Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1921-05-26
HOUSE To PASS
TEACHERS BILL.
Measure Increases Pension to Be
Paid Retired instructors.
DEFEAT HUBER AMENDMENT
Senator Attempted to Make Maximum
Salary Under Which Teacher
Could Come Under Law $4,000
Killed % to 8.

Madison.-There seems TO be every
indication that the house will pass
the teachers retirement fund bin In
creasing the amount of aid to be given
to the teachers of the state as pen
sion upon retirement
After two hours of rejecting amend
ments the senate finally engrOssed,
passed and Immediately messaged to
the house the Kuckuk- -Skogmo bill! for
rehabilitation of the teachers retire
ment fund law. Only Senators ROethe
Severson, Smith and Staudenmayer
voted against the bill on final passage.
Senator Huber offered an amend
ment to make the maximum salary un-
der which a teacher could come under
the law $4,000. This would exempt
many university and normal school
teachers. Mr.. Huber declared that
with the number of working men that
were now without work in this state
that he could not vote an annuity to
anybody who was earning over $4,000
a year. The amendment was killed
% to s.
A surtaX on personal and corpora
tfon incomes amounting to a million a
year was proposed as an amendment
by Senator SeversOn as q substitute
means of financing the measure. The
surtaX would run from mills on the
sixth $1,000 to l per cent on the
twelfth 81 900 and on each thousand
over that amount. This amendment
was defeated 1S TO 13.
Senator Staudenmayer then pro-
posed an amendment providing for the
submission of the bill to the people In
a referendum vote in 1922. Senator
Titus declared that the senate might
as well kill the bill then and there as
to submit 1t TO the people. He claimed
that the people could not understand
the question. This final attempt at
amendment was killed % to g. The
bill was then engrossed and put on
final passage.
Governor Blaine has vetoed a bill
which provides that the depots must
be kept open for 20 minutes prior to
the arrival of a train, but might be
closed at the time of arrival of speci
fed trains. by order of the railroad
commission. In vetOing this bill the
governor declares that he believes that
IT would be against public policy to
give to an administrative body the
right TO suspend the policy determined
by the legislature.
IF the amendment to the law" de-
clared Governor Blaine, twas what it
perhaps was intended to be-namely,
that by order of the railroad commits
sion depots might be permitted 70 be
closed for the time specified In the
section before the arrival of specified
trains-then 1t would be within the
power of the commission TO determine
a public policy in the absence of a leg
islative rule, and In that respect there
would be delegation of legislative
power to an administrative body.
1.-The legislature has determined
that 20 minutes before arrival of a
passenger train is reasonable time
during which depot should be kept
open. and until the legislature deter
mines upon a general rule respecting
this question, without fixing the actual
time for keeping a depot open, | doubt
very much if power can be granted to
an administrative body to determine Il
question of public policy, as the rail-
road commission can act only within
q prescribed legislative rule.
: The legislature having determined
the public policy in this matter, my
view is that an administrative body
ought not to have power to waive or
suspend a public policy determined
by the legislature"
Between $4,000 and $4,000 a year
can be saved by the state if the auto
license plates, which are manufac-
tured at the state prison at Waupun,
are sent out directly from Waupun in
stead of first sending them to Madi-
son. according to Warden Towne
A net profit of S9,977.75 for the year
1919-20 has been made on the auto tag
industry at the prison. In 1920 over
100000 pairs of automobile and truck
license plates and 5000 motorcycle
plates were manufactured.
The biennial report of the prison for
the period ending June 1, 1920, shows
profits of S47, ,366.0S. the products be-
ing mostly consumed at the prison.
The shoe factory makes 80 pairs of
shoes a day and supplies all of the
state institutions and nearly all Of the
county asylums.
The binder-twine plant shows net
profit for the fiscal year 1920 of
$50, ,629.75.