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3  3433  08192257  1 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE 


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WISCONSIN 

IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

1634-1905 


I^ARRATIVE    OF    THREE    CEN'TURIES    IN    THE    MAKING    OF    AN 

AMERICAN      COMMONWEALTH      ILLUSTRATED      WITH 

NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS  OF  HISTORIC  SCENES 

AND      LANDMARKS      PORTRAITS      AND 

FACSIMILES  OF  RARE  PRINTS 

DOCUMENTS   AND 

OLD   MAPS 


Dolume  four 


THE    CENTURY    HISTORY    COMPANY 
New    York 


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THE  NEW  YORK 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


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■■"X  AND 
OAT;  J.MS. 


BOARD  OF 
EDITORS   AND  WRITERS 


REUBEN    GOLD    THWAITES 
Sec.  State  Historical  Society 

HON.    EMIL    BAENSCH 
Curator  State    Historical  Society 

WILLIAM    WARD    WIGHT,  M.  A. 
President  State  Historical  Society 

JOSEPH  STEPHEN  LABOULE,  D.  D. 

HENRY    EDWARD    LEGLER 
Curator   State    Historical  Society 


HENRY    COLIN    CAMPBELL 
Sec.  Board  of   Editors  and  Writers 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


IN  the  main  this  volume  deals  with  the  history  of 
Wisconsin  since  the  Civil  War.  It  is  a  period 
of  commercial  development  largely.  The  ele- 
ments contributing  thereto  had  their  roots  in  the 
earlier  formative  period  of  the  commonwealth, 
and  it  has  seemed  proper  in  dealing  with  these  influ- 
ences to  go  back  to  the  very  beginnings.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  topical  treatment  will  afford  the  reader  a  more 
comprehensive  view  than  would  have  been  possible  had 
the  subjects  indicated  been  given  in  fragments  scattered 
through  the  several  volumes. 

The  graphic  narrative  of  the  fires  of  1871  in  the  for- 
est region  is  an  abridgment  of  an  account  written  by  an 
eye-witness,  Colonel  C.  D.  Robinson,  of  Green  Bay. 
For  facts  dealing  with  industrial  development,  generous 
tribute  has  been  levied  upon  a  series  of  studies  by  Mr. 
Gardner  P.  Stickney,  of  Milwaukee.  That  part  of  the 
history  of  banking  prior  tO'  Statehood  is  from  the  pen 
of  Mr.  R.  M.  Bashford,  of  Madison.  Other  chapters 
bear  the  following  authorship :  Wisconsin's  Part  in  the 
Spanish-American  War,  John  Poppendieck,  Jr.,  who 
accompanied  the  Wisconsin  Volunteers  as  field  corre- 
spondent for  the  Milwaukee  Sentinel;  Transportation 
Facilities,  Mr.  Frederick  L.  Holmes,  Madison ;  Schools 
and  Other  Educational  Institutions,  Mr.  A.  O.  Barton, 
Madison;  The  Booming  of  the  Gogebic,  Mr.  William 
A.  Anderson,  Madison;  the  several  chapters  pertaining 
to  politics  since  the  war.  Colonel  William  J.  Anderson, 
Madison,  who  served  as  private  secretary  tO'  Governors 
Upham  and  Scofield.    The  narrative  of  the  serious  labor 

3 


4       WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

troubles  during  the  May  riots  of  1886  is  derived  and 
condensed  from  the  official  documents  printed  by  the 
State. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER  I 

GROWTH  OF  THE  CITIES 3S 

A  Current  of  prosperity — Transition  from  an  Agricul- 
tural community  to  a  Manufacturing  center — Popula- 
tion of  the  Eighteen  Chief  Cities — Characteristics  of 
Wisconsin  Cities — Chronological  events  in  progress  of 
Milwaukee — Erection  of  the  first  log  cabin — Land  sales 
at  Green  Bay  and  Milwaukee — Milwaukee  incorporated 
as  a  City — Commercial  expansion — Extracts  from  Mc- 
Cabe's  first  directory — First  Mayor — List  of  those  who 
have  filled  the  Mayoral  chair — Membership  of  the  Board 
of  Councilors  and  Board  of  Aldermen — Milwaukee's 
Spiritual   Consolation — Secret    Societies. 


CHAPTER  II 


INDUSTRIAL  EXPANSION    47 

Fur  trade  the  first  wealth  of  Wisconsin — Manufactured 
products  the  leading  industry  of  to-day — Wisconsin's 
relative  rank  as  a  Manufacturing  State — Basis  of  the 
value  of  products — Lumber  and  Timber  products — 
Paper  and  Pulp — Cheese,  Butter  and  Condensed  Milk — 
Babcock  Milk  Test — Organization  of  State  Dairy- 
men's Association — Wisconsin  Dairy  School — Malt 
Liquors — Leather — "Milwaukee  Oil  Grain" — Iron  and 
Steel — Other   Industries. 


CHAPTER  III 

LABOR— IN  PEACE  AND  IN  WAR 83 

The  "Sawdust  War" — Strike  of  Cigarmakers — National 
Guardsmen  sent  to  West  Superior — Trouble  amongst 
the  Workmen  on  the  Superior  Air  Line  Railroad — 
Milwaukee  Strike  of  1886 — Knights  of  Labor's  Slo- 
gan Cry — Central  Labor  Union — Paul  Grottkau,  edi- 
tor of  the  "Arbeiter-Zeitung" —  Demand  for  an  eight 
hour  day — Monster  parade  and  picnic  of  the  Cen- 
tral Labor  Union — General  Strike  at  the  breweries — 
Attack  made  by  a  Mob  on  Poles  at  the  Milwaukee  and 
St.  Paul  railway  shops — Arrival  of  Governor  Rusk  at 
Milwaukee — National    Guards    ordered    out — Kosciusko 


8       WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


Guard  assailed  by  Stones  and  other  Missiles — Mob  re- 
pulsed by  the  National  Guards — Disturbance  quelled 
— Street  railway  strike  of  1896 — King  Boycott. 


CHAPTER  IV 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  TRANSPORTATION  FACILITIES. .  loi 

Network  of  Railroad  Lines — Petitions  presented  for 
the  Construction  of  Canals — Milwaukee  and  Rock 
Island  Canal  Company — Congress  donates  public  lands 
— The  project  a  failure — Fox- Wisconsin  route — Portage 
Canal  Company — Milwaukee  &  Waukesha  Railroad 
Company  chartered — Other  railroad  lines  projected — 
Amalgamation  of  different  systems  under  the  name  of 
Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railroad — The  Chi- 
cago &  Northwestern  Railroad — The  Wisconsin  Cen- 
tral chartered — Other  important  lines  in  the  State — 
Legislative  Scandal — Bonding  of  Municipalities — Liti- 
gation over  farm  mortgages — The  Granger  Movement 
— "The  Potter  Law" — Opinion  of  Chief-Justice  E.  G. 
Ryan — Creation  of  a  Board  of  Railroad  Commission- 
ers— Electric  Street  and  Interurban  lines. 


CHAPTER  V 


BANKS  AND  BANKING ' 123 

Establishment  of  the  Bank  of  Wisconsin — Territorial 
Legislature  incorporates  the  Miners'  Bank  of  Dubuque, 
the  Bank  of  Mineral  Point  and  the  Bank  of  Milwaukee 
— Committee  of  Investigation  appointed — Refusal  of  the 
Bank  of  Wisconsin  to  produce  its  books — Business 
Methods  of  the  Bank  of  Milwaukee — Bank  of  Mineral 
Point  reported  to  be  in  a  solvent  condition — Governor 
Dodge  recommends  that  legal  steps  should  be  taken 
to  ascertain  true  conditions  of  the  bank — Its  Charter 
repealed — Mineral  Point  Bank  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver 
— Its  Business  Methods — "Blue  Bellies" — Wisconsin 
Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Company — Private  bankers 
— Strong  hostility  toward  banks  and  paper  money  in  the 
first  Constitutional  Convention — Passage  of  the  Banking 
Law — State  Comptroller  to  be  the  supervising  official 
— Great  impetus  given  to  organization  of  banks — Mil- 
waukee Bank  Riots — Office  of  State  Comptroller  abol- 
ished— Run    made    by    the    depositors    on    Wisconsin 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE 


Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Companj' — Panic  of  1873 — 
An  episode  related  by  late  Senator  Philetus  Sawyer — 
Panic  of  1893 — Gold  Train — Failure  of  five  Milwaukee 
banks. 


CHAPTER  VI 


SCHOOLS    AND    OTHER    EDUCATIONAL    INSTITU- 
TIONS      157 

Private  and  Post  schools — First  public  school  in  the 
State — Academic  system  of  New  England  transplanted 
to  Wisconsin — Parochial  schools — Early  school  laws — 
Free  school  established  at  Kenosha — Father  of  free 
school  system — Constitution  of  1846  establishes  a 
free  school  system — School  code — State  graded  schools 
— Laws  requiring  attendance — Common  School  libraries 
— High  Schools  authorized — Report  of  Superintendent 
of  Instruction  for  1904 — State  University — Normal 
Schools — Colleges  and  Academies — School  for  Depen- 
dent Classes — Kindergarten  Movement — Manual  Train- 
ing. 


CHAPTER  VII 


IN  THE  WORLD  OF  LETTERS,  SCIENCE  AND  ART 181 

Bibliography  of  Wisconsin  authors — Wisconsin  His- 
torians— In  the  field  of  Economics  and  Political  Science 
First  Bohemian-English  dictionary — Charles  A.  King 
and  other  fiction  writers — Writers  for  Children — 
Humorous  writers — Songs  of  National  reputation — 
German  poets — SchoefBer's  German  printing  office — 
"German  Athens  of  America" — Curious  literary  war — 
Madame  Anneke — Writers  of  English  verse — Books 
printed  in  Wisconsin  before  1875 — Printed  elsewhere 
before  1875 — Controversy  over  the  authorship  of 
poem  "Solitude" — Percival,  the  "Old  Stonebreaker" 
— His  reputation  as  a  philologist — He  assists  Webster  in 
the  editorial  work  connected  with  his  dictionary — Carl 
Marr  and  other  painters — Vinnie  Ream  Hoxie,  the 
sculptor — First  patent  granted  to  a  citizen  of  Wiscon- 
sin— Sholes  Typewriter — Reynolds-Corliss  engine — 
Johnson's  Thermostat  and  Humidostat — Lee's  rifle — 
Esterly's  harvester. 


lo    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


CHAPTER  VIII 

NORTHERN    WISCONSIN'S   GREAT   FIRES 205 

Memorable  dates — Great  drought  of  1871 — October 
forest  fires — Fire-storm  in  the  sky — Destruction  of  the 
Village  of  Peshtigo — Intense  havoc  in  northern  por- 
tion of  the  State — Conflagration  finally  overcome 
— Sufferers  the  recipients  of  charity  from  Abroad. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  BOOMING  OF  THE  GOGEBIC 223 

Milwaukee  the  center  of  the  boom — Gogebic  iron  range 
— First  discoverer  of  ore — Iron  Chief  Mining  Company 
organized — Penokee  and  Gogebic  Development  Com- 
pany— John  E.  Burton  gains  controlling  interest  in 
the  Aurora  Mine — Height  of  the  boom — Cities  of  Iron- 
wood  and  Hurley — Great  banquet  held  at  Hurley — 
Twenty-two  mining  companies  organized — Nominal 
Capital  of  $40,000,000 — Humorous  side  of  the  boom — 
Crash   of    1887. 


CHAPTER  X 

DURING  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 237 

Wisconsin  quota  of  men  furnished — Deaths  and  Cas- 
ualties— Death  of  Dr.  Danforth — Wisconsin  Volunteers 
at  Coamo — Second  and  Third  Wisconsin  under  fire. 


CHAPTER  XI 

POLITICS   SINCE  THE  WAR 253 

Political  situation  after  the  Civil  War — Nomination  of 
General  Fairchild  for  Governor — Prohibition  and  Anti- 
railroad  movement — Fairchild's  Administration — Car- 
penter's First  Election — Carpenter's  Defeat — Wash- 
burn's Administration — Administration  of  Governor 
Taylor — Ludington's    Administration — Cameron's    Elec- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  1 1 


tion — Greenback  Movement — Governor  Smith's  Admin- 
istration— Carpenter's  Second  Election — Sawyer's  Elec- 
tion— Governor  Rusk's  Administration — Spooner's  Elec- 
tion— Peck's  Administration — Treasury  Suits — Hoard's 
Administration — Gerrymandering  the  State — Upham's 
Administration — Scofield's  Administration — Gold  Dem- 
ocrats— Scofield's  Second  Term — La  Follette's  Adminis- 
tration. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Matthew  H.  Carpenter Frontispiece 


Old  Court  House,  Milwaukee,  1836 Facing  p 

Sentinel  Building,  Milwaukee,   1843 Facing  p 

West  Side  of  East  Water  Street,  Milwaukee,  1844. ..  .Facing  p 

Load  of  Logs,  Black  Creek Facing  p 

A  Relic  of  Territorial  Days Facing  p 

Old  Cottage  Inn,  Milwaukee,  1836 Facing  p 

Old    American    House Facing  p 

Old   Military   Hall,   Milwaukee,    1845 Facing  p 

E.  G.   Ryan Facing  p 

Alexander    Mitchell    Facing  p 

Henry  Barnard Facing  p 

Charles  Kendall  Adams Facing  p 

Lyman  C.  Draper Facing  p 

Sweet  Bye-and-Bye Facing  p 

Silver  Threads  Among  the  Gold Facing  p 

Facsimile  of  First  Newspaper Facing  p 

James   Gates   Percival Facing  p 

Facsimile  of  Title  Page  of  First  Booklet Facing  p 

David  Wells,  Jr Facing  p 

Lucius   Fairchild    Facing  p 

Horace  Rublee  Facing  p 

Winfield   Smith    Facing  p 

Jeremiah  M.  Rusk Facing  p 

William   E.    Cramer Facing  p 

13 


36 
40 
40 
52 
60 
68 
68 

94 
114 

138 
162 
168 
184 
186 
188 
192 
198 
200 
232 
258 
266 
280 
284 
332 


CHAPTER    I 

Growth  of  the  Cities 


4,  3. 


SINCE  the  Civil  War  Wisconsin  has  fairly  en- 
tered a  current  of  prosperity.  The  war 
pressed  heavily  upon  .the  people  and  re- 
sources of  the  State,  for  one-tenth  of  its  pop- 
ulation left  for  the  field  of  battle  in  that  try- 
ing period.  At  that  time  the  effects  of  the  crisis  of  1857 
were  still  felt.  Indeed,  not  until  the  '70's  did  the  people 
fully  recover  from  the  combined  causes  mentioned. 
When  once  a  new  momentum  had  been  gained,  the  move- 
ment forward  in  all  branches  was  continual  and  pro- 
nounced. 

Nothing  illustrates  more  forcibly  the  transition  of 
the  State  from  an  agricultural  community  into  a  manu- 
facturing center  than  the  remarkable  growth  of  the 
cities.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  population  of 
the  State  approximated  800,000;  now  it  is  2,228,449 
(State  census  of  1905).  Of  these  inhabitants,  more 
than  half  are  dwellers  in  cities.  There  are  eighty-six 
cities  with  a  population  in  excess  of  2,000  each.  The 
population  of  the  leading  cities  is  as  follows :  Milwau- 
kee, 312,948;  Superior,  36,551;  Racine,  32,290;  Os- 
kosh,  30,575;  La  Crosse,  29,078;  Madison,  24,301; 
Sheboygan,  24,026;  Green  Bay,  22,854;  Eau  Claire, 
18,737;  Fond  du  Lac,  17,284;  Appleton,  17,000; 
Kenosha,  16,235;  Marinette,  15,354;  Ashland,  14,519; 
Wausau,  14,458;  Janesville,  13,770;  Beloit,  12,855; 
Manitowoc,  12,733. 

Thus  in  eighteen  of  the  chief  cities  is  comprised  one- 
third  of  the  entire  population  of  the  State.  Seventeen 
cities  ranking  next  in  order  bring  the  list  down  to  the 

35 


36      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

smaller  group  of  municipalities,  each  having  a  popu- 
lation of  less  than  5,000.  The  seventeen  cities  referred 
to,  listed  according  to  numerical  importance  of  inhabit- 
ants, are  Merrill,  Stevens  Point,  Chippewa  Falls,  Water- 
town,  Waukesha,  Antigo,  Grand  Rapids,  Neenah, 
Marshfield,  Menasha,  Baraboo,  Oconto,  Beaver  Dam, 
Portage,  Menominee,  Rhinelander,  and  South  Milwau- 
kee. In  a  survey  of  these  names,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
how  few  were  in  existence  in  the  early  period  when  city 
ambitions  were  first  unfolded.  At  the  time  of  the  heated 
campaign  for  the  coveted  honor  of  becoming  Wiscon- 
sin's capital  the  leading  competitors  were  the  following 
cities,  many  of  which  have  no  place  on  the  maps  of  to- 
day: Belmont,  Cassville,  Helena,  Wisconsinapolis,  Peru, 
Wisconsin  City,  Belleview  and  Koshkonong.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  recall,  also,  that  in  the  early  days  Green  Bay 
was  regarded  as  destined  to  become  the  State's  metropo- 
lis, and  the  files  of  its  newspapers  fairly  bristle  with  sar- 
castic comments  upon  Milwaukee's  rival  pretensions. 

In  the  main,  Wisconsin's  cities  have  much  the  same 
characteristics,  for  industrial  conditions  and  elements  of 
population  differ  in  no  material  respects.  Local  indi- 
viduality most  of  them  have,  and  these  are  perhaps  in- 
dicated by  the  sobriquets  which  have  attached  themselves 
to  some  of  the  cities : 

Oskosh — Sawdust  City.  Many  acres  of  low  land 
and  marsh  along  the  river  front  were  reclaimed  by 
means  of  sawdust.  Most  of  the  streets  in  the  mill  dis- 
trict were  sawdust  streets.  Numerous  fires  that  some- 
times continued  for  days  and  even  weeks  were  fed  upon 
this  material. 


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PUBUC  UB 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  37 

Wausau — Forest  City.  Located  in  a  valley  hemmed 
in  by  hills,  all  of  them  covered  with  dense  virgin  forests 
of  pine,  hemlock  and  hardwoods.  Much  of  this  growth 
has  been  felled  by  the  ax  of  the  lumberman. 

Sheboygan — Chair  City.  Ten  thousand  chairs  are 
made  here  each  day.  Sheboygan's  chief  industry  con- 
trols the  chair  market  of  the  world. 

Milwaukee — Cream  City.  Th.e  color  of  the  brick 
manufactured  here  and  largely  used  in  building  until 
recent  years  suggested  this  name. 

Waukesha — Spring  City.  The  numerous  springs 
yielding  water  having  valuable  medicinal  properties  in- 
dicate whence  this  name  originated.  Waukesha  has 
also  been  called  the  Saratoga  of  the  West. 

Fond  du  Lac — The  Fountain  City.  There  are  many 
beautiful  fountains  in  and  about  the  city. 

Manitowoc — Clipper  City.  In  the  days  when  many 
lake  vessels  were  being  built,  the  fastest  sailing  type 
hailed  from  Manitowoc. 

La  Crosse — Gateway  City.  All  travel  Into  Southern 
Minnesota  concentrates  here,  ferry  and  bridge  facilities 
providing  means  for  pursuing  the  route  up  Root  River 
Valley.  There  are  dozens  of  business  concerns,  so- 
cieties, lodges  and  other  organizations  which  utilize 
this  term  as  part  of  their  names. 

Neenah — Paper  City.  The  manufacture  of  paper 
is  the  leading  industry  here. 

Menasha — Wooden  Ware  City.  This  name  Indi- 
cates the  source  of  the  city's  prosperity,  the  largest  plant 
of  its  kind  being  in  operation  here. 


38      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

Colby — Midget  City.  It  is  claimed  that  Colby  is 
the  smallest  incorporated  city  in  the  world. 

Sturgeon  Bay — Canal  City.  Lake  Michigan  and 
Green  Bay  are  connected  by  means  of  the  Sturgeon  Bay 
canal. 

Hudson — Gretna  Green.  Matrimonial  excursionists 
from  Minnesota  found  this  city  a  convenient  point,  the 
marriage  laws  of  Wisconsin  being  more  liberal  than 
those  of  the  State  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 

Appleton — Crescent  City.  The  town  is  located  on 
a  great  bend  of  the  Fox  River. 

In  a  consideration  of  cities  and  city  development,  the 
facts  attendant  upon  the  growth  of  the  metropolis,  whose 
size  is  nearly  i,ooo  per  cent,  times  that  of  the  second 
city  of  the  State,  become  a  matter  of  interest,  if  not  of 
importance.  The  beginnings  of  Milwaukee  date  back 
to  the  beginnings  of  the  territory.  Inasmuch  as  some 
of  the  great  industrial  facilities  and  community  enter- 
prises of  the  State  had  their  inception  here,  chronological 
summary  for  Milwaukee  answers  the  same  purpose  for 
the  State  at  large  : 

1 845 — Daily  mail  to  Chicago  (by  stage) ,  Nov.  18. 

Daguerrotypes  taken,  Sept.  2. 
1847 — Daily  newspaper  started,  June  8. 

Steam  as  power  for  flouring  mill,  Sept.  26. 

City  directory  issued. 
1848 — Telegram  from  Chicago,  Jan.  15. 
1849 — Public  school  building  erected. 

Paper  mill  constructed. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  39 

1850 — Newspaper  printed  by  steam,  July  25. 

Locomotive  landed  from  schooner,  Sept.  12 
and  Sept.  25. 

German  theatrical  entertainment,  Feb.  11. 
1 85 1 — Completion     of     railway     to     Waukesha, 

July  4- 
Omnibus  line  established. 

1852 — Gas  used  as  an  illuminant,  Nov.  23. 

1855 — Railway  to  Chicago  and  the  East  opened. 

May  19. 
1856 — Shipment  of  wheat  directly  to  Europe,  July 

21. 
Type  foundry  established,  December. 
1857 — Railway  to  the  Mississippi  completed. 
i860 — Street  railway  established.  East  Side. 
1 86 1 — Block  pavement  laid. 
1865 — Letter  carrier  system  inaugurated. 
1869 — Fire  alarm  telegraph  put  in. 
1873 — City  supplied  with  water  from  the  river. 
1877 — Dry  dock  built. 
1878 — Public  library  opened,  Feb.  7. 
1879 — ^Telephone  exchange. 
1880 — Illuminated  by  electricity,  April  5. 
1888 — Layton  art  gallery  opened  to  the  public, 

April  5. 
1890 — Trolley  system  of  motive  power   for  the 

street  railways. 

For  years  one  log  cabin  stood  alone  in  an  almost 
trackless  wilderness.     In  1833  Solomon  Juneau's  soli- 


40      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

tude  was  broken  by  a  band  of  home-seekers,  headed  by 
Albert  Fowler.  They  came  from  Chicago,  and  in  order 
to  reach  their  destination  had  to  swim  rivers  in  the  cold 
November  weather  and  find  their  way  as  best  they  could. 
The  trip  that  the  ordinary  traveler  now  makes  in  two 
hours  and  a  half  then  took  them  seven  days. 

It  was  not  until  1835  that  the  future  metropolis  really 
obtained  a  fair  start.  In  that  year,  at  a  land  sale  held 
in  Green  Bay,  the  true  founders  of  the  city — Solomon 
Juneau,  Byron  Kilbourn  and  George  H.  Walker — pur- 
chased considerable  tracts  of  land  in  what  constitutes 
the  main  sections  of  the  east,  west  and  south  sides,  re- 
spectively. Naturally,  the  three  budding  villages  on  the 
opposite  sides  of  the  Milwaukee  and  Menominee  rivers 
took  unto  themselves  the  names  of  their  founders — 
Juneautown,  Kilbourntown,  and  Walker's  Point. 

In  1839  a  great  land  sale  took  place  in  Milwaukee, 
Profiting  by  the  experience  of  other  towns,  the  settlers 
who  had  staked  out  claims  organized  a  "shark  commit- 
tee" to  drive  out  the  land  speculators  who  made  it  a 
business  to  attend  these  sales  and  squeeze  what  they 
could  out  of  settlers  as  the  price  of  non-interference  in 
bidding  for  their  claims.  These  claims  were  marked 
by  means  of  blazed  trees  or  stakes,  which  designated 
the  places  selected  by  the  owners  of  the  rude  shanties 
erected  upon  them.  While  the  boundaries  were  re- 
spected among  the  settlers,  the  land  sharks  paid  no 
attention  to  them,  and  it  was  therefore  of  vital  im- 
portance to  intimidate  them.  How  well  the  "shark 
committee"  did  its  duty  is  attested  by  the   fact  that, 


Sentinel  Buliding— Milwaukee  1843. 


West  Side  of  East  Water  Street— Milwaukee  184-4-. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  41 

although  this  was  declared  by  the  land  commissioner  the 
largest  and  most  remarkable  sale  known  in  his  depart- 
ment, not  a  single  speculator  got  a  single  acre  of  claimed 
land.  Before  sundown  of  the  first  day  $50,000  had 
been  taken  in.  At  the  end  of  seven  days  $260,000  worth 
of  lands  had  been  disposed  of.  Before  the  close  of  the 
sale  the  total  had  reached  $600,000. 

The  place  was  now  enjoying  a  boom.  In  1843  ^^e 
Milwaukee  "Sentinel"  remarked,  in  a  burst  of  pride: 
"There  is  not  a  village  in  the  United  States  that  has  in- 
creased with  the  rapidity  of  Milwaukee.  In  the  spring 
of  1834  there  was  not  a  house  finished  in  the  village. 
Within  two  years  250  have  been  erected,  and  there  are 
over  4,000  inhabitants  here  at  the  present  time." 

In  spite  of  the  jealousy  that  naturally  arose  between 
the  difierent  geographical  divisions  in  their  efforts  to 
outstrip  each  other,  the  trend  was  toward  the  dignity  of 
an  incorporated  municipality,  and  January  31,  1846,  the 
fact  was  accomplished.  When  Milwaukee  was  incor- 
porated as  a  city  on  the  last  day  of  January,  1846,  there 
was  a  population  of  only  9,655.  According  to  the  State 
census  recently  taken,  a  third  of  a  million  men,  women 
and  children  now  reside  within  the  eighteen  square  miles 
of  territory  that  are  embraced  between  the  city  limits. 
Five  years  previous  to  the  debut  of  Milwaukee  as  a 
city  the  first  Federal  census  ever  taken  in  the  then  em- 
bryo city  had  shown  a  count  of  only  1,712  noses.  It  is 
an  interesting  fact  that  there  are  in  Wisconsin  to-day 
twenty  cities  possessing  a  larger  population  than  Mil- 
waukee had  sixty  years  ago.      The  population  of  Mil- 


42      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

waukee  is  now  larger  than  was  that  of  any  other  city  in 
North  or  South  America  sixty  years  ago.  Seventy  cities 
in  the  United  States  could  boast  more  inhabitants  than 
this  city  half  a  century  ago.  Milwaukee  has  outstripped 
all  of  them  but  thirteen.  In  1850  Milwaukee  had 
jumped  from  seventy-first  to  twenty-ninth  place,  ten 
years  later  to  twentieth,  and  now  it  is  fourteenth. 

As  with  the  growth  of  population,  so  has  it  been  with 
the  city's  commercial  expansion.  In  its  infancy,  no  rail- 
way line  gave  Milwaukee  communication  with  the  rest 
of  the  country.  In  place  of  journeying  in  cannon-ball 
trains  comprising  palatial  vestibuled  palace  cars,  the  in- 
tending immigrant  made  a  laborious  trip  by  lake  from 
Buffalo,  or  a  still  more  tedious  journey  overland  in 
prairie  schooners  and  stages.  Neither  was  the  world 
kept  in  touch  by  means  of  electrical  communication.  It 
was  not  until  1845  ^^at  the  first  stage  between  Milwau- 
kee— a  two-horse  coach — began  its  daily  trips;  Mil- 
waukee had  been  a  city  five  years  when  the  first  train 
of  cars  pulled  out  of  it.  The  first  telegram  was 
delivered  three  years  after  incorporation.  Street 
cars  date  from  i860,  the  line  extending  from  Ju- 
neau Avenue  to  Walker's  Point  bridge.  The  busi- 
ness growth  of  Milwaukee  has  been  as  marvelous  as 
the  beginning  was  humble.  More  than  two  million 
barrels  of  beer  are  brewed  here  annually.  The  pioneer 
brewer  started  the  industry  with  a  copper  kettle  sus- 
pended over  a  fire  from  a  tripod.  When  William  Sivyer 
made  enough  bricks  to  build  a  chimney,  he  created  the 
nucleus  of  an  industry  that  is  now  represented  by  an 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  43 

annual  product  of  $800,000.  John  Plankinton's  little 
butcher  shop  was  the  beginning  of  immense  packing  in- 
terests. A  year's  product  now  exceeds  $4,000,000  in 
value.  So  might  be  enumerated  many  of  the  industries 
that  have  made  of  Milwaukee  a  prosperous  community. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  evolution  of  Milwaukee 
commercially.  When  it  became  a  city,  it  had  not  out- 
grown the  rude  characteristics  of  a  fur  trading  center — 
for,  as  in  all  of  the  northwestern  country,  the  fur  trade 
was  the  pioneer  business.  It  is  a  matter  of  newspaper 
record  that  when  Milwaukee  became  a  city  its  chief 
articles  of  export  were  "lard,  flour,  wheat,  pork  and 
furs."  Lead  was  brought  overland  by  wagon  from  the 
Mineral  Point  district.  In  one  year  there  were  shipped 
nearly  two  million  pounds  of  lead,  shot  and  copper. 
According  to  trustworthy  statistics  compiled  in  the  early 
'40's  by  Increase  A.  Lapham,  the  annual  imports 
amounted  to  $1,805,277  and  the  exports  to  $186,177. 

In  McCabe's  Directory  of  Milwaukee  for  1847  (the 
first  city  directory)  there  appears  a  statement  of  the  ex- 
ports from  Milwaukee.  Contrasted  with  the  long  list 
of  Milwaukee's  present  day  exports,  ranging  from  a 
stick  of  candy  to  the  largest  machinery  made  in  the 
world,  the  list  is  interesting:  Ashes,  16,250  pounds; 
furs,  198  packages;  rags,  140  tons;  pails,  295  dozen; 
hides,  5,513  ;  wool,  10,562  pounds;  broom  corn,  107,535 
pounds;  brooms,  50,425 ;  lead,  25,295  pigs;  corn,  1,635 
bushels;  flour,  15,756  barrels;  wheat,  213,448  bushels. 

The  incorporation  of  the  city  did  not  take  place  with- 
out manifestation  of  bitterness — the  outgrowth  of  sec- 


44      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

tional  differences  which  had  culminated  in  the  celebrated 
bridge  war,  in  1845,  when  a  mob  of  what  would  now  be 
known  as  eastsiders  demolished  the  Spring  Street  bridge. 
The  vote  on  incorporation  shows  that  the  East  ward  was 
against  a  municipal  union,  while  the  West  and  South 
wards  were  almost  unanimous  for  the  adoption  of  the 
charter. 

