Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-04-08
ASKS NEW LAW FOR
CANNING FACTORIES
Commissioner WeigIe Favors
Proper Supervision.
TOWNS MAY OPERATE PLANTS
Bill Offered by Senator kleist Gives
Villages Power to Conduct Ware.
houses for Sale or Distribution
of Food Products.

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. for greatly in
creased powers for counties, cities and
villages is proposed in a bill which
was presented last week by Senator
Kleist of Calumet county. The bill
provides that any county, city or viii
lage may establish and operate plants
or other facilities for the purchase,
sale, storage, distribution of food prod
ucts to or for its citizens. pursuant to
regulations adopted by the governing
body of such county, city or village.
The bill provides that any county,
city or village may purchase, lease or
acquire lands, buildings, plants or
equipment, to erect and construct
buildings and to equip end maintain
the same and by tax levy or the issue
of bonds to provide the necessary
means for purchasing, selling, storing
or distributing such food products.
Wisconsin now produces 40 per cent
of all canned peas put up in the whole
country. This at least is the estimate
of Dairy and Food Commissioner Wei
gle. The canning industry, the COM
missioner says, is growing at a sur
prising rate, and some peculiarities of
climate and soil give to Wisconsin
grown and canned peas especially a
superiority over all others.
Commissioner Weigle believes that
special law applying to canning fac
tories and their products should be
passed in order that proper supervi-
sion can be given the food products
turned out by them. Inasmuch as it is
impracticable to go to canning fac
tory in the midst of its rush season,
and order changes on penalty of a
shutdown, it will be necessary to do
all supervising work with canning fac
tories before the opening of the sea-
son.
Inspection is, of course, carried on
during the actual canning season, but
necessarily this must be limited to
sanitation chiefly. AS canned goods
are coming to form each year a larger
part of the country's food production,
closer supervision than the dairy and
food department has beeIb able to give
under the present laws is essential,
hence the commissioners desire for a
law especially applicable.
A fight will be made when the legis-
lature recOnvenes next week to Sc
cure a reconsideration and the adop-
ton of the Conner bill providing for
a legislative investigation on the sub
ject of taxation. The bill was defeat
ed by a vote of 80 to 33, but Assembly
man ]. w. Conner of Douglas county
has announced that he intends to get
further action of the legislature on the
measure. The bill provides for legis-
lative committee of five members,
three assemblymen and two senator's,
to conduct the probe. An apprOpria-
ton of $4,000 was to be at the dis
posal of the committee.
Assemblymen Coe and Edwards
spoke against the bill, claiming that
the tax commission now had power to
conduct such an investigation and re-
port to the legislature. Assemblyman
E. w. Knappe, Milwaukee, predicted
that unless some action was taken by
the legislature on taxation measures
there would be a special session be-
fore next November.
The substitute amendment to the
Axel Johnson bill removing farmers
cooperative associations from the pro-
visions of the antitrust law was en-
crossed without opposition. Four new
amendments were offered to the Klein
bill regulating the place of employment
of woman labor, and the bill, with
amendments, was sent back to the
committee on labor.
Without a dissenting vote the house
passed the Peterson bill requiring all
street and interurban cars, before
crossing railroad tracks, to come to a
stop and a member of the crew to go
ahead and flag before the car can
cross. This bill will prevent the use
of one-man cars where railroad cross
ings intersect street car lines. On mo-
ton of Assemblyman Miles Hineman
the Pullen bill increasing the mini
mum salaries of county superintend-
ents was laid over until April 10 to
permit the legislators to consult with
their constituents. The reappointment
of Barney N. Moran, Rhinelander, as
state oil inspector for the term ending
April, 1921, will not be taken up until
after April 8.
The house advanced the Perry bill
TO increase the compensation of legis-
lative employees. A half-dozen fish
and game bills of local Importance