Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-01-21

County School Boards
The last legislature passed an act
creating county school boards These
boards are practically without duties.
and there is general complaint that
because they are without functions. 1t
is an unnecessary expenditure of
money | recommend that the law
creating them be repealed.
Our common schools and particular
ly our country schools need more and
better supervision. In many counties
there are so many schools that the
superintendent nnds it impossible to
give the necessary supervision as time
will permit him to make only a brief
call at each school in q year. In such
counties he should be given assistants
according to the number Of schools.
Central Board of Education.
A systematic development of our
educational system would be better
accomplished if our educational insti-
tutions were placed in charge of a cen
trail board Of education, instead of hav-
ing number of boards as at present.
The board OF regents of the university
have been very successful in securing
appropriations from the legislature.
The board of regents of the normal
schools also are an influential body.
The common schools, which are the
schools of the masses, are not thus
represented, and do not receive their
fair proportion of all the money avail
able for educational purposes.
The result is that we are building
our educational system from the top
down instead of from the bottom up
This system is wrong, and needs to be
corrected in the interest of the people
single board Of education, represent
Ing all of these interests, would give
better business management, would
cause the monies to be more equitable
apportioned and correIate the states
education activities.
/ recommend that the board of re-
gents Of the university and the board
OF regents of the normal schools be
abolished, and that there be created
instead central board of education.
Continuing Annual Appropriations.
wish to call attention to the policy
OF making continuing annual appro-
priations for the support of numerous
public and private institutions. This
financial policy has tendency to keep
up the expenditures of these institu-
tons to the amounts made available
for them by the appropriations regard
less of their actual needs
There should be frequent reconsid-
Grafton Of all state appropriations, and
they should be governed by the neces-
stiles of the case and the ability of
the people to pay. The annual ap-
preparations now in force under this
system amount to nearly $8,000,000.
This large amount suggests the neces-
sity of complete revision of these
appropriations, and reduction in the
amount to conform to a more econom-
ical policy.
Water Powers.
The development and bringing into
use of the water powers within the
state is a matter which should receive
your careful attention. Most if not all
powers of considerable magnitude are
located upon navigable streams. AS to
such streams the public right of navi-
cation is superior to any other, but
the state has no proprietary interest
in the water powers. They belong to
the owners of adjacent banks, and it
will be manifest1y to the public ad-
vantage to have them improved and
put to use in operating mills, factories
and for other beneficial purposes. In
the interest and for the protection
Of navigation it has long been the
policy of the state to permit the cree
ton of dams or other works in navig-
able streams only upon consent of the
state, and this policy should be ad-
hered to.
1t would seem to be the part of wis
dom to promptly enact a water power
bill which will encourage owners to
develop these powers and use them for
the purposes to which they can now
be put, making at the same time ample
provision safeguarding the rights of
the state and providing that when the
state or any municipality shall require
the powers for any recognized public
use they shall be available therefor
upon payment of the constitutional
compensation. If they can be used to
operate paper or pulp mills or other
factories it will result ip cities and
towns springing up, as well as in CIV
ing to the settlers of our wild lands
a market for their forest products and
the produce of their farms.
Formerly franchises for the erection
Of dams and the Improvement of
streams were granted by special acts,
but 1t seems desirable to pass a gen
eral law authorizing the Railroad Com
mission to investigate each application
and grant permits or franchises under
such conditions as the legislature shall
prescribe.
Too Many Laws.
Permit me to suggest to you that
there is no demand in this state at
this time for much new legislation
The legislatures that have assembled
here in recent years were evidently
possessed with the idea that every
human Ill can be corrected by statute
The last legislature seemed to be par
ticularly active. It remained in ses-
sion for eight months and passed IT'S |
laws.
Laws that are not supported by pub
lie sentiment or for which there is no |
general demand are but poorly OBJ |
served; and non-observance of the law
creates contempt for all law. This |
legislature can render the people a |
service by removing from the statute
books a large number of laws that are |
useless because public opinion does
not support them.
insurance on the basis on which it has
been carried on is a failure. I recon- |
mend that the present system of state |
fire insurance be discontinued, and |