This  was  the  vote : 

For      Against 

East  ward 182       324 

West  ward 348  i 

South   ward 113  7 

The  first  permanent  white  settler,  Solomon  Juneau, 
was  chosen  as  the  first  mayor  of  the  city.  He  ran  as  a 
Democrat  and  was  opposed  by  J.  H.  Tweedy,  Whig, 
1,222  votes  being  cast.  Since  then  the  city's  mayoral 
chair  has  been  filled  by  the  following :  Horatio  N.  Wells, 
Byron  Kilbourn,  D.  A.  J.  Upham,  George  H.  Walker, 
Hans  Crocker,  James  B.  Cross,  William  A.  Prentiss, 
H.  L.  Page,  William  Pitt  Lynde,  James  M.  Brown, 
Horace  Chase,  Edward  O'Neill,  Abner  Kirby,  John  J. 
Tallmadge,  Joseph  Phillips,  Harrison  Ludington,  D. 
G.  Hooker,  A.  R.  R.  Butler,  John  Black,  Thomas  H. 
Brown,  John  M.  Stowell,  Emil  Wallber,  George  W. 
Peck,  P.  J.  Somers,  John  C.  Koch,  Wm.  Rauschenber- 
ger,  David  A.  Rose.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  all  of  the 
three  founders  of  Milwaukee  serv^ed  the  city  of  Mil- 
waukee as  mayor — Juneau,  Kilbourn  and  Walker. 

The  common  council  of  Milwaukee,  when  it  came 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  45 

into  existence,  was  a  small  body  compared  to  what  it  is 
now.  There  were  five  wards,  and  each  ward  had  three 
representatives.  In  1858  a  law  was  passed  making  the 
city  legislature  a  double-headed  arrangement — a  Board 
of  Councilors,  consisting  of  two  persons  from  each  ward 
and  Board  of  Aldermen  comprising  a  representation  of 
one  from  each  ward.  Thirty-two  years  ago  the  two 
bodies  were  merged  into  one,  and  for  many  years  each 
ward  had  three  representatives  in  the  council.  As  the 
wards  multiplied,  the  body  grew  so  bulky  that  the  rep- 
resentation was  reduced  to  two  from  each  ward.  In 
1882,  with  thirteen  wards,  there  were  thirty-nine  alder- 
men; now,  with  twenty-three  wards,  the  council  has  a 
membership  of  forty-six. 

Whatever  spiritual  consolation  the  people  of  Mil- 
waukee of  1846  had  was  derived  by  worship  in  just 
thirteen  churches,  distributed  among  ten  denominations. 
The  church-goer  of  to-day  can  choose  among  141 
churches.  The  number  of  denominations  represented  in 
Milwaukee  has  not  greatly  increased,  but  the  number 
of  edifices  erected  shows  a  great  gain,  equivalent  to  the 
increase  in  population.  The  small  frame  houses  that  did 
service  forty  and  fifty  years  ago  have  disappeared  or 
been  converted  to  other  uses,  while  in  their  places  have 
risen  such  stately  and  costly  edifices  as  St.  Paul's  Im- 
manuel,  Gesu,  Trinity,  All  Saints',  St.  James,  Calvary 
and  many  others.  The  thirteen  churches  of  1846  prob- 
ably did  not  cost  to  exceed  six  or  seven  thousand  dollars. 
A  conservative  estimate  places  a  value  of  $5,000,000  on 
church  property  to-day. 


46      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

It  is  said  that  there  are  more  lodges  of  secret  societies 
in  Milwaukee  in  proportion  to  population  than  in  any 
other  city  in  the  United  States.  Secret  societies  have  cer- 
tainly thriven  wonderfully  there.  In  1846  the  sum  total 
comprised  one  Masonic  lodge  and  two  of  Odd  Fellows, 
with  an  Odd  Fellow  encampment.  Excluding  the  clubs 
and  social  organizations,  which  flourish  to  the  number  of 
several  hundred,  there  are  328  secret  and  benevolent 
societies  now. 


CHAPTER    II 

Industrial  Expansion 


\ 


IN  the  fur  trade  Wisconsin  found  Its  first  wealth- 
producing  possibility;  next  lead  mining  assumed 
primary  importance,  followed  by  agricultural 
development  and  the  conversion  of  forest  re- 
sources into  wealth;  to-day  the  leading  indus- 
tries are  those  which  are  represented  by  manufactured 
prociucts. 

The  relative  rank  of  Wisconsin  as  a  manufacturing 
State,  In  a  comparison  with  her  sister  States,  is  as 
follows:  Lumber  and  timber  products,  first;  cheese,  but- 
ter and  other  dairy  products,  second;  malt,  third;  agri- 
cultural implements,  malt  liquors,  leather,  fourth ;  paper 
and  wood  pulp,  fifth;  sash,  doors,  blinds  and  other  plan- 
ing mill  products,  sixth;  foundry  and  machine  shop  prod- 
ucts, and  carriages  and  wagons,  seventh;  men's  clothing 
as  a  factory  product,  furniture,  and  flouring  and  grist 
mill  products,  eighth;  iron  and  steel,  ninth;  boots  and 
shoes,  tenth;  car  and  general  shop  construction,  elev- 
enth; printing  and  publishing  newspapers  and  periodi- 
cals, and  wholesale  slaughtering  and  packing  of  meats, 
twelfth. 

On  the  basis  of  value  of  products,  the  leading  indus- 
tries of  Wisconsin  to-day  rank  in  the  following  order: 

1.  Lumber  and  timber  products. 

2.  Flouring  and  grist  mill  products. 

3.  Foundry  and  machine  shop  products. 

4.  Cheese,   butter  and  condensed   milk,    factory 

product. 

5.  Leather  products. 

6.  Malt  liquors. 

4,   4. 

49 


50      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

7.  Iron  and  steel. 

8.  Paper  and  wood  pulp. 

9.  Furniture. 

10.   Planing  mill  products. 

As  is  well  shown  by  a  statistical  bulletin  issued  by  the 
census  bureau  in  1904,  the  remarkable  growth  of  manu- 
factures in  Wisconsin  is  to  be  attributed  to  an  abundant 
supply  of  materials  and  excellent  market  facilities. 
Manufacturing  is  not  concentrated  in  a  few  localities, 
but  is  distributed  throughout  the  State.  Six  large  rivers, 
the  Menominee,  St.  Croix,  Chippewa,  Wisconsin,  Fox 
and  Wolf,  with  many  smaller  streams,  and  nearly  two 
thousand  fresh-water  lakes  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  afford  enormous  waterpower  as  yet  only  partially 
developed.  On  the  western  boundary  of  the  State  are 
250  miles  of  navigable  rivers,  while  the  Great  Lakes 
extend  for  more  than  400  miles  along  the  northern  and 
eastern  borders.  On  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  and 
Green  Bay  are  eleven  important  manufacturing  cities, 
all  accessible  to  lake-going  vessels;  and  the  cities  of  Ash- 
land and  Superior  on  Lake  Superior  are  large  and  grow- 
ing manufacturing  centers.  Wisconsin  has  6,962  miles 
of  railroads,  which  have  contributed  to  the  development 
of  agriculture  and  manufactures. 

Probably  the  best  indication  of  the  importance  of  the 
wage-earning  class  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  while 
fifty  years  ago  they  represented  but  2  per  cent,  of  the 
population,  at  this  time  they  approximate  10  per  cent. 
In  an  estimate  made  by  State  authorities  in  1905,  the 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  51' 

value  of  manufactured  products  for  the  preceding  year 
Is  placed  at  $405,000,000,  the  relative  rank  of  the  sev- 
eral industries  being  slightly  at  variance  with  those  as- 
signed by  the  Federal  census.  In  essential  particulars 
they  agree.  The  growth  of  some  of  these  industries 
and  the  decline  of  the  most  important  one,  are  worthy 
of  more  extended  mention. 


LUMBER  AND  TIMBER  PRODUCTS. 

The  lumber  industries  of  Wisconsin  employ  a  capital 
that  represents  two-fifths  of  the  entire  manufacturing 
capital  of  the  State.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  this  is 
employed  in  timber  and  saw-mill  interests,  only  about 
one-fourth  being  vested  in  planing  mill  and  other  proc- 
esses. It  has  been  said  of  the  forests  industries  of  Wis- 
consin that  "they  built  every  foot  of  railroad  and  wagon 
road,  every  town,  school  and  church,  and  cleared  half 
of  the  improved  land  in  North  Wisconsin."  Notwith- 
standing the  great  decrease  in  the  output  which  the 
forests  have  contributed  during  the  past  years,  as  com- 
pared with  the  decade  preceding,  the  manufacture  of 
lumber  and  timber  continues  to  be  the  most  important 
industry  in  the  State.  Indeed,  Wisconsin  leads  every 
other  State  in  the  Union  in  this  particular,  the  annual 
value  of  the  product  being  one-sixth  of  the  total  value 
of  the  products  of  the  State,  while  the  number  of  wage- 
earners  is  about  one-seventh  of  the  entire  number  of 
artisans  and  laborers.  Ten  years  ago  there  were  40,- 
000  persons  employed  in  this  industry,  nearly  twice  as 


52      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

many  as  at  the  present  time.  Despite  this  great  de- 
crease, the  amount  received  in  wages  is  not  materially 
less — $9,500,000  as  against  $10,500,000.  There  have 
been  great  changes  in  methods,  and  these  have  greatly 
influenced  not  only  the  output,  but  the  wage-earning  abil- 
ity of  the  men. 

Working  time  is  shorter  than  of  old.  From  daylight 
to  dark  used  to  be  the  rule,  fifteen  or  sixteen  hours  to 
the  day.  Now  the  average  day  is  eight  hours.  This 
shortening  of  time  has  its  bearing  on  the  output.  The 
best  mills  now  saw  only  about  1,000  feet  a  day  to  each 
man,  while  years  ago  it  was  not  uncommon  for  two  men 
to  saw  4,000  to  5,000  feet  on  the  old  "muley,"  and  an 
average  of  2,000  feet  to  the  man  was  maintained.  In 
the  old  days  pay  was  largely  in  orders  on  the  stores  oper- 
ated by  the  lumbering  firms.  This  system  has  now  gone 
out  of  use.  Few  of  the  companies  own  stores,  and  even 
these  pay  in  cash.  Mill  men  are  now  paid  every  week, 
and  they  get  about  the  same  pay  as  ten  years  ago.  The 
"sash-saw"  of  early  days  was  succeeded  by  the  "muley." 
This  was  a  thick,  heavy  saw,  and  could  be  driven  at 
an  immense  speed,  although  with  a  corresponding  kerf 
or  waste.  About  three-sixteenths  of  the  log  was  wasted 
by  the  old  "muley."  The  circular  saw,  cutting  about 
the  same  kerf,  was  much  more  rapid.  The  "gang"  came 
in  about  the  sam.e  time,  consisting  of  a  number  of  saws 
hung  at  fixed  distances,  according  to  the  desired  thick- 
ness of  the  cut.  Gangs  run  slowly,  but  they  eat  up  a 
whole  log  at  once,  thus  obviating  the  necessity  of  gig- 
ging back  for  a  new  cut.     To-day  the  best  saw  mills  are 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  53 

equipped  with  the  band  saw,  which  is  very  rapid  and  cuts 
a  small  kerf,  about  half  as  much  as  the  "muley."  This 
is  a  saving  of  over  9  per  cent.  If  applied  to  all  white 
pine  cut  in  Wisconsin  from  1872  to  1905,  it  would  have 
increased  the  cut  nearly  a  billion  feet. 

If  all  the  white  pine  timber  cut  in  Wisconsin  from 
1873  to  1905  could  be  reduced  to  boards  an  inch  thick 
and  twelve  inches  wide  the  boards  would  cover  a  road- 
way almost  half  a  mile  wide,  extending  around  the  earth. 
Taking  as  a  basis  figures  compiled  by  the  Northwestern 
Lumbermen,  and  considering  as  belonging  to  Wiscon- 
sin one-half  of  the  cut  on  bordering  waters,  the  St.  Croix, 
Mississippi  and  Menominee,  the  total  Wisconsin  cut  of 
white  pine  during  a  quarter  century  period  was  esti- 
mated to  amount  to  52,680,680,190  feet,  or  9,979,295 
miles — 2,495  times  the  earth's  circumference.  Any 
estimate  of  the  cut  of  pine  previous  to  1873  would  be 
mere  guess  work,  although  on  some  streams,  notably 
the  Menominee  and  Wolf,  accurate  figures  have  been 
compiled  by  the  boom  companies  for  forty  years  or  more. 
By  combining  the  estimates  of  conservative  men  in  the 
various  sections,  however,  the  cut  of  early  years  is  placed 
high  enough  to  render  one  safe  in  saying  that  the  total 
cut  of  white  pine  in  Wisconsin  approximates  60,000,- 
000,000  feet. 

Figures  as  to  the  extent  of  the  white  pine  still  stand- 
ing do  not  admit  of  mathematical  deductions,  but  the 
approaching  exhaustion  of  the  supply  is  apparent.  On 
some  of  the  waters  pine  is  practically  exhausted.  The 
Increase  in  value  of  pine  has  led  to  a  closer  scrutiny  of 


54      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

land  rejected  in  earlier  years,  and  timber  is  now  being 
cut  which  old  estimaters  refused  to  consider. 

Some  years  ago  the  pine  was  cut  from  a  million  or 
more  acres  of  Wisconsin  Central  land,  and  the  oper- 
ator made  a  good  profit.  A  few  years  later  another 
man  went  on  to  the  same  land  and  operated  also  with 
a  good  profit.  And  a  little  later  a  third  man  repeated 
the  operation.  Here  was  land  from  which  all  pine  was 
supposed  to  have  been  cut  by  the  first  operator,  profitably 
logged  afterward  at  intervals  by  two  men.  It  was  cur- 
rent gossip  that  the  last  man  cleared  as  much  money  as 
the  first  one,  owing,  of  course,  to  the  increase  In  the 
value  of  pine. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  value  of  timber  land, 
that  being  most  profitable  which  yields  the  largest  per- 
centage of  best  quality  of  logs.  What  is  known  as  a 
"premium  forty"  will  sometimes  cut  2,000,000  feet  of 
pine.  The  timber  at  the  head  waters  of  Oconto  River 
is  said  to  have  been  the  best  In  the  State.  Large  quan- 
tities of  Oconto  lumber  have  been  exported  to  England. 

The  lumber  region  of  Wisconsin  divides  naturally 
into  four  districts,  that  drained  by  the  Menominee  and 
neighboring  streams,  the  Wolf  River  country,  the  Wis- 
consin River  pineries,  and  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
State  tributary  to  the  Black,  Chippewa  and  St.  Croix 
rivers.  Of  all  these  streams  the  Wolf  is  probably  the 
best  for  logging,  its  upper  waters  being  steady  with 
rapid  flow.  The  Wisconsin  and  Chippewa  are  difficult 
and  hazardous  streams  for  loggers,  flowing  swiftly  over 
numerous  rapids.     Since  the   introduction  of  the  rail- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  55 

road  these  natural  divisions  have  been  subdivided  and 
readjusted,  and  to-day  it  is  almost  impossible  to  ob- 
tain figures  for  a  comparison  of  output.  Up  to  1876 
most  of  the  logs  on  the  Wisconsin  were  sent  down  the 
river  in  rafts  to  markets  on  the  Mississippi.  With  a 
good  stage  of  water  it  took  twenty-four  days  to  reach 
St.  Louis.  The  trip  was  perilous  and  the  expense  equaled 
the  original  cost  of  the  timber. 

The  diminution  of  the  supply  of  white  pine  has  led 
to  the  cutting  of  hemlock  and  other  woods  at  one  time 
deemed  of  no  value.  The  cutting  of  hard  woods  has 
become  an  important  industry.  According  to  a  forestry 
report,  dealing  with  the  northern  section  of  the  State, 
the  pine  is  largely  cut  both  from  the  mixed  forests  and 
in  the  pinery;  entire  uncut  or  virgin  townships  scarcely 
exist,  and  in  every  county,  large  and  small,  what  are 
known  as  "pine  slashings"  or  "stump  prairies"  are  met. 
In  the  hardwoods  the  oak  and  basswood,  and  to  some 
extent  the  elm,  have  been  culled  over  large  tracts,  and 
entire  counties  have  been  logged  over.  Besides  this,  the 
hardwood  and,  still  more,  the  hemlock,  especially  on 
all  lighter  soils  where  the  pine  predominated,  have  suf- 
fered from  fire,  and  large  areas  are  entirely  fire  killed. 
Many,  if  not  most,  of  the  swamps  have  been  burned  over 
and  present  all  stages  from  the  dense  green  swamp  forest 
to  a  bewildering  tangle  of  charred  masses  of  dead  and 
down  timber.  It  is  estimated  that  about  45  per  cent, 
of  the  total  area  is  cut-over  land,  most  of  which  is  also 
burned  over  and  largely  waste. 

The  value  of  the  forests  in  tempering  the  rigors  of  a 


S6      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

northern  climate,  and  In  maintaining  a  more  uniform 
water  flow  by  regulating  drainage  conditions,  is  now 
fully  realized.  Fox  River  is  falling,  the  "June  fresh- 
ets," formerly  a  regular  phenomenon  of  all  the  driving 
streams  of  the  area,  no  longer  occur;  hundreds  of  small 
swamps  have  become  fields  and  meadows  without  a  foot 
of  ditching,  and  miles  of  corduroy  roads  and  roadways, 
paved  with  poles  and  logs,  remain  as  unused  relics,  re- 
minders of  a  moister  era.  Somewhat  tardily  the  State 
has  awakened  to  the  necessities  of  the  situation,  seeking 
by  means  of  a  commission  to  effect  the  reforestration  of 
the  waste  spaces  once  densely  covered  with  an  uninter- 
rupted growth  of  forest. 


PAPER  AND  PULP 

The  paper,  fiber  and  pulp  mill  interests  of  Wisconsin 
represent  an  investment  of  nearly  $20,000,000.  Twenty- 
five  years  ago  the  only  mill  in  operation  in  the  State  was 
equipped  for  about  $30,000.  The  daily  capacity  of  the 
Wisconsin  paper  and  pulp  mills  is  2,500,000  pounds. 
In  the  list  of  thirty-four  States  producing  paper  Wis- 
consin, in  capacity,  stand  fifth.  New  York  being  first 
and  Maine  second.  Almost  every  kind  of  paper  is  made 
in  the  State,  the  largest  item  being  "book  and  news," 
1,000,000  pounds.  In  chemical  fiber  and  wood  pulp  the 
Wisconsin  mills  can  produce  something  more  than 
1,000,000  pounds  daily.  The  value  of  Wisconsin's 
paper  product  more  than  doubled  In  the  decade  from 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  57 

1885  to  1895.    According  to  the  Federal  census  of  1900 
it  amounted  to  $10,895,000. 

Paper  manufacture  includes  two  distinct  divisions,  pulp 
making  and  the  converting  of  pulp  into  paper  of  all  sorts 
and  sizes.  In  many  Wisconsin  mills  both  of  these  oper- 
ations are  carried  on  under  one  roof.  The  paper  indus- 
try was  attracted  to  Wisconsin  by  the  abundance,  cheap- 
ness and  good  quality  of  the  wood  suitable  for  the  manu- 
facture of  pulp.  Poplar  was  the  first  wood  utilized,  but 
now  spruce  is  in  the  ascendant.  Spruce  logs  six  inches 
or  more  in  diameter  at  the  top  or  small  end  are  used, 
but  they  must  be  comparatively  free  from  knots. 

All  the  pulp  mills  of  Fox  River  valley  combine  in  the 
purchase  of  logs,  of  which  100,000  cords  are  used  an- 
nually. The  conduct  of  this  branch  of  the  business  is 
in  the  hands  of  a  joint  manager,  who  buys  for  all  the 
mills  and  apportions  its  share  to  each.  The  wood  is 
delivered  at  the  mills  in  "four- foot"  lengths. 

In  1846  Livingston  &  Garland  built  the  first  paper 
mill  in  Wisconsin,  at  the  junction  of  the  Milwaukee  and 
Menominee  rivers  in  Milwaukee.  This  mill  was  run 
by  steam  and  made  printing  and  wrapping  papers.  It 
ceased  operations  in  1 85 1 .  Noonan  &  McNab  ran  mills 
at  Humboldt,  on  the  Milwaukee  River,  from  1850  to 
1867,  and  also  on  the  Menominee  River,  the  latter  mill 
having  been  erected  by  Ernest  Prieger  in  1855.  An- 
other mill  was  built  in  1864  in  Milwaukee  by  Alexan- 
der Mills.  After  running  about  two  years  one  of  its 
boilers  exploded  and  wrecked  the  plant.  A  little  later 
the  special  machinery  was  shipped  to  Marseilles,  111. 


58      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

The  first  mill  in  the  valley  of  the  Fox  was  Richmond's, 
started  in  Appleton  in  1853,  ^^^  producing  wrapping 
paper.  Between  1850  and  1875  paper  mills  were  started 
at  Waterford,  Beloit,  Sparta  and  Fond  du  Lac. 

Paper  is  now  manufactured  in  the  following  Wiscon- 
sin counties :  Dunn,  Fond  du  Lac,  Lincoln,  Marinette, 
Monroe,  Oconto,  Outagamie,  Racine,  Rock,  Winnebago 
and  Wood.  The  centers  are  in  Outagamie  and  Win- 
nebago counties.  They  produce  nearly  five-sixths  of  the 
total  amount  in  the  State.  Many  of  the  paper  mills 
operate  their  own  sulphite  plants.  At  Appleton  and 
Kaukauna  there  are  plants  that  produce  nothing  but  sul- 
phite. 

The  valleys  of  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers  consti- 
tute two  distinct  paper-making  districts.  The  mills  along 
Fox  River  were  the  first  to  begin  operations.  The  story 
of  growth  is  illustrated  by  the  expansion  of  what  is  now 
the  largest  company  in  Wisconsin  employed  in  this  in- 
dustry. In  1872  this  company  started  a  mill  at  Neenah, 
making  print  and  book  paper  entirely  from  rags,  two 
tons  per  day.  This  mill  has  run  continuously  ever  since, 
and  now  has  a  daily  run  of  eight  tons.  Two  years  later 
another  mill  was  purchased.  In  1879  a  mill  was  started 
at  Appleton,  making  wood  manilla.  Then  came  two 
others,  also  at  Appleton,  both  running  on  super-calen- 
dered book  grades.  In  1884  another  mill  was  built  at 
Neenah  for  the  production  of  high-grade  manilla  and 
No.  I  print.  A  seventh  mill,  fitted  for  specialties  in 
book  and  colors,  was  built  at  Appleton  in  1887.  Two 
years  later  a  large  three-machine  print  mill,  with  ground 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  59 

wood  and  sulphite  departments,  was  constructed  at  Klm- 
berly.  In  1891  this  firm  capped  the  climax  by  building 
at  De  Pere  "the  finest  and  largest  paper  mill  in  the  West, 
fitted  to  make  high-grade,  loft-dried  writing  paper."  It 
has  never  been  shut  down  a  week  for  want  of  orders, 
demonstrating  that  fine  writing  paper  can  be  made  as 
good  in  the  Western  as  in  the  Eastern  States.  This 
company  operates  fourteen  mills  and  has  a  daily  output 
of  150  tons.  Twenty-five  years  ago  their  single  mill 
produced  two  tons  daily.  The  mills  on  the  Wisconsin 
and  Marinette  rivers  are  now  turning  out  a  large  prod- 
uct, but  the  Fox  River  valley  still  remains  the  chief  seat 
of  this  industry.  They  are  all  equipped  with  the  most 
modern  machinery. 

As  in  other  lines  of  manufacture,  methods  have 
changed  considerably  in  the  last  few  years.  Acid  plants 
used  to  be  locked  up,  and  high-priced  men  from  Ger- 
many were  supposed  to  be  the  only  ones  who  could  oper- 
ate them  with  success.  Even  the  employers  were  locked 
out.  The  operation  is  so  simple  that  the  men  veiled 
it  in  mystery  to  keep  their  pay  up.  It  does  not  require 
great  skill,  and  employees  are  now  paid  $1.50  a  day 
for  the  work  that  used  to  command  fancy  prices.  As 
elsewhere,  Wisconsin  paper  manufacturers  have  sought 
to  overcome  the  difficulties  due  to  the  use  of  black  rags, 
and  have  expended  fortunes  in  chemical  experiments. 


CHEESE,    BUTTER   AND   CONDENSED   MILK. 
New  York   is   the   only   State  whose   dairy  product 


6o      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

exceeds  that  of  Wisconsin  in  value,  as  reckoned  in  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  According  to  the  latest  available  sta- 
tistics, while  the  number  of  establishments  and  amount 
of  capital  invested  in  this  State  have  somewhat  more 
than  doubled,  the  output  has  more  than  trebled  in  value. 
The  annual  factory  product  of  condensed  milk,  cheese 
and  butter  represents  a  total  exceeding  $20,000,000. 

A  single  county  in  Wisconsin  produces  enough  Swiss 
cheese  to  supply  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  State 
with  two  and  one-half  pounds  thereof.  According  to 
the  census  statistics,  there  are  in  W^isconsin  about  a  thou- 
sand creameries,  producing  75,000,000  pounds  of  butter 
per  year,  and  1,600  cheese  factories,  with  an  annual 
output  of  55,000,000  pounds.  The  great  butter-pro- 
ducing counties  are  Dane,  with  an  annual  production  of 
5,500,000  pounds;  Walworth,  5,000,000  pounds;  Jef- 
ferson, 4,000,000  pounds,  and  Rock,  Trempealeau, 
Dodge  and  Fond  du  Lac  each  producing  a  little  less 
than  3,000,000  pounds. 

Green  County  leads  in  the  production  of  cheese  with 
7,750,000  pounds,  and  Dodge  produces  6,000,000 
pounds.  Fourteen  counties  in  the  State  produce  no 
cheese,  while  butter  is  made  in  all  but  two. 

In  addition  to  making  large  quantities  of  full  cream 
cheese,  Wisconsin  is  also  a  great  fancy  cheese  State. 
Green  County  leads  the  State  in  cheese  production,  and 
almost  every  pound  of  its  output  is  either  Swiss,  lim- 
burger  or  brick  cheese.  Fancy  cheese  making  is  not  an 
old  industry  in  Wisconsin;  twenty  years  ago  but  little 
fancy  cheese  was  made.     A  few  men  in  the  valleys  of 


A  RELIC  OF  TERRITOKIAI.  DAYS 


This  jjress,  now  the  property  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society, 

\vas  used  In  Milwaukee,  Racine.  Janesville,  Delavan, 

(Geneva  Lake,  and  Evansville. 


:7  V^  ■ 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  6i 

Washington  and  New  Glarus  made  cheese  from  the 
product  of  small  herds  of  from  ten  to  thirty  cows.  But 
they  were  not  in  it  as  a  business,  conducting  cheese 
making  only  as  a  by-work  in  addition  to  the  regular 
labor  of  the  farm.  There  was  no  regular  system,  either 
of  making  or  selling;  there  were  no  selected  cows;  there 
was  no  skilled  labor.  The  cheese  made  was  small  in 
size,  and  various  in  quality  and  price. 

The  farmer's  main  work  was  an  attempt  to  raise 
spring  wheat,  alternating  with  corn  and  oats.  Little 
fertilizer  was  used,  and  rotation  of  crops  was  little 
known.  The  exhaustion  of  the  land  increased  the  weeds 
and  noxious  insects,  and  by  1870  deplorable  conditions 
ensued.  The  vigorous  young  men  sought  homes  further 
West.  The  newspapers  were  filled  with  notices  of  sher- 
iff's sales  and  foreclosures,  and  each  effort  of  the  farmer 
seemed  to  land  him  deeper  in  the  mire. 

It  was  at  this  dark  time  that  cheese  making  began 
with  the  opening  of  two  factories  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  county.  The  proprietor  found  difficulty  in  in- 
ducing the  farmers  to  begin  the  industry,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  give  material  assistance.  He  was  a  Swiss 
cheese  maker,  who  had  been  making  limburger  cheese 
in  New  York  State.  He  was  backed  by  a  large  Chicago 
cheese  dealer.  A  year's  trial  demonstrated  that  the 
climate,  grass,  water  and  people  were  favorable.  The 
results  were  encourging,  and  year  by  year  the  business 
has  expanded  until  now  the  State  produces  about  10,- 
000,000  pounds.  The  expansion  of  the  dairy  business 
has  changed  all  the  conditions.     The  farmei-s,  instead  of 


62      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

being  poor,  have  money  in  the  bank.  Lands  have  in- 
creased in  value  materially,  and  foreclosures  are  almost 
unknown  in  the  dairy  districts. 

Wisconsin  fancy  cheeses  are  of  three  kinds — Swiss, 
limburger  and  brick.  Swiss  cheeses  are  made  in  round 
loaves,  rarely  weighing  less  than  sixty  pounds  and  more 
often  reaching  200.  The  weight  does  not  affect  the 
height  of  the  cheese,  which  is  rarely  in  excess  of  five 
inches,  but  the  circumference  is  not  infrequently  three 
feet. 

Creameries  are  increasing  in  number,  and  year  by  year 
more  farmers  are  giving  up  butter  making  on  the  farm. 
It  is  an  age  of  specialties,  and  the  farmer  realizes  that 
his  profit  is  larger  if  he  sends  his  milk  to  a  factory  to  be 
handled  on  the  best  of  machinery  by  an  expert  than 
if  he  works  it  himself.  The  model  creamery  of  the 
world  is  located  in  Wisconsin.  The  machinery,  oper- 
ated by  electricity,  is  all  nickel-plated;  the  walls  of  the 
factory  room  are  marble  and  tile;  the  vats  are  lined  with 
porcelain  or  nickel;  the  floors  are  cement,  and  all  the 
benches  or  tables  are  marble.  There  are  ample  arrange- 
ments for  flushing  the  floors,  and  everything  about  the 
room  corresponds  in  neatness,  even  the  operatives  being 
attractive  in  suits  of  white  linen. 

The  Babcock  milk  test,  now  used  in  every  part  of  the 
world  where  dairying  is  carried  on  with  intelligence,  was 
invented  in  Wisconsin.  The  Babcock  test  has  now  been 
critically  studied  by  more  than  a  score  of  able  chemists 
in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  and  thus  far  not  one 
who  has  made  a  careful  study  has  failed  to  pronounce 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  63 

it  entirely  accurate.  This  test  is  a  process  by  which  the 
amount  of  butter  fat  in  the  milk,  is  determined,  and 
wherever  it  is  properly  used  the  farmer  receives  pay 
according  to  the  richness  of  the  milk,  and  not  accord- 
ing to  its  weight  or  bulk.  It  is  a  perfect  safeguard 
against  skimmed  or  watered  milk.  Prof.  S.  M.  Bab- 
cock,  of  the  agricultural  experiment  station  at  Madi- 
son, gave  this  process  to  the  dairying  world,  and  from 
him  it  takes  its  name. 

