Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1915-02-17
BILL REPEALS
ELECTION LAW
Senator Bichler Says "Mary
Ann" Act Is Useless.
DOES MORE HARM THAN GOOD
Declares 1t Has Been Given Fair
Trial and Has Never Been of
Any Aid in an Election
Contest.

members OF the senate VIII make
an effort to repeal the MARY
Ann" second choice election law was
indicated by the introduction of bill
by Senator w. J. Michler of Bel
GUM providing for the repeal of the
law. A similar bill has been intro
duced in the assembly by Assembly
man George P. Hambrecht of Grand
Rapids.
This law has been given fair
trial and it has never been of any
aid in an election contest, unless it
was to compIicate matters" said Sen
ator Bichler. ut has never changed
the results that were obtained
without it and it is no cumber-
some that it leads to much confusion
in results reported. There is no place
in the statute books for useless laws"
Senator Bichler would also cure the
results of the failure of voters at the
primary to nominate party committee
men, who are given a seat in the va
rious county conventions of the politi-
cal parties when it comes to organic
ing party for a county political cam
paign. He has found that in a large
percentage of the districts no one is
named and that sometimes man is
nominated on both the Democratic
and Republican tickets Under the
bill which Senator Bichler has pre-
sented, any citizen may file request
signed by five others and have the
name of any person placed in the
primary ballot as a candidate for COM
mitteeman. This will call the voters
attentions to the matter and will re-
suit in the position being filled.
Assemblyman H ]. Mortensen of
New Lisbon has prepared : bill for
the repeal Of the state athletic COM
mission law passed at the last ses-
sion of the legislature He says that
it is not only unbecoming for the
state to permit these contests, but
that it is equally bad for the state
to accept part of the receipts of the
business In order that it may be said
to produce revenues to pay some Of
the states expenses. Mr.. Mortensen
has already presented a bill for the
repeal of the law allowing travelling
expenses for the commission mem
bers, and had his bill to repeal the
entire act ready for Introduction
today.
There were 1000 less marriages in
Wisconsin last year than in the year
previous This is the main argument
that Assemblyman Carl Pieper of
Dunn county intends to make in favor
of his bill which would repeal the
eugenics marriage law. A statement
has just been issued by the state
board of health which shows there
were 20,125 marriages in Wisconsin
sin in 1912; 21,052 in 1913 and H.
245 in 1914. This means that if the
ratio of marriages of 1913 were
retained there would have been 5000
more people, or 1000 more marriages
in Wisconsin, last year The state
board of health attributes this decline
in marriages to the financial depres-
sion. 1t says that whenever there is
a financial depression the statistics
show a falling off in both the birth
rate and the marriage rate. Assem-
blyman Pieper, however, believes
that many people have delayed mar
Tiage because of the stringency of the
present eugenics law, and if it is sup
planted by a simple declaration of the
parties that they are free from dis
ease. the old marriage rate will be
retained. During the past year there
were 81 common law marriages in
the state
That the chairman of the circuit
judges association should be given
power to direct circuit judges before
whom little litigation is pending to go
into another circRit where the work is
congested and help out is the effect
of a bill that will come from the judi
ciary committee of the assembly in a
few days The bill is the result of
the investigation made by a commit
tee of judges and lawyers into the
organization of the courts of the
state This committee also expects
to present to the assembly a bill pro-
viding that when appeals are taken
from orders of the railroad or indus
trial commission that these shall be
heard in the circuit courts where the
original complaint arises.
At the present time these matters
are all heard in the circuit court of
Dane county and this has been one of
the primary causes of congested liti-
cation in that circuit Another bill
~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~N~~~~~~ ~O~~~~~~~~O~-~
81 ,24o,sS4 in Treasury.
State Treasurer Henry Johnson
said that by the middle of the month
there would be S6,3S3, 654.0S in the
state treasury. Of this sum, however
81 .96S ,606.92 must be returned at once
to the counties or paid out for special
charges. which will leave a balance of
SS,370047 for state purposes On Feb
ruary there was S1,240,SS4IS in the
state treasury. On the same date in