River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-03-19
TAX PAYERS PROTECTIVE
LEAGUE

The tax payers of the town gen.
orally were well represented. The
meeting was called TO order by T.
S. Eden, who briefly stated the
object thereof, and introduced
Thomas Nimlos, of Hartland, who
spoke at length on the causes of
our present high taxes. its effect.
and suggested remedies. At the
conclusion of his address the meet
ing organized itself into a tax pay
ers' protective league and elected
Victor Swanson president and
James Gilmore secretary.
A general discussion was then
held of existing conditions and
tendencies in the management of
state government and it was the
opinion of all that state expendi-
lures had increased at an enor-
nous and unwarranted rate, there
by imposing upon the people an
unjust and outrageous burden of
taxation for which they receive no
benefit; that state and legislative
affairs were too largely controlled
by professional politicians, work
ing for their own selfish interests:
that there had been, under recent
legislation, an unnecessary re-
striction of the rights of local
government and a too marked ten
dency to create commissions to
furnish positions for the profess
ional politicians and their hang
ers-on; that the result of this COM
mission government has been to
centralize control at Madison and
deprive the towns and cities and
villages of their rights of self gov
eminent and to unnecessarily in
crease state expenses.
1t was the idea of those present
that these matters directly affect
ed all of the people, irrespective
of party affiliations and that the
electors of all parties should Or
ate for any party for state or leg
islative office should receive sup
port unless he pledge himself to
stand and work for economy and
business management in state adj
ministratiOn, repeal needless and
freak legislation; repeal of laws
creating unnecessary commissions
and needless state employees; a
reduction of the exhorbitant ex
penditures for the state univer-
sity and a more fair consideration
of the common schools; greater
restriction of the powers of such
commissions as may be necessary,
so as to insure the municipalities
and the people their rights of re-
striction of commission expendi-
lures.
Therefore be it resolved, that
we condemn the great mass O.
freak and useless legislation that
has been adopted by recent legis-
lation, and condemn the great
multiplication of laws; condemn
the long sessions that have been
held during recent years at large
expenses to the tax payers for
each day and also the useless ex-
penditures for employees in and
about the legislature.
That we condemn the tremen-
dous expenditures made in recent
years for the state university for
the benefit of the few at the ex-
| pense of the common and rural
schools of the state.
That we condemn the carrying
of large Indebtedness at high
rate of interest for the purpose of
covering the real amount expend-
ed for higher education.
That we condemn the present
system of state aid to highways
which is a clever attempt to hide
! from the people that they them
selves are raising the money to
pay their own improvements and
that of other counties as well, and
we condemn the use of a large
part of the money so raised for
the payment of useless state en-
] ployees and we deplore the fact
that our two representative in the
last legislature deliberately voted
for the amended highway law Tor
bill No. 1854 which deprives the
people of every county the priv
ilege of contracting with their own
highway commissioner and places
his salary at an arbitrary and
much higher figure than the con-
tract made between him and the
county board,
The meeting then determined to
send copies of these resolutions to
each newspaper in the county for
publication and requests them to
give publicity to the meeting and
to purposes of the organization