The  efforts  of  a  few  men  who  organized  the  State 
Dairymen's  Association  has  been  largely  instrumental 
in  stimulating  the  dairy  industry.  They  began  their 
agitation  in  1870,  led  by  Hiram  Smith  and  W.  D. 
Hoard,  the  latter  of  whom  became  Governor  twenty 
years  later.  At  that  time  there  were  but  six  cheese  fac- 
tories in  the  State.  These  few  men  held  numerous  meet- 
ings to  educate  farmers  to  a  realization  of  their  oppor- 
tunities. In  1872  a  call  was  issued  for  a  State  meeting 
at  Watertown.  The  attendance  was  limited  to  six  men. 
They  were  Chester  Hazen,  of  Brandon;  Stephen  Fa- 
ville,  Henry  Drake,  and  W.  D.  Hoard,  of  Lake  Mills; 
H.  F.  Dousman,  of  Dousman,  and  Walter  S.  Greene, 
of  Milton.  Chester  Hazen  was  elected  president,  W. 
D.  Hoard  secretary,  and  W.  S.  Greene  treasurer.  The 
first  annual  meeting  was  held  in  Watertown.  In  the 
meantime  a  dairy  board  of  trade  had  been  organized  at 
Watertown,  at  which  the  cheese  makers  would  gather 
and  strive  to  promote  the  sale  of  Wisconsin  cheese.  This 
proved  very  slow  work.  There  was  no  export  trade 
from  the  State — nothing  but  a  local  demand.      It  cost 


64      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

23/2  cents  to  send  a  pound  of  cheese  to  New  York  in 
common  cars,  and  when  it  reached  there  it  was  not  such 
as  was  wanted.  Wisconsin  cheese  makers  in  the  main 
were  lacking  in  judgment.  They  had  no  special  train- 
ing, and  there  was  a  serious  ignorance  existing.  Ship- 
ping in  common  cars  was  impossible  in  hot  weather,  as 
the  cheese  would  melt  on  the  way.  The  total  cheese 
production  of  the  State  was  about  3,000,000  pounds  per 
year.  In  1874  the  cheese  makers  secured  from  the 
transportation  lines  concessions  as  to  rates  to  New  York 
and  iced-car  facilities.  A  new  era  dawned.  "The 
total  production  of  1872,"  said  ex-Governor  Hoard 
in  an  interview  some  time  since,  "was  $1,000,000.  Now 
the  annual  production  of  the  State  reaches  $35,000,000. 
The  amount  of  capital  interested  is  fully  $150,000,000, 
while  behind  this  industry  are  from  130,000  to  140,000 
voters,  who  zealously  work  for  its  interests  and  care- 
fully watch  the  legislation  enacted  for  its  protection. 

"The  Wisconsin  Dairymen's  Association  has  been  the 
most  powerful  influence  for  the  advancement  of  the  in- 
dustry'. It  v/as  due  to  this  association  that  farmers' 
institutes  were  organized.  The  association  stood  be- 
hind the  movement  for  the  experiment  station  and  the 
establishment  of  the  Wisconsin  Dairy  School.  It  de- 
manded and  backed  up  legislation  for  a  Dairy  and  Food 
Commission.  It  rescued  the  State  from  the  oleomar- 
garine difficulty  into  which  it  had  fallen,  and  secured 
the  passage  of  the  law  prohibiting  the  making  or  sale 
of  filled  cheese  and  oleomargarine  colored  in  semblance 
of  butter. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  65 

"The  association  has  been  fortunate  in  having  been 
directed  by  about  a  dozen  men  who  have  always  worked 
together  harmoniously  and  without  jealousy,  always  re- 
fusing to  subordinate  the  true  interests  of  the  State,  as 
manifested  in  the  dairy  business,  to  the  advancement  of 
any  individual's  political  fortunes.  In  point  of  dairy- 
progress  and  education,  and  quality  and  character  of  its 
dairy  products,  Wisconsin  stands  second  to  no  State  in 
the  Union." 


MALT  LIQUORS 

The  production  of  beer  in  Wisconsin  nearly  doubled 
in  the  decade  from  1885  to  1895,  and  more  than  doubled 
in  the  decade  ending  in  1905.  The  brewing  and  malt- 
ing interests  of  the  State  have  a  nominal  capital  of  nearly 
$20,000,000,  one  company  alone  being  capitalized  at 
$10,000,000.  These  interests  represent  a  total  invest- 
ment of  more  than  $35,000,000. 

The  magnitude  of  this  business  in  Milwaukee  is  known 
everywhere.  The  local  brewers  employ  nearly  3,000 
men  in  the  city,  and  perhaps  as  many  more  in  their 
branches,  which  are  distributed  all  over  the  world.  They 
pay  in  wages,  locally,  $1,500,000.  The  Milwaukee 
breweries  represent  an  investment  of  $33,300,000.  They 
ship  daily  about  one  hundred  cars  loaded  with  beer,  and 
pay  annually  nearly  $900,000  as  freight  charges.  They 
bring  into  the  city  from  $12,000,000  to  $15,000,000 

every  year. 

4,  5. 


66      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

The  brewing  interests  of  Wisconsin  are  not  confined  to 
Milwaukee.  La  Crosse  has  two  large  breweries,  each 
employing  a  capital  of  more  than  $300,000,  and  a  third 
nearly  as  large.  Madison,  Green  Bay,  Manitowoc, 
Sheyboygan  and  Fond  du  Lac  each  support  breweries 
of  respectable  size.  Even  the  small  towns  away  from 
the  railroads  and  the  beaten  line  of  traffic  have  their 
local  breweries,  often  the  leading  industry  of  the  com- 
munity. In  the  spring  of  1840  Milwaukee's  first  brew- 
ery was  built  on  the  lake  shore  at  the  foot  of  Huron 
street.  Richard  G.  Owens,  William  Pawlett  and  John 
Davis  were  the  owners,  and  the  first  barley  brewed  in  the 
city  was  bought  by  Mr.  Owens  in  Michigan  City.  All 
that  he  could  buy  amounted  to  only  130  bushels,  but  he 
brought  it  across  the  lake  in  a  small  sloop  called  the 
"Ranger."  In  July  the  first  brew  was  made,  the  original 
brew-kettle  being  a  copper-lined  wooden  box.  Ale,  por- 
ter and  beer  were  brewed,  but  ale  was  the  principal 
product.  Four  years  later  the  copper-lined  box  was 
superseded  by  a  copper  kettle,  which  was  made  in  Mil- 
waukee, and  increased  the  capacity  of  the  brewery  to 
forty  barrels.  Mr.  Owens  continued  in  the  business 
until  1864.  The  competition  of  lager  beer  was  too 
strong  for  the  ale  brewery,  and  in  1880  it  was  discon- 
tinued. The  Blatz  brewery  was  started  in  1846,  and 
Mr.  Valentin  Blatz  began  in  1851.  The  Schlitz  estab- 
lishment began  in  1849,  t)Ut  Joseph  Schlitz  was  not 
connected  with  it  until  1856.  In  1 842  Jacob  Best  began 
operations. 

Many  distinct  operations  are  involved  in  the  making 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  67 

of  beer.  But  the  business  has  divided  naturally  into 
two  departments,  which  are  often  conducted  separately 
under  different  management.  These  are  malting  and 
brewing  proper.  Whether  carried  on  as  a  department 
of  a  brewery  or  as  an  independent  business,  the  process 
of  malting  is  the  same. 

Milwaukee  and  Southern  Wisconsin  generally  are  in 
a  favored  location  for  the  development  of  malting  in- 
terests. Wisconsin  is  second  only  to  California  among 
the  States  in  barley  production,  and  excellent  water  is 
to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  State.  The  malting  season 
in  this  climate  runs  from  September  i  to  June  i,  and 
at  critical  times  the  maltster  can  count  on  comparatively 
even  temperature.  Wisconsin  barley  is  usually  of  good 
quality.  Stained  barley  will  not  make  bright  beer,  which 
is  the  kind  that  meets  the  greatest  demand.  Wisconsin 
barley  is  usually  bright  and  unstained.  Malting  estab- 
lishments are  scattered  through  the  State,  both  as  de- 
partments of  breweries  and  as  independent  concerns. 
Milwaukee  is  the  center  of  malting  interests  in  the  United 
States,  with  an  annual  capacity  approximating  10,000,- 
000  bushels.  The  breweries  manufacturing  wholly  or 
in  part  the  malt  that  they  use  can  produce  3,000,000 
bushels ;  the  Milwaukee  companies  produce  in  the  aggre- 
gate nearly  6,000,000  bushels.  Some  idea  of  the  extent 
of  the  "country"  malting  interests  of  the  State,  as  com- 
pared with  those  In  Milwaukee,  may  be  obtained  from 
the  fact  that  Milwaukee  receives  annually  by  rail  from 
the  country  maltsters  about  2,000,000  bushels  of  malt. 
Although  Milwaukee  is  eminent  as  a  brewing  center  less 


68      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

than  one-half  of  this  amount  was  used  in  the  local  brew- 
eries. Wisconsin  malt  to  the  extent  of  5,000,000  bushels 
is  distributed  from  Milwaukee. 

Wisconsin  grows  only  a  small  quantity  of  hops.  The 
receipts  of  hops  in  Milwaukee  amount  annually  to  10,- 
000  bales,  of  which  one-half  comes  from  the  East,  and 
about  one-third  of  the  bales  from  the  West,  chiefly  from 
the  Pacific  Coast.  The  receipts  from  the  East  are  grown 
in  New  York  State,  excepting  a  small  amount  of  im- 
ported hops  from  Germany.  The  hops  are  packed  in 
bales,  weighing  about  200  pounds  each.  They  are  stored 
in  cold  storage  houses,  and  are  kept  cool  by  directly 
expanding  ammonia. 

The  revenue  tax  paid  by  the  breweries  in  the  Mil- 
waukee district  amounts  to  more  than  two  and  one-half 
miUions  of  dollars.  The  internal  revenue  collector's 
office  maintained  in  Milwaukee  transacts  more  than  half 
its  business  with  the  breweries.  In  local  taxes  the  brew- 
ers pay  about  $200,000,  and  they  pay  annually  nearly 
$50,000  for  the  use  of  city  water. 

Some  of  the  largest  beer-bottling  establishments  in 
the  country  are  maintained  in  connection  with  the  Mil- 
waukee breweries.  In  one  of  them  about  1,000  em- 
ployees are  at  work  in  various  capacities.  Hand-cut 
corks,  imported  from  Spain,  are  used  in  the  large  brew- 
eries. It  is  estimated  that  the  Milwaukee  breweries  use 
eighty  carloads  of  cork  in  a  year,  one  company  alone 
using  thirty-one  carloads.  The  Milwaukee  breweries 
use  50,000,000  corks  each  year,  and  it  is  estimated  that 
900  people  are  given  employment  in  Spain  in  their  pro- 
duction and  transportation. 


« 


Old  Cottage  Inn— Milwaukee  1836. 


Old  American  House— Milwaukee. 


THE 
NEW  YORK        ^ 

'public  library 

^stor,  Lenox  and  Tiiden^ 
Foundations 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  69 

A  development  of  the  brewing  industry,  which  origin- 
ated in  Milwaukee,  is  known  as  the  "pipe-line  system," 
connecting  the  brewery  and  the  bottling  house.  Previous 
to  1890  internal  revenue  regulations  prohibited  any  di- 
rect connections  between  the  two  departments.  Repeated 
appeals  finally  resulted  in  a  modification  of  these  regu- 
lations, and  one  of  the  large  companies  at  once  prepared 
to  operate  a  pipe-line  system.  A  tunnel  five  feet  wide 
by  six  and  one-half  feet  high  was  made,  over  200  feet 
long,  connecting  the  brewery  cellar  and  the  bottling 
house.  Through  this  tunnel  pipes  for  conveying  the 
beer  were  laid,  as  well  as  refrigerating  pipes  for  regu- 
lating the  temperature  in  summer.  The  beer  is  forced 
through  block-tin-lined  copper  pipes  to  receiving  tanks, 
these  being  cone-shaped  and  so  placed  that  the  beer  runs 
toward  the  outlet.  Inlet  and  outlet  pipes  are  sealed  by 
the  gauger.  Upon  payment  of  the  revenue  tax  the 
government  agent  releases  the  lock  on  the  outlet  pipe, 
and  the  beer  is  forced  to  the  filling  machines. 

In  addition  to  the  men  employed  in  the  departments, 
which  belong  purely  to  the  manufacture  of  beer,  each 
brewery  has  an  army  of  men  at  work  in  carpenter  and 
blacksmith  shops,  millwright  and  machine  shops,  and  in 
the  vast  stables.  Saloon  fixtures  are  made  and  repaired, 
signs  painted,  paint  made,  horses  shoed,  patterns  devised, 
all  by  brewery  employees.  Their  men  make  awnings  and 
wagon  covers,  and  a  squad  of  whitewashers  work  con- 
stantly, keeping  the  storage  cellars  clean. 

One  Milwaukee  wagon  maker  has  furnished  more 
than  1,500  wagons  to  a  single  brewery  in  twenty  years. 


70      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

These  wagons  are  used  in  Milwaukee  and  at  the  various 
branch  houses.  The  local  breweries  have  distributing 
stations  and  storage  depots  at  advantageous  points  all 
over  the  world.  Thus,  one  brewery  has  more  than  forty 
branch  houses,  and  over  600  special  agents  who  devote 
themselves  entirely  to  the  sale  of  the  beer  made  by  the 
Milwaukee  house.  Milwaukee  bottled  beer  is  sold  in 
South  and  Central  America  and  in  the  West  Indies,  while 
in  Asia,  Africa  and  Australia  it  successfully  competes  for 
public  favor  with  the  European  product. 


LEATHER 

But  three  States  outrank  Wisconsin  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  leather,  and  in  Milwaukee  are  located  what  are 
claimed  to  be  the  largest  tanneries  in  the  world.  Imag- 
ine a  continuous  train  of  cars  on  the  Chicago  &  North- 
Western  system,  extending  from  six  miles  south  of  Chi- 
cago to  six  miles  north  of  Bayfield,  Wisconsin.  This 
train  passes  through  Milwaukee,  Sheboygan,  Appleton, 
Rhinelander  and  Ashland.  Each  car  is  forty  feet  long 
and  contains  twenty-five  head  of  stock.  This  immense 
trainload  represents  the  number  of  hides  annually  tanned 
in  Wisconsin,  more  than  2,000,000.  About  3,500,000 
calfskins  are  tanned  in  the  State,  in  addition  to  the 
hides. 

The  output  of  Wisconsin's  tanneries  each  year  approxi- 
mates $20,000,000.  About  $9,000,000  worth  of  Wis- 
consin   leather   is    sold   in    Boston    annually,    and    the 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  71 

amount  exported  is  placed  at  $1,500,000.  The  capital 
Invested  is  about  $18,000,000.  Employment  is  fur- 
nished to  more  than  5,000  men,  who  receive  about 
$2,000,000  annually  for  their  services.  Over  100,000 
cords  of  hemlock  bark  are  used  in  Wisconsin  tanneries 
each  year. 

Years  ago-  Salem  and  Peabody,  in  Massachusetts, 
were  the  centers  of  the  manufacture  of  **upper  leather." 
It  took  at  least  six  months  to  tan  this  variety,  the  hides 
being  laid  away  in  layers  of  ground  bark  most  of  the 
time.  One  split  was  taken  off.  The  present  custom  is 
to  split  the  hides  when  green,  and  the  sides  are  handled 
in  strong  liquor,  the  whole  operation  taking  from  three 
days  to  a  month.  Most  of  the  tanneries  in  the  Salem 
district  are  now  in  ruins,  and  "an  eyesore  to  those  who 
dwell  in  their  vicinity."  The  seat  of  the  industry  of 
tanning  upper  leather  has  passed  in  a  large  measure  to 
the  West.  The  Wisconsin  tanners  are  famous  for  grain 
and  buff  leather,  as  well  as  for  satin,  diced  and  other 
fine  finishes. 

As  illustrating  the  diversified  output  of  a  Wisconsin 
tannery,  the  following  list  is  taken  from  an  advertise- 
ment: "We  manufacture  the  following  kinds  of  leather: 
Glove  leathers  in  calf,  kip  and  horsehides,  cordovan 
vamps,  dongola  tanned  muleskins,  horsehide  in  imitation 
kangaroo,  kangaroo  calf,  dongola  calf,  Russian  calf  in 
various  colors,  patent  leather,  enamel  leather,  union  sole, 
acid  and  nonacid  hemlock  sole,  harness,  line  and  strap, 
colored  and  russet  skirtings,  soft  tanned  sole,  legging 
leather,  black  and  russet  collar,  kangaroo  grain,  satin- 


72      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

finish  grain,  English  grain,  oil  grain,  veal  kips,  calf  skins 
and  wax  and  union  upper,  flesh  and  grain  splits,  flexible 
splits,  shoulder  splits,  etc." 

For  a  good  many  years  "Milwaukee  oil  grain"  was  as 
standard  as  sugar.  It  was  quoted  at  the  head  of  the  list 
in  all  trade  journals.  Shoes  made  from  it  commanded 
a  higher  price  than  those  made  from  any  other  grain. 
Imitations  flooded  the  market,  and  as  a  protection  to 
themselves  and  to  the  public  the  tanners  issued  trade- 
marked  labels  which  were  placed  upon  the  heels  of  shoes 
made  from  their  leather.  This  protection  was  continued 
until  the  time  of  the  tanners'  strike,  when  the  retailers 
of  shoes  requested  its  discontinuance. 

Wisconsin  calfskins  have  always  borne  a  high  repu- 
tation, and  at  the  present  time  only  two  or  three  outside 
tanneries  grade  with  those  of  Wisconsin  in  the  tanning 
of  Russia  calf  and  other  colored  stocks.  These  leathers 
are  finished  in  twenty-two  shades,  more  than  three  times 
the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  atmospheric  pressure  may 
produce  variations  in  some  of  the  shades. 

Outside  of  Milwaukee  nearly  all  of  the  Wisconsin 
tanneries  produce  hemlock  sole,  although  the  products 
of  the  Sheboygan  and  Fond  du  Lac  tanneries  follow 
closely  upon  those  of  the  Milwaukee  houses. 

The  excellent  quality  and  plentiful  supply  of  hemlock 
bark  has  attracted  to  Wisconsin  some  of  the  large  con- 
cerns which  had  their  origin  in  New  England.  One 
tannery,  at  Mellen,  employs  a  thousand  men,  and  has 
purchased  sufficient  hemlock  to  last  for  thirty  years.  It 
is  estimated  that  not  less  than  600,000  tons  of  hemlock 
bark  are  growing  on  trees  tributary  to  this  tannery. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  73 

One  large  Wisconsin  firm  has  reached  the  half-century 
mark  of  its  existence.  In  announcing  this  fact  to  its 
customers,  some  facts  and  figures  were  used  that  are 
worth  reproducing  as  indication  of  the  immense  growth 
of  this  industry  in  the  State:  "Fifty  years  ago  this  coun- 
try was  so  rough  and  new  that  bark  necessary  for  tan- 
ning could  be  fairly  carried  by  the  workmen  from  the 
forest  to  the  mill,  but  now  to  feed  this  immense  system 
of  tanneries  it  requires  over  30,000  cords  of  bark  an- 
nually, carried  hundreds  of  miles  by  a  small  fleet  of  ves- 
sels kept  busy  nearly  all  the  months  of  navigation.  In 
addition  to  the  oak  and  hemlock  bark  consumed  an- 
nually, Gambier,  an  East  Indian  product,  is  also  used 
to  the  enormous  amount  of  2,000,000  pounds  per  year. 
Oils  and  greases,  weighing  nearly  1,500,000  pounds, 
must  be  purchased  annually  to  help  the  development  of 
the  leather  which  bears  our  trade  mark,  and  is  now  so 
famous  for  its  honesty  and  excellence.  ' 

"It  takes  annually  over  400,000  cattle  hides,  450,000 
skins,  and  60,000  horse  hides  to  keep  the  five  big  tan- 
neries running,  and  more  than  1,300  men  are  kept  busy 
handling  this  vast  amount  of  material. 

"From  a  modest  beginning,  fifty  years  ago,  our  com- 
pany has  grown  so  rapidly  that  instead  of  using  two 
cords  of  bark  per  week  it  uses  now  100  cords  per  day. 
Instead  of  working  in  fifty  hides  every  six  days  the  great 
vats  must  now  be  ready  for  3,000  hides  and  1,500  skins 
every  twenty-four  hours." 

It  is  estimated  that  about  50  per  cent,  of  the  Wis- 
consm  tannery  product  is  sold  in  Boston,  although  some 


74      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

estimates  increase  these  figures  to  60  per  cent.  On  the 
basis  of  the  more  conservative  estimate,  this  means  that 
Wisconsin  sends  to  Boston  annually  nearly  $9,000,000 
worth  of  leather.  Boston  is  the  center  of  the  shoe  and 
leather  industries  of  the  United  States.  At  least  90  per 
cent,  of  the  shoes  worn  in  the  country  are  contracted  for 
in  Boston,  and  nearly  all  of  the  large  shoe  houses  main- 
tain either  buying  or  selling  offices  in  that  city.  Leather 
is  sold  where  shoes  are  made,  and  on  Wednesdays  and 
Saturdays  the  buyers  flock  into  the  city  from  the  factory 
towns  in  Massachusetts,  Maine  and  New  Hampshire. 
The  leather  dealers  must  be  there  to  meet  them.  The 
Wisconsin  tanners  are  leaders  in  their  line  of  trade. 
Hence  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  five  of  them  maintain- 
ing their  own  stores  in  Boston,  while  the  rest  of  the 
Wisconsin  firms  are  represented  by  brokers. 

In  recent  years  Milwaukee  has  exported  considerable 
leather.  Twenty  years  ago  the  export  trade  was  too 
small  to  be  considered,  but  freights  were  pretty  high 
in  those  days.  The  export  trade  of  to-day  is  generally 
placed  at  about  one-sixth  of  the  total  Milwaukee  pro- 
duction. A  large  proportion  of  this  amount  goes  to 
Frankfort,  Germany,  but  Wisconsin  leather  is  used  in 
Italy,  Switzerland,  Norway,  Sweden,  Germany,  Eng- 
land and  France.  Some  leather  goes  to  South  America, 
but  not  a  large  amount,  as  the  factories  there  are  few  in 
number.  The  leather  for  export  is  sold  to  European 
dealers,  delivered  in  New  York.  Nearly  all  of  it  is 
bought  outright  before  shipment,  very  little  being 
consigned.     Wisconsin  tanners  do  not  have  to  go  to 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  75 


Europe  to  sell  their  goods,  but  the  buyers  come  to  Mil- 
waukee to  make  purchases.  After  connections  are  well 
established  the  orders  are  cabled. 

Aside  from  the  men  employed  within  the  tannery 
walls,  this  industry  holds  interests  that  furnish  employ- 
ment to  thousands.  The  Milwaukee  tanneries  alone 
use  100,000  cords  of  hemlock  bark  in  a  single  year. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  yield  of  five  large  trees  is  about 
a  cord,  so  that  at  least  500,000  trees  are  felled  annually 
to  supply  Milwaukee  tanneries  with  bark.  In  the  old 
days  much  of  the  bark  was  bought  from  farmers  who 
were  clearing  their  land,  but  the  supplying  of  this  com- 
modity is  now  a  business  by  itself,  employing  choppers, 
peelers,  laborers  and  teams  all  the  year,  and  stevedores 
and  vessel  crews  in  the  season  for  navigation.  Some 
tanneries  own  bark  lands  and  peel  the  bark  themselves. 
When  the  leather  trust  was  formed  a  few  years  ago, 
among  Its  properties  was  bark  land,  valued  at  $19,000,- 
000.  The  Wisconsin  leather  sold  for  local  consumption 
is  used  chiefly  in  the  manufacture  of  shoes.  In  Mil- 
waukee there  are  thirteen  shoe  factories.  In  the  State 
outside  of  Milwaukee  there  are  about  as  many  more. 
Until  the  last  few  years,  Western-made  shoes  were  of 
the  heavy,  cheap  sort,  but  to-day  some  of  the  goods 
turned  out  by  some  of  the  Wisconsin  factories  are  as 
high  in  grade  as  the  product  of  the  finest  Eastern 
factories. 


76      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

IRON  AND  STEEL 

A  combined  capital  of  more  than  $25,000,000  is  in- 
vested in  iron  and  steel  and  in  foundry  and  machine 
shop  products.  In  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  im- 
plements $15,000,000  is  invested,  while  the  making  of 
carriages  and  wagons  employs  $8,000,000.  These  in- 
dustries are  related  in  some  degree,  as  iron  and  steel 
enter  largely  into  their  product.  The  four  branches, 
collectively,  employ  a  capital  of  nearly  $50,000,000. 
The  leading  counties  wherein  iron  is  manufactured  into 
articles  of  commerce  are  Milwaukee,  Racine  and  Rock. 

Lake  Superior  ores  are  of  the  richest  known  in  metal- 
lic iron,  running  from  40  per  cent,  to  65  per  cent.  In 
the  Southern  States  the  ores  mined  are  leaner  than  this, 
and  in  Europe  ores  running  as  low  as  30  per  cent,  are 
mined. 

Wisconsin  blast  furnaces  are  located  at  Bay  View, 
Mayville  and  Ashland.  The  producing  capacity  in  the 
State  of  pig  iron  is  about  as  follows:  Coke  furnaces, 
215,000  tons,  valued  at  $2,500,000;  charcoal  furnaces, 
35,000  tons,  valued  at  $450,000. 

Wisconsin  iron  and  steel  enters  into  the  local  manu- 
facture of  engines  and  machinery,  structural  iron  and 
steel,  stoves  and  furnaces,  drawn  steel  pipe,  hardware, 
pumps,  tools,  horseshoes,  nuts,  washers,  nails  and  wire. 

Engines  made  in  Wisconsin  are  distributed  all  over  the 
world.  In  the  iron  and  steel  center  of  the  United  States 
— Pittsburg — a  million  dollars'  worth  of  Wisconsin  en- 
gines are  now  in  operation.     Wisconsin  engines  are  scat- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  77     , 

tered  from  Boston  to  San  Francisco.  They  furnish  the 
power  for  factories  and  mines  in  South  Africa  and 
Japan.  They  are  made  in  all  sizes  up  to  4,000  horse 
power,  and  the  most  exacting  special  conditions  are  over- 
come by  their  makers.  The  plant  of  a  single  concern 
occupies  twenty-four  acres  of  land,  and  its  annual  prod- 
uct is  valued  at  $7,000,000. 

Wisconsin's  machinery  product  includes  special  ma- 
chines for  nearly  every  branch  of  manufacture.  The 
State  is  pre-eminent  in  the  manufacture  of  brewing,  malt- 
ing and  milling  machinery.  Sawmill  machinery  of  the 
highest  grade  is  made  in  Milwaukee,  Fond  du  Lac  and 
Marinette.  Electrical,  ice  and  mining  machinery  Is  also 
manufactured  extensively. 

In  the  value  of  its  product  Wisconsin  stands  fourth 
in  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  implements,  with  an 
annual  output  of  $8,000,000.  Of  a  thousand  estab- 
lishments in  this  line  in  the  United  States,  more  than 
fifty  are  located  in  Wisconsin.  Though  but  four  of  these 
are  in  Milwaukee,  they  employ  one-fifth  of  the  capital 
and  manufacture  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  total 
output  of  the  State.  Harvesters,  threshing  machines, 
plows,  harrows,  feed-cutters  and  hay-forks  are  among 
the  machines  manufactured.  One  Wisconsin  harvester 
company  ranks  third  in  the  country. 

Wisconsin  produces  nearly  10,000  wagons,  carriages 
and  sleighs  annually.  Racine  manufactures  more  than 
two-fifths  of  them.  Milwaukee  County  ranks  second, 
and  Dane  County  third.  Nearly  all  the  factories  are 
devoted  to  the  manufacture  of  heavy  farm-wagons  and 


78      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  better  class  of  delivery  wagons  for  special  purposes, 
but  light  carriages  of  all  kinds  are  also  made,  a  single 
firm  turning  out  30,000  In  a  year. 

As  a  mining  State,  Wisconsin  occupies  a  leading  posi- 
tion. There  are  sixteen  iron  mines,  employing  2,000 
men.  The  ore  Is  of  the  red  hematite  variety.  Most 
of  the  mining  Is  carried  on  in  the  Lake  Superior  region, 
but  some  ore  Is  obtained  from  the  fossil  deposits  In  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State.  The  Wisconsin  Iron  mines 
are  located  in  Dodge  County,  at  Florence  and  Common- 
wealth In  Florence  County,  and  westward  from  Hurley 
in  Iron  County.  Small  deposits  have  been  found  in 
other  parts  of  the  State,  but  they  are  not  large  enough 
to  yield  a  profit  on  the  heavy  Investment  necessary  for 
working  them. 

In  no  other  mining  region  in  the  world  is  there  as 
much  water  in  the  mines  as  there  is  in  the  Lake  Superior 
region.  In  no  other  region  is  the  water  so  generally 
distributed.  The  amount  of  water  made  in  the  average 
mine  of  this  region  varies  from  500  gallons  to  1,000 
gallons  a  minute.  From  a  single  shaft  of  one  of  the 
very  wet  mines  water  Is  raised  at  the  rate  of  nearly  3,000 
gallons  per  minute,  about  one-eighth  of  the  amount  con- 
sumed by  the  people  of  Milwaukee.  Experienced  min- 
ing men  say  that,  without  exception,  the  iron  mines  of 
the  Lake  Superior  region  have  raised  to  the  surface  more 
tons  of  water  than  of  ore,  and  that  in  some  mines  the 
ratio  is  three  to  one.  The  handling  of  this  immense 
volume  of  water  requires  pumps  of  special  design.  Two- 
thirds  of  those  installed  In  recent  years  are  of  Milwaukee 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  79     - 

manufacture.     A  pump  of  this  kind  for  one  of  the  large 
mines  was  installed  at  a  cost  of  $250,000. 


OTHER  INDUSTRIES 

In  flouring  and  grist  mills  nearly  $10,000,000  is  in- 
vested, and  an  annual  product  of  two  and  a  half  times 
that  value  is  marketed.  Wisconsin  cannot  claim  the 
greatest  milling  center  in  the  country,  that  honor  being 
conceded  to  Minnesota,  but  in  Superior  and  Milwaukee 
the  State  has  the  second  and  third  flour-producing  points 
in  the  United  States.  Fifty-seven  of  the  seventy  coun- 
ties produce  flour,  Douglas  leading  the  list.  Flour  made 
in  the  mills  of  the  State  enjoys  a  high  reputation.  Almost 
every  variety  of  spring  and  winter  wheat  is  ground,  the 
supply  of  soft  and  hard  winter  wheat  coming  from 
Kansas;  white  winter  from  Washington  and  Oregon; 
excellent  varieties  of  both  spring  and  winter  grain  from 
Iowa,  Nebraska  and  Wisconsin;  while  Minnesota  and 
the  Dakotas  contribute  their  splendid  hard  varieties. 
Wisconsin  flour  is  consumed  in  the  home  market,  and 
there  are  shipments  all  over  the  country  and  to  foreign 
countries.  There  is  hardly  a  village  in  England,  Scot- 
land, Ireland,  or  the  northern  part  of  the  continent  of 
Europe  in  which  Wisconsin  flour  cannot  be  found.  In 
addition  to  the  ordinary  flour,  large  quantities  of  whole 
wheat,  graham,  rye  and  buckwheat  flour  are  produced, 
as  well  as  pearl  barley  and  the  cereal  preparations  known 
as  breakfast  foods. 


