Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1914-04-08
Brennan MAKES REPLY
TO NAGLER'S ATTACK
Continued from First Page.)


counties. Each municipality in order
to avoid paying for improvements in
others, both in and out of the county,
raises more money than it really needs
for its roads and bridges. It raises
one-third of the cost by its own
town taxes, raises one third in its
county taxes and while raising the
other third for the state tax does not
receive it back in full for\the reason
that the state does not make a full
allotment back, as above indicated in
the amount repaid to this county.
Amounts paid in each year are so
large that they cannot be expended
by use of the machinery owned,
which results in the money lying idle
or in large OUTLAWS for additional
machinery by the county. Grant
County pays this year under this wise
state law, in addition to the amount
stated as paid to the state, $40, 969. O1
a total of $75, 500, 81, and the
municipalities of the county in addi
tion to raising this amount, raise in
their local taxes $33, 579.O1, or the
insignificant amount of $109, 078.5
due to this state law to a considerable
extent. Is it surprising that local
taxes are unduly high?
| frankly admit mis-statement in
my article as published, as to the ap-
preparation for the Board of Public
Affairs; the appropriation as stated by
Mr.. Bolens is $4,000 but extends
over three years and is only $4O,OO0
per year. A perusal of the law
brings out the interesting fact that it
provides that none of the three APP
pointive members shall belong to the
university faculty. Was it necessary
to protect the state against university
aggression in financial affairs or have
they decided that the professors shall
not hold all the positions?
AS Mr.. Nagler finds no fault with
the cost of commissions as stated by
me shall we assume that the amounts
are correct or that they were stated
cost of the Railroad commission at
S165, 1866. IL and now a news item
states that it has been necessary for
the commission to discharge a large
clerks because the appropriation of
S183, 900 to maintain the commission
would be insufficient if the force was
not reduced. Chairman Roemer de-
clares: eve have discovered that
we could not carry our entire force to
the end of the year on our LIMITED
appropriation. Limited, !" indeed.
It seems a shame that the Legislature
did not provide an unlimited fund so
that these extra" clerks might have
been cared for during their work in
the coming campaign.
Mr.. Nagler finds fault with the
statement of Mr.. Bolens that one way
to reduce expenses is to cut off the
salaries of 1000 or more useless state
employees and states that "there are
less than thousand people employed
in the state capitol Why limit the
statement to those employed lin the
state capitol?'' Are not those employ
ed by the state outside of the capitol
entitled to equal consideration? The
people have no means of knowing the
number employed but it has been
stated, whether truthfully o. not
can not say, that about 1900 on
commission payrolls alone. Why not
inform the people of the truth of the
matter? But after all it makes no
difference how many there are. If
any are not needed they should be cut
off regardless of number. Why is it
necessary to send man from Madi-
son to test scales or quart measures of
local merchant, a man whose salary
and expenses are paid by the state,
salary unknown, because under recent
legislation fixed by department head?
Railroad fare $3.44, meals and lodg-
ing 1925, salary (est.) Sc, total, if
no padding, SLIGO, a service that
could be done by local officer with
OuG pC1lSO Anu ~ IL lS III IIdIIy
lines of activity and the people are
paying the cost.
Mr.. Nagler endeavors to convey the
idea that someone is blaming Mr.. La
Toilette for present conditions,
presumably in an attempt to get him
to share the responsibility and come
to the assistance of those now en-
dangered. Surely Mr.. LaFollette
little dreamed that politics could grow
to such dimensions in Wisconsin or
that cost of government could advance
in less than ten years from APP
proximately four millions a year in
his last administration as governor
to its present proportions of about
sixteen millions of dollars.
WAITER T BRENNAN