River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1911-05-18
CITY Of SUPERIOR
WINS IN TAX FIGHT
Assembly Advances Nye Bill to
ENDORSEMENT.
LIQUOR MEASURE is KILLED
One Seeking to Increase Saloon IL
cense Fees in Cities and Villages
10 Defeated in House by
Vote of SO to 80.

Madison.-The city OF Superior won
an important round in it's struggle for
local taxation of railroad property
when the assembly advanced the Nye
bill to engrossment. This bill seeks
to put an end to the practice adopted
under the ad valorem system OF hav-
ing all railway property taxed direct
ly by the state. While the city or
Superior probably has a greater inter-
est in local taxation of this class OF
property, several other cities, notably
Manitowoc, Racine, Milwaukee and
Green Bay also have local interest
in the object of the bill. 1t is est1-
mated that something less than $685.
900 in tax moneys will be diverted by
the bill If it becomes law. Mr.. Nye
made a speech for the bill in which
he referred to the two former failures
of similar bill. At the last session
it was passed, but Governor Davidson
vetoed it on constitutional grounds.
Another liquor bill was put to the
test. The Ellingson measure seeking
to increase quite materially the saloon
license fees in cities and villages,
was killed SO to 80, after lengthy de-
bate.
Direct election of United States
senator's, to be accomplished by the
Oregon plan," as incorporated in
bill by Senator Husting (Dem.), which
already had passed the senate, was
debated nearly two hours in the as
sembly, and the measure narrowly es-
capped passage.
The bill, together with two pending
amendments, finally was rereferred to
the committee on elections, but not
until it had been demonstrated that,
although a majority had been in ia
vOr of reconsideration of the vote by
which the measure was engrossed by
a bare quorum, the lineup of the
members upon the concrete PROPOSE
ton of killing the bill, principle" and
all, was decidedly different. On this
propositions motion to non-concur
in the bill-the vote was as follows:
For inconvenience against the
bilD-Binner, BrOckhausen, Gettle,
Gilboy, Golf, Gulickson, Hahn, Hintz,
Johnson, L. L., Jones, Phil H., Kahn
Kiefer, Mcconnell, Metcalfe, Perry,
Reader. Reed, Schreiner, Stevens, Ur-
quhart, Vint, Weber and Youmans-
90.
Against non-concurrence (for the
bill)-Berg, Bichler, Bingham, Clark,
Dennhardt, Draper, Fenske, Fisher,
French, Frye, Gilbertson, Grimsrud,
Haight, Hansen, Harper, Hull, Hurl-
but, Johnson, Axel, Johnson, Chris.
Jones, John R., Kay, Kealy, Kneen,
Lentz, Long, Ludlow, Mahon, Millar,
Mortensen, Nelten, Nye, O'Connor,
O'Day. Onstad, Parkinson, Pickart,
Plowman, Raymond, Roessler, Roy
craft, Rupp, Schmidt, Schwalbach,
Sholts, Smith, Serge, Spoor, Steven
son, Strouf, Thomas, Viebahn, Wheel
an, Jockey, Monsen and Mr.. Speaker
SO.
Many of the Republicans who had
opposed the bill in its present form,
however, voted against non-concur-
renee in the hope that the bill might
be amended to remove certain obiec-
tionable features, while the Demo
Gratis, If they had been a little strong
err, might have been able to force a
vote on the original without rerefer-
ence to the committee. AS it is, it is
likely that the bill will BE so amend
ed by the committee on elections that
legislators will have some loOphole of
escape from voting for the senatorial
nominee in case there are legal
doubts as to his qualifications for the
office, and in this form the bill I'M
doubtedly will pass.
The state tax commission submit
ted to the legislature its special re-
port on the finances Of the state gov
eminent, comprising a summary only
of the results and conclusions set
forth in a larger report to come from
the press later. The gathering and
compiling of the data was in charge
of and supervised by A. E. James, the
statistician of the commission, who
also furnished the text.
On the average for the seven-year
period (1903-1909) the revenue re-
ceipts totaled $6.214,606.67 out of a
total for all receipts of $685., 1929,
or 84.18 per cent In 1909 the total
revenue receipts were $8,50O,957.97
out of s9,S11,519.19, or 1855 per cent.
During the period of years covered in
the investigation, receipts as a whole
increased from $6,S14,792.39 in 1903
to s9,811,519.19 in 1909. Revenue re-