The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-08-31

he is directed to do so. But if the
governor does not want the co-opera-
ton of the attorney general he has
district attorney in every country, sew
enty-one sworn officials whose duty it
| is to enforce the law just as it is the
governors constitutional duty to see
that our laws are faithfully executed.
But if he wanted any prosecutions
started all he has to do is to~direct the
attorney general of the state or the
district attorney Of the county to bring
a criminal acton to punish the tax
dodger in the manner that the law
prescribes. When the highest officer
of the state goes about proclaiming
that the law has baen violated and yet
refuses to order any prosecutions of
the violators it seems to me that he
is in the same position that man
would be in who stood on city street
corner beside a fire alarm box and
watched great block of buildings
burn and, while he bewailed the calam-
kity, refused to pull the hook to call
the fire department to put out the fire.
Not Blaine's Work at All.
"You would think from all this talk
about income taxes that have been col
lected that the governor was doing it,
wouldn't you, and that it was a new
thing. Well, the governor hasn't col
lected any of that income tax money,
for when the tax commission has
found an error in the returns and
made reassessment calling for addi-
tional payments, the tax commission
has done all the work; they have col
lected all the money and they have
been doing just that thing for good
many years. You wouldn't know from
hearing my opponent talk, would you,.
that during the last two years that
Governor Philip was governor the tax
commission placed upon the tax roll by
| reassessment over million and half
Of taxable income. But Governor
Philip never tried to take the credit
for that work from the tax Commits
sion.
do you know, as | have gone about
the state l have been impressed with
the splendid crop of grain and corn
in the south and we never saw such
| timothy and alsack and. red-top as we
have in the north this year and, you
know, / have been waiting from day
to day for the time to come when the
governor would try to take credit for
this wonderful crop that we are being
blessed with this year Someone sug-
gested that he hadn't thought of it
| yet. But he really has just as much
license to take credit for our bounte-
Gus crops as he has for the work the
tax commission has done in reassess-
| ing income taxes.
"You know, / think all the members
of our tax commission are honorable
men and feel sure that if they found
cases of frauds, where taxpayers were
deliberately making false returns and
cheating the state, they would do their
duty under the law and order prosecu-
tions.
Promises Economy in State
"Now when we come to the issues of
this campaign l think there is moth
] ii1S JAdG COHleS ClOSSI TO US IMAM LH0f
question of taxation. am pledged
with my associates on the real Repub-
lican never laid walk until the stu
dents feet had worn a path in the
grass and then sidewalk was put
down over the path where there was
real public demand for walk Now
THAT is the way that our laws should.
grow up. The members of the legis-
| lature coming directly from the people
know best what laws are needed, and
we, don't need commission to think
up new laws. Now, I would like to
keep the reviser of statutes busy dur
ing the legislative session as legisla-
tive reference librarian, and l would
like to keep the legislative reference
librarian out of mischief by having
him revise the statutes In other
words, would combine those two jobs
and reduce the number of employees
that are now necessary to complete
both stats and save good deal of
space in the state capitol"
Attorney General Morgan's clearcut
answers to the issues drawn by his op-
ponent and his hurting of the new
challenge held the audience through
! out the entire address