Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1921-07-06
STATE CAPITOL NOTES.

The new dry enforcement act Wnlcn
was drawn permitted the making of
liquor at home for beverage purposes.
The ''home-brew" feature was
promptly eliminated, and the measure
as passed is bone-dry measure cor
responding in its provisions to the
Volstead act.
The state board of control reports
that the total population of all the
insane asylums and hospitals of the
| state on June first was 8,372, of which
| 4,736 were males and 1886 females.
| Of the total more than three-fourths
are in the county asylums. There
was an increase of IA in year in the
| state hospital, and an increase of 161
in the county asylums.
| If the governor signs the new
marketing bill, the marketing division
will have the power to enquire into
and ascertain the cost of all manu-
| featured products, as we'll as of agri-
cultural products. Given time, the
new measure should protect the buy
| ing public from profiteering in all
| fields. The man who sells pair of
shoes or a ton of coal at eXhorbitant
/ prices will come under the provisions
of the law.
! Because the fiscal year of the state
and the calendar year do not coincide
and also because of a rather technical
division of the funds received and dis
bursed by the state, no report which
is published ever makes it clear just
what it costs for the state to carry on
it's functions. In this correspondence
next week an effort will be made to
explain briefly how the state manages
it's fiscal affairs and what the net cost
per year is of carrying on the
functions of the state government. 1t
; should be made clear enough to be
understood by a ten year old child.
Here's something of interest to en-
ployers of labor. The legislature en-
acted law providing that no children
may hereafter be employed during the
school term on full time permits UNI
less they have completed at least the
eighth grade, or unless they have been
| in school at least nine years. Of all
children employed on regular permits
in Milwaukee last year. AZ per cent
had not completed the eighth grade.
Hereafter such children will have to
continue in school, unless they have
attended school for nine years. This
however, does not apply to work dur
ing vacation periods, there being no
educational requirement for vacation
periods whatsoever.
The new military program of the
state, following the plan of the war
department differs materially from
the prewar military status. The ma
tional guard of Wisconsin prior to
this country's entrance into the war
had $500 troops, at the present time
there are $500. The states limit is
10000 troops. Wisconsin had 122,815
men in the service when the armis-
tice was declared. Adjutant General
HOlway reports that new infantry
companies were mustered into the
national guard during the past month
at Beloit, Madison, Delavan, Reeds
! burg, Arcadia and Edgerton. In adj
dition to these, a company of mounted
engineers was mustered in at Sheboy-
gan. The Rev. FIR. Peter Leo John
son has been appointed chaplain of
the First Wisconsin. A regiment of
artillery from the 9Th corps and the
Sind U. S. infantry are the two regi-
ments which the war department will
send to Camp Douglas this summer.
AS Assemblyman Dahl was by far
the strongest of the administration
leaders in the legislature his influence
in killing the Hirst auto-tax bill in
the closing days of the legislature,
places the responsibility for the fail
ure of the measure squarely upon
the administration. It's defeat does
not affect the present status of the
highway commission work. The same
provision for funds for road construc-
ton which has been in force for sew
eral years remains. Chief Engineer
Hirst of the highway commission, re-
commended the passage of bill
which would make automobile owners
pay the larger part of the cost of road
construction and maintenance, and
the bill introduced was known there
after as the Hirst bill. It's failure
will cause very general disappoint-
ment for it was believed to offer a
very reasonable solution of the finan-
cial problem of road building. Unless
sentiment changes greatly in two
years the next legislature will enact
law comprising the provisions of
the Hirst bill, as representing the
fairest method known for meeting the
expense of road building.