The Alaska daily empire., 1915-02-09
THE DAY or
 TEST AND TRI AL


 Wisconsin Proggessiyea need not bel discouraged by tho sharp challenge col lhe "Wisconsin idea by tho present stato administration. No idea cen e1- pect to awim indefinitely on 2 aea ot glory. Sooner or later the challenge must come. It ia tho businoss Of its advocatos to meet the issue and fight it out in the court of reason and pub lie opinion.
 Nor does the fact that tho other side at present has Q plain Legislative ma iorty render Che contest futile Ma iorities are tronelsory but real ideas that can stand tho sboci. of adversity can be trusted to endure is some form. Moreover this Is more than Q state question. The Wisconsin .dea" stands for something of vital interest to the nation
 Governor Philipp's challenge, as set forth in his message, raises issues im- portant enough to loo met and fought out sQuarely It raises the question of how far tho spread Of commission government can SO without interier- ing with representative government and tho control by the people; Of how far commission government can spread without costing more than it is worth.
 It raises the further Quostion-to be deal with on the basis of fact and eN- perence-of how far the present re- forostation plans of the state threat ems. agricultural development, and whether they are jastiilable on busi- ness grounds. It presents the Issue of the soundness, from an actuarial standpoint, of the state insurance sys- tenn It summons the advocates of water power conservation plans to justify them on constructive as well as theoretical grounds
 Governor Philips message Is, in brief an appeal from theory to exper- ionce He thinks these theories have imposed burdens on Wisconsin dis proportioned to present and prospec- tive benefits The Progressives must answer his challenge both on the grounds of theory and experience. and il they find that experience has dem onstrated defects they must carefully differentlate these incidents from the essence of the theory and profit by the lesson.
 Although it is now an exiom that ! commissions are the proper instru- ments for handling certain depart- ments Of public affairs the last word has not assurediy been said on the ! extent Co which tho idea can reason. ably be carried. Although the need | of conservation is admitted every. where. the question of method and extent is still a problem not entirely solved. In brief the last word re. mains to be said on important aspects of many Progressive policies.
 For this reason the issues raised by the message of Governor Philipp may reasonably be welcomed by sob- er friends of liberal progress through out the country. lt provides a strik ing means of checking up the value of some Of these ideas in operation It affords an occasion for their op- ponents to show that they have made good" as business propositions in at least the larger meaning of the term
 These ideas will fare none the worse for the testing What is good we may rest assured, will ultimately survive in Wisconsin and elsewhere And whatever oxcresconces have grown up on the administration oi ideas essentially sound will naturally [ be exposed as lesson and a warming The entire nation will watch and should profit by tho issues raised and discussed at Madison.-(chicago Her afd