Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1924-08-02
Open Letter to
Governor Blaine
President R. w. Davis of the Wiscon-
sin County Board Association
Puts Some Pointed Questions
to the Governor.

In view of the fact that in your
platform issued a few days ago you
completely faced about and repudiat-
ed your own position on the gasoline
tax question, as president of the
Wisconsin County Boards association
l feel it my duty to present the facts
to the public, whom you are attempt
ing to mislead. l do this more
especially, because, when a COM
mittee of that association called on
you early in the session of the legis-
lature you promised to sign a gas
oline tax bin and later broke faith
with them. In your recent plat
form you sum up your present views
on the gasoline tax as follows:
There is no issue on a gas tax if
it is imposed as a privilege tax on
gas used on all highways and streets
and distributed on such highways
and streets on a mileage basis"
You then go on to state that the
bill you vetoed did not meet these
conditions and this was the reason
of your veto.
/ challenge that statement, Gov
ernOr Blaine, as being piece of
sheer and reckless misrepresentation
In diseussing public problems the
executive should at least adhere
to the truth That this challenge is
justified | propose to briefly show
from the records. / first refer to
the senate journal of Thursday,
June %, 1928, which contains your
veto message, in which you cite the
following reasons for vetoing the
gasoline bill:
l. That it is not a privilege tax
but property tax. This is a palpa-
bic absurdity as any boy in the first
years law class would know.
2 That it is a tax on the con-
sumner.
g. That it is capable of evasion.
A. That each dealer is his own as
SCISSOR without any assurance that
the state will receive the tax.
5. That the dealers will not only
pass the tax on to the consumer, but
6. That it imposes an additional
burden on users of automobiles
which is unnecessary and unjustifi-
able
7. That the conservative news
papers Of the state are in favor of it.
8. That it will be an excuse for
an agitation in favor of a federal
sales tax
9. That the distribution of the
funds is not proper.
You may say that there is no issue
on the gas tax question except the
matter of distribution. A year ago
you raised eight other issues. Will
you explain this to the public?
Every one of the objections you
made against the gas tax bill in
your veto message is just as true of
the gas tax under the method of dis
tribution which you propose which
incidentally is absurd. If the pro-
ceeds of the gasoline tax are dis
tributed over all the roads, as you
now advocate, it is just as much OF a
sales taxas if the proceeds were dis
tributed over a limited mileage; it is
Just as much a tax on the consumer
it is just as capable of evasion; it is
just as difficult of collection; it is
subject to the dealer adding to the
price it is just as much of an
additional burden on the users Of
automobiles; and undoubtedly is just
as much subject to being supported
by the Conservative newspapers.
If this is not an attempt, Governor,
to deliberately mislead the public,
will you characterize it as it should
be?
1t may be said you have changed
your mind. You have done this so
often that your political course
seems to zigzag like a ship endeavor-
ing to escape from a submarine.
If you have changed your mind it is
very recent. At the annual road
school last January, which l attend
ed, you defiantly told those present
that you would veto a gas tax if
passed by the legislature and pro-
ceeded to argue that the automobile
was being taxed too high now. In
doing this you challenged the right