8o      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

The  value  of  articles  made  of  wood  has  increased 
enormously  in  the  State  in  the  last  fifteen  years.  An 
important  branch  of  the  wood-working  industry  is  fur- 
niture making.  Wisconsin  has  an  inexhaustible  supply 
of  red  birch  and  oak,  at  present  the  favorite  woods. 
The  finer  woods,  such  as  mahogany,  are  imported. 
Twenty  years  ago  there  was  a  meager  investment  in 
Wisconsin  in  the  furniture  industry,  and  the  goods  were 
used  locally.  To-day  all  grades  of  furniture  are  manu- 
factured and  the  product  is  sold  all  over  the  country. 
Sheboygan  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  centers 
in  this  line,  disputing  with  Gardner,  Mass.,  first  place 
in  the  United  States.  Furniture  of  all  kinds  is  made, 
from  a  cheap  grade  to  the  best.  The  manufacture  of 
cheap  and  medium  grades  of  upholstered  furniture  is 
a  large  industry  in  Milwaukee.  In  addition  to  the  She- 
boygan and  Milwaukee  establishments,  large  factories 
are  located  at  Racine,  Oshkosh,  Fond  du  Lac  and  Eau 
Claire. 

One  of  the  industries  showing  the  largest  develop- 
ment is  that  which  embraces  the  manufacture  of  textiles, 
and  especially  woolen  goods.  Milwaukee  is  a  center  for 
the  manufacture  of  clothing,  both  for  men  and  women. 
The  establishments  number  nearly  twenty,  employing 
nearly  3,000  persons.  Mills  located  in  Milwaukee, 
Appleton,  Reedsburg  and  Beaver  Dam  have  the  repu- 
tation of  producing  woolen  fabrics  of  the  best  quality. 

During  the  last  fifteen  years  the  manufacturing  in- 
dustries into  which  tobacco  enters  have  been  largely 
developed.     Nearly  2,500  persons  are  given  employ- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  8i 

ment,  and  the  annual  output  reaches  about  $5,000,000. 
An  excellent  quality  of  tobacco  is  grown  in  a  group  of 
counties  surrounding  Dane,  and  there  are  many  tobacco 
warehouses  at  Madison,  Edgerton,  and  other  towns  in 
this  belt. 

For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  hydraulic  cement 
has  been  obtained  from  a  ledge  of  rock  located  near  the 
Milwaukee  River.  When,  in  1875,  the  manufacture 
of  cement  was  begun,  and  for  a  long  time  thereafter, 
the  daily  capacity  was  100  barrels.  To-day  two  mills 
are  operated,  with  a  daily  capacity  of  4,000  barrels. 
One  of  them  Is  the  largest  Individual  cement  mill  In  the 
United  States. 

In  the  production  of  mineral  water  Wisconsin  leads 
the  States.  Nearly  two  and  a  half  million  gallons  are 
sold  annually.  Waukesha,  with  Its  many  well-known 
springs.  Is  the  center  of  the  Industry.  Some  of  the  com- 
panies controlling  springs  operate  extensive  bottling 
plants  and  carry  on  a  large  shipping  business. 


4,  6. 


CHAPTER  III 

Labor — In  Peace  and  in  War 


PROBABLY  a  full  third  of  the  male  adult  pop- 
ulation of  the  State  is  constituted  by  the  arti- 
sans and  laborers  who  earn  subsistence  and 
shelter  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow.  With  the 
growth  of  their  numbers  in  cities,  in  lumber 
camps,  and  in  other  industrial  centers  has  come  organ- 
ization into  unions  and  affiliation  with  national  bodies 
of  workingmen.  The  natural  result  has  been  repeated 
and  united  effort  for  better  conditions  and  larger  wages. 
The  fact  that  in  Wisconsin  many  workingmen  own  their 
own  homes  has  operated  to  lessen  materially  the  erup- 
tive tendencies  witnessed  in  communities  where  property 
interests  are  not  so  widely  distributed.  Despite  this  fact, 
and  the  conciliatory  attitude  maintained  by  employers 
— with  some  exceptions — there  have  been  at  times  many 
conflicts  between  them  and  their  employees.  In  1887 
occurred  what  was  known  as  "the  sawdust  war"  at  Eau 
Claire.  There  was  some  destruction  of  property,  but 
no  bloodshed.  Yielding  to  importunity,  the  Governor 
ordered  out  the  militia,  and  soon,  thereafter  the  strike 
collapsed. 

It  was  in  the  same  year  that  a  strike  of  cigarmakers 
was  precipitated  in  the  numerous  large  cigar  factories 
of  Milwaukee,  the  men  contending  for  larger  wages  and 
new  shop  rules.  Irritation  over  new  rules,  abolishing 
and  abridging  certain  time-honored  customs  and  privi- 
leges, doubtless  contributed  more  to  the  walk-out  of  the 
men  than  refusal  for  a  wage  increase.  The  strike  lasted 
seven  months,  the  men  being  defeated  in  its  purpose. 
The  principal  employers  formed  an  organization  and 

8s 


86      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

determined  to  break  the  union.  Women  and  children 
were  recruited  from  New  York  and  other  cities.  Agents 
were  sent  to  Europe  to  hire  workmen,  promises  of  good 
wages  and  free  transportation  to  Wisconsin  proving 
potent  in  inducing  acceptance  of  the  terms. 

In  1889  there  was  a  serious  strike  of  laborers  at  West 
Superior;  their  attitude  was  so  menacing  that  the  Gov- 
ernor deemed  it  prudent  to  send  National  guardsmen 
to  the  metropolis  of  Northern  Wisconsin.  Their  pres- 
ence restored  quiet. 

Early  in  Governor  Rusk's  administration  railroad 
workmen  employed  in  the  construction  of  the  Superior 
Air  Line  grew  violent  because  they  had  not  received 
their  pay  and  were  on  the  point  of  starvation.  The 
officials  frantically  called  for  military  protection. 
"These  men  need  bread,  not  bullets,"  is  the  way  the 
Governor  summed  up  the  situation,  and  compelled  the 
contractors  to  live  up  to  their  agreement  with  the  men. 

In  the  early  May  days  of  1886  a  reign  of  terror  ex- 
isted in  the  city  of  Milwaukee.  Idle  workmen  paraded 
the  streets ;  men  willing  to  work  were  urged  to  join  the 
demonstration,  and  in  many  cases  compelled  to  do  so; 
crowds,  armed  with  paving  blocks,  billets  and  other 
improvised  weapons  of  the  street,  overturned  hucksters' 
stands,  invaded  manufacturing  establishments,  and  even 
attacked  them.  As  the  riotous  proceedings  grew  to  large 
proportions  and  the  city  seemed  about  to  be  stretched 
at  the  mercy  of  a  mob,  a  deadly  fire  from  the  rifles  of 
State  militiamen  was  poured  into  a  crowd  of  Polish 
workmen  and  ended  the  lawlessness  which  had  threat- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  87 

ened  to  grow  beyond  control.  The  incidents  were  con- 
temporaneous with  the  tragic  massacre  of  the  Hay- 
market  in  Chicago. 

Off  in  the  East  there  appeared  about  Christmastide 
the  year  before  a  cloud  seemingly  no  larger  than  a  man's 
hand;  by  springtime  the  entire  sky  was  overcast,  and  the 
storm  center  was  over  Chicago  and  Milwaukee.  Sev- 
eral years  before,  the  Federation  of  Trades,  in  national 
convention,  had  adopted  resolutions  advising  all  labor 
organizations  "to  so  direct  their  laws  that  eight  hours 
should  constitute  a  legal  day's  work  on  and  after  May 
I,  1886."  The  Knights  of  Labor,  hitherto  a  weak  and 
struggling  organization,  took  up  the  eight-hour  cry,  and 
soon  developed  an  enormous  membership.  In  Wiscon- 
sin the  working  classes  were  exceedingly  responsive. 
Robert  Schilling  became  a  State  organizer,  and  his  ener- 
getic work  resulted  in  an  enormous  accession  of  mem- 
bers. In  their  declaration  of  principles  the  Knights 
advocated  shortening  the  hours  of  labor  "by  a  general 
refusal  to  work  for  more  than  eight  hours."  The  slo- 
gan: "Eight  hours'  work  and  ten  hours'  pay,"  appealed 
with  irresistible  force  to  the  great  mass  of  unskilled 
laborers  especially.  The  Knights  of  Labor  took  into 
their  fold  all  who  called  themselves  workmen;  even 
women  were  importuned  to  join,  and  assemblies  were 
organized  for  them. 

The  Central  Labor  Union,  a  Socialist  organization, 
joined  in  the  agitation  and  secured  many  members.  At 
its  head  was  Paul  Grottkau,  editor  of  the  "Arbeiter- 
Zeitung."  He  had  but  recently  come  from  Germany,  and 


88      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

threw  himself  into  the  movement  with  an  energy  that 
gave  him  a  large  and  devoted  personal  following.  Pos- 
essing  a  remarkable  gift  of  oratory,  he  was  able  to  sway 
his  followers  as  he  wished.  Thus,  while  the  union  had 
a  membership  materially  smaller  than  the  Knights  o^ 
Labor,  the  workmen  affiliated  with  the  organization 
were  as  conspicuous  in  the  movement.  When  threatened 
anarchy  was  succeeded  by  order,  the  arm  of  the  law 
fell  heaviest  on  its  members. 

Between  the  leaders  of  the  two  organizations  there 
was  much  bitter  rivalry  that  found  expression  in  the 
columns  of  their  respective  newspapers.  Personal  antag- 
onism did  not,  however,  prevent  common  action,  in  pros- 
ecuting the  eight-hour  movement.  More  than  3,000 
persons  attended  a  great  preliminary  mass  meeting  on 
the  west  side,  and  the  aldermen  were  urged  to  manifest 
their  sympathy  by  passing  an  ordinance  fixing  a  day's 
work  at  eight  hours  for  all  day  laborers  in  the  city's 
employ.  Impressed  by  the  demonstration,  the  aldermen 
complied  with  such  haste  as  to  suggest  that  political  fear 
prompted  their  action.  But  one  negative  vote  was  re- 
corded. It  is  worthy  of  note  that  but  a  few  weeks  later 
when  the  eight-hour  day  commotion  had  subsided,  the 
same  aldermen  voted  to  repeal  the  ordinance. 

Shortly  after,  three  large  tobacco  manufacturing  firms 
acceded  to  the  demands  of  their  men  and  introduced  the 
eight-hour  schedule.  It  now  seemed  as  if  nothing  could 
withstand  the  movement,  and  that  on  May  i  all  em- 
ployers would  be  compelled  to  inaugurate  the  new  sys- 
tem.   The  organization  of  Knights  of  Labor  assemblies 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  89 


went  on  at  a  remarkable  rate.  More  than  10,000  mem- 
bers were  counted  in  Milwaukee.  At  Marinette,  Oconto 
and  Preshtigo  the  men  engaged  in  lumber  industries 
joined  the  Knights  in  large  numbers. 

Believing  that  the  concession  of  an  eight-hour  day  by 
Edward  P.  Allis,  in  whose  immense  works  more  than  a 
thousand  men  were  employed,  would  operate  power- 
fully in  inducing  smaller  concerns  to  follow,  it  was 
planned  to  ask  Mr.  Allis  for  such  a  work-day  before 
the  fateful  first  day  of  May.  Coupled  with  this  propo- 
sition, was  a  demand  for  325  per  cent,  increase  in  wages. 
The  request  was  presented  in  April.  Mr.  Allis  agreed 
to  eight  hours  for  a  day's  work,  but  gave  reasons  why 
he  could  not  increase  wages,  except  in  the  case  of  common 
laborers.  Although  a  committee  of  employees,  after  a 
conference,  decided  that  Mr.  Allis  was  justified  in  his 
course,  the  radicals  repudiated  the  agreement  entered 
into  by  their  representatives.  The  conservative  work- 
men stood  by  their  committee  and  their  firm.  The  result 
was  that  many  timid  employers  were  emboldened  to  fol- 
low the  same  course  with  their  employees. 

On  all  sides  there  was  a  feeling  of  suppressed  excite- 
ment when  May  i  dawned.  In  Milwaukee  the  idle 
workmen  on  this  day  included  about  7,000  persons, 
mainly  belonging  to  the  following  classes :  Brewery  em- 
ployees, journeymen  carpenters,  shop  tailors  and  their 
helpers,  clothing  cutters,  cigarmakers,  broommakers,  and 
about  2,000  common  laborers.  The  events  of  the  sub- 
sequent few  days  increased  the  number  to  about  1 6,000. 

May  I  occurred  on  a  Saturday.    There  was  no  demon- 


90      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

stration,  but  the  following  day  a  monster  picnic  had 
been  planned  by  the  Central  Labor  Union.  Several 
thousand  men  marched,  and  a  few  red  flags  were  carried 
in  the  procession — an  omen  of  what  was  to  come.  Some 
of  the  mottoes  and  sentiments  on  banners  and  standards 
tended  to  alarm  peouple,  who  looked  with  forebodings 
to  the  events  of  the  coming  week : 

"Right  and  law  often  differ  materially  from  each 
other." 

*'The  idolaters  of  the  golden  calf  must  be  downed." 

"Help  yourself  and  God  will  then  help  you.    Realize 
this,  man,  and  end  your  sufferings." 

"They  used  to  call  it  over-production;  now  we  shall 
consume  some  more." 

"The  republic  shall  have  no  ruler;  not  even  King 
Mammon." 

"Capital  must  come  down  from  its  high  horse." 

"We  have  come  to  the  crossroads.  Honest  workmen 
will  follow  the  way.    Mark  the  rats.    Eight  hours." 

"Capital  is  the  product  of  labor;  not  its  master." 

Many  other  sentiments  of  hke  nature  were  displayed. 
Monday  dawned;  a  general  strike  at  the  breweries  was 
ordered.  A  thousand  men  marched  to  Falk's  establish- 
ment and  insisted  that  the  unwilling  workmen  must  join 
them.  In  many  establishments  the  workmen  marched 
out  in  a  body;  in  most  of  them  the  demand  was  for 
higher  pay  and  shorter  hours.  By  evening  1 4,000  bread- 
w^inners  were  out  of  work. 

It  was  during  the  afternoon  of  this  day  that  the  first 
lawlessness  occurred.  The  unskilled  Polish  laborers 
had  thrown  themselves  into  the  eight-hour  movement 
with  immense  enthusiasm.    They  were  deluded  into  be- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  91 

lievlng  that  all  wage-earners  would  simultaneously  quit 
work  on  the  day  agreed  upon,  and  that  none  of  them 
would  resume  work  until  the  entire  brotherhood  of 
workmen  were  enabled  to  return  on  the  same  conditions. 
They  loyally  carried  out  what  they  regarded  as  their  part 
of  the  agreement.  When  they  learned  that  hundreds 
of  workmen  had  remained  at  their  places  they  became 
enraged.  They  believed  that  they  had  been  basely  be- 
trayed. In  this  temper,  the  few  anarchists  who  lived 
in  Milwaukee  and  made  up  in  activity  what  they  lacked 
in  numbers,  found  the  Polish  workmen  ductile  material. 
The  impressionable  Slavs  readily  agreed  that  all  work- 
men who  had  not  struck  for  eight  hours  at  the  appointed 
time  had  proven  false  and  must  either  abandon  their 
jobs  or  suffer  the  consequences. 

On  Monday  afternoon.  May  3,  the  trouble  began. 
Some  1,400  men  were  working  at  the  railway  shops  in 
the  Menominee  valley;  several  hundred  Poles  appeared 
here  and  called  upon  them  to  quit  work.  This  the  em- 
ployees refused  to  do.  A  conflict  seemed  imminent; 
the  handful  of  deputy  sheriffs  who  came  to  the  rescue 
deemed  it  suicidal  to  resist  the  riotous  marchers,  and 
induced  the  employees  of  the  shops  to  leave  the  premises. 
The  mob  gave  a  shout  of  exultation  and  marched  to  the 
city,  augmenting  in  numbers  as  they  proceeded.  They 
followed  the  track  of  the  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  railway, 
and  reached  the  freight  yards.  A  dash  was  made  for 
the  freight  warehouse,  but  the  iron  doors  clanged  in 
their  faces,  and  their  sticks  and  stones  sti-uck  powerless 
against  the  unbroken  wall  of  brick  and  metal. 


92      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

Some  one  shouted,  "On  to  the  AlHs  works!"  and 
thither  the  mob  pursued  Its  march,  the  men  yelHng 
"Eight  hours  !  eight  hours !"  as  they  went.  While  a  self- 
constituted  committee  entered  the  main  doorway  to  de- 
mand that  all  the  men  join  the  idlers,  the  crowd  waited 
outside.  In  a  few  minutes  the  committee  came  out  of 
the  entrance  in  much  haste  and  in  miscellaneous  dis- 
order. The  brawny  muscle  of  the  iron  workers  was 
the  motive  power  that  hastened  their  exit.  A  shout  of 
anger  went  up  and  a  hail  of  stones  rattled  against  the 
sides  of  the  Reliance  Iron  Works.  Sticks  were  bran- 
dished and  a  simultaneous,  but  disorganized,  move  was 
made  to  enter  the  main  doorway.  Bloodshed  was  immi- 
nent; at  this  juncture  the  doors  of  the  main  entrance 
were  thrown  wide  open  and  in  the  shadow  was  seen  a 
crowd  of  iron  workers  dragging  a  wiggling  section  of 
hose.  An  instant  later  a  stream  of  hissing  water  en- 
countered the  leaders  of  the  assault,  and  men  toppled 
helplessly  all  over  the  street.  The  catapult  power  of  the 
stream  shot  some  of  the  men  clear  across  the  street. 
Wet,  bruised  and  discouraged,  they  picked  themselves 
up;  a  few  angrily  advanced  a  second  time  to  assault 
the  defenders  of  the  works,  only  to  come  in  contact  with 
the  vigorous  stream  of  water  and  to  fly  helplessly  back 
into  the  arms  of  their  companions.  At  this  juncture 
two  patrol  wagons  hove  in  sight,  and  a  score  of  police- 
men jumped  into  the  midst  of  the  crowd  and  completed 
the  rout  by  hammering  right  and  left  with  their  clubs 
of  stout  hickory. 

There   was    now    the    utmost    consternation    In    the 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  93 


city.  The  authority  of  law  trembled  in  the  balance. 
Mayor  Emil  Wallber  advised  Mr.  Allis  to  close  his 
works,  and  this  was  done.  Gov.  Jeremiah  Rusk  was 
notified  by  wire  of  the  situation,  and,  accompanied  by 
his  military  advisers,  hastened  from  Madison  to  Mil- 
waukee on  a  special  train.  Several  regiments  of  the 
National  Guard  were  ordered  to  be  ready  to  respond  at 
a  moment's  notice.  That  night  the  authorities  slum- 
bered on  the  thin  crust  of  a  volcano. 

Long  before  the  bell  in  the  double  towers  of  St. 
Stanislaus  church  struck  the  hour  of  6  o'clock,  Tuesday 
morning,  men  with  sullen  faces  gathered  in  its  vicinity. 
All  carried  clubs.  At  about  7  o'clock,  six  or  seven 
hundred  men  moved  as  if  by  preconcerted  action  in  the 
direction  of  the  rolling  mills  in  Bay  View.  On  the 
way  they  came  to  a  trench  dug  by  sewer  diggers.  These 
men  were  compelled  to  join  the  strikers,  and  their  shovels 
were  labeled  with  chalk,  in  letters  as  large  as  their  size 
would  permit: 

:      "8  HOURS."    ,: 


At  the  railroad  tracks  one  of  the  leaders  mounted  a 
side-tracked  freight  car  and  made  an  impassioned  har- 
angue. In  the  valley  the  smoke  from  chimneys  denoted 
that  men  were  busy  in  a  number  of  establishments. 
These  places  were  unceremoniously  entered  and  the 
workmen  were  forced  to  yield  to  the  order,  "Close 
down,"  and  to  march  along. 

At  the  rolling  mills  the  coming  of  the  mob  had  been 


94      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

espied  from  a  distance,  and  an  urgent  message  by  tele- 
phone had  been  sent  to  the  authorities  at  the  Squadron 
armory.  On  receipt  of  the  message  the  firebells  rang 
the  signal  agreed  upon  to  call  the  militiamen  to  their 
duty.  Before  the  National  Guardsmen  had  all  responded 
and  could  be  transported  to  Bay  View,  some  hours 
elapsed.  The  rolling  mill  officials  in  the  mean  time 
received  a  deputation  of  the  mob,  and  to  gain  time  kept 
them  in  consultation — ostensibly  to  decide  upon  condi- 
tions of  shutting  down  the  works.  While  this  confer- 
ence was  in  progress  a  man  on  the  roof  anxiously  scanned 
the  road  leading  cityward  to  give  early  notice  of  the 
coming  of  the  militia.  The  crowd  that  surrounded 
the  little  office  outside  the  fence-encircled  iron  works 
for  some  time  patiently  awaited  the  outcome  of  the 
conference,  but  finally  grew  demonstrative.  At  this 
juncture,  Robert  Schilling,  the  recognized  leader  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor  In  Wisconsin,  appeared  and  made  a 
speech  counseling  them  to  make  no  lawless  demonstra- 
tion and  bitterly  attacking  the  anarchists  who  were 
spurring  the  deluded  men  on  to  their  destruction.  He 
had  hardly  ceased  speaking  when  a  train  came  speeding 
along,  stopped  and  emptied  into  the  midst  of  the  aston- 
ished workmen  four  companies  of  the  National  Guards- 
men. There  was  a  moment's  hesitation,  and  the  short, 
sharp  commands  of  the  officers  were  responded  to  by  the 
jeers  of  the  crowd,  now  numbering  at  least  a  thousand 
men. 

What  angered  the  crowd  more  than  anything  else  was 
the  fact  that  one  of  the  companies — the  Kosciusko  guard 


THE 
NEW  YORK        , 
'  PUBLIC  L\BRAP.Y 

frslor,  Lenox  «ndTMen^ 
Foundations. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  95 

— ^was  composed  of  their  countrymen.  As  the  soldiers 
were  formed  in  line  and  marched  through  the  midst 
of  the  increasing  crowd,  taunts  and  insults  and  raised 
sticks  and  clubs  gave  undeniable  evidence  of  the  warlike 
temper  of  the  mob.  Soon  a  stone  whistled  through  the 
air  and  a  member  of  the  Kosciusko  guard  picked  up  his 
smashed  helmet.  As  the  crowd  grew  more  demonstra- 
tive, it  was  deemed  prudent  to  withdraw  the  militia  to 
the  area  within  the  high  board  fence.  The  huge  gates 
were  opened,  and  they  marched  in.  The  Kosciusko 
guard  brought  up  the  rear.  As  the  last  men  were  about 
to  pass  within  the  gates,  a  shower  of  stones  and  other 
missiles  followed  them.  Many  of  them  were  struck  in 
the  back  and  on  the  head.  As  if  by  common  impulse, 
the  men  turned,  leveled  their  rifles  at  the  crowd  and  a 
volley  of  bullets  sped  along.  Many  of  the  mob,  as 
they  saw  the  rifles  aimed,  threw  themselves  flat  upon 
the  ground ;  others  sought  shelter  behind  woodpiles  and 
telegraph  posts  and  fences.  Notwithstanding,  it  seemed 
providential  that  the  ground  was  not  strewn  with  dead 
and  dying.  Many  buildings  in  range  of  the  rifles  were 
perforated  by  the  bullets,  but  not  one  person  was 
wounded  by  the  volley.  The  gates  were  hastily  shut, 
and  the  disorderly  attack  on  the  militia  was  converted 
into  a  siege.  A  few  belated  soldiers  who  came  out  to 
join  their  comrades  were  chased  a  long  distance  by 
some  of  the  strikers,  but  escaped  capture.  Towards 
night  the  mob  gradually  dispersed. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Central  Labor  Union  had  called 
its  members  to  assemble  at  Milwaukee  garden,  which 


96      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

was  regarded  as  the  Socialistic  headquarters.  After  lis- 
tening to  a  speech  by  Paul  Grottkau,  the  men  formed 
in  line,  a  thousand  strong,  and  marched  to  Brand's 
stove  works.  The  firm  had  granted  all  the  demands 
of  the  men;  notwithstanding,  the  employees  were  com- 
pelled to  throw  down  their  tools  and  walk  out.  An 
attack  on  the  bakeries  was  deferred  until  the  day  fol- 
lowing.   The  police  dispersed  the  second  gathering. 

The  city  was  now  convulsed  with  terror.  To  add  to 
the  alarm,  it  was  noticed  that  on  doorways,  on  sidewalks 
and  on  the  sides  of  the  houses  adjacent  to  the  streets 
mysterious  figures  and  devices  were  scribbled  in  chalk. 
The  marks  were  inoffensive  enough,  had  they  been  under- 
stood; it  was  the  method  pursued  by  the  Knights  of 
Labor  to  notify  their  members  of  the  date  and  hour  of 
meeting  of  the  respective  assemblies;  but  this  was  not 
known  outside  of  the  ranks  of  the  Knights,  and  it  was 
assumed  that  the  town  was  about  to  be  put  to  the  torch 
and  all  its  inhabitants  were  to  be  slaughtered. 

The  following  unsigned  notice  was  scattered  broad- 
cast on  the  afternoon  of  May  5,  and  the  leaders  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor  conspicuously  wore  blue  ribbons  on 
the  lapels  of  their  coats: 

"Every  Knight  of  Labor  is  hereby  asked  by  the  Ex- 
ecutive Board  to  keep  away  from  all  public  meetings 
that  are  held  at  this  time.  Every  member  is  ordered  to 
wear  a  blue  badge  or  ribbon  as  a  token  of  peace  and 
order.  At  the  same  time  we  request  all  Knights  of 
Labor  to  remain  at  their  work  or  at  their  homes,  and  in 
all  cases  assist  the  authorities  in  protecting  life  and 
property." 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  97 

It  was  too  late.  The  feverish  excitement  of  the  last 
three  days  had  carried  many  of  the  workingmen  beyond 
control.  The  tragic  end  came  on  Wednesday.  Early 
in  the  morning  another  crowd  had  gathered  at  the  St. 
Stanislaus  church  corner,  their  purpose  being  to  march 
again  to  Bay  View.  There  the  mihtiamen  were  still 
encamped,  reinforced  by  some  of  the  companies  from 
the  interior  of  the  State.  Governor  Rusk  had  sent  word 
that  in  case  of  a  repetition  of  mob  tactics,  soldiers  should 
shoot  to  kill.  When  the  commanding  officer.  Major 
George  P.  Traeumer,  saw  the  mob  advancing  up  the 
road,  he  massed  his  troops  so  as  to  block  the  roadway. 
He  waved  his  hand  to  the  mob  in  warning  not  to  ap- 
proach nearer.  The  mob  was  then  a  thousand  yards 
away.  Either  they  did  not  understand  the  officer's 
warning,  or  were  emboldened  not  to  heed  it  as  a  result 
of  the  previous  day's  harmless  volley.  If  they  believed 
the  soldiers  would  fire  blank  cartridges,  they  were  quickly 
undeceived.  Major  Traeumer  gave  the  word,  and  two 
companies  discharged  their  rifles  in  the  direction  of  the 
mob.  Panic  seized  the  crowd  as  they  saw  their  com- 
rades fall,  some  dead  and  some  terribly  wounded.  How 
many  bullets  took  effect  will  never  be  known.  As  the 
crowd  dispersed,  they  carried  their  wounded  with  them. 
It  is  known,  however,  that  eight  fatalities  resulted  from 
the  volley. 

The  terrible  events  at  Bay  View  ended  the  riotous 
demonstration.  Some  of  the  anarchists  and  socialists 
were  arrested,  and  a   few  of  them  were  sentenced  to 

hard  labor  in  the  House  of  Correction  on  a  charge  of 

i,  7. 


'98      WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

"riot  and  conspiracy" ;  among  them  was  Paul  Grottkau. 
Many  leading  Knights  of  Labor,  including  Robert  Schil- 
ling, were  also  arrested  for  boycotting  under  the  law  of 
conspiracy,  but  the  cases  were  not  tried. 

The  disturbance  had  lasted  less  than  a  week.  The 
volley  that  struck  down  the  mob  at  Bay  View  likewise 
killed  the  agitation  for  eight  hours.  Men  returned  to 
work  without  renewing  their  demands;  factories  and 
workshops  resumed  operations;  but  for  many  months 
thereafter  a  boycott  was  maintained,  despite  the  arrest  of 
a  score  of  Knights  of  Labor  for  conspiracy.  Members 
of  the  Kosciusko  guard  found  themselves  ostracized  by 
their  compatriots,  and  those  in  business  were  almost 
ruined.  It  took  years  to  efface  the  enmity  evolved  by 
their  response  to  duty  when  the  call  to  arms  was  a  sum- 
mons to  face  neighbors  and  friends  with  leveled  rifles. 

The  great  street  railway  strike  of  1896,  in  Milwau- 
kee, attracted  attention  all  over  the  country  by  reason 
of  the  remarkable  boycott  that  was  waged  for  several 
weeks.  To  enforce  a  demand  for  more  wages,  the 
motormen  and  conductors  left  their  cars  and  declared  a 
boycott.  The  public  sympathetically  walked  or  rode 
in  'buses  and  ancient  vehicles  imported  in  great  number 
from  the  towns  and  cities  within  a  hundred  miles  of 
Milwaukee.  There  was  no  serious  disturbance,  and  the 
strikers  had  the  sympathy  of  the  community  in  an  un- 
usual degree.  When  a  car  made  a  trip  at  irregular  in- 
tervals, the  only  passengers  were  policemen  on  guard 
duty.  On  some  days  (Sundays)  not  a  car  moved.  Then 
came  a  boycott  that  bade  fair  to  paralyze  every  industry 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  99 

in  the  city,  and  the  result  was  a  great  reaction,  and  the 
strike,  while  seemingly  won,  collapsed. 

