Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1915-01-15

QolQ Work or the lax COMMISSION
should be cut down as much as pos
sible, especially where it can be COW
cred by the Investigations Of the Rail-
road Commission.
recommend as further economy
that the services of income assessors
be dispened with and that their duties
| be transferred to the local assessors
and taX-collectors. If local assessors
can be trusted with the assessment
| of real estate and all other taxable
property, fail to see any good reason
why they should not be trusted with
| the assessment of incomes. The mat
ter of securing full returns of taxable
incomes is achieved by the penalties
provided by law more than by any
activity upon the part Of the income
assessor. This rule would also hold
true in the assessment of personal prop
erty for which the income tax is sub
stitute. Inasmuch as 80 per cent of
the income tax goes back to the coun-
ties and municipalities in which it is
collected, it is safe to assume that the
local assessors will not lack in energy
to get full return. The Tax Com
mission reports the cost of collecting
income tax for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1914, as $99, 2O7.59. This
amount can be largely saved to the
state by the change In system which
have suggested.
/ It is the business Of this administra-
ton to abolish all that are useless and
to greatly reduce the number of those
/ institutions, and so far as it Is prac-l
tical to bring the government back to
/ the constitutional officers of the state.
I, therefore, recommend that you make
a thorough investigation of the entire
subject with view to meeting the
public demand.
Workmen's Compensation.
| The Workmen's Compensation Act
is correct in principle and should re-
ceive the attention of the legislature
with view to further perfecting it.
Nevertheless, the cost of conducting
| the affairs of the Industrial Commits
sion has grown to a large sum. For
| the fiscal year ending June 80, 1914,
the cost of the commission was $104,-
| 1880. 1t seems that a large item of
| this cost is due to the expense Of send
/ ing out inspectors on individual cases,
and the ultimate perfecting of the law
will result in materially reducing this
/ part Of the cost of administration.
The law now provides that all ap-
peals from orders of the commission
shall be taken to the circuit court of
Dane county This provision makes
| litigation under the act unnecessarily
expensive and is inconsistent with the
spirit Of the law. I would suggest
that the law be changed SO that cases
appealed to the circuit court may be
| tried In the circuit where the claim
| originated.
| Legislative Reference Bureau.
The legislature of 1903 created a
legislative reference library. It's pur-
pose was to furnish information to
members Of the legislature upon such
subjects as related to legislation. 1t
has since been converted into a bill
drafting institution where proposed
laws are furnished upon application
without any further effort upon the
part of the legislator This system
| has had the effect of greatly increas-
| ing the number of bills introduced and
many useless laws. The legislature of
| 1913 paS6Q 40 Oils.
| The purpose of the original act
creating the library was good. How
ever, we must now judge its value by
| the record 1t has made, which I be-
| lieve to justify the statement that it
| has exercised an undue influence upon
legislation. It has resulted in outside
preparation Of bills for legislative ac-
ton, superceding Individual legislative
study, and greatly impairing legisla-
| tive efficiency, to act as the result of
that individual judgment which mem
bers Of such body should devote to
the work they we're elected to perform.
Originally projected as a library, it
has in every sense become bureau.
therefore recommend that the law
creating the bureau, as it is now
known, be repealed. This will have
the effect Of saving about $21 900 per
year.
State Forestry.
| In 1903 the legislature created the
department of forestry, and began the
| project of reforesting cutOver timber
lands in the northern part of the state.
There is annually appropriated $780,
900 to pay the salaries and carry out
| the provisions of the act. The legisla-
ture of 1911 made an appropriation of
S350,0OO, distributed over period of
five years, for the purchase of addi-
tional lands, and the law further pro-
vides for an annual appropriation of
$4,000 which can be expended by the
state land commissioners for the pur-
chase of lands that have reverted to
counties for taxes and for other lands.
This appropriation has been used each
year since it was authorized. The
total appropriation available to the
forestry department is $4,000 per an
mum.
The state set aside all swamp lands
that were left north of town 33 and the
department has the use of the income
| from these lands derived from the sale
of dead and down timber, from tres
pass and from sales of scattering and