River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1921-11-17

Mr.. Anderson asks me to take my
tax receipt and tell my readers just
what part of my taxes goes to this
support of the fifty-two boards anc
commissions that are spending fifty
four millions. / am glad he asked
me to do this, otherwise | would have
forgotten it. But while | think of il
Nj. Anderson is like lot of othe.
men in Madison who would have yo
think that if you do not find it on tbs
receipt you did not pay it. They tel
as the railroads, telephones, powe9
Giants, express and other things Oh
tbs kind pay the expense OF the com
missions; the people are not taxet
for these things. Did You ever heal
of box car, or dam, or telephone pole
sending a check to Madison for taxes :.
No, Who does pay? The peope who
own the stock.
| own stock. You own stock. Thous-
ands of Wisconsin people own thi,
stock, and if taxes are excessively
high, as they are, what happens? UI
must go the rates and that's just what
has happened and everybody pays the
high tax in higher rates. Is it no.
about tine these men quit telling IL
.
do / see in my tax receipt? | ser
this. that in 1890 | paid my share Of
the State tax, which was S12,526 and
the county tax, $22,S65. In 1920 my
share of the State tax, SS8,662, anc
the county tax, $185,336, or Sl62,4Tl
more in 1921 than i'll 1890, and when ]
study my tax receipt | find the COM.
missions and boards are responsible
for large share Of the increase. Lets
Gee The Normal principals, regents
and other state school officials GO
bill through the Legislature provid
ing for an annual convention of dis
trict school officers. As there Az
seventy counties it gives jobs to a lot
of University men and a picnic fci
those that attend Now | am not say
ing it is no good but do say Wien
you have to hire people to go to any
kind of an educational meeting .The
game is not worth the candle The
last one attended at least one~fourtf
of the men, after registering, hac
business down town, and some of them
spent nest of their time in the sal
oons, and when they adjourned
heard several say, dent forget your
pay, that is the main thing and ! dc
not know as | blamcl them much as
che of the speakers held up the eel
lege and University as the only goal
10 place before tie country hos OF
girl, and another sls,. e spent M
hour telling the school Officers how
to be sure of getting good teacher,
He said, "out of 100 teachers in a
county, about 40 would be good, 4O
medium. and 40 poor" He said tbs
great trouble with most boards was
| that they did not hire the teachers
| early in the season, and the way t.
/ have a good teacher was TO offer oES
of those 40 good ones ten of fifteei
! dollars per month more than she hat
! been getting and you would have {
| go1d teacher. He did not know enough
| to know that it was only a shifting
game and that the county at larg;
had not been benefited; that tn;
eighty medium and poor teachers Wers
still there, and the only thing il
| would do would be to make the pooi
teachers demand more wages just as
the poor worker in the labor union
does.
This must cost the county about
$7O0 per year, and | would not OBJ
ject if some of the bright farm women
were put on the program aid things
discussed from the rural view roint
instead of from the univera;,.v.
Then the county school board, an
other commission that was for ed or
the people which they did net want.
| can show that in my tax receipt.
Not much, to be sure, but in the town
of Hudson the work Of this board cost
the tax payers several hundred dol
lars in law suit because they could
not submit to building consolidated
school when everything was at the
peak. and they won. Now | find my
letter is getting too long, but in my
next, if all the editors do not turn
this one down, will show in reading
nv receipt. Eyes, will have to read
between the lines, and that is what
| am trying to get my readers to do;
aralyze the figures, why are we
spending S162,471 more now than
thirty years ago?) Lam going TIC
how that because of these commits
siens it costs much more for the coun-
| ty Judges office, although there has
| been no increase in population; al
most twice as much work in the coun.
| tv Clerks office; The asylum board
has been compelled to hire book
keeper to compile lot of figure
that gives work to a lot of men in the
office of the board of control, all o.
which is absolutely worthless, and
can prove it.
In my next letter | will bring thes
and lot more in detail, and try t.
show that civilization, based on ex
cessive taxation, if not as good
the civilization of thirty years ago
There is fifty per cent more crime
now than then. Fewer people go t
church or Sunday school. There i
twice the trouble between capitol an'
labor, and high taxes will not maxi
| ooo,Ia Iowa aach other anV more