"This  boycott  is  a  marvel,"  wrote  a  newspaper  corre- 
spondent. "Its  like  has  never  been  seen  before  in  this 
or  any  other  country.  The  condition  into  which  it  has 
thrown  a  big,  busy  city  stands  unique  in  the  history  of 
the  world  to-day.  King  Boycott  is  absolute  master  in 
Milwaukee.  The  200,000  and  more  human  beings  who 
live  and  toil  in  this  city  are  subject  to  his  scepter.  The 
first  blow  was  aimed  at  the  street  railway  company  and 
nobody  cared.  The  sympathetic  people  walked  or  rode 
in  nondescript  vehicles,  called  omnibuses,  and  suffered 
inconveniences  uncomplainingly.  The  next  blow  hit 
officers  of  the  street  railway  company  through  their 
private  enterprises,  and  only  those  directly  interested 
suffered.  Then  the  ban  was  placed  on  all  who  might 
offer  aid  and  comfort  tO'  the  enemy  by  riding  on  cars, 
doing  business  with  its  officers,  or  doing  business  with 
those  who  had  ridden  on  the  street  cars.  The  final  blow 
reached  all  walks  of  life,  all  enterprises,  all  avocations, 
and  was  extended  even  into  the  third  and  fourth  genera- 
tions and  to  relatives  by  marriage.  In  Milwaukee  every 
man  in  the  service  of  King  Boycott  is  a  spy  upon  his 
neighbor.  The  result  is  virtually  a  reign  of  terror. 
Business  is  throttled  almost  to  the  point  of  complete 
strangulation." 


ir—^-' 


(') 


CHAPTER   IV 

Development  of  Transportation  Facilities 


A  GLANCE  at  the  map  of  Wisconsin  shows 
a  network  of  railroad  lines  extending  to 
all  sections  of  the  State.  Here  and  there 
several  lines  converge  into  large  manu- 
facturing centers.  This  great  develop- 
ment in  transportation  facilities  has  occurred  within  the 
last  three  decades.  To-day  the  fifty-six  railroad  lines  in 
Wisconsin  afford  a  total  of  6,962  miles — in  1848  not  a 
rail  had  been  laid. 

Shortly  after  the  Black  Hawk  war,  a  migration  from 
the  East,  followed  by  an  influx  of  colonists  from  over  the 
ocean,  came  in  long  caravans  of  prairie  schooners  to 
settle  the  fertile  valleys  of  this  western  territory.  The 
decaying  trading  posts  fixed  the  site  of  future  cities; 
the  Indian  trails  became  our  early  roads.  Like  magic 
the  forest  lands  were  transformed  into  waving  wheat 
fields.  For  a  time  the  surplus  products  were  hauled 
fifty  or  sixty  miles  to  Milwaukee,  Racine,  Southport 
(now  Kenosha)  and  Prairie  du  Chien;  the  drivers  re- 
turning with  the  household  effects  of  additional  immi- 
grants. With  but  a  few  exceptions,  roads  were  unim- 
proved. Occasionally  the  horse  of  the  circuit  judge  who 
rode  from  court  to  court  would  mire,  and  he  would  be 
compelled  to  return  on  foot  to  the  nearest  farmhouse. 
This  condition  of  traffic  could  not  long  exist.  The 
demand  for  a  speedier  system  of  transportation  came  as  a 
result  of  the  development  of  agriculture  and  the  in- 
creased production  of  the  lead  mines.  The  prices  offered 
in  the  East  were  alluring,  but  the  profits  on  lead  and 
wheat  were  relatively  diminished  by  the  tedious  over- 

103 


I04   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

land  hauling  on  plank  and  corduroy  roads  to  the  lake 
ports. 

The  Northwest  was  anxious  for  internal  improvements 
which  had  apparently  done  so  much  for  the  East.  Ex- 
perienced engineers  were  of  the  belief  that  a  means  of 
communication  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Missis- 
sippi River  could  be  secured  by  the  construction  of  a 
canal  from  Milwaukee  to  the  Rock  River  at  a  moderate 
expense.  Finally,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Legis- 
lature, and  in  November,  1837,  the  Milwaukee  &  Rock 
River  Canal  Company  was  incorporated.  Byron  Kil- 
bourn,  of  Milwaukee,  became  the  first  president,  and 
Solomon  Juneau  was  one  of  the  directors.  Congress 
was  interested,  and  a  donation  of  about  400,000  acres  of 
land,  consisting  of  all  odd-numbered  sections  on  both 
sides  of  the  canal,  Avas  granted.  Nevertheless,  the 
project  proved  a  failure.  A  dam  was  constructed  at 
Milwaukee  and  a  short  distance  of  the  canal  was  exca- 
vated, of  which  to-day  nearly  all  trace  is  obliterated. 

Another  early  waterway  of  travel,  frequented  by  ex- 
plorers, fur  traders  and  early  settlers,  was  the  Fox-Wis- 
consin  route.  Eastern  capitalists  quickly  recognized  the 
advantages  which  might  accrue  from  a  connecting  link 
by  a  canal  and  suitable  locks  at  the  portage,  where  the 
rivers  are  about  two  and  one-half  miles  apart.  A  char- 
ter was  granted  in  1837  under  the  name  of  the  Portage 
Canal  Company.  Work  was  begun,  $10,000  was  ex- 
pended, and  then  the  project  was  abandoned.  But  agi- 
tation for  the  completion  of  the  popular  enterprise 
increased  year  by  year.     After  ten  years    (1847)    ^^e 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  105 

national  government  gave  the  State  a  land  grant;  the 
scheme  was  revived,  and  the  State  government  under- 
took the  construction.  But  the  work  dragged  to  the 
point  of  utter  discouragement.  Finally  the  national 
government  took  up  the  work  in  1874,  and  the  canal 
and  other  improvements  were  completed  in  1876,  nearly 
fifty  years  after  the  idea  first  presented  itself  to  the 
settlers  as  a  desirable  and  feasible  undertaking. 

The  canal  is  seventy  feet  wide  and  about  five  feet 
deep.  It  passes  through  the  center  of  the  city  of  Portage. 
Over  $4,000,000  were  expended  in  the  improvement 
and  only  $19,162.12  were  ever  collected  by  a  system  of 
tolls  which  Congress  abolished  in  1889.  The  traffic, 
now,  as  then,  is  light,  the  chief  advantage  accruing  to  the 
manufacturing  towns  along  the  route,  where  water  power 
has  been  developed  by  virtue  of  a  system  of  locks,  which 
were  constructed  to  make  the  river  navigable  for  boats 
of  even  a  few  feet  draught.  During  the  summer  season 
flat-bottomed  steamers  carry  on  a  spasmodic  freight 
traffic  from  Omro  to  Portage.  Although  each  year 
money  is  expended  improving  the  canal  at  Portage,  so 
useless  has  it  become  as  a  facility  of  present-day  traffic, 
that  it  sometimes  is  closed  throughout  an  entire  season. 

Of  other  ambitions  to  build  canals,  all  were  forgotten 
in  the  early  fifties.  Nevertheless,  passenger-travel  on 
lakes  Winnebago  and  Michigan  was  still  considerable. 
It  was  a  pleasant  change  from  a  lumbering  stagecoach 
or  road  wagon  at  Fond  du  Lac,  the  foot  of  Lake  Winne- 
bago, to  take  a  steamboat  and  be  put  down  at  Neenah 
or  Menasha  six  hours  later.     This  traffic  has  increased. 


io6    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

rather  than  diminished,  between  the  ports  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan at  the  present  time. 

Yet  even  in  the  period  when  the  canal  agitation  was 
at  its  height,  the  territorial  legislature  was  almost  annu- 
ally granting  charters  to  railroad  companies,  only  one 
of  which  ever  matured.  Gradually  the  people  were 
converted  to  the  idea  that  railroads  as  a  feasible  means 
of  communication,  and  an  ultimate  solution  of  the  eco- 
nomic difficulties  which  confronted  them,  were  a  practi- 
cal success. 

It  was  at  the  last  session  of  the  territorial  legislature, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1847,  that  a  charter  was 
granted  to  the  Milwaukee  &  Waukesha  Railroad  Com- 
pany to  construct  a  line  between  these  terminal  points. 
The  completion,  in  1851,  of  this  first  twenty  miles  of 
pioneer  Wisconsin  railroad  was  the  occasion  of  a  great 
celebration,  and  a  most  elaborate  dinner  at  Waukesha,  at 
which  some  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  of  the 
State  were  speakers.  In  the  mean  time,  the  name  of  the 
company  had  been  amended  to  the  Milwaukee  &  Missis- 
sippi Railroad  Company.  This  was  the  nucleus  of  the 
Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  railroad  system,  which 
is  now  operating  1,139  niiles  of  its  own  track  in  the  State. 
The  road  from  Waukesha  was  rapidly  extended;  in  1852 
to  Milton;  1853  to  Stoughton;  1854  to  Madison,  and 
in  1857  to  the  Mississippi  River  at  Prairie  du  Chien. 
In  April  of  that  year  the  road  was  completed  and  the 
Mississippi  River  was  thus  commercially  united  with 
Lake  Michigan.  The  present  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  Railroad  grew  from  the  consolidation  of  numer- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  107 

ous  smaller  lines  in  the  State,  which  was  effected  in  1874, 
when  a  charter  was  conferred  upon  the  company  by  the 
legislature.  At  that  time  the  system  consisted  of  the 
Milwaukee  &  Fond  du  Lac  road,  chartered  in  1851; 
the  La  Crosse  &  Milwaukee,  originally  chartered  in 
1852,  and  the  Milwaukee,  Fond  du  Lac  &  Green  Bay, 
chartered  in  1853.  These  roads  were  consolidated  in 
1854  under  the  name  of  the  La  Crosse  &  Milwaukee 
Railroad.  But  prior  to  this  time  the  La  Crosse  &  Mil- 
waukee had  already  merged  with  the  Milwaukee  & 
Western  Railroad,  which  had  consolidated  with  the  fol- 
lowing roads  by  1863 :  The  Milwaukee  &  Watertown, 
chartered  in  1 85  i ;  the  Watertown  &  Madison,  chartered 
in  1853,  and  the  Madison  &  Fond  du  Lac,  projected  in 
1853  but  not  chartered  until  1855.  As  a  result  of  the 
consolidation  of  so  many  lines  the  name  was  changed  in 
1863  to  the  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway,  to  which  was 
added  the  line  of  the  Milwaukee  &  Horicon  road.  After 
the  change  of  name  the  Ripon  &  Wolf  River  road  came 
in,  followed  by  the  Milwaukee  &  Mississippi  Railroad, 
which  embraced  a  spur  from  Milton  through  Janesville 
to  Monroe,  becoming  a  division  of  the  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  road  in  1868.  The  Chicago  division  of  the 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  was  completed  in  1873, 
and  in  the  following  year  the  name  of  the  amalgamated 
system  was  changed  to  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St. 
Paul  Railroad,  which  it  still  bears. 

The  present  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad  is 
likewise  the  result  of  a  series  of  consolidations  and  nu- 
merous constructions  under  various   corporate   names. 


108    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

On  August  19,  1848,  the  Madison  &  Belolt  Railroad 
was  chartered  to  be  built  from  Beloit,  via  Janesville, 
Madison  and  La  Crosse,  to  a  point  on  the  Mississippi 
River,  near  St.  Paul.  A  spur  line  was  to  be  built  from 
Janesville  to  Fond  du  Lac.  After  two  years  the  name 
of  the  company  was  changed  to  the  Rock  River  Valley 
Union  Railroad  Company,  and  was  five  years  (1855) 
later  again  changed  to  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul  &  Fond  du 
Lac  Railroad  Company.  However,  construction  was 
slow,  and  in  1859  only  176  miles  had  been  constructed 
from  Chicago  to  Fond  du  Lac  by  way  of  Watertown 
and  Janesville.  It  was  not  until  the  session  of  the  legis- 
lature in  1857  that  the  Wisconsin  &  Lake  Superior  and 
the  Chicago,  St.  Paul  &  Fond  du  Lac  Railroad  com- 
panies were  consohdated  under  the  name  of  the  latter. 
A  reorganization  occurred  in  1859,  the  name  being 
changed  to  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad  Com- 
pany, operating  at  present  1,758  miles  of  road  in  the 
State. 

The  third  largest  company  in  the  State  is  the  Wiscon- 
sin Central.  The  legislature  of  1866  chartered  two 
companies,  one  to  build  a  line  from  Portage  to  Berlin 
and  Stevens  Point,  and  the  other  from  Menasha  to 
Stevens  Point;  then  jointly  to  Bayfield  and  Lake  Su- 
perior. The  former  was  called  the  Winnebago  &  Lake 
Superior  Railroad  Company,  the  latter  the  Portage  & 
Superior  Railroad  Company.  The  separate  lines  were 
merged  in  1869,  forming,  in  1871,  the  Wisconsin  Cen- 
tral Railroad,  which  now  operates  841  miles  of  road, 
principally  in  North-Central  Wisconsin. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  109 

Among  the  other  important  Hnes  in  the  State  are: 
Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Omaha,  with  336 
miles;  the  Green  Bay  &  Western,  with  225  miles;  the 
Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy,  with  222  miles,  and  the 
Northern  Pacific,  with  150  miles. 

The  close  of  the  Civil  War  resulted  in  an  industrial 
awakening  through  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley;  immi- 
gration to  Wisconsin  multiplied  and  the  production  of 
cereals  and  fruits  increased.  Every  community  sought 
railroad  facilities  and  was  willing  to  offer  almost  any- 
thing to  obtain  them.  Rights  of  way  were  freely  sur- 
rendered, even  at  a  sacrifice  of  valuable  private  interests. 
Congress  had  previously  granted  several  million  acres 
of  land  to  aid  various  railroad  projects,  some  of  the  land 
being  still  open  to  settlers. 

The  distribution  of  some  of  these  lands,  prior  to  the 
war,  gave  rise  to  a  famous  legislative  scandal,  during 
the  session  of  1856.  Two  years  later  rumors  that  repre- 
sentatives of  the  railroads  had  bribed  members  of  the 
legislature  for  a  favorable  land  grant  were  so  urgent 
that  a  joint  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate  the 
matter.  Their  report  states  that  "the  managers  of  the 
La  Crosse  &  Milwaukee  Railroad  Company  had  been 
guilty  of  numerous  acts  of  mismanagement,  gross  viola- 
tion of  duty,  fraud  and  plunder."  It  further  stated 
that  thirteen  of  the  senators  voting  to  grant  this  com- 
pany land  received  from  $10,000  to  $20,000  either  in 
stocks  or  bonds;  that  fifty-eight  of  the  sixty-two  assem- 
blymen received  from  $5,000  to  $10,000  in  the 
same  manner.     Even  the  governor  of  the  State  did  not 


no   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

escape  suspicion.  Fortunately,  the  railroad  company 
never  profited  by  its  machinations — the  road  was  never 
constructed. 

A  more  serious  result  ensued,  however,  in  later  cases 
where  the  farmers  mortgaged  their  property  to  aid  rail- 
road projects.  In  many  instances  where  charters  were 
granted  agents  were  sent  along  the  surveyed  lines  to 
induce  the  farmers  to  subscribe  to  the  stock.  Believing 
that  the  lines  would  cheapen  transportation  and  enhance 
the  value  of  their  properties,  farmers  freely  gave  them 
mortgages  on  their  possessions  with  the  prospect  of  joint 
ownership  in  railroads.  They  felt  that  under  the  new 
prosperity,  principal  and  interest  would  take  care  of 
themselves.  Municipalities  became  so  interested  that 
they  bonded  themselves  to  assist  the  proposed  public 
utility.  The  bonds  and  mortgages,  which  drew  a  high 
rate  of  interest,  were  sold  generally  to  foreign  capitalists. 
In  the  hands  of  innocent  parties,  default  occurring  in 
the  payment  of  interest,  the  mortgages  were  foreclosed 
and  the  farmers  lost  all  In  protracted  but  hopeless  liti- 
gation. The  total  number  of  these  farm  mortgages  in 
the  State  was  3,785,  amounting  to  $4,079,433.  Many 
a  prosperous  farmer  suddenly  found  himself  in  bank- 
ruptcy. They  pressed  for  a  favorable  decision  in  the 
highest  courts,  but  were  unsuccessful. 

Such  extortionate  dealings  on  the  part  of  the  West 
Wisconsin  Railroad  Company  resulted  in  the  forfeiture 
of  their  charter.  Arbitrarily  changing  their  minds,  they 
took  up  a  part  of  their  trackage  and  projected  a  line 
through  a  community  without  securing  a  franchise.     An 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  1 1 1 

action  at  law  culminated  in  the  forfeiture  of  their  char- 
ter. An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  legislature  of  1874,  but 
here  the  railroad  also  met  defeat. 

Disgraceful  as  was  the  farm  mortgage  chapter,  the 
city  of  Watertown  figured  in  one  no  more  creditable. 
Under  color  of  constructing  a  railroad  from  Milwaukee 
to  Watertown,  an  incorporation  under  the  name  of  the 
Milwaukee  &  Watertown  Railroad  induced  Watertown 
to  bond  the  municipality  to  an  amount  aggregating 
$80,000,  bearing  the  date  of  August  i,  1853,  to  run  for 
ten  years,  with  8  per  cent,  coupons  attached.  In  return 
the  company  was  to  mortgage  its  property.  On  obtain- 
ing the  bonds,  the  company  delayed  the  delivery  of  the 
mortgage.  It  was  a  daring  scheme,  yet  the  suspicion  of 
the  citizens  was  held  in  abeyance  at  first  by  the  company 
promptly  paying  the  coupons  as  they  matured.  More 
bonds  were  desired  in  1856,  and  on  June  i  the  city 
cheerfully  issued  $200,000  worth  to  the  Watertown  & 
Madison  Railroad  Company  and  a  like  amount  to  the 
Chicago,  St.  Paul  &  Fond  du  Lac  Railroad  Company. 
Payment  on  these  bonds  was  guaranteed  by  the  com- 
panies and  secured  by  stock  deposited  with  the  city  as 
collateral.  The  municipal  bonds  owned  by  the  Chicago, 
St.  Paul  &  Fond  du  Lac,  which  afterwards  merged  into 
the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad  Company,  were 
paid,  with  the  exception  of  about  $27,000,  held  by  Mr. 
Ephraim  Mariner,  of  Milwaukee.  The  bonds  of  the 
other  roads  sold  at  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  of  their  face 
value,  no  attempt  being  made  to  construct  the  roads. 
Foreseeing  the  condition  of  things,  the  city  attempted 


112    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

to  compromise  on  the  bonds.  But  the  brokers  thought 
they  saw  an  opportunity  for  profit.  They  formed  a  syn- 
dicate and  began  waging  a  warfare  in  the  courts,  lasting 
nearly  forty  years.  Judgments  were  secured  against  the 
city,  but  in  order  to  escape  assessment  for  the  amounts 
by  mandamus,  each  year  shortly  after  the  spring  election 
the  newly  elected  city  council  would  hold  a  secret  meet- 
ing, levy  the  taxes  for  the  year  and  then  the  mayor  and 
junior  aldermen  would  resign  and  the  senior  aldermen 
would  thereafter  organize  as  a  board  of  street  commis- 
sioners, without  tax-levying  powers.  This  curious  method 
of  evasion  was  continued  for  twenty  years,  from  1872 
to  the  spring  of  1892,  when  the  mayor  and  junior  alder- 
men failed  to  resign  and  the  city  was  again  in  possession 
of  a  full-fledged  government.  This  had  been  preceded, 
however,  by  an  agreement  with  Mr.  Mariner,  who  held 
nearly  all  the  outstanding  judgments,  aggregating  $600,- 
000  to  settle  for  $15,000.  At  the  final  adjustment  of 
the  controversy,  Watertown  held  a  day  of  celebration. 

With  the  widespread  development  of  railroads,  ex- 
tending to  nearly  every  farming  community  of  the  North- 
west, new  problems  arose  for  solution,  some  of  which 
still  engage  present  attention.  Many  felt  that  the  rail- 
roads failed  to  meet  their  full  obligations  to  shippers 
and  patrons.  Concisely  stated,  the  alleged  abuses  and 
defects  in  the  existing  system  of  transportation  in  the 
early  seventies  included  insuflicient  facilities,  extortion- 
ate charges  and  unfair  discrimination.  This  aggravated 
condition  led  to  the  formation  of  secret  organizations 
known  as  the  Granger  movement,  the  influence  of  which 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  113 

was  to  be  profoundly  felt  throughout  the  State  in  the 
determination  to  correct  abuses. 

By  1873  there  was  strong  effort  to  bring  the  people  of 
the  State  to  a  realization  of  the  excessive  burdens  they 
were  carrying.  Early  in  the  year  Gov.  C.  C.  Washburn, 
foreseeing  the  arrogant  position  of  the  railroads  in  deal- 
ing with  the  people,  declared  in  his  message  to  the  legis- 
lature that  "many  vast  and  overshadowing  corporations 
in  the  United  States  are  justly  a  source  of  alarm,  and 
the  legislature  cannot  scan  toO'  closely  every  measure  that 
comes  before  them  which  proposes  to  give  additional 
rights  and  privileges  to  the  railways  of  the  State."  This 
warning  went  unheeded. 

Just  at  this  time,  to  complicate  matters  further,  a 
financial  panic  swept  the  country;  the  hard  times  were 
accredited  to  the  dominant  party.  The  political  atmos- 
phere appeared  clouded.  In  the  fall  campaign  the 
Grangers  joined  with  the  Democratic  party  under  the 
name  of  the  Democratic-Liberal  Reform  party,  and 
successfully  elected  William  R.  Taylor  governor  and 
secured  a  majority  in  the  assembly.  The  republicans 
controlled  a  majority  in  the  senate.  In  the  session  of  the 
legislature  which  followed,  the  attempts  of  the  Grangers 
to  secure  the  enactment  of  new  railroad  tax  laws  met 
with  failure.  Their  efforts,  however,  to  bring  about  a 
change  in  the  rates  and  passenger  fares  were  more  suc- 
cessful. After  a  long  and  bitter  discussion  in  the  legis- 
lature, a  bill  introduced  by  Senator  Robert  L.  D.  Potter 
of  Waushara,  familiarly  known  as  "the  Potter  Law," 
was  passed.    This  drastic  measure  was  the  assertion,  by 

4,    8. 


114   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


the  legislative  power  of  the  State,  of  its  right  to  control 
corporations  created  by  itself  and  to  limit  the  rates  at 
which  passengers  and  freight  should  be  carried. 

The  effect  of  the  measure  was  quickly  manifest.  The 
larger  companies  at  first  took  no  heed  of  the  law,  and  on 
April  I,  Governor  Taylor  issued  a  proclamation  declar- 
ing, "The  law  of  the  land  must  be  obeyed."  On  April 
27,  the  governor  received  communications  from  Alex- 
ander Mitchell,  president  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  Railroad,  and  Albert  Keep,  president  of  the 
Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad,  to  the  effect  that  their 
companies  Intended  to  disregard  that  portion  of  the  law 
which  fixed  rate  charges.  Much  feeling  was  evinced. 
Action  was  begun  in  the  State  and  federal  courts  to  es- 
tablish the  right  of  the  State  to  control  railroads.  In  all 
the  courts  the  power  of  the  State  was  upheld. 

The  powers  of  the  State  In  this  connection  were  ad- 
mirably set  forth  by  Chief-Justice  E.  G.  Ryan's  terse 
and  succinct  opinion,  in  which  he  upheld  its  rights.  This 
is  probably  the  most  famous  judicial  opinion  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  State.  The  following  extracts  Indicate  Its 
scope  and  tenor: 

"In  our  day  the  common  law  has  encountered  In  Eng- 
land, as  in  this  country,  a  new  power,  unknown  to  its 
founders,  practically  too  strong  for  its  ordinary  private 
remedies.  The  growth  of  great  corporations,  centers  of 
vast  wealth  and  power,  new  and  potent  elements  of 
social  influence,  overrunning  the  country  with  their  work 
and  their  traffic  which  has  Increased  marvelously  during 
the  last  half  century.    It  is  very  certain  that  the  country 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  115 


has  gained  largely  by  them  in  commerce  and  develop- 
ment. But  such  aggregations  of  capital  and  power,  out- 
side of  public  control,  are  dangerous  to  public  and  private 
right,  and  are  practically  above  many  public  restraints 
of  the  common  law,  and  all  ordinary  remedies  of  the 
common  law  for  private  wrongs.  Their  influence  is  so 
large,  their  capacity  of  resistance  so  formidable,  their 
powers  of  oppression  so  various,  that  few  private  persons 
could  litigate  with  them;  still  fewer  private  persons 
would  litigate  with  them  for  the  little  rights  or  the  little 
wrongs  that  go  so  far  to  make  up  the  measure  of  average 
prosperity  of  life.  It  would  have  been  a  mockery  of 
justice  to  have  left  corporations — counting  their  capital 
by  millions,  their  lines  of  railroads  by  hundreds,  and 
even,  sometimes,  by  thousands  of  miles,  their  servants 
by  multitudes,  their  customers  by  the  active  members  of 
society — subject  only  to  the  common  law  liabilities  and 
remedies  which  were  adequate  protection  against  turn- 
pike and  bridge  and  ferry  companies,  in  one  view  of  their 
relations  to  the  puMic;  and,  in  another  view,  to  the 
same  liabilities  and  remedies  which  were  found  sufficient 
for  common  carriers,  who  carried  passengers  by  a  daily 
line  of  stages,  and  goods  by  weekly  wagon,  or  both  by 
a  few  coasting  or  inland  crafts,  with  capital  and  influence 
often  less  than  those  of  a  prosperous  village  shopkeeper. 
The  common-law  remedies,  sufficient  against  these,  were, 
in  a  great  degree,  impotent  against  the  railroad  com- 
panies— always  too  powerful  for  private  right,  often 
too  powerful  for  their  own  good. 

"It  Is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  we  sustain  the  juris- 


ii6   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


diction  to  enjoin  a  corporation  from  abuses  or  excess  of 
franchise,  or  other  violation  of  public  law  to  public  detri- 
ment.    We  listened  to  a  good  deal  of  denunciation  of 
this  law  which  we  think  was  misapplied.     We  do  not 
mean  to  say  that  the  act  is  not  open  to  criticism.     We 
only  say  that  such  criticism  is  unfounded.     It  was  said 
that  its  provisions,  which  have  been  noticed,  were  not 
within  the  scope  of  the  legislative  function,  as  if  every 
compilation  of  statutes,  everywhere,  in  all  time,  did  not 
contain  provisions  limiting  and  regulating  tolls;  as  if 
the  very  franchise  altered  were  not  a  rebuke  to  such 
clamor.     It  was  repeated,  with  a  singular  confusion  of 
ideas  and  a  singular  perversion  of  terms,  that  the  pro- 
visions of  the  chapter  amounted  to  an  act  of  confiscation, 
a  well-defined  term  in  the  law,  signifying  the  appropri- 
ation by  the  State  to  itself,  for  its  own  use,  as  upon 
forfeiture,  of  the  whole  thing  confiscated.     It  was  de- 
nounced as  an  act  of  communism.     We  thank  God  that 
communism  is  a   foreign  abomination,  without  recog- 
nition or  sympathy  here.     The  people  of  Wisconsin  are 
too  intelligent,  too  staid,  too  just,  too  busy,  too  prosper- 
ous, for  any  such  horror  of  doctrine,  for  any  leaning 
towards  confiscation  or  communism.     And  these  wild 
terms  are  as  applicable  to  a  statute  limiting  the  rates  of 
toll  on  their  roads  as  the  term  murder  is  to  the  surgeon's 
wholesome  use  of  the  knife,  to  save  life,  not  to  take  it. 
Such  objections  do  not  rise  to  the  dignity  of  argument. 
They  belong  to  that  order  of  grumbling  against  legal 
duty  and  legal  liabihty  which  would  rail  the  seal  from 
off  the  bond. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  117 

"We  have,  according  to  our  duty,  dealt  with  the  ques- 
tions we  have  considered  as  questions  of  law.  We  cannot 
judge  of  the  policy  or  the  fairness  of  the  act.  That  is 
for  the  legislature.  We  can  only  say  that  it  is  the  law. 
We  cannot  judge  of  the  propriety  of  these  informations. 
That  is  for  the  law  officers  of  the  State.  We  are  only 
to  determine  what  the  law  is,  and  to  administer  it  as  we 
find  it,  in  causes  over  which  we  have  no  other  control. 
And  we  can  join  in  no  outcry  against  the  law,  which  it 
is  our  duty  to  administer.  Neither  can  we  countenance 
any  outcry  against  the  railroads.  We  cannot  consider 
any  popular  excitement  against  them  warranted  or  use- 
ful. The  railroads  have  their  rights,  and  so  have  the 
people.  Whatever  usurpation  or  abuses,  if  any,  the 
railroad  companies  may  be  guilty  of,  can  find  a  remedy 
in  calm,  just,  appropriate  legislation.  And  this  court 
will  firmly  and  impartially  protect  all  the  rights  of  the 
railroads  and  of  the  people  in  all  litigation  which  may 
come  here.  But  we  can  take  no  part  in  popular  outcry 
against  these  companies,  or  countenance  any  prejudice 
against  them.  It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  there 
is  just  now  more  or  less  excitement  against  railroad  cor- 
porations, although  we  believe  that  its  extent  is  greatly 
exaggerated.  But  it  seems  to  us  quite  safe  to  say  that, 
though  this  feeling  may  be  unwise,  it  is  not  vindictive; 
but  it  is  rather  of  the  nature  of  parental  anger  against 
those  spoiled  children  of  legislation,  as  our  statute  books 
abundantly  show  them  to  .be,  who,  after  some  quarter 
of  a  century  of  legislative  favors  lavishly  showered  upon 
them,  unwisely  mutiny  against  the  first  serious  legislative 


ii8    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

restraint  they  have  met.  If  it  be  true  that  the  people 
are  too  angry,  it  is  very  sure  that  the  companies  have 
been  too  defiant. 

"We  think  that  there  must  be  a  point  where  the  pub- 
lic interest  in  railroads  and  the  private  interest  of  the 
corporators  meet;  where  the  service  of  the  public  at  the 
lowest  practicable  rate  will  produce  the  largest  legitimate 
income  to  the  railroads.  It  seems  to  us  an  utter  delusion 
that  the  highest  tolls  will  produce  the  largest  income. 
The  companies  have  hitherto  absolutely  controlled  their 
own  rates.  The  legislature  now  limits  them.  The  com- 
panies say  that  the  limit  is  too  low.  But  there  is  no 
occasion  for  heat  or  passion  on  either  side.  The  people 
and  the  legislature  understand  well  the  necessity  of  the 
railroads  to  the  State  and  the  necessity  of  dealing  fairly 
and  justly,  and  even  liberally,  with  the  companies.  Time 
and  prudence  and  wise  counsels  will  set  all  this  right. 
This  very  controversy  may  well  bring  about  a  better 
and  more  permanent  understanding  and  relation  be- 
tween the  State  and  its  corporations.  We  say  so  much 
in  deference  to  an  earnest  appeal  from  the  bar  to  counsel 
moderation.  But,  in  the  meantime,  we  cannot  legislate 
for  either  party.  We  can  only  say  what  the  law  is  and 
administer  it  as  we  find  it.  We  have  already  sustained 
the  power  of  the  legislature  to  limit  rates  of  toll  of  rail- 
roads subject  to  legislative  control.  But  that  power  rests 
on  the  authority  of  the  legislature,  not  on  the  reasonable 
rate  of  tolls  fixed.  And  the  restraint  of  a  franchise  to 
take  reasonable  tolls,  to  tolls  reasonable,  in  fact,  is  a 
judicial,  not  a  legislative  function.     The  material  prop- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  119 


erty  and  rights  of  corporations  should  be  inviolate  .  .  . 
but  it  comports  with  the  dignity  and  safety  of  the  State 
that  the  franchises  of  corporations  should  be  subject  to 
the  power  that  grants  them,  that  corporations  should 
exist  as  the  subordinates  of  the  State  which  is  their  cre- 
ator." 

