxes. Re
member that all the taxes you pay
directly, usually in the fall or early
winter, are for state and local pur-
poses. Property is not taxed to sup
81
farm, the laboring mans home, the
property of the billion dollar steel
trust, the Standard oil properties,
pay not a cent of tax TO the general
government. 1t leyieS taxes on con
Sumption-tariff taxes ard internal
revenue, and in such a way that the
poor man pays a much higher per
centage of take than the rich man
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