Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-04-17
OPEN LETTER TO LENROOT

OPEN LETTER TO LENRoOT
Editor News-Budget,
Ladysmith, Wis.
Dear Sir: Enclosed find copy of
letter which l wrote Hon l. Lenroot,
which you may print if you think
it will interest your readers.
Yours truly,
C. K. ELLINGSON,
Hawkins, Wis, March "a, 1914
Hon. l. L. Lenroot,
Washington, d. G.
My dear Mr.. Lenroot-
Your valued letter, reviewing the
situation in Wisconsin, has remained
unanswered because of the rush and
hustle of the logging season, now
over, and the hustle to get money
enough to pay our taxes and other
enormous expenses.
Indeed 4 will say that I am still
as keenly interested as ever in
your views of the questions before
us in Wisconsin and heartily agree
with you, that our last legislature
went much further than was Justified
in matters of appropriations and that
the increase in our State Taxes were
very much higher than was warrant
ed by existing conditions" l also
with you, endorse the Railroad Com
mission and believe the Industrial
Commission could be made to work
for the upbuilding and uplifting of
Wisconsin, both as to the employer
and employee, rather than to dis
courage manufacturers and drive
them from our state.
AS to the University, will say, that
it is an institution which we have
all admired and been proud of but if
we are to continue to be proud of
this institution, it must get out of
politics and must quit it's lobbying.
Furthermore I do not admire their
present attitude in sending men
around the state, ostensibly for the
purpose of educating us, but the
main effort is put in talking politics
often defending Socialism, pure and
simple, generally with rank Socialis-
tic tendencies, which, by the way,
is one of the grievances against the
present administration, their APP
pointees are strongly Socialists, who
argue that this awful taxation is good
and desirable as the state should own
the land, ETC., and then rent them
cheaply to the people, as they do in
New Zealand and Russia. This puts
one in mind of the Carpet Baggers,
in the south, who told the darkies
that, 'if they would put them in Of
flee that they (the Carpet Baggers)
would pile on the taxes so that the
darkies would be able to buy the
land cheap"
I emphatically agree with you,
that if the same policy was pursued
now as while r. NJ LaFollette was
ooFOl HOI, CHSIc WOuu U6 Ito GULL
plant on the part of the tax payers,
who are willing to pay his just
share" The total expenditure under
his last administration, was five
million dollars, now it is seventeen
million dollars, if any of them could
show me what we get now for the
twelve million excess, which we did
not get then, which benefits anyone
but the men who have the jobs, |
could pay my share with good grace.
The number of inspectors calling,
who represent the various commits
sions of the state, would be laugh
able if it were not so serious for the
farmers, who are the main body of
our tax payers, and are the people
or class on which we must build our
hopes for up-building future thrift
and civilization of Wisconsin, and
who must pay for it all. One inspec-
tor comes to inspect little scales,
but is not authorized to inspect big
scales, few weeks later comes the
big scales man, ETC., of course if the
first man had done all he could, jobs
would be too scarce AS a result, our
county was called on to pay over $40;