During  the  first  year  after  the  Potter  law  was  passed 
its  effects  became  distinctly  apparent.  Roads  in  partial 
operation  became  dormant  through  lack  of  funds  for 
completion;  some  of  the  smaller  towns  were  punished 
by  a  policy  of  inadequate  service,  and  the  statement  was 
made  that  "since  the  establishment  of  the  law  not  a 
spadeful  of  earth  has  been  raised  toward  the  construction 
of  a  single  line  of  road.  The  interest  of  the  East  was. 
aroused,  and  European  capitalists  refused  to  invest 
further  in  Wisconsin  railroad  stocks.  The  manifest  hos- 
tility against  the  law  was  expressed  by  the  people  at  the 
election  of  1876  when  the  Reform  party  met  an  over^ 
whelming  defeat.  The  convening  legislature  repealed 
the  unpopular  portions  of  the  measure  and  the  Granger 
movement  abated. 

That  feature  of  the  Potter  law  which  created  a  board 
of  three  commissioners  to  supervise  the  railroads  was 
destined  to  be  of  permanence.  The  members  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor  and  the  first  commissioners 
were :  J.  H.  Osborne,  George  H.  Paul  and  J.  W.  Hoyt. 
In  1876  the  legislature  reduced  the  board  to  one  mem- 
ber to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  confirmed  by 
the  senate.  However,  in  1881  the  law  was  modified 
further  by  making  the  commissioner  an  elective  officer. 


120   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

This  system  has  continued  until  the  present  time.  Dur- 
ing recent  years  the  industrial  expansion  of  the  lines  has 
led  to  an  agitation  for  a  board  of  railroad  commissioners 
with  power  to  regulate  rates.  This  movement  culmi- 
nated in  1905  when  the  legislature  created  an  appointive 
commission  of  three  members  with  large  powers.  The 
present  commission  is  composed  of  John  Barnes,  of 
Rhinelander;  Halford  E.  Erickson,  of  West  Superior, 
and  Prof.  H.  B.  Meyer,  of  Madison. 

Throughout  the  eighties  the  industrial  development 
of  the  State  was  one  of  the  most  notable  in  the  history 
of  the  Commonwealth.  The  almost  trackless  wilderness 
of  Northern  Wisconsin  was  broken;  hamlets  became 
cities  and  broad  acres  sites  for  prosperous  farms.  This 
growth  was  partially  precipitated  by  the  discovery  of 
mineral  wealth  along  Lake  Superior.  Railroad  lines 
extending  for  miles  through  uninhabited  districts  added 
to  the  Commonwealth's  agricultural  pursuits  a  diversity 
of  industries.  Such  facilities  developed  the  natural  re- 
sources— lumber,  iron  ore,  copper,  granite,  fireclay,  and 
a  host  of  others.  It  brought  the  water  powers  into  util- 
ization, and  along  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  valleys  the 
great  paper  mills,  installed  in  the  early  nineties,  now 
manufacture  print  and  other  papers  by  the  train  loads. 
It  was  also  during  this  decade  that  the  smaller  lines  of 
Northern  Wisconsin,  built  as  lumbering  roads  a  few 
years  earlier,  were  merged  with  larger  companies  to 
become  a  part  of  their  great  system.s. 

Within  the  last  ten  years  the  electric  street  and  inter- 
urban  lines  are  becoming  an  important  factor  in  trans- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  121 

portation.  Since  1900  the  development  has  been  rapid, 
and  already  there  are  nearly  500  miles  of  tracks  in  the 
State,  over  half  of  this  trackage  being  interurban.  One 
of  the  more  recent  lines  to  be  completed  was  constructed 
in  1902  from  Oshkosh  to  Fond  du  Lac,  linking  the  chain 
in  the  Fox  River  Valley  from  Green  Bay  to  Fond  du  Lac, 
a  distance  of  nearly  60  miles.  Although  as  a  means  of 
carrying  freight  such  lines  have  as  yet  significance  merely 
as  a  prophecy,  for  passenger  service  their  use  is  quite 
universal  in  the  immediate  localities  because  of  cheap- 
ness of  transit  and  convenient  schedules.  The  possi- 
bilities of  the  interurban  roads  are  as  yet  scarcely  appre- 
hended by  the  Northwest.  Lines  are  projected  which, 
if  carried  out,  will  gridiron  the  State  and  materially 
change  economic  conditions. 

A  recent  problem  evolved  as  a  result  of  this  enormous 
railroad  development  is  a  contest  as  to  how  such  vast 
aggregations  of  capital  and  power  can  be  taxed  in  re- 
lation to  the  other  property  of  the  State.  In  the  early 
days  the  tax  was  light  and  sometimes  imperceptible. 
Prior  to  1903  they  were  taxed  on  the  basis  of  gross  earn- 
ings— the  license  fee  system.  The  legislature  of  that 
year,  however,  as  a  result  of  an  agitation  covering  some 
years,  changed  to  an  ad  valorem  basis.  In  1904  the  rail- 
roads paid  a  tax  of  $2,579,290.66. 


CHAPTER    V 
Banks  and  Banking 


WISCONSIN  was  more  favorably  situ- 
ated than  other  new  communities,  in 
that,  at  the  very  outset,  it  produced  a 
surplus  which  commanded  a  fair 
price  in  honest  money  in  the  markets 
of  the  world.  The  lead  ore  dug  from  the  earth  with  so 
little  labor  and  in  such  large  quantities  was  exchangeable 
for  coin  at  all  times,  and  the  mining  towns  furnished  a 
convenient  market  for  the  surplus  products  of  the  farms 
in  the  southwestern  counties.  The  lakeshore  ports  were 
already  inviting  commerce,  and  means  for  transportation 
were  furnished  for  all  kinds  of  surplus  products,  equal 
if  not  superior  to  those  available  to  older  communities 

to  the  South  and  East.  These  favorable  conditions,  how- 
ever, seem  not  to  have  been  apparent,  or  at  least  not  to 

have  impressed  themselves  upon  the  minds  of  those  who 
controlled  the  destinies  of  the  new  territory.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  imagine  the  arguments  that  were  advanced  in 
favor  of  more  money  and  its  seductive  influence  upon  a 
people  eager  for  higher  prices  for  their  products,  and 
anxious  for  the  rapid  development  of  the  agricultural 
and  industrial  interests  of  a  new  community.  An  in- 
crease in  the  volume  of  the  currency  could  be  had  by  the 
issue  of  paper  money,  which  could  be  supplied  in  sufficient 
quantities  only  by  banks  and  banking  institutions.  There 
is  no  evidence,  however,  that  the  aversion  of  the  people 
themselves  to  such  a  currency  had  been  overcome,  as 
nowhere  in  the  annals  of  the  territory  is  there  any  record 
of  a  petition  asking  for  the  charter  of  a  bank;  and  the 
few  institutions  that  were  incorporated  seem  to  have  had 

125 


126   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  support  of  strong  and  influential  personality  in  the 
territorial  legislature.  These  enactments  were  secured 
by  the  influence  of  the  parties  interested,  and  were  not 
passed  in  response  to  any  popular  demand. 

The  Bank  of  Wisconsin,  established  at  Green  Bay  in 
1835,  was  the  first  institution  of  the  kind  west  of  Lake 
Michigan.  It  was  incorporated  under  an  act  of  the 
territorial  legislature  of  Michigan,  and  Morgan  L. 
Martin,  a  member  of  that  body,  was  its  first  president. 
His  oflicial  connection  with  the  bank  seems  to  have  been 
rather  brief,  as  shown  by  its  subsequent  history.  How 
many  charters  of  like  character  had  been  granted  by  the 
legislature  of  Michigan,  and  of  other  territories,  it  would 
be  needless  to  ascertain;  but  the  practice  had  grown  so 
common  as  to  challenge  the  attention  of  the  national 
administration,  and  a  law  was  enacted,  approved  July 
I,  1836,  which  declared  that  no  act  passed  by  the  legis- 
lature of  any  territory,  incorporating  any  bank  or  any 
institution  with  banking  powers  or  privileges,  should 
have  any  effect  until  approved  by  Congress — a  law  still 
in  force. 

The  territorial  legislature  of  Wisconsin,  at  its  first 
session  in  1836,  passed  three  acts  incorporating  banks 
— the  Miners'  Bank  of  Dubuque,  the  Bank  of  Mineral 
Point,  and  the  Bank  of  Milwaukee — and  these  enact- 
ments were  promptly  approved  by  Congress.  All  these 
institutions  were  organized  and  commenced  business,  and 
all  of  them,  together  with  the  Bank  of  Wisconsin,  soon 
ran  their  course,  leaving  a  vast  amount  of  worthless 
paper  in  the  hands  of  a  helpless  people.     A  brief  refer- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  127 

ence  to  one  of  the  acts  of  incorporation  will  serve  to 
illustrate  them  all,  the  striking  features  of  which  are  the 
combination  of  influential  characters  named  as  incor- 
porators, or  rather  as  commissioners  to  take  subscrip- 
tions for  stock  and  to  act  as  directors  until  their 
successors  were  chosen,  and  the  absence  of  all  safeguards 
for  protection  of  the  community  against  an  inflated, 
fluctuating  and  worthless  paper  currency. 

The  charter  of  the  Bank  of  Mineral  Point  was  ap- 
proved December  2,  1836,  and  confirmed  by  Congress 
March  13,  1837.  The  capital  stock  was  $200,000, 
divided  into  shares  of  $100  each.  One-tenth  of  the 
subscription  was  to  be  paid  to  the  commissioners  in  specie 
at  the  time  the  stock  was  subscribed  for,  and  the  balance 
was  to  be  paid  in  such  installments  and  at  such  times 
as  the  directors  should  require  upon  sixty  days'  notice, 
but  no  installments  should  exceed  $10  on  each  share. 
There  was  no  requirement  that  the  payments  other  than 
the  first  should  be  made  in  specie,  and  no  provisions  for 
enforcing  any  personal  liability  against  stockholders  for 
the  subsequent  installments.  The  bank  was  not  expressly 
authorized  to  issue  paper  money,  but  the  power  was  as- 
sumed to  exist  as  a  common-law  right,  and  certain  re- 
strictions were  attempted  to  be  imposed  upon  its  exercise, 
but  they  were  practically  of  no  force.  There  was  a  pro- 
vision prohibiting  the  bank  from  issuing  notes  in  sums 
less  than  $5,  and  from  issuing  any  such  notes  until  the 
sum  of  $40,000  had  been  paid  in  by  the  stockholders  as 
part  of  the  capital.  It  was  further  made  the  duty  of 
the  president  and  cashier,  "whenever  thereunto  required. 


128    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

to  iurnish  to  the  legislative  counsel"  a  statement  show- 
ing  among  other  things  the  amount  of  specie  in  the  bank 
for  their  redemption.  The  liabilities  which  the  bank 
might  assume  were  limited  to  three  times  the  amount 
of  the  capital  stock  actually  paid  in,  over  and  above  the 
specie  in  the  vault,  and  in  case  of  excess  the  directors 
responsible  therefor  were  made  personally  liable  for  the 
same.  A  failure  to  redeem  its  bills  on  demand  by  the 
bank  in  legal  specie  should  work  a  forfeiture  of  the 
charter.  Another  section  of  that  act  limited  the  rate 
of  interest  which  the  bank  might  charge  to  7  per  cent. 
In  advance,  which  was  an  Implied  assurance  to  the  people 
who  were  borrowing  money  at  usurious  rates  that  they 
should  derive  some  benefit  from  the  paper  money  that 
was  to  be  issued. 

In  a  new  community,  with  Its  sparse  settlements  sepa- 
rated by  long  distances,  with  infrequent  and  Irregular 
communications,  these  corporations  were  established 
clothed  with  sovereign  powers  and  with  absolutely  no 
supervision  or  check  on  the  part  of  the  territorial  gov- 
ernment. The  dies  and  plates  from  which  the  bills  were 
printed,  the  printing  press  and  paper  were  all  within 
the  possession  and  control  of  Irresponsible  corporate 
officers,  who  issued  paper  money  in  such  quantities  and 
as  rapidly  as  it  could  be  forced  into  circulation  among 
the  people.  Such  a  condition  of  things  could  not  exist 
without  challenging  the  attention  of  every  faithful  public 
officer,  who  must  soon  have  become  aware  that  no  safe- 
guards were  provided  in  these  acts  of  Incorporation,  and 
that  the  powers  thereby  conferred  were  being  grossly 
abused  to  the  injury  of  the  pubHc. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  129 

Governor  Dodge,  in  his  annual  message  to  the  legis- 
lative assembly,  delivered  November  27,  1838,  rec- 
ommended an  investigation  of  the  condition  of  the 
several  banks  in  the  territory.  He  said  in  that  com- 
munication: "It  is  a  well-established  fact  that  the  bank- 
ing corporations  have  it  in  their  power,  and  do  practice 
the  most  gross  frauds  upon  the  public,  by  expanding  and 
contracting  their  issues  of  bank  notes,  when  they  have 
no  present  means  of  redeeming  them."  He  desired  that 
the  legislature  should  take  such  steps  as  should  secure  the 
people  a  good  currency,  a  very  worthy  recommendation, 
indeed,  but  one  which  upon  the  whole  has  been  found 
rather  difficult  of  practical  application. 

A  committee  of  investigation  was  appointed  by  the 
legislature  and  undertook  to  examine  the  three  banks 
then  in  existence  in  the  territory,  but  their  labors  were 
rendered  difficult  and  practically  fruitless  by  recalcitrant 
and  dishonest  bank  officials.  The  officers  of  the  Bank 
of  Wisconsin  at  Green  Bay  refused  to  produce  their 
books  or  to  answer  under  oath  the  questions  propounded 
to  them  by  the  committee,  but  showed  a  determination 
to  conceal  the  true  condition  of  the  bank.  They  ad- 
mitted, however,  that  the  bank  was  not  paying  specie 
for  Its  notes,  and  had  not  since  May,  1837.  Henry 
Stringham,  the  cashier,  submitted  a  written  communica- 
tion, which  was  not  verified,  accompanied  by  a  statement 
of  the  bank's  financial  condition,  attempting  to  explain 
why  the  bank  was  not  able  to  resume  simultaneously 
with  the  institutions  of  older  States.     He  claimed  that 

the  situation  of  the  people  had  rendered  it  necessary  to 
4, 9. 


I30   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

extend  accommodations,  and  they  were  not  able  to  make 
voluntary  payments,  and  that  the  bank  was  unable  to 
coerce  payments  of  its  debts  by  reason  of  stay  laws 
enacted  by  the  legislature  which  had  impaired  the  value 
of  personal  securities  by  rendering  a  prompt  collection 
of  them  impossible.  For  this  reason  he  said  that  the 
bank  had  not  been  able  to  convert  its  securities  into  avail- 
able assets  with  which  to  redeem  its  liabilities.  The 
financial  statement  furnished  by  the  cashier,  but  which 
he  refused  to  verify,  however,  told  a  different  story. 
From  that  partial  statement  it  appeared  that  the  Bank 
of  Wisconsin,  with  a  capital  of  $39,125,  had  issued  cir- 
culating notes  which  were  then  outstanding  in  the  sum 
of  $182,498.  It  had  deposits  to  the  amount  of  $88,- 
250.28,  increasing  its  outstanding  obligations,  which 
were  subject  to  immediate  payment,  to  the  sum  of  over 
$275,000.  To  meet  these  demands  he  claimed  the  bank 
had  specie  to  the  amount  of  $29,236.46,  and  bills  of 
other  banks  to  the  amount  of  $23,123,  and  other  assets 
which  were  not  fully  described,  but  he  refused  the  com- 
mittee access  to  the  books  or  vaults  in  order  that  they 
might  verify  the  accuracy  of  these  figures;  and  also  re- 
fused to  furnish  the  names  of  the  stockholders  and  direct- 
ors of  the  bank,  from  whom,  according  to  this  statement, 
a  large  amount  was  due  to  the  bank.  It  was  supposed 
that  James  D.  Doty  was  one  of  the  largest  holders  of 
stock  of  the  bank.  The  apparent  helplessness  of  the 
committee  seemed  pitiful  when,  had  it  seen  fit,  it  could 
have  called  to  its  aid  the  entire  power  of  the  territorial 
government  in  order  to  compel  a  full  disclosure  of  the 
condition  of  this  institution. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  131 

In  respect  to  the  Bank  of  Milwaukee  the  committee 
found  that  two  sets  of  directors  were  claiming  the  fran- 
chise granted  by  the  legislature;  that  only  a  small  amount 
of  capital  stock  had  been  paid  in,  and  that  there  were 
no  available  assets  to  meet  the  outstanding  obligations 
of  the  bank.  A  brief  reference  to  the  attempted  organ- 
ization of  this  institution  will  illustrate  the  business  meth- 
ods which  prevailed  in  such  matters  in  those  early  days, 
or  rather  the  absence  of  such  methods  in  transactions 
of  great  importance,  not  only  to  the  parties  interested, 
but  to  the  public  at  large.  The  persons  named  in  the 
charter  as  commissioners  to  take  subscriptions  to  stock 
held  their  first  meeting  in  January,  1837,  and  resolved 
to  open  books  for  that  purpose,  but  up  to  December, 
1837,  only  sixteen  shares  of  stock  had  been  subscribed 
for  and  $160  paid  in.  The  financial  disasters  of  that 
year,  there  having  been  a  general  suspension  of  specie 
payment  by  the  banks  throughout  the  country  in  the 
month  of  May,  had  doubtless  discouraged  enterprises 
of  this  character.  In  the  month  of  December,  however, 
one  James  K.  O'Farrell,  appeared  in  Milwaukee,  claim- 
ing to  represent  Galena  bankers  or  capitalists,  and  pro- 
posed to  subscribe  for  the  remaining  stock  in  the  bank, 
amounting  to  1,984  shares,  provided  that  he  should  be 
appointed  fiscal  agent,  and  should  be  authorized  to  pro- 
cure plates  for  printing  circulating  notes  and  books  and 
stationery  for  the  use  of  the  bank.  The  proposition  was 
promptly  accepted,  and  at  the  close  of  the  month  the 
book  entries  showed  that  all  of  the  stock  had  been  sub- 
scribed and  50  per  cent,  paid  in,  a  number  of  Milwaukee 


132    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

gentlemen  appearing  as  the  holders  of  one  share  each, 
and  the  names  of  some  of  them  being  published  as  di- 
rectors. O'Farrell  is  reported  as  the  holder  of  1,985 
shares,  and  if  one-half  the  face  value  had  been  paid^ 
nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  lawful  money 
should  have  been  in  the  vaults  of  the  bank.  The  sum 
actually  paid  in  on  such  subscriptions  was  the  $160  con- 
tributed by  the  stockholders  before  Mr.O'Farrell  became 
identified  with  the  enterprise,  the  remaining  payments 
having  been  made  to  O'Farrell,  the  fiscal  agent  of  the 
bank,  by  O'Farrell,  its  principal  stockholder,  and  the 
entire  transaction  was  purely  fictitious,  as  soon  after 
developed. 

Solomon  Juneau  was  one  of  the  stockholders  and 
directors  of  the  bank,  and  on  December  31,  1837,  it 
was  announced  that  it  was  open  for  business,  and  that 
he  had  made  a  deposit  and  had  paper  discounted  there. 
The  next  day  other  deposits  were  made  and  other  di- 
rectors applied  for  discounts,  and  the  sum  of  $3,600 
was  loaned,  but  O'Farrell  had  not  apparently  set  his 
press  in  operation  to  print  circulating  notes,  and  the 
moneys  deposited  were  not  suflUcient  to  meet  the  demands 
of  would-be  borrowers.  This  condition  of  things  seems 
to  have  excited  the  suspicion  of  the  local  directors,  who 
were  in  a  majority  on  the  board,  and  upon  February 
19,  1838,  a  resolution  was  adopted  requiring  O'Farrell 
to  give  bonds  for  the  safe  custody  of  the  funds  of  the 
bank,  making  an  assessment  of  40  per  cent,  on  the  stock 
of  the  bank,  to  be  paid  April  24,  at  the  banking  house, 
and  also  requiring  O'Farrell,  as  fiscal  agent,  to  lay  be- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  133 

fore  the  board  on  the  following  morning  all  books, 
papers,  documents,  notes  and  funds  belonging  to  the 
bank.  O'Farrell  defied  the  authority  of  the  board  and 
refused  to  comply  with  its  demands.  Thereupon  the 
directors  met  and  voted  to  extend  the  time  of  payment 
on  all  paper  discounted  by  the  bank  until  January  i, 
1839.  As  this  included  the  paper  which  the  directors 
themselves  had  discounted,  they  must  have  thereby  forti- 
fied themselves  at  their  most  vulnerable  point,  and  they 
thereupon  adjourned  to  consider  means  to  circumvent 
the  wily  O'Farrell.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  it  was 
voted  to  publish  a  notice  warning  the  public  against  any 
The  finacial  career  of  Mr.  O'Farrell,  which  had  opened 
so  auspiciously,  was  brought  to  an  untimely  end.  No  as- 
sessments were  paid  upon  his  stock,  the  shares  were 
forfeited,  and  the  bank  ceased  to  do  business.  Little 
mischief  was  done,  as  the  circulating  notes  had  not  been 
issued  at  the  time  of  the  collapse.  The  charter  was  re- 
pealed by  the  legislature  in  1839. 

It  Is  interesting  to  consider  what  might  have  been 
the  outcome  had  O'Farrell  been  provided  with  ready 
money  sufficient  to  supply  the  demands  for  discounts 
until  the  circulating  notes  could  have  been  Issued,  or  if 
he  had  been  engaged  in  banking  as  a  private  enterprise, 
and  had  taken  with  him  to  Milwaukee  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  such  paper  money.  The  occasion  may  have  been 
unpropltious,  the  directors  may  have  been  jealous  of  his 
prospects,  or  he  m.ay  have  been  disappointed  In  not  re- 
ceiving outside  aid,  which,  if  promptly  rendered,  would 
have  tided  him  over  the  crisis,  and  have  enabled  him 


134   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

to  continue  a  financial  career  with  distinction  and  suc- 
cess. Who  can  tell  what  place  O'Farrell  might  not  have 
filled  in  Wisconsin  history  had  not  the  fates  been  so 
unkind?  Had  his  efforts  been  crowned  with  success, 
how  courageous  and  enterprising  and  honorable  would 
his  reckless  and  lawless  career  have  appeared  in  the  eyes 
of  his  admiring  associates  and  contemporaries. 

The  legislative  visiting  committee  was  evidently 
grossly  deceived  as  to  the  condition  of  the  Bank  of  Min- 
eral Point,  as  it  was  reported  to  be  in  a  solvent  and  safe 
condition  when,  in  fact,  it  must  have  been  hopelessly 
insolvent.  Samuel  B.  Knapp,  the  cashier,  had  doubtless 
observed  the  effect  upon  the  public  of  the  refusal  of  the 
officers  of  the  Bank  of  Wisconsin  to  permit  the  com- 
mittee to  examine  the  books  and  vaults  and  to  furnish 
sworn  statements  of  its  condition,  and  he  was  therefore 
prepared  to  supply  any  information  that  might  be  called 
for,  and  to  offer,  with  the  utmost  candor,  to  verify  his 
figures.  He  reported  only  $53,075  of  circulating  notes 
outstanding,  and  claimed  the  bank  held  specie  in  the 
sum  of  $36,644.44,  and  United  States  Treasury  notes 
in  the  sum  of  $7,995-37,  and  other  cash  items,  making 
the  assets  available  for  the  redemption  of  these  bills 
the  sum  of  $69,498.48.  Moreover,  he  swore  that  $100,- 
000  of  the  capital  stock  had  been  paid  in,  and  that  the 
bank  had  never  charged  more  than  7  per  cent,  on  its 
loans  and  discounts. 

Governor  Dodge  was  evidently  not  impressed  with 
the  reliability  of  these  statements  of  the  cashier,  and 
in  his  message,  delivered  December,  1839,  he  again  rec- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  135 

ommended  that  such  legal  steps  be  taken  as  were  neces- 
sary to  ascertain  the  true  condition  of  the  Bank  of 
Mineral  Point.  The  committee  to  whom  this  part  of 
the  message  was  referred  reported  that  this  was  the  only 
legal  banking  institution  then  in  the  territory,  and  that 
from  the  best  information  in  their  possession  they  were 
of  the  opinion  that  it  was  in  a  solvent  and  safe  condition. 

The  Governor  took  a  different  view  of  the  matter, 
and  in  his  messages  to  the  legislature  in  August,  1840, 
and  in  February,  1841,  repeated  his  warnings  in  respect 
to  the  danger  threatened  by  the  conduct  of  the  Bank  of 
Mineral  Point,  especially  in  the  issue  of  what  were  de- 
nominated "post  notes,"  notes  payable  at  a  future  day 
and  not  on  presentation.  The  charter  of  the  bank  was 
repealed  in  1842,  but  not  until  after  the  institution  had 
gone  into  the  hands  of  receivers,  and  the  cashier  had 
proved  himself  a  defaulter  and  a  scoundrel.  He  had 
managed  by  his  apparent  candor,  by  his  false  statements 
and  fraudulent  manipulation  of  the  funds,  to  mislead 
the  committee  and  the  public  as  to  the  true  condition  of 
the  bank. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Bank  of  Mineral 
Point,  James  D.  Doty  bought  up  the  stock  and  gained 
a  controlling  interest,  many  of  the  shares  being  pur- 
chased at  20  cents  on  the  dollar.  In  the  fall  of  1838, 
or  the  spring  of  1839,  this  man  Knapp  and  one  Peter 
Bruce  went  to  Mineral  Point,  and  either  as  purchasers 
from  Doty,  or  as  representatives  of  his  interests,  took 
charge  of  the  institution.  In  addition  to  issuing  paper 
money,   receiving   deposits   and   discounting  notes,   the 


136   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

bank  did  a  considerable  exchange  business  for  smelters. 
The  latter  bought  the  ore  from  the  miners  and  shipped 
the  lead  to  the  South  and  East,  and  made  their  drafts 
upon  their  customers  at  the  home  banks,  which  necessi- 
tated some  time  for  collection  and  transmission.  To 
facilitate  such  exchanges  and  to  gain  time  for  realizing 
upon  the  remittances,  the  bank  officials  had  a  pretext  for 
issuing  what  were  called  "post  notes,"  referred  to  in 
the  Governor's  message.  These  were  notes  issued  by 
the  bank  for  circulation,  upon  which  was  written  across 
the  face  in  red  ink  words  indicating  that  they  were  re- 
deemable in  two  or  three  months  after  date  instead  of 
upon  demand.  They  were  accepted  with  no  little  grum- 
bling by  the  tradesmen  and  miners,  who  called  this  paper 
*'red  dog  currency,"  for  the  purpose  of  designating  it 
from  demand  bills.  Later  bills  were  issued  by  the  bank, 
payable  six  months  after  date,  with  the  time  of  payment 
written  across  the  face  in  blue  ink,  and  they  were  vul- 
garly designated  as  "Blue  Bellies."  The  issue  of  these 
"post  notes"  aroused  a  storm  of  indignation  and  hastened 
the  downfall  of  a  rotten  concern.  Knapp,  the  cashier, 
absconded,  but  was  overtaken  at  Galena.  He  had  noth- 
ing in  his  possession  but  a  traveling  bag  and  two  volumes 
of  Dickens'  novels,  and  the  latter  he  presented  to  a  Mr. 
Welch,  who  was  then  editing  a  paper  at  Galena.  Some- 
thing In  connection  with  the  gift  excited  the  suspicion 
of  the  officer.  He  insisted  on  an  examination  of  the 
books,  and  found,  pasted  within  the  fly  leaves,  notes  and 
bills  of  exchange,  representing  not  less  than  $50,000  of 
the  assets  of  the  bank.     One  of  the  receivers  of  the  bank, 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  137 

W.  H.  Banks,  was  deputized  to  go  to  St.  Louis  to  collect 
a  large  amount  of  securities,  and  was  never  heard  of 
afterwards;  whether  he  absconded  or  was  murdered  was 
never  known.  Most  of  the  other  assets  of  the  bank  were 
absorbed  by  attaching  creditors,  and  there  was  little  or 
nothing  remaining  for  the  general  creditors,  many  of 
whom  were  small  bill  holders.  Moses  M.  Strong,  in 
his  territorial  history,  states  that  the  loss  to  the  com- 
munity by  the  failure  of  this  bank  exceeded  $200,000, 
which  is  probably  not  an  exaggeration.  And  thus  closed 
the  history  of  banks  incorporated  under  territorial 
authority. 

It  Is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  bills  issued 
by  the  banks  of  the  territory  of  Wisconsin  represented 
all  the  paper  money  then  In  circulation.  In  each  of  the 
different  bank  statements,  which  were  printed  In  the  re- 
ports made  by  the  legislative  committee,  was  embraced 
circulating  notes  of  banks  of  other  States  and  territories, 
and  there  is  no  way  of  ascertaining  the  quantity  of  such 
paper  money.  As  all  these  banks  suspended  In  1837, 
the  people  of  the  territory  must  have  suffered  prodigious 
loss  by  reason  of  these  currencies. 

The  paper  money  Issued  by  the  Bank  of  Mineral  Point 
and  by  the  Bank  of  Green  Bay  In  pursuance  of  their  char- 
ters was  but  a  fraction  of  the  amount  put  in  circulation 
by  other  Institutions  within  this  territory,  and  that,  too, 
without  express  authority,  or  In  direct  violation  of  law; 
but  fortunately  all  such  paper  was  promptly  redeemed, 
and  consequently  the  community  suffered  no  loss,  while 
those  engaged  in  the  enterprise  reaped  large  profits. 


