Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1919-03-19
ROAD PROBLEM UP
TO LEGISLATURE
Must Find S5,oO0.oOo to Get
Federal Aid.
MAY RAISE AUTOMOBILE TAX
suouested That State Withhold One
Quarter of License Fees Now Be-
ina Turned over to the
Counties.

Madison.-One OF the highly i'm
portant problems looming up before
the present legislature is the financing
of Wlsc0nsin's future road program
This grows out Of that fact that I'M
der the new federal road act, passed
toward the close of the session OF the
recent congress, the federal aid to the
states, which under the original bill Is
SIS 900. 600, was increased In the sum
If 5000. 100000. Under the $75,OO0OOO
bin Wisconsin's allotment was ap-
proximately S2.OOO,0O0 Under the
new bill her allotment is Increased to
IS, OOOcJo n the next two years.
The question is. how Is Wisconsin
TO meet this S5.OOO,000, as the federal
aid act requires that each state shali
appropriate an amDunt equal 10 that
appropriated by the government.
Two years ago. when 1t was neces-
sary to meet the terms Of the federal
aid act, which allotted the sum OF 81
100000 to Wisconsin, the state amend
ed the law, changing It 50 that Instead
of receiving three-quarters OF the H.
cense fees paid in by each county, the
counties would receive but one-quar-
ter. The three-quarters OF the lnhu
was diverted to the state trunk hlgh-
way fund the license increased to $40
and in this way the states share was
met. II was met by taking the moneys
from the counties. which meant that
the counties had 10 levy n tax for road
maintenance. which heretofore was
taken care Of by utilizing the three
quarters of the automobile license
funds they received.
Suggestions that the state meet the
new S50O0,000 allotment by what some
of the county board members call
again passing the buck are meeting
with much opposition. one suggestion
is that the state withhold the one-quhr'
ter Of the motor license fees q wv being
returned TO the counties, which VIII |
amount to about 100000 in this fiscal
year, and another is that the state
wipe out the personal property tax on
motor vehicles, which now goes into |
the treasures Of the local unit, ana |
Increase the license fee TO SO or S2u !
to 20 into the state fund. This would |
mean the taking away Of several hun
dred thousand dollars from the local |
Either of these suggestions |
involves the levying Of additional local |
road taxes.
At recent meeting of the chairman
Of the county boards of Wisconsin, |
held at Milwaukee. there was unanir |
nous opposition TO what they called |
"any further passing Of the buck"
Those present called attention to the |
fact that the road tax was not de-
creased whatsoever, but that 1t was
simply unloaded on the counties, In
stead of the state taking care of its
share. The meeting passed strong |
resolutions asa ordered copy sent |
10 each member of the legislature. The |
closing paragraph Is rs follows
Resolved. that the chairmen of the |
county boards of Wisconsin, in con |
ventlon assembled. protest against any |
further legislation shifting the burden |
of state taxation to the local units |
either directly or by divertlng the |
FUNDS now allotted to the counties, and |
place ourselves on record as In favor |
of meeting all state highway appropri- |
atlons by l-'vylng direct state tax"
The legislators are hearing from
members of county boards every day |
regarding this resolution.
At the meeting Mt Milwaukee atten |
ton was called TO the fact that the |
state, under the state trunk highway |
act, was paying no part of the burden, |
as her share Is made up NJ money
taken from the counties, and under the
state aid net the state was paying less
than 20 per cent of the cost of build
ing the roads, whereas the theory was
that the state. counties and towns
should each pay one-third.
That the farmer was ahead of the
scientist In the discovery that bar
berry was dangerous shrub In the
spreading of rust which destroyed the
farmers wheat crop, was the state
ment made by Prof. A. ]. Johnson of
the agricultural department of the
university, speaking before the agrt-
cultural committee.
'The scientist was somewhat suspi-
clous Of the conclusion of the farm
err" Professor johnson said. but the
farmer, who saw the barberry bush In
close conjunction with the rust-Strick-
en- wheat. insisted, and eventually the
scientist verified the fact and caught
up with the farmer"