Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-06-02
POOLE BILL HAS
FARMERS EYE
Measure Would Wipe Out Local
Cattle Testing Laws.
INSPECTION UP TO THE STATE

attracts Wioe Rrtenticn.
Madison, Wis, (SpeciaD Wisconsin
farmers will be especially interested
in the Poole bill which provides that
no locality shall demand the tuber-
eulin testing of cattle unless the test
is authorized by state law. This bill
passed the house, and has been recon-
mended for passage in the senate by
the committee on state affairs.
The enacting clause Of the Poole
bill follows:
at shall be unlawful for any CITY,
town, village, county or other cor
porate authority in the state Of Wis
consin by ordinance. rule or regula-
tion other than such as may be es-
tablished by the law OF this state, TO
demand. fix. establish or require the
tiiberculin test to be applied to dairy
animals as means or measure Of
regulating and purifying milk, skim
med milk, cream and other dairy pro-
ducts of said animals In any manner
-ahatever; and every such ordinance,
rule, bylaw or regulation heretofore
or hereafter passed, demanded, fixed,
established or required by any such
city, town, village, county or other
corporate authority other than the
state of Wisconsin. is hereby declared
to be void and of no effect"
Gilbert Speaks on Change in Taxing.
Wide interest is being shown in the
administration bill to reorganize the
state tax commission. Addressing a
committee of the legislature on this
subject. former Attorney General
Frank L. Gilbert said:
There has been a widespread de.
mand throughout the state for a re-
organization of the present tax com
mission. II has been generally claim
ed that the procedure of the commits
sion has been arbitrary; that its
growth has been unusual and unwar-
ranted; that each Succeeding legis-
lature has added duties to the COM
mission, and that the commission has
enlarged upon and appropriated activi-
ties which were not intended by the
trainers of the original commission,
ncr of the succeeding legislatures. -
sit has also been claimed that the
commission has accomplished the
main purpose for which 1t was created
and because of that fact, there is little
need for the commission to exist in
its present form. The main object in
creating the commission was to Sc
cure an equitable and fair assessment
of properties of the state, together
with a just and proportionate levying
of state taxes. That this object has
been secured is freely admitted by the
commissioners themselves. Conse-
queDtly it is fitting that at this time
the duties Of the commission be in
quired into and reorganization
brought about such as may seem wise
to the legislature.
Three Commissioners Not Required.
1T is true that the main construc-
tive, formulative period in the life of
the commission is at an end; that the
duties which are now left to the COM
mission are largely performed by the
clerical force in the Office, and that
the work will not require the services
of three high priced commissioners.
For instance, the large task which
was imposed upon the tax commission
of valuing and assessing the railroad
and public utility properties of this
state has been largely accomplished
and the large joint engineering staff
which is maintained by the railroad
and tax commissions has become, in
the main. an arm of the railroad
commission. Likewise, in the general
property assessment of the state, the
work of the commission has been or
ganized and accomplished so that the
task of making the state levy on the
general property of the state has been
thoroughly covered. II is the opinion
of the members of the commission as
stated before your committee that
this yearly valuation could very well
be made every second or third or even
fifth year instead of every year as is
being done at present.
Employees Arbitrary, Claim.
1t mas also been claimed by a great
many citizens of the state where re-
assessments and valuations have been
made that inexperienced outsiders
have been sent into these localities by
the tax commission to make the yalu.
alton of the local property This has
been followed, as a rule, by general
annoyance, trouble and sometimes liti-
cation. Valuations have been placed
it is claimed, away above the market
values of property in localities where
valuations have been made 1t is true
that the duty imposed by a former
legislature on the commission was to
bring the assessment of all property
in the state up to full value. This
of course has not been an easy task
for the tax commission and would
naturally find considerable opposition