Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1915-05-22
SOLONS LOOK TO ECONOMY.
Appropriation of 5000, 900 for Univer-
sity Building Repealed.
(By Ellis b. Usher)

(By Ellis b. Usher.)
The week has been productive of
some encouraging results. A last
years appropriation for University
building amounting to 5000, 900 was
repealed. That is a start. But it
would take 30 repeal bills of that cali
Der to turn back to the taxpayers even
the four million dollars that Governor
McGOvern held up last year. And
that would only clean up part of one
years extravaganza. 1t is not to be
forgotten by anyone who knows what
our system is that, independently of
Legislative action, our tax laws are
| filled with mill taxes that increase the
! fixed incomes of the University, the
| Normal Schools, and other public
works, automatically, as the assess
ments are forced upward This is the
device called by Dr.. Mccarthy in his
book on, 1.-THE Wisconsin Idea" the
continuing appropriation. Unless
our legislators take the many continu-
ing appropriations into account they
will find their economies of 800 900.
here and there, wholly impotent to
stop the increase of state expenses.
There is little doubt that expenses
will be bigger this year than last. The
McG0yern administration saw to that.
1t held up lot of things to saddle
them on the six months that will end
June 30 next. The date is only six
weeks off. The legislature will do
well to bear it in mind.
The farmers of Wisconsin were war
ned year ago by the State Univer-
sity's bng inspector that the inevi-
table loss to them from the white grub
would be four millions of dollar. Now
again, he has issued warning that
the grub is in most antic and danger
Gus frame of mind this year, and that
the farmers may expect to be damag-
ed at least five millions of dollars, a
round twenty per cent increase. 1t
| looks bad for the farmers. If the mills
of the gods keep grinding on, between
the upper and the neither millstones
of high taxes and the white grub, the
poor Wisconsin farmer will yet look
like one of Pharaoh's lean kline. And,
let it be seriously noted, the white
grub cannot be sawed off on to the
city taxpayer, like the income tax.
| The grub works on the farm. He
| hates asphalt pavements. | take a Joy
in statistic when they are as eloquent
as those of Professor Sanders. He has
just been down in Grant County, and
| he found an average of two white
grubs to the square foot. That looks
serious for Grant County. That county
contains 1851 square miles, apparent
ly mostly white grubs. Here are the
| figures: square mile contains $40
acres, and an acre has a., 500 square
feet. SO Grant County, measured by
It's full surface capacity, ought to con-
tain TAO, 4S0 acres. The full posi-
| bilities for white grubs are therefore
perfectly appalling and almost illimit-
able. Grant County's portion is 81,
1876, 537 900. The poplLaton of the
county is about AZ, 900. So each in
habitant's stock of white grubs
would load box ear. There are 81,
450 square miles in Wisconsin, and if
the white grub hash learned to swim,
it ought to, for considerable part of
this area is water. But anybody can
go on with the problem who wants to.
If our arabic soil is not practically
paved with white grubs, it will be.
The die is east. If Professor Sanders
increases the output, year by year, by
POS, il will take only five years to
double our grub capital, without al
lowing compound interest. And, APP
parently. that, and worse, is before
us. for all the state and national
| scientists are impotent and helpless
before the white grub. According to
Professor Sanders, all that he and the
rest of them accomplished is to take
white grub census. That is so hope
less and we are SO helpless that there
is nothing ahead for Wisconsin but to
be ultimately overwhelmed. Mean
while, we will have have the cheerful
satisfaction, of course. of knowing
that our grubs have been tailed, and
that our doom is sealed. What would
we poor unlettered mortals do if it
we're not for science, especially the
science of statistic? Hence suppose.
the saving that was written; Grub
not, that We be not grubbedl" This
is a retaliation probably upon all the
fishermen since those of the sea of
Galilee. The grub has turned.