Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-05-27
ARE FACING
BIG TAX, Philip
Governor Says Legislature Must
Repeal Appropriations.
FINANCES IN CHAOTIC STATE
Executive Warns Solons the People
VIII Have to Pay General Prop
erty Tax of S8,741,o 900 if
Action Is Not Taken.

Madison. = That the people of
Wisconsin face a heavy state tax
unless appropriations made by past
legislatures are repealed and that the
finances Of the state are in a disorgan-
lied and chaotic condition is the con-
tention of Gov. Emanuel L. Philip in
a special message to the legislature.
The following is an epitome of the
governors message:
Before you ever vote upon another
appropriation bill you start with pres
ent authorizations in excess of ex-
pected receipts, which, if not dimin-
ished by repeal, will require a general
property tax of $8,741,000. No action
whatever is required to compel this
fund, 1914 200, in the tax levy. To
reduce that levy will require specific
action by the legislature. In other
words, if amounts already appropri-
ated are not reduced by legislative &C.
ton, every dollar that from now on is
voted for any purpose whatsoever will
come out of the general property tax
and will be fixed in the levy by the
legislature before it adjourns."
Building appropriations are made
the special target of attack. The mes
sage shows that there are improve
ment authorizations for which no
taxes have yet been levied aggregat-
ing $1,542, 900. He also points out that
thousands of dollars have been au-
thoriZed but the work not started on
these buildings, and suggests that
much of this work can be postponed
without injury to the state. Included
in this latter statement are apprOpria-
tons of $4,000 for county agricul-
tural buildings; $4,000 for highway
bridges, S150,000 for home for feeble
minded at Union Grove and $4,000
for the Eau Claire Normal school.
The governor demands that the entire
financial scheme of the state be re-
vised so that all authorized appropria-
tons shall be annually considered in
the tax levy. He declares that in the
past this businesslike method has not
been followed. He declares that the
constitution commands the legislature
to remedy this condition, and recon-
mends:
Make an estimate of the deficiency
in ordinary revenues to meet esti-
mated expenses to be paid out of ap-
preparations for each of the succeed
ing two fiscal years; add thereto any
deficiency for the preceding years,
and, by bill, levy state tax to cover
the total. No other state tax will
meet with my approval or be made
by my consent.
By almost unanimous vote the as
sembly reconsidered it's vote by which
it passed the Grell bill, repeating an
appropriation of 100000 for a physics
building at the University Of Wiscon-
sin. An amendment was then incor-
porated repeating appropriations of
100000 for the erection of a liberal
arts building and machine shops at
the university, but directing that the
physics building be erected. 1t was
pointed out by Assemblyman Ham
brecht that a new physics building was
absolutely necessary to accommodate
the classes at the university. The
assembly refused to reconsider it's
vote by which it passed the Ham
brecht bill, increasing the nonresident
tuition at the university from 500 to
$3.50 annually. 1t re-killed the KEEL
logg bill, providing for the city man
ager plan for government in Wiscon-
sin.
When the waterpOwer bills came
on as special order in the senate,
Senator Ackley advocated repeating
the present act of which United States
Senator Paul o. Husting is the author,
and which has been in effect two
years. He argued that under it de-
velopment of waterpowers has not
come and cannot come because of the
repeal clause by which, after thirty
years, private waterpowers revert to
the state. Senator Bosshard, opposed
to repeal, denied that lack of develop
ment was due to the present law,
fact which he said was due to eco
nomic conditions resulting from fed
eraI legislation. He defended the re-
peal clause in the present law. He
spoke particularly for his bill, known
as substitute amendment No As, which
differs from the present act only in
one or two essential features. The
Husting act was criticized by Senator
Bray. He declared it was offered as
an act to improve navigation, but
that this object had proved a fiction.
Navigation was not improved and wa
terpower development not encouraged,
he said