Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-01-15
STATE LAWMAKERS
RECEIVE MESSAGE
GOV. M'GOVERN MAKES RECON-
MENDATiONS TO WISDOM
SIN LEGISLATURE.

part, is as follows:
Before passing on to a consideration Of
the purely public matters that l am about
To present TO. YOU, permit me to greet you
warmly and in the name of all our people
to welcome you to the capitol.
have frequently commended the work
OF the last legislature and congratulated
the people of Wisconsin upon the amount.
hlgh quality and enduring character OF
the legislation then enacted. [ have felt
and still feel that too much cannot be said
In its praise.
LABOR LEGISLATION.
The legislature of 1911 was rightly eau
mission very much discretionary power in
dealing with exceptional labor conditions
Instead, rigid rules were laid down re-
speeding child labor. wOmeus hours of en-
pi0yment and other similar subjects. But
IN the administration of these laws the
Commission has found variety of con
dItionS in different Industries that seem
70 cali Tor greater elasticity. In the en-
1Orcement Of the WOmen'S labor law. for
instance II has been found that there is
Wide difference between the light work on
rural telephone with frequent periods
or rest and the nervous strain at a city
switchboard InharmOnious provisions in
the law have also come to light, such as
an hour for dinner in the wOmen's law
and only half an hour in the children's law.
in respect of these and similar matters
II would seem to be advantageous to make
the law more flexible by authorizing ex-
cep1Ons from the strict letter of the stat
ute Mt present laid down in every case
whore the Commission shall find on pub
nc hearing the requested notifications to
be within the spirit of the law and not
prejudicial to the health of the employees
TO be affected by it. The law may be
permitted to stand as it is but the legis-
nature should now, in view of the known
methods of administration employed by the
Commission and the marked success that
has attended them. consider the wisdom
OF authorizing greater opportunity for the
exercise OF discretion in clearly exceptional
cases. This principle of greater adapta-
bliitF should apply TO the laws concern
ing child labor. street trades womens
hou% or employment. ana possibly other
similar matters now committed to the In
dustFial Commission for enforcement.
WorIImen's Compensation.
The wOrkmen's compensation act has
been fully ytndicated by experience. On
December Is, 1912. SGT employers and
about 5000 employees had come within
its operation. During the month of No
vember 1912 "A per cent of the accidents
reported to the Industrial Commission
were subject to compensation under this
plan. Thus nearly half of all industrial
hazards already covered by the act
\ number of states: including Mich
gan, New Jersey, Massachusetts. and
Rhode Island, have made provision for
COmpensatiHg employees for specific in
JurieS such as the loss of an eye or hand
by requiring payment for a definite time
Gu the basis of certain percentage Of the
wage received when the injury occurred
Our law fixes the amount to be paid ON
the basis Of actual loss of wages only.
This is not always just and | recommend
an amendment which will provide for the
adoption III SUch cases OF the rule
followed in other states.
As the law now is no employer can be
come subject 10 its provisions without first
ding with the Commission notice of his
acceptance, and after he has given such
notice worRmen in his employment are
presumed to accept the law unless they
specifically notify the Commission to the
contrary, The rule applicable to employ
ers should now he revised so as to har-
monte with the requirements imposed up
on workmeR. AT a certain date fixed by
In " n 81
he deemed to he within the scope and
operation Of the wOrkmen's compensation
have notified the Commission in writing
30 the effect that they do not wish to
do so
TAXATION
Taxation is one OF the most important
subjects with which legislators have to
deal Whether heavy or light, the aver
age citizen is ever sensitive to its weight.
No effort therefore should be spared to
cdualiZe the burden. The demand of rural
communities for better roads and schools:
the requirement of rapidly growing cities
for streets. sewers and sidewalks and for
more and better parks and Fairgrounds
inevitably call for increased expenditure.
The problem Of distributing this burden
so that each shall contribute his just share
* by no means either simple or easy to
solve
The Income Tax.
The Wisconsin method OF taxing prom
erty has long ranked among the best in
defects inherent in all systems of general
property taxation. The selection of as
SCISSORS every year, the difficulty of val
uing many classes of property and the
hostile attitude Of large numbers of peO-
pie well able To pay. resulted in the prac-
deal breakdown Of personal property tax
alton. Thereupou the people of the state
demanded a substitute and the legislature
Of 1911 took long step in advance by
euactinS an income tax law.
In the language of Chief Justice Wins
low who delivered the opinion of the court
in the Income Tax case. this law marks
very important change in the taxation
policy of the state. and is but concrete
embodiment OF q popular sentiment which
As might be expected so radical a change
in our fiscal system aroused strong OppO-
sirion. especially among those directly af-
fected by it. many of whom had not borne
their fair share of the public burden I'M
der the old plan. Notwithstanding this
opposition, a years administration of the
new law has fully justified all the claims
of its advocates and demonstrated for the
first time in the history of the country that
g state income tax can be made an effec-
tive revenue producer. The report of the
Tax Commission, which is ready for sub
mission to you. presents summary Of the
principal prCyvtSiOnS of the law and the
full results of its operation The snow
ing there made completely vindicates the
wisdom of the people in demanding an in
come tax and the legislature in establish
ing 1t. Disregarding the personal prop
erty offset, during the first year of its
administration IL has yielded over $500
0OO in revenue-moTe than was collected
throughout the entire United States under
the first Federal Income Tax of 1868. and
many times more than was ever before
collected from this source in a single wear
in all the states of the Union put together
The success of the law as a revenue pro
Queer has been demonstrated therefore be
You'd dispute.
A second and more important result
shown by the report is the fact that this
revenue will largely come from sources
that failed heretofore to contribute their
tull share. No poor person viii contrib
ute single dollar Of revenue under this
law. and no excessive burden IS imposed
upon the well-tO-do or the wealthy The
tax. reaches less than 2 per cent of the
number will contribute ov~ 10 per cent
Of the revenue TO be raised for all pur-
poses In the light of this experience and
the popular endorsement of the income