138    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

The  Wisconsin  Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Company 
was  incorporated  in  1839,  and  in  addition  to  the  usual 
powers  of  an  insurance  company  it  was  authorized  to 
receive  deposits,  to  issue  certificates  therefor,  and  to  loan 
money;  but  was  expressly  prohibited  from  exercising 
banking  privileges.  This  prohibition  was  disregarded 
by  the  manager  of  the  corporation,  who  at  the  very  out- 
set issued,  in  exchange  for  the  notes  of  its  customers, 
certificates  of  deposit,  payable  on  demand,  of  the  appear- 
ance of  ordinary  bank  bills,  and  in  denomination  of  one, 
three  and  five  dollars,  with  the  intention  that  they  should 
circulate  as  money.  The  territorial  legislatures  made 
vigorous  protests  against  the  use  of  its  charter  privi- 
leges by  this  corporation,  and  finally,  in  1846,  repealed 
the  statute  authorizing  its  existence.  This  had  no  prac- 
tical effect,  as  the  company  continued  to  do  a  general 
banking  business  and  to  issue  its  certificates  of  deposits 
until  1853,  when  it  was  reorganized  as  a  bank  under  the 
constitutional  laws  of  the  State.  In  a  circular  issued 
by  this  corporation  on  the  occasion  of  its  fiftieth  anni- 
versary, May  7,  1889,  it  is  stated  that  its  circulating 
notes  were  first  issued  1840,  and  that  the  amount  out- 
standing in  March  of  that  year  was  $41,841,  and  in 
March,  1842,  $115,673,  and  that  it  had  reached 
nearly  a  quarter  million  dollars  in  1846  ($241,629), 
and  over  half  a  million  in  1849  ($592,015 )  ;  that  it  ex- 
ceeded a  million  dollars  in  1851  ($1,027,793),  and  in 
1853  approximated  one  and  one-half  million  dollars 
($1,470,235).  This  circular  says,  in  respect  to  these 
circulating  notes,  "although  unsecured,  every  dollar  pre- 
sented has  been  redeemed  in  gold." 


>^  ^ 


NEW  YORK 
PUBLI-?.  LIBRARY' 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  139 

The  banking  companies  of  Scotland  invented  the 
method  of  issuing  their  circulating  notes,  payable  on  de- 
mand in  small  denomination  In  exchange  for  the  paper 
of  their  customers,  and  this  plan  was  adopted  by  Mr. 
Smith  and  Mr.  Mitchell  in  their  conduct  of  the  business 
of  the  Wisconsin  Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Company. 
They  did  not  apparently  consider  the  enterprise  an  ex- 
periment. They  claimed  to  have  abundant  resources 
in  the  subscriptions  to  capital  stock,  a  majority  of  the 
shares  being  held,  as  they  represented,  by  capitalists  in 
Scotland.  Whether  or  not  these  foreign  stockholders 
had  any  actual  existence,  the  assurance  of  such  substan- 
tial support  and  the  immediate  supply  of  specie  to  redeem 
all  its  circulating  notes  on  demand  gave  this  institution 
an  unlimited  credit,  and  its  paper  soon  passed  current 
throughout  the  entire  Northwest.  To  strengthen  and 
enlarge  this  credit  was  the  first  consideration  of  those 
in  charge  of  the  company,  and  offices  for  the  redemption 
of  its  notes  were  established  at  Chicago,  Galena,  St. 
Louis,  Detroit  and  Cincinnati,  thus  gaining  the  con- 
fidence of  the  public  in  the  stability  of  the  paper,  and 
extending  a  business  that  was  proving  immensely  profit- 
able. The  denominations  in  which  the  certificates  were 
issued  also  tended  to  increase  their  use  and  consequently 
to  keep  them  in  circulation.  The  charters  granted  to 
banking  institutions  by  territorial  legislatures  limited  the 
lowest  denomination  of  circulating  notes  to  $5,  neces- 
sitating the  use  of  specie  for  smaller  transactions  and 
in  making  change.  The  small  bills  of  the  Wisconsin 
Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Company  were  therefore  a 


I40   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


great  convenience,  supplying  the  place  of  silver  with  re- 
tail dealers  and  farmers. 

While  excellent  business  methods  must  have  prevailed 
in  the  management  of  this  great  financial  institution,  its 
ultimate  success  Is  doubtless  attributable  In  no  small  de- 
gree to  the  general  prosperity  of  the  Northwest  during 
the  early  years  of  its  existence.  The  revival  of  business 
after  the  crisis  of  1837  had  set  in,  the  wild  lands  were 
being  occupied  and  Improved,  values  of  all  kinds  were 
rapidly  advancing,  and  all  investments  In  real  or  per- 
sonal property  could  not  prove  otherwise  than  profitable. 
Had  this  enterprise  been  started  in  1837,  or  even  a  year 
later,  the  history  of  the  Wisconsin  Marine  and  Fire 
Insurance  Company  might  not  have  been  a  record  of 
unprecedented  and  unparalleled  success. 

In  1839  an  act  was  also  passed  by  the  territorial  legis- 
lature to  incorporate  the  Mississippi  Marine  and  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  under  which  the  Incorporators  con- 
templated carrying  on  a  banking  business  at  Sisslpee,  in 
Grant  County,  but  the  scheme  failed  and  the  charter  was 
subsequently  repealed. 

During  the  territorial  period  two  private  banks  were 
established,  and  one  of  them  at  least  issued  paper  money, 
all  of  which  was  redeemed  on  presentation. 

In  1846  Washburn  &  Woodman  opened  a  private 
bank  at  Mineral  Point,  issuing  circulating  notes  in  addi- 
tion to  its  regular  business,  which  continued  until  1855, 
when  the  firm  was  dissolved,  and  the  institution  was  re- 
organized under  the  State  laws  by  other  parties,  and 
became  known  as  the  Iowa  County  Bank. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  141 

In  1847  Samuel  Marshall  opened  a  private  bank  in 
Milwaukee,  and  two  years  later  was  joined  by  Charles 
F.  Ilsey,  but  no  paper  money  was  issued  by  them  until 
the  bank  was  organized  under  the  State  banking  law. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  supposed  connection 
of  James  D.  Doty  with  the  Bank  of  Wisconsin  at  Green 
Bay,  and  the  Bank  of  Mineral  Point.  In  1841  he  was 
appointed  Governor,  and  in  his  first  message  to  the  ter- 
ritorial legislature  showed  his  hostility  to  the  proceed- 
ings that  had  been  taken  against  those  rotten  institutions. 
He  first  disapproved  in  strong  language  the  laws  by 
which  the  monopolies  had  been  created,  acts  of  incor- 
poration granting  exclusive  privileges  to  certain  persons, 
"the  offspring  of  the  last  four  years."  He  called  atten- 
tion to  the  state  of  the  currency,  and  questioned  whether 
the  people  of  the  territory  had  been  benefited  by  the 
destruction  of  the  banks  by  the  legislature  and  by  the 
introduction  of  foreign  depreciated  paper.  He  thought 
that  an  effort  should  be  made  to  secure  specie  and  notes 
of  specie-paying  banks  for  a  circulating  medium,  by  pro- 
hibiting the  issue  of  depreciated  bank  paper.  He  sug- 
gested the  establishment  by  Wisconsin  of  an  institution 
to  be  created  by  herself,  whose  circulation  should  be 
based  on  specie. 

The  committee  of  the  council  to  whom  this  part  of 
the  message  was  referred  agreed  with  the  Governor  in 
a  condemnation  of  monopolies,  but  said  "that  these  cor- 
porations which  have  yielded  the  bitterest  fruits  for  the 
people  are  not  the  offspring  of  the  last  four  years,"  and 
that  the  Bank  of  Wisconsin,  chartered  seven  years  be- 


142    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

fore,  and  the  Bank  of  Mineral  Point,  chartered  five  years 
before,  pre-eminently  demanded  the  attention  of  the  leg- 
islature, and  that  the  acts  incorporating  those  institutions 
appeared  "to  have  been  granted  to  favor  particular  per- 
sons," and  that  "they  are  incorporations  to  aid  specu- 
lation." The  committee  did  not  concur  in  the  idea 
conveyed  by  the  Governor  that  the  banks  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  legislature,  but  insisted  that  the  banks  had 
destroyed  themselves;  and  it  was  of  the  opinion  that 
any  law  to  prohibit  the  circulation  of  depreciated  bank 
paper  would  be  without  practical  operation,  or,  at  best, 
serve  as  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  malicious  to 
injure  and  to  annoy  their  more  honest  and  undesigning 
neighbors.  In  respect  to  the  establishment  of  a  bank 
by  Wisconsin,  the  committee  said  that  the  incorporation 
of  another  bank  was  open  to  the  same  objection  as  the 
Governor  had  already  urged  against  monopolies,  and 
they  quoted  from  his  message  language  denouncing  the 
scheme  :  "That  it  would  be  an  incorporation  granting  ex- 
clusive privileges,"  that  it  would  be  a  "combination 
of  political  power  and  wealth,"  a  "petty  aristocracy," 
and  that  in  whatever  neighborhood  it  might  be  planted, 
although  it  might  give  temporary  relief  to  a  few  indi- 
viduals, that  the  time  would  soon  arrive  when  it  would 
yield  only  bitter  fruit  to  the  people.  The  report  was 
therefore  against  such  an  act  of  incorporation.  No  such 
act  of  incorporation  was  subsequently  adopted  by  the 
territorial  legislature. 

The  first  constitutional  convention  assembled  October 
5,  1846,  and  it  was  pervaded  by  a  strong  sentiment  of 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  143 


hostility  towards  banks  and  paper  money.  Judge  E.  G. 
Ryan  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  banks  and  bank- 
ing, and  submitted  a  report  which,  with  slight  modifica- 
tion, was  finally  adopted  and  incorporated  in  the  pro- 
posed constitution.  It  was  radical  in  its  restrictions.  It 
prohibited  the  legislature  from  conferring  upon  any  cor- 
poration banking  powers  or  privileges,  and  made  it  un- 
lawful for  any  person  or  corporation  within  the  State 
to  issue  paper  money  in  any  form.  It  prohibited  any 
branch  or  agency  of  any  banking  institution  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  any  other  State  or  territory,  from  being 
maintained  in  this  State,  and  made  it  unlawful  to  circu- 
late, after  1847,  any  paper  money  issued  without  this 
State  of  any  denomination  less  than  $10,  and  after  1849 
of  any  denomination  less  than  $20.  It  was  designed  to 
prevent  the  exercise  of  banking  privileges  of  any  kind 
by  corporations,  to  permit  private  individuals  to  carry 
on  the  ordinary  business  of  receiving  deposits,  making 
discount  and  selling  exchange,  and  to  interdict  entirely 
the  use  of  paper  money  in  small  denominations  within 
the  State.  This  article  contributed  its  share  to  the  de- 
feat of  the  first  constitution  as  proposed  and  submitted 
to  the  people. 

The  articles  upon  this  subject  Incorporated  In  the 
second  constitution,  which  was  ratified  by  the  people  at 
the  election  in  April,  1847,  provided  that  the  question 
of  "bank"  or  "no  bank"  should  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of 
the  electors  at  a  general  election,  and  that  if  a  majority 
of  the  votes  cast  upon  the  subject  should  be  in  favor  of 
banks  then  the  legislature  should  have  power  to  grant 


144   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

bank  charters  or  to  pass  a  general  banking  law,  provided 
that  no  such  grant  or  law  should  have  any  force  until  the 
same  should  have  been  in  like  manner  submitted  to  and 
approved  by  the  people.  In  pursuance  of  that  provision 
the  present  general  banking  law  was  adopted  in  1852, 
which  authorized  the  incorporation  of  banks  with  the 
power  to  issue  circulating  notes.  Many  such  banks  were 
organized,  and  prior  to  1861  the  State  was  flooded  by 
paper  money  issued  by  them.  The  experience  of  the 
people  with  that  currency  is  too  familiar  to  require 
further  notice;  it  is  but  the  repetition  of  the  history  of 
the  folly  and  loss  of  attempting  to  create  something  out 
of  nothing,  of  the  sufferings  of  the  people  by  reason  of 
an  unstable,  fluctuating  and  depreciated  medium  of 
exchange. 

When,  in  1852,  by  a  substantial  majority,  the  people 
voted  approval  of  a  banking  law,  similar  in  its  provisions 
to  the  banking  act  of  New  York,  the  supervision  of  the 
banks  of  the  State  was  put  in  the  hands  of  a  comptroller. 
Authority  was  granted  him  "to  issue  to  each  bank  a  cir- 
culation not  to  exceed  the  amount  of  its  capital  stock, 
on  the  deposit  in  trust,  with  the  State  treasurer,  of  a  like 
amount  of  State  bonds  worth  par."  If  the  amounts  de- 
posited fell  below  par,  only  90  per  cent,  of  their  actual 
value  was  to  be  issued.  Personal  bonds  amounting  to 
25  per  cent,  of  the  capital  stock  were  also  required  as  a 
further  guarantee.  Under  certain  conditions  a  limited 
amount  of  Wisconsin  railroad  bonds  were  allowed  to 
be  deposited  as  a  currency  basis,  in  like  manner  as  the 
bonds  above  named. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  145 

It  was  further  provided  that  the  bank  comptroller 
could  publicly  proclaim  in  default  any  bank  failing  to 
redeem  its  bills  upon  presentation  and  sell  its  bonds  to 
redeem  them.  The  new  law  gave  a  great  impetus  to 
the  organization  of  institutions  of  this  character;  in  Mil- 
waukee alone  thirteen  banks  were  chartered  from  1853 
to  i860.  In  all  there  were  107  in  the  State,  with  a 
circulation  of  four  million  dollars.  For  some  time  the 
law  worked  without  difficulty,  and  even  the  severe  strain 
of  1857  passed  without  depreciation  of  this  currency. 
Finally,  however,  the  banking  system  of  Wisconsin  was 
in  great  danger -of  coming  into  disrepute  through  the 
establishment  of  banks  for  no  other  purpose  than  the 
issuing  of  circulation. 

"It  is  true,"  said  John  Johnston,  in  an  address  before 
the  American  Bankers'  Association,  referring  to  this 
period  of  Wisconsin  financiering,  "the  State  law  con- 
templated the  redemption  in  coin  of  all  notes  on  presen- 
tation at  the  counter  of  the  bank  issuing  them.  That 
stipulation  was  easily  got  around.  The  banks  in  ques- 
tion were  located  in  some  impassable  swamp,  or  in  some 
dense  forest,  where  no  notary  who  had  any  regard  for 
nature's  first  law  would  dare  to  go,  especially  with  a 
large  quantity  of  money.  If  he  had  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing the  so-called  bank,  he  would  have  found  that  the 
bank  was  not  open  a  great  many  days  in  the  week." 

When  this  evil  had  assumed  unbearable  proportions, 
the  responsible  bankers  combined  to  devise  a  remedy. 
The  result  was  that  such  modifications  were  brought 

about  in  the  law,  in  1858,  as  to  prohibit  the  comptroller 

4.  10. 


146    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

from  issuing  notes,  except  to  banks  doing  a  regular  dis- 
count, deposit  and  exchange  business  in  some  inhabited 
town,  city  or  village. 

The  authority  above  quoted  may  be  again  referred 
to  in  tracing  the  subsequent  history  of  banking.  Noth- 
ing of  moment  occurred  in  the  history  of  banking  till 
1861,  when  the  first  shot  on  Fort  Sumter  shook  every 
bank  in  the  Union.  More  than  one-half  of  the  four 
millions  of  dollars  of  Wisconsin  banknote  circulation 
was  secured  by  bonds  of  the  Middle  and  Southern  States. 
To  have  protested  these  notes,  and  to  have  sold  the 
bonds  for  a  mere  nothing  would  have  entailed  a  serious 
loss  to  the  holders.  To  suspend  specie  payments  was 
impossible,  under  the  State  constitution,  without  a  vote 
of  the  people  at  a  general  election. 

As  usual  in  such  cases,  the  legislature  found  a  way 
over  the  constitution.  The  bank  comptroller  was  in- 
structed to  take  no  proceedings  against  the  banks  which 
failed  to  redeem  their  circulation.  A  law  was  also 
passed  forbidding  notaries  public  to  protest  the  notes 
of  banks  until  December  i,  1861. 

Praiseworthy  action  was  also  taken  to  place  the  cir- 
culation on  an  unimpeachable  basis  after  December, 
1861,  by  enacting  that  thereafter  none  but  the  bonds 
of  the  United  States  and  the  State  of  Wisconsin  should 
be  taken  as  security  for  circulation,  and  that  thereafter 
all  banks  should  redeem  their  issues  at  Milwaukee  or 
Madison.  While  the  result  of  this  legislation  was  to 
place  the  banks  on  a  firmer  footing  after  December  i, 
1 861,  it  left  them  for  more  than  six  months  without  any 
specie  resumption  whatever. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  147 

There  was  therefore  no  means  of  testing  the  standing 
of  the  banks,  and  a  bankers'  convention  was  held,  which 
attempted  to  estabhsh  what  bank  notes  it  would  be  safe 
for  the  public  to  take  and  what  it  would  not.  Fifty- 
seven  of  the  leading  banks  of  the  State,  desiring  to  allay 
public  uncertainty  and  apprehension,  published  a  list  of 
seventy  banks  whose  issues  were  to  be  received  and  paid 
out  as  current.  This  led  to  the  Milwaukee  bank  riots 
of  June,  1 861,  when  holders  of  worthless  currency 
stormed  two  of  the  banks.  Some  banks  and  railroads 
refused  to  co-operate  with  the  subscribing  banks,  and  the 
latter,  finding  that  they  were  not  likely  to  be  successful, 
had  to  give  up  their  laudable  endeavors. 

Jeremiah  Rusk  was  the  last  bank  comptroller.  The 
position  was  abolished  early  in  the  seventies.  At  pres- 
ent State  supervision  is  exercised  through  a  bank  exam- 
iner. Many  modifications  tending  to  strengthen  the 
State  Banking  Act  have  been  enacted  from  time  to  time. 
In  1880  the  legislature,  at  the  request  of  Alexander 
Mitchell,  passed  a  law  making  the  stockholders  of  any 
State  bank  liable  to  the  full  amount  of  their  fortunes 
upon  their  filing  a  declaration  to  that  effect.  In  the 
financial  crisis  of  1893  a  number  of  wealthy  stockhold- 
ers, whose  interests  in  banks  affected  were  small,  suf- 
fered irreparable  disaster  in  consequence  of  this  law. 

In  the  three-quarters  of  a  century  during  which  bank- 
ing of  one  sort  or  another  has  been  conducted  in  Wis- 
consin, a  series  of  exciting  runs  on  banks  have  been  wit- 
nessed, including  those  which  occurred  during  periods 
of  national  financial  crises.     The  most  notable  ones  oc- 


148    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

curred  in  1849,  1873  ^'^^  '^9^3-  "^he  run  in  the  year 
first  mentioned  was  directed  against  the  company  known 
as  the  Wisconsin  Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Company 
(later  known  as  Mitchell's  bank).  The  certificates  of 
deposit  of  this  institution,  which  were  issued  in  denomi- 
nations as  small  a  $1,  passed  current  all  over  the  West- 
ern country.  The  circulation  in  1849  had  reached  a 
million  dollars,  and  the  two  young  Scotchmen  at  the 
head  of  the  institution,  George  Smith  and  Alexander 
Mitchell,  made  enormous  profits  in  a  country  where  the 
rates  of  interest  ranged  from  10  to  12  per  cent.,  and 
even  much  higher.  Bankers  and  brokers  of  other  States 
organized  runs  to  ruin  them,  but  the  company  always 
redeemed  in  coin.  The  Peninsular  Bank  of  Michigan 
on  more  than  one  occasion  sent  large  amounts  of  the 
company's  circulating  notes  stealthily  by  steamboat,  but 
the  coin  in  redemption  was  ready.  Probably  the  most 
serious  run  was  one  organized  by  the  brokers  of  Chicago 
in  November,  1849.  The  circumstances  may  well  be 
told  in  the  words  of  an  officer  of  the  bank,  as  related 
many  years  later: 

"The  last  day  of  the  month  being  Thanksgiving  Day, 
George  Smith,  like  a  good  Christian  and  patriot,  closed 
his  bank.  Word  was  at  once  sent  over  the  West  that 
the  bank  had  closed  its  doors,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
brokers  sent  on  their  accumulation  of  notes  to  Milwau- 
kee for  redemption.  Mr.  Mitchell  had  had  no  warn- 
ing of  the  approaching  run,  but  as  soon  as  he  knew 
what  was  going  on  he  sent  for  coin,  both  by  land  and 
lake,  to  meet  it.     He  had  a  purpose  in  arranging  for 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  149 

this  double  line  of  supply.  The  steamboat  might  meet 
with  an  accident,  or  the  vehicle  on  land  be  waylaid,  and 
all  risks  were  to  be  avoided;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
wagon  did  brealc  down  and  came  in  on  three  wheels. 
The  run  had  been  met  successfully  before  the  coin  sent 
for  arrived.  The  depositors  never  ran  the  company, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  turned  out  to  assist.  Farmers 
twenty  miles  away  hurried  to  the  rescue  with  what  little 
coin  they  could  command." 

The  panic  of  1873  passed  with  surprisingly  limited 
financial  wreckage.  It  required  skill  and  resource,  how- 
ever, on  the  part  of  many  bankers  to  avoid  disaster.  The 
following  episode,  as  told  by  the  late  Senator  Philetus 
Sawyer,  will  serve  to  illustrate:  "The  panic  of  '73 — I 
remember  it  very  well.  I  was  president  of  a  national 
bank  at  Oshkosh,  with  a  capital  of  $50,000  and  about 
$400,000  of  deposits.  I  felt  assured  that  there  was 
trouble  ahead.  I  arrived  home  in  the  evening  and  at 
once  called  the  directors  together,  told  them  the  news, 
and  advised  that  our  bonds  be  at  once  converted  into 
currency,  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  a  run  upon  the 
bank.  They  agreed.  I  offered  to  loan  them  several 
thousands  of  my  own  bonds,  and  so  we  managed  to  get 
together  between  $300,000  and  $400,000  of  bonds.  I 
packed  them  into  my  grip,  and  the  same  night  left  for 
Chicago. 

"As  soon  as  the  banks  opened  in  the  morning  I  went 
the  rounds  trying  to  exchange  the  bonds  for  the  currency. 
Nobody  would  touch  them.  They  were  afraid.  They 
were  In  our  fix  exactly.     They  wanted  all  the  currency 


I50    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

they  could  lay  hands  on.  So,  without  waiting  any  longer, 
I  took  the  train  for  New  York. 

"I  went  to  the  bank  with  which  we  did  business,  and, 
somewhat  to  my  surprise,  they  agreed  to  take  all  the 
bonds  in  exchange  for  currency.  They  thought  there 
was  money  enough  in  New  York  to  help  the  country 
out.  The  bankers  were  even  then  sending  currency  to 
Chicago.  As  it  turned  out,  they  were  not  as  well  off 
as  they  thought  they  were,  and  I  was  very  lucky  in  my 
early  deal. 

"Well,  in  less  than  an  hour  my  grip  was  emptied  of 
the  bonds  and  filled  with  currency.  I  went  up  to  my 
hotel  and  paid  my  bill.  While  waiting,  I  bought  an 
afternoon  paper.  The  first  news  I  saw  was  a  dispatch 
saying  that  every  bank  in  Chicago  had  suspended  pay- 
ment. I  knew  what  the  effect  would  be  on  the  country 
banks,  and  I  made  a  rush  for  the  telegraph  office. 

"It  had  been  agreed,  before  I  left  home,  that  if  I 
could  not  sell  the  bonds  I  should  wire  them  that  I  was 
very  sick;  if  I  sold  only  part,  that  I  was  sick,  but  should 
start  for  home;  if  I  was  successful,  that  I  was  quite  well. 
I  telegraphed,  'Never  so  well  in  my  Hfe,'  and  left  for 
home. 

"I  reached  home  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  day  previous  there  had  been  some  pressure  on  the 
bank,  but  the  depositors  had  been  assured  that  I  was 
on  my  way  back  from  New  York,  and  that  as  soon  as 
I  arrived  depositors  would  be  paid  without  delay.  On 
receipt  of  my  telegram,  they  were  told  that  I  would 
be  in  on  the  morning  train,  and  that  as  soon  as  the  bank 
opened  depositors  would  be  welcome. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  1 5 1 


"Well,  I  went  to  the  bank  and  made  ready.  There 
was  a  narrow  table  in  the  space  behind  the  counter, 
standing  up  against  the  wall.  On  this  we  piled  the 
ledgers  and  other  big  bank,  books,  making  a  pile  about 
two  feet  high  and  as  many  in  length.  We  covered 
these  books  with  the  currency,  and  on  top  of  that  what 
coin  we  had,  so  as  to  make  it  look  like  a  solid  pile  of 
money.  We  had  enough,  anyway,  to  meet  all  claims, 
but  we  wanted,  if  possible,  to  prevent  a  run. 

"In  the  meantime  we  sent  out  some  of  the  bank  men 
and  friends  of  the  bank  to  say  that  'Sawyer  had  got  back 
with  a  cartload  of  money.'  When  the  bank  opened, 
thirty  or  forty  persons  came  running  in  with  checks  in 
their  hands.  When  they  saw  that  pile  of  money  it  stag- 
gered them.  Some  stood  their  ground,  notwithstanding, 
and  got  their  money.  Most  of  them  looked  sheepish, 
chucked  their  checks  in  their  pockets,  pretended  that  they 
had  come  in  on  some  other  business,  or  sneaked  out  with- 
out a  word.  The  news  soon  spread,  and  although  $50,- 
000  was  checked  out,  the  whole  of  it,  and  more,  was 
redeposited  before  night.  The  depositors  at  the  other 
banks  began  drawing  out  and  putting  in  with  us,  and 
threatened  to  run  them  out. 

"So  we  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  that  and  not  have 
a  panic  in  the  town  at  all.  We  conferred  with  the  other 
banks,  and  it  was  agreed  to  announce  that  'Sawyer  had 
brought  money  enough  home  to  let  the  other  banks  have 
all  they  needed.'  This  did  the  business,  and  no  run  was 
made  on  any  of  us." 

The  business  panic  of  1893,  which  swept  from  one 


152    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  engulfed  about  two 
hundred  commercial  houses  in  this  State,  and  two  scores 
of  banks  were  forced  to  close  their  doors.  The  panic 
began  with  a  run  on  the  banks,  and  during  the  month  of 
July  exciting  scenes  were  an  almost  daily  occurrence. 
In  the  beginning  Chicago  was  appealed  to  for  help. 
The  following  story,  telling  how  a  large  sum  was 
brought  from  there  in  the  record-breaking  time  of  sev- 
enty minutes,  is  taken  from  a  local  paper  of  May  13  : 

"At  exactly  1 1.20  o'clock  an  American  Express  team, 
bearing  a  small,  iron-bound  box,  closely  guarded  by  eight 
men  and  detectives,  hove  around  the  corner  of  Sycamore 
and  Second  streets  and  approached  the  side  entrance  of 
the  bank  at  a  gallop.  The  animals  wheeled  about  and 
the  big  wagon  was  backed  to  the  curbstone  in  a  mo- 
ment, just  as  a  squad  of  police  came  running  around  the 
corner  of  the  bank  to  aid  in  keeping  back  the  crowd, 
who  instinctively  knew  that  the  gold  shipment  from 
Chicago  had  arrived,  and  that  the  little  black  iron  box 
contained  in  the  neighborhood  of  half  a  million  dollars. 
Even  the  clerks  in  the  bank,  attracted  by  the  commotion, 
for  a  moment  ceased  their  work  and  came  running  to 
the  windows. 

"A  mighty  shout  went  up  that  could  be  heard  for 
several  blocks,  and  immediately  the  real  rush  on  the 
bank  ceased.  The  mere  sight  of  that  little  iron  chest 
did  more  than  all  else  to  restore  confidence,  and  deposit- 
ors who  had  a  few  moments  before  been  vainly  strug- 
gling to  reach  the  interior  of  the  bank  walked  out 
quietly. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  153 

"All  previous  records  from  Chicago  to  Milwaukee, 
or  over  any  other  division  of  the  Milwaukee  road,  were 
broken  with  the  trip  of  the  gold  train.  The  money  came 
in  the  charge  of  the  American  Express  Company,  and 
unusual  precautions  were  taken  to  insure  its  safe  trans- 
portation. The  ride  through  Chicago  was  a  notable 
one,  the  wagon  containing  the  chest  being  driven  at  a 
speed  along  the  cobble  stones  rarely  attained  by  an 
express  wagon.  The  messengers,  armed  with  Win- 
chester repeating  rifles,  the  flying  wagon,  and  the  small 
iron  chest  attracted  more  than  ordinary  attention  in  its 
flight  to  the  Union  depot.  There  the  chest  and  its  guar- 
dians were  hurried  to  a  special  train  consisting  of  engine 
No.  736  and  a  baggage  car,  with  a  passenger  coach  to 
steady  the  train. 

"It  was  several  minutes  after  10.15  o'clock  when 
Engineer  McKay  started  the  train  on  its  journey. 
Scarce  a  hundred  yards  had  been  traversed  before  the 
train  was  running  at  very  nearly  full  speed,  and  the  run 
was  maintained  out  of  the  Chicago  yards,  the  fastest 
time  ever  made  by  a  train  within  the  city.  Once  out 
on  the  prairie  the  lever  was  thrown  wide  open,  and  there 
began  such  a  race  against  time  as  was  never  witnessed 
before.  The  big,  ponderous  wheels  flew  around  with 
a  hissing  sound,  while  the  escaping  steam  rang  in  the 
ears  of  the  passengers  and  ofliicers  with  a  roar.  The 
train  scarce  seemed  to  keep  on  the  rails.  Everything 
gave  way  to  the  special — even  the  fast  passengers  were 
side-tracked  at  way  stations.  Not  for  a  moment  during 
the  entire  journey  was  the  speed  of  the  train  slackened 


154    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

except  at  the  railroad  crossings  and  on  entering  Mil- 
waukee. 

"The  big  clock  at  the  Union  depot  denoted  twenty- 
three  minutes  past  eleven  o'clock  when  the  train  came 
to  a  standstill  in  front  of  the  American  Express  Com- 
pany's depot  office.  The  sliding  door  of  the  express  car 
shot  back  and  the  iron  chest  was  hurriedly  placed  upon 
a  waiting  truck  and  quickly  transferred  to  an  express 
wagon.  The  detectives  and  messengers  hastily  tumbled 
in,  and  away  sped  the  wagon  to  the  bank.  It  was  all 
done  quickly  and  quietly.  Not  half  a  dozen  persons 
were  at  the  depot  when  the  train  pulled  in,  and  less  than 
half  the  number  were  aware  of  its  significance.  But  it 
was  a  fast  ride.  The  eighty-five  miles  between  Chicago 
and  Milwaukee  were  covered  in  seventy  minutes." 

Unfortunately,  confidence  was  not  permanently  re- 
stored. Banks  closed  their  doors,  and  securities  that 
had  been  regarded  as  worth  millions  shrank  to  thousands 
in  actual  value.  The  five  Milwaukee  banks  that  failed 
had  $13,700,000  of  assets  and  but  $11,700,000  of  lia- 
bilities; two  of  them  resumed  business  when  the  panic 
had  subsided.  In  but  one  instance  was  brazen  dishon- 
esty the  cause  of  the  wreck,  and  the  culprit  was  sent  to  the 
State  prison.  Dishonesty  was  charged  in  a  few  instances 
in  other  cities  of  the  State,  but,  on  the  whole,  unfore- 
seen and  unavoidable  conditions  mainly  contributed  to 
the  business  disasters  of  the  year.  The  storm  cleared 
the  business  atmosphere  and  eventually  led  to  more 
wholesome  financial  methods  in  business  life. 

Until  1905  the  course  of  banking  life  in  Wisconsin 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  155 


pursued  the  even  tenor  of  its  way.  In  that  year  great 
commotion  was  caused  by  the  discovery  that  the  trusted 
president  of  one  of  the  leading  banks  in  Milwaukee  had 
stolen  $1,500,000  of  its  money  and  securities.  The 
stockholders  made  good  the  shortage,  and  widespread 
business  disaster  was  averted.  The  criminal  was  sen- 
tenced to  prison. 


CHAPTER   VI 

Schools  and  Other  Educational  Institutions 


THE  need  for  schools  does  not  appear  to 
have  become  manifest  until  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  At  Green  Bay 
and  other  points  private  schools  were 
started,  but  the  children  of  wealthy 
families  were  sent  chiefly  to  Quebec,  Montreal,  Detroit, 
and  to  Catholic  schools  in  Illinois.  The  end  of  the 
Revolution  brought  the  territory  of  which  Wisconsin 
is  a  part  under  American  rule.  Under  the  ordinance  of 
1787  it  was  declared  that  schools  and  the  means  of  edu- 
cation should  be  forever  encouraged.  Post  schools  were 
started  at  garrison  points  and  efforts  were  made  to  Chris- 
tianize and  educate  the  Indians.  Chief  among  these 
schools  was  that  started  near  Green  Bay  in  1823  by  the 
missionary  society  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  This  took 
in  both  whites  and  Indians,  and  in  time  flourished  under 
the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Eleazer  Williams,  who  later 
achieved  notoriety  as  the  pretended  dauphin  of  France. 
While  Wisconsin  was  later  settled  by  large  numbers  of 
foreigners,  the  educational  character  of  the  State  was 
formed  by  the  American  pioneers  from  New  York  and 
New  England,  who  preceded  them.  Few  and  scattered 
though  they  were,  these  pioneers  yet  made  brave  efforts 
to  establish  and  maintain  schools. 

Up  to  the  organization  of  Wisconsin  as  a  territory,  in 
1 836,  the  Michigan  educational  code  governed.  In  that 
year  the  first  public  school  within  the  bounds  of  Wis- 
consin was  opened  in  what  is  now  the  Second  Ward  of 
Milwaukee,  being  the  first  and  only  school  organized  in 
Wisconsin  under  the  Michigan  law  as  such.     However, 

159 


i6o    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  Michigan  code  remained  undisturbed  for  some  years, 
though  the  first  legislature  as  early  as  1836  established 
the  University  of  Wisconsin — on  paper — at  Belmont, 
the  capital.  A  dozen  years  were  to  elapse  before  this 
institution  came  into  actual  existence. 

From  early  years  up  to  comparatively  recent  times 
Wisconsin  had  a  large  number  of  academies,  seminaries 
and  colleges.  The  academic  system  of  New  England 
was  early  transplanted  to  Wisconsin.  Many  schools 
were  started  under  church  auspices.  Parochial  schools 
multiplied,  and  thus  Catholic  schools  grew  to  be  of  con- 
siderable importance,  as  they  are  to  this  day.  The 
population  being  so  sparse  and  so  heterogeneous,  and 
many  of  the  schools  lacking  financial  support,  the  result 
was  a  multiplicity  of  feeble  schools  which  gradually  be- 
came fewer  in  number  with  the  State's  growing  control 
of  education  and  the  rise  and  growth  of  the  university 
and  high  school  system.  But  these  institutions,  born 
amid  heroic  struggles  of  the  early  settlers,  were  influ- 
ential in  raising  and  maintaining  the  moral  and  intel- 
lectual life  of  the  people,  and  on  their  ruins  were  built 
some  of  the  most  successful  denominational  schools  of 
the  present  day.  The  early  legislatures  were,  however, 
liberal  with  these  struggling  institutions.  Numerous 
acts  were  passed  incorporating  academies  and  colleges, 
and  much  encouragement  was  shown  them.  At  the  sec- 
ond legislative  session  charters  were  granted  for  semi- 
naries in  Beloit,  Racine,  Mineral  Point,  Depere,  Cassville 
and  Green  County,  the  Milwaukee  Academy  and  the 
Episcopal  School  of  Green  Bay.     The  last  named  was 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  i6i 

incorporated  as  the  Wisconsin  University  of  Green  Bay, 
Later  it  was  known  as  Hobart  University.  Many  of 
these  institutions  were  co-educational  in  character  and 
extended  freedom  of  religious  opinion. 

In  1837  the  first  material  change  in  the  code  was 
made  in  the  passage  of  a  bill,  providing,  among  other 
things,  that  as  soon  as  twenty  electors  should  reside  in 
a  surveyed  township  they  should  elect  three  commis- 
sioners to  lay  off  districts,  call  school  meetings,  and 
apply  the  proceeds  of  the  leases  of  school  lands  to 
teachers'  wages.  Other  commissioners  and  inspectors 
were  to  levy  taxes,  license  teachers,  etc.  In  1838  an- 
other change  was  made,  and  every  town  with  not  less 
than  ten  families  was  made  a  school  district,  and  re- 
quired to  provide  a  teacher.  But  through  lack  of  suf- 
ficient funds  the  schools  were  poorly  organized. 

The  first  free  school  in  Wisconsin  was  established  in 
Kenosha,  then  known  as  Southport,  through  the  efforts 
of  Colonel  Michael  Frank,  descendant  of  a  German 
revolutionary  soldier.  He  has  been  called  the  father 
of  the  free  school  system  of  Wisconsin.  While  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Territorial  Legislature  he  introduced  a  bill, 
which  passed,  authorizing  the  legal  voters  of  his  town 
to  vote  taxes  for  the  full  support  of  the  schools.  The  act 
required  submission  to  the  people;  many  meetings  were 
held  and  much  opposition  developed.  While  beaten  the 
first  year,  the  act  was  carried  the  next,  and  thus  the  first 
free  school  of  the  State  was  established.  In  the  con- 
stitution, framed  in  1846,  a  free  school  system  similar 

to   the   present  was  provided   for.      After  giving   an 

4,  11. 


1 62    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


address  on  the  advantages  of  free  schools,  Dr.  Henry 
Barnard,  of  Connecticut,  prepared,  by  request,  a  draft 
of  a  State  school  system,  with  the  State  superintendent 
at  its  head.  This  was  accepted,  re-embodied  in  the 
constitution  in  1848,  with  minor  changes,  and  after  the 
school  laws  had  been  revised  by  Colonel  Frank,  became 
the  school  code  substantially  as  it  now  exists.  It  went 
into  effect  May  i,  1 849.  The  school  officers  under  this 
system  consist  of  a  State  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction, seventy-three  county  superintendents,  fifty- 
seven  city  superintendents  and  a  school  board  in  each 
district,  consisting  of  a  director,  clerk  and  treasurer. 
The  county  boards  of  supervisors  determine  within  cer- 
tain limits  the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised  for  school 
purposes.  The  district  clerks  report  to  the  town  clerks 
annually,  the  town  clerks  to  the  county  superintendents, 
the  county  and  city  superintendents  to  the  State  superin- 
tendent, who  in  turn  makes  an  annual  report  to  the 
Governor. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  agitation  for  better  con- 
ditions of  the  rural  schools  is  the  State  Graded  School. 
In  the  year  1900  a  committee  that  had  been  previously 
appointed  by  the  State  Teachers'  Association  recom- 
mended, first,  that  the  system  of  direct  aid  to  high  schools 
be  extended  to  graded  schools  not  connected  with  high 
schools.  Second,  that  State  inspection  be  provided  for 
supervision  and  perfection  of  organization  of  these 
schools,  to  the  end  that  they  may  become  in  every  sense 
of  the  word  higher  rural  schools,  and  thus  bring  equally 
to  rural  districts  a  realization  of  higher  ideals.     Later 


HeiNry  Barnard. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  163 

this  suggestion  was  framed  into  a  bill,  and  in  1901  the 
bill  became  a  law.  Under  this  law  $60,000  annually 
is  granted  as  State  aid  to  State  graded  schools.  The 
number  of  schools  has  increased  to  such  an  extent  that 
it  is  not  possible  for  each  school  to  receive  the  amount 
first  intended,  namely,  $300  to  schools  of  the  first  class, 
and  $100  to  schools  of  the  second  class.  At  the  close 
of  the  year  1904  the  number  of  schools  had  increased 
so  that  the  first-class  graded  schools  received  but 
$277.95,  ^^^  the  second-class  schools  $92.65. 

In  order  that  the  schools  may  receive  State  aid,  the 
following  requirements  must  be  met : 

First,  the  school  must  be  maintained  at  least  nine 
months  during  the  year,  and  the  average  daily  attend- 
ance must  not  be  less  than  fifteen  pupils  for  the  entire 
school  year,  in  two  departments,  in  schools  of  the  second 
class,  and  in  at  least  three  departments  in  schools  of  the 
first  class. 

Second,  the  teachers  employed  must  be  competent. 
The  principal  of  a  State  graded  school  of  the  first  class 
must  hold  some  form  of  State  certificate. 

The  number  of  the  State  graded  schools  has  ma- 
terially increased  every  year  since  the  passage  of  the  law. 
In  the  year  1903  there  were  131  schools  of  the  first  class 
and  194  of  the  second  class.  In  the  year  1904  there 
were  144  of  the  first  class  and  201  of  the  second  class. 
Preliminary  reports  received  at  the  office  in  1905  show 
applications  of  146  of  the  first  class  and  218  of  the 
second  class.  Nine  of  the  first-class  graded  schools  be- 
came high  schools  in  1903,  and  twelve  became  high 
schools  in  1904. 


1 64    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

The  income  of  the  school  fund  during  the  first  year 
of  Statehood,  as  reported  by  the  State  superintendent 
in  1849,  was  $588,  or  eight  and  three-tenths  mills  per 
child.  Milwaukee  County  received  the  largest  amount, 
$69.63,  and  St.  Croix  County  the  smallest,  twenty-four 
cents.  The  amount  of  the  common  school  fund  in  1904 
was  $3,609,212.96;  the  income  of  the  fund,  $210,- 
419.5  I.  The  total  school  fund  for  the  year  was  $1,500,- 
408.21.  A  high  school  fund  of  $100,000  is  distributed 
annually  among  the  free  high  schools. 

Various  laws  have  been  passed  requiring  attendance  in 
schools  of  the  State.  One  enacted  in  1879  provided  that 
all  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  fifteen  should 
attend  school  at  least  twelve  weeks  in  a  year.  In  1889 
the  "Bennett  law"  was  passed,  making  the  requirements 
still  more  stringent  and  recognizing  no  school  in  which 
English  was  not  used.  This  was  unpopular  and  quickly 
repealed.  By  the  law  of  1891,  children  between  seven 
and  thirteen  were  required  to  attend  school  twelve  weeks 
in  a  year.  In  1903  a  new  compulsory  educational  law 
was  passed,  requiring  attendance  of  twenty  weeks  in 
villages  and  rural  districts  and  not  less  than  thirty-two 
weeks  in  cities. 

Wisconsin  was  the  second  State  in  the  Union  to  make 
constitutional  provision  for  common  school  libraries.  By 
the  statutes  of  1849  it  was  provided  that  as  soon  as  the 
total  income  of  the  school  fund  should  exceed  $30,000, 
it  should  be  the  duty  of  each  town  superintendent  to  ap- 
propriate 10  per  cent,  of  the  share  of  his  town  from  the 
school  fund  income  for  district  free  libraries.     The  law 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  165 

was  variously  modified  and  did  not  work  very  satisfac- 
torily, but  of  late  years  has  been  strengthened.  Under 
the  present  law,  the  fund  for  the  purchase  of  school 
library  books  is  obtained  by  a  per  capita  tax  of  ten  cents 
for  each  person  of  school  age  residing  in  any  school  dis- 
trict. Books  purchased  with  this  fund  must  be  selected 
from  a  list  prepared  by  the  State  Superintendent.  There 
are  now  817,075  volumes  in  school  libraries  bought  by 
money  obtained  by  reason  of  the  per  capita  tax.  There 
are  also  about  125,000  volumes  in  school  libraries  in 
cities  not  under  the  per  capita  tax. 

In  1875  the  legislature  passed  a  law  providing  that 
any  town  could  establish  and  maintain  not  more  than 
two  free  high  schols  and  providing  an  annual  appro- 
priation not  to  exceed  $25,000  to  refund  one-half  of  the 
actual  cost  of  instruction  in  such  schools.  The  law  met 
with  much  favor.  During  the  first  year  twenty  such 
schools  reported,  and  to  these  the  sum  of  $7,466.50  was 
paid,  being  an  average  of  $373.32  per  school.  In  three 
years  eighty-five  such  schools  reported.  In  1904  there 
were  194.  The  law  was  primarily  designed  to  bring  to 
rural  neighborhoods  the  twofold  advantage  of  advanced 
instruction  and  a  better  class  of  teachers  for  these 
schools. 

According  to  the  latest  report  of  the  superintendent 
of  instruction,  there  were  in  Wisconsin  in  1904  a  total  of 
766,548  children  between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty. 
Of  these,  460,489  were  enrolled  in  schools.  The  number 
of  schoolhouses  in  the  State  was  7,453  and  the  number 
of  teachers  13,669.     Of  these,   1,947  were  men  and 


1 66    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

11,722  women.  The  average  monthly  wages  of  male 
teachers,  outside  of  cities,  was  $55.50;  of  female  teach- 
ers, $35.26. 


THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY 

The  establishment  of  a  State  university  was  one  of  the 
first  propositions  which  engaged  the  attention  of  the  first 
territorial  legislature.  Gov.  Dodge,  in  his  message, 
recommended  that  congressional  aid  be  asked  for  its 
founding,  and  the  legislature  passed  an  act  to  locate  the 
university  at  Belmont.  At  its  second  session  the  follow- 
ing year  the  legislature  passed  an  act  locating  it  "at  or 
near  Madison,  the  seat  of  government."  At  the  request 
of  the  legislature,  congress  set  apart  two  townships,  or 
seventy-two  sections  of  land,  for  its  perpetual  support. 
However,  it  was  not  until  1848  that  the  university  took 
visible  form,  and  John  H.  Lathrop  was  elected  chan- 
cellor. The  early  years  of  the  university  were  precari- 
ous. Supporters  of  denominational  colleges  sought  to 
hamper  it  in  every  way,  urging  policies  that  squandered 
the  university  lands  and  even  seeking  to  have  the  legis- 
lature abolish  it  altogether  and  divide  the  lands  among 
the  denominational  schools.  Compared  with  the  price 
other  States  put  on  their  school  lands,  Wisconsin's  were 
sold  very  low.  Most  of  the  92,160  acres  in  the  two 
grants  were  sold  at  an  average  of  ^3.50  per  acre,  while 
Michigan's  first  sale  averaged  $22.85. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  also  had  a  retard- 
ing effect  on  the  university's  growth.  Entire  classes  of  stu- 


WISCOiNSIN  AS  A  STATE  167 

dents  enlisted,  the  attendance  was  reduced  to  fifty,  and 
one  year  no  commencement  exercises  were  held  because 
of  the  small  number  of  students.  It  was  a  serious  prob- 
lem to  keep  the  university  afloat.  However,  in  spite  of 
the  shortage  of  funds,  the  regents,  in  1863,  established 
a  normal  department,  and  seventy-six  young  women 
entered.  They  were  allowed  to  hear  the  lectures,  but 
the  regular  courses  were  denied  them.  But  a  new  epoch 
in  the  university  dates  from  the  day  of  their  entrance. 
In  1858  Chancellor  Lathrop  resigned  and  was  succeeded 
by  Prof.  Henry  Barnard  of  Connecticut,  who  also  re- 
signed after  two  years.  John  W.  Sterling  was  then 
acting  president  until  1867,  when  the  institution  was 
reorganized.  The  reorganization  was  made  in  response 
to  the  growing  importance  of  the  State  and  was  made 
along  broad  lines.  Dr.  Paul  A.  Chadboume,  of  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  was  chosen  presi- 
dent, and  an  entire  new  faculty  elected,  save  for  Dr.  Ster- 
ling. The  institution  entered  upon  a  new  lease  of  life, 
and  during  that  period  Ladies'  hall — now  Chadboume 
hall — was  built.  Ill  health  compelled  President  Chad- 
bourne  to  resign  in  1 8  7 1 . 

The  Rev.  John  H.  Twombly,  of  Boston,  succeeded 
him,  but  resigned  in  1874  to  return  to  the  ministry,  and 
the  Rev.  John  W.  Bascom,  of  Williams  College,  suc- 
ceeded him.  He  served  for  thirteen  years.  Under  his 
administration  nearly  600  students  were  graduated.  Dur- 
ing his  regime  co-education  became  an  accomplished 
fact.  The  income  of  the  institution  was  gradually  in- 
creased   and    an    agricultural   experiment    station    and 


1 68    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

school  of  pharmacy  were  established.  Dr.  Bascom  re- 
signed in  1887,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Thomas  C. 
Chamberlin,  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey. 
Under  his  administration  of  five  years  the  scope  of  the 
university  was  broadened  and  the  post-graduate  idea 
was  encouraged. 

In  1892  Dr.  Charles  Kendall  Adams  was  made  presi- 
dent, serving  until  1901,  when  ill-health  compelled  his 
resignation.  During  his  administration  the  university 
was  raised  from  a  small  college  to  a  great  university. 
During  the  greater  part  of  the  three  years  following  the 
retirement  of  Dr.  Adams,  Dr.  E.  A.  Birge,  dean  of  the 
college  of  letters  and  science,  acted  as  president.  In  1903 
Dr.  Charles  Richard  Van  Hise,  of  the  class  of  1879, 
was  elected  president  by  the  regents,  being  the  first  stu- 
dent of  the  university  to  become  its  head.  At  the  com- 
mencement, in  1904,  he  was  inaugurated  with  much  cere- 
mony. At  the  same  time  there  was  celebrated  the  uni- 
versity's golden  jubilee,  marking  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  graduation  of  the  first  class  from  the  university. 
The  exercises  attracted  eminent  scholars  from  both  conti- 
nents. The  growth  of  the  university  during  its  first  half 
century  has  been  notable.  From  its  small  beginnings, 
with  one  teacher  and  a  half  dozen  students,  it  has  ex- 
panded, until  it  now  claims  a  student  roll  of  nearly  3,000 
students,  with  a  faculty  of  more  than  250  persons,  and  a 
total  expenditure  for  1904  of  $771,053.36. 


J8»«^' 


Charles  Kendall  Adams. 


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WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  169 

NORMAL  SCHOOLS 

The  first  normal  school  was  incorporated  in  1849 
under  the  title  of  the  Jefferson  County  Normal  School. 
This,  however,  was  never  organized.  In  organizing  the 
university  in  the  same  year  the  regents  ordained  the 
establishment  of  a  normal  professorship.  Instruction 
was  to  be  free  to  all  suitable  candidates.  Little,  how- 
ever, was  done  during  the  next  ten  years.  In  1857  the 
legislature  passed  an  act  appropriating  25  per  cent,  of 
the  income  of  the  swamp  lands  to  normal  institutes 
and  academies.  Distribution  was  made  of  this  income 
to  such  schools  as  maintained  a  normal  department.  In 
1859  ^^-  Henry  Barnard,  chancellor  of  the  university, 
was  made  agent  of  the  normal  regents.  He  pushed  the 
normal  work  with  much  vigor.  After  two  years  ill- 
health  caused  his  resignation,  however.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Charles  H.  Allen,  who  was  later  made  princi- 
pal of  the  normal  department  of  the  university. 

The  demand  for  separate  normal  schools  grew,  and 
the  legislature,  in  1865,  passed  an  act  providing  that 
one-half  of  the  swamp  land  fund  should  be  set  apart  as 
a  normal  school  fund.  In  1886  the  board  of  regents 
was  incorporated  by  the  legislature.  As  there  was  then 
a  productive  fund  of  $600,000,  with  an  income  of  over 
$30,000,  it  was  determined  to  build  several  schools. 
The  first  normal  school  was  opened  at  Platteville,  Octo- 
ber 9,  1886.  The  other  normal  schools  were  located  and 
founded  as  follows:  Whitewater,  1868;  Oshkosh,  1871 ; 
River  Falls,   1875;  Milwaukee,   1885;  Stevens  Point, 


I70    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


1894;  Superior,  1896;  La  Crosse,  1905.  Tuition  in 
the  normal  schools  is  free  to  all  normal  students.  There 
are  in  the  normal  schools  two  courses  of  study — an 
elementary  course  of  two  years  and  an  advanced  course 
of  four  years.  The  normal  schools  are  constantly  in- 
creasing in  size  and  importance.  The  total  number  of 
graduates  from  elementary  courses  had  reached  a  total 
of  2,197  in  1904;  advanced  graduates,  4,416,  making 
a  total  of  6,613. 

The  total  expenses  of  the  normal  schools  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1905,  were  $315,084.72;  institutes  for 
the  year  ending  June  30,  1905,  cost  $14,004.32.  The 
total  number  of  persons  on  the  payroll  of  the  schools  was 
201,  the  payroll  amounting  to  $232,295.70.  The  total 
annual  income  was  $344,000. 

The  State  superintendent  is  authorized  by  law  to  grant 
to  all  graduates  of  the  State  normal  schools  and  gradu- 
ates of  certain  courses  of  the  State  university,  licenses 
to  teach,  good  for  one  year  in  any  public  school  in  Wis- 
consin. On  presentation  of  satisfactory  evidence  of 
good  moral  character,  and  at  least  eight  months'  suc- 
cessful experience  in  the  public  schools  of  Wisconsin, 
these  normal  school  and  university  diplomas  may  be 
countersigned,  which  gives  them  the  force  and  effect  of 
unlimited  State  certificates. 

COLLEGES  AND  ACADEMIES 

In  his  report  for  1904,  the  State  superintendent  lists 
seventeen  colleges,  academies  and  seminaries,  with  a  total 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  171 

instructional  force  of  259,  with  2,651  students  attend- 
ing during  the  year,  246  graduates  for  the  year,  3,363 
since  organization  and  117,332  volumes  in  their  libra- 
ries. The  leading  academic  institutions  are:  Carroll 
College,  Waukesha,  Presbyterian,  organized  in  1846; 
Wayland  Academy,  Beaver  Dam,  Baptist,  1 845 ;  St. 
Francis  Seminary,  near  Milwaulcee,  Roman  Catholic, 
1856;  German  and  English  Academy,  Milwaukee, 
1850;  Milwaukee  Academy,  Milwaukee,  1864;  Mil- 
waukee College  for  Women,  Milwaukee,  1848;  Nash- 
otah  House,  Nashotah,  Episcopalian,  1847;  St.  Clair's 
Academy,  Sinsiniwa  Mound,  Roman  Catholic,  1847; 
Concordia  College,  Milwaukee,  Lutheran,  1881;  Mar- 
quette College,  Milwaukee,  Roman  Catholic,  1864. 

Beloit  College  was  founded  in  1847  under  Congrega- 
tional and  Presbyterian  auspices.  It  is  now  undenom- 
inational. For  nineteen  years,  and  until  November, 
1905,  Dr.  Edward  D.  Eaton  was  its  president.  Recently 
the  college  has  become  co-educational.  It  has  a  faculty 
force  of  twenty-seven  and  has  graduated  782  students. 

Lawrence  University,  at  Appleton,  was  organized  in 
1850  under  Methodist  auspices,  having  received  a  liberal 
bequest  from  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  of  Boston.  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Plantz  is  the  president.  It  lias  a  faculty  of  twenty- 
four  and  has  graduated  595  students. 

Ripon  College  was  founded  in  1864  by  the  Congre- 
gationalists,  having  previously  been  Brockway  College, 
organized  in  1853.  It  is  open  to  both  sexes  and  has  a 
flourishing  preparatory  department. 

Milton  College  and  Milton  Academy  are  sustained 


172    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

by  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists,  under  the  presidency  of  W. 
C.  Daland.  The  graduates  number  295.  The  academy 
was  founded  in  1848,  and  the  college  in  1867. 

Racine  College  was  founded  by  Episcopalians,  in 
1852,  under  the  Rev.  Roswell  Park.  It  was  designed  in 
part  to  train  young  men  for  the  Nashotah  Seminary, 
being  chiefly  a  boys'  school,  modeled  after  the  English 
pattern. 

Carroll  College,  Waukesha,  was  established  by  the 
Presbyterians  in  1846.  Its  work  is  confined  chiefly  to 
academic  studies. 

The  most  important  school  for  young  women  alone 
is  the  Milwaukee-Downer  College,  founded  in  1895. 
It  is  non-sectarian.  Miss  Ellen  C.  Sabin  is  president. 
The  faculty  numbers  thirty,  and  there  have  been  363 
graduates. 

Under  a  law  passed  by  the  legislature  of  1905,  com- 
mercial schools  pursuing  a  prescribed  course  can  be 
placed  under  the  superintendent  system  and  be  credited 
accordingly.  There  is  growing  sentiment  among  busi- 
ness men  in  favor  of  commercial  courses  in  high  schools. 
In  1903  there  were  less  than  twenty  high  schools  offering 
commercial  courses,  but  the  number  has  increased  some- 
what since  then. 

SCHOOLS  FOR  DEPENDENT  CLASSES 

The  State  of  Wisconsin  was  not  slow  in  providing  for 
the  educational  needs  of  its  dependent  classes.  As  early 
as   1849  ^"  institute  for  the  blind  was  established  at 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  173 

Janesville  by  citizens  of  that  place,  later  passing  into  the 
hands  of  the  State  and  having  been  retained  as  such  to 
the  present  time.  Its  purpose  is  to  give  a  common  school 
industrial  training  to  blind  children,  and  has  enabled 
many  such  to  become  self-supporting. 

At  nearly  the  same  time  a  private  school  for  deaf- 
mutes  was  established  at  Delavan  in  the  same  manner 
and  made  a  State  institution  in  1852.  A  public  school 
for  deaf-mutes  was  also  opened  at  Milwaukee,  and  in 
1888  at  La  Crosse,  and  1890  at  Oshkosh. 

There  are  now  seventeen  day  schools  for  the  deaf  in 
Wisconsin,  located  at  Appleton,  Ashland,  Black  River 
Falls,  Eau  Claire,  Fond  du  Lac,  Green  Bay,  La  Crosse, 
Marinette,  Milwaukee,  Neillsville,  Oshkosh,  Racine, 
Rhinelander,  Sheboygan,  Sparta,  Superior  and  Wausau. 

Until  the  last  session  of  the  legislature,  the  authority 
to  organize  and  establish  these  schools  rested  with  the 
city  council  or  village  board,  but  this  law  was  amended 
and  the  control  of  the  day  schools  for  the  deaf  was 
given  to  the  board  of  education  of  the  city  or  village 
in  which  the  school  is  located. 

The  industrial  school  for  delinquent  and  incorrigible 
boys  was  opened  in  1857  at  Waukesha.  The  Wisconsin 
industrial  school  for  girls  was  organized  in  Milwaukee 
in  1875,  the  city  of  Milwaukee  furnishing  the  site  and 
the  legislature  appropriating  $15,000  for  a  main  build- 
ing. This  school  is  not  managed  by  the  State,  but  by 
a  board  of  women.  Many  children  were  committed 
prior  to  1886  through  no  fault,  but  simply  because  they 
lacked  homes  or  guardians.     That  these  might  not  be 


174    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

kept  in  the  category  with  the  wayward  and  incorrigible, 
the  State  public  school  for  dependent  and  neglected  chil- 
dren was  opened  in  Sparta  in  1886.  Two  years  later  a 
kindergarten  was  organized  here.  The  purpose  of  this 
school  is  to  teach  the  children  according  to  the  course  of 
the  graded  schools  of  the  State  and  then  place  them  in 
good  families. 

To  meet  the  wants  of  another  and  growing  class  of 
dependents,  the  State  school  for  feeble-minded  was 
founded  at  Chippewa  Falls  in  1897. 

A  State  school  that  passed  out  of  existence  in  1875 
was  the  soldier's  orphan  home,  built  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Monona,  in  Madison,  and  opened  in  1866.  The 
total  appropriations  made  by  the  legislature  for  its  sup- 
port were  $342,300.  During  its  existence  it  sheltered 
683  orphans  of  Wisconsin  soldiers. 

THE  KINDERGARTEN  MOVEMENT 

The  kindergarten  movement  had  its  beginning  in  Wis- 
consin in  the  early  years  of  the  State,  and  to  Wisconsin 
belongs  the  distinction  of  having  the  first  kindergarten  iri 
the  country.  This  was  a  small  private  school  opened  in 
the  home  of  Mrs.  Carl  Schurz,  then  of  Watertown, 
Wis.,  in  1855.  Mrs.  Schurz's  sister.  Madam  Ronge, 
was  largely  instrumental  in  introducing  the  kindergarten 
into  England  in  the  early  fifties.  Due  credit  is  given 
Mrs.  Schurz  by  Miss  Vandewalker,  in  her  history  of  the 
kindergarten  movement  in  Wisconsin,  and  by  other 
writers  on  the  subject.     Mrs.  Schurz  had  studied  the 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  175 

system  in  Hamburg  under  Froebel  himself,  and  before 
coming  to  this  country  had  been  associated  with  her 
sister,  Mrs.  Ronge,  in  conducting  a  kindergarten  in  Lon- 
don. It  is  interesting  to  note,  also,  that  the  attention  of 
the  American  public  was  first  called  to  the  new  system 
by  a  report  by  Dr.  Henry  Barnard,  in  the  Journal  of 
Education  of  the  London  Kindergarten  exhibit  made  by 
Madam  Ronge.  As  early  as  185 1,  the  founders  of  the 
German-American  Academy  at  Milwaukee,  among 
whom  were  many  men  of  culture  and  education,  had  dis- 
cussed the  desirability  of  establishing  a  kindergarten, 
but  it  was  not  until  twenty  years  later  that  the  idea  was 
realized  and  the  first  kindergarten  in  Wisconsin,  except 
the  private  one  by  Mrs.  Schurz,  was  opened. 

The  kindergarten  idea  was  not  confined  to  Milwau- 
kee. C.  F.  Viebahn,  county  superintendent  of  Sauk 
county  from  1868  to  1872,  was  an  advocate  of  the  sys- 
tem, and  in  1873  a  kindergarten  was  opened  in  Baraboo. 
In  1872  Mr.  Viebahn  was  called  to  the  superintendency 
of  the  Manitowoc  schools  and  was  instrumental  in  start- 
ing the  first  kindergarten  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
State.  This  was  opened  in  1873,  with  Miss  Emily 
Richter  in  charge. 

The  first  English  kindergarten  in  Milwaukee  was 
established  in  the  Unitarian  church  in  that  city  by  Mrs. 
W.  N.  Hailman,  whose  husband,  in  1874,  was  elected 
president  of  the  German-American  Academy  and  who 
lent  himself  enthusiastically  to  the  new  idea  in  education. 
He  had  been  impressed  by  the  success  of  the  system  in 
St.  Louis,  where  it  was  established  by  the  German  ex- 


176    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

lies  who  had  settled  in  that  city.  James  MacAlister,  su- 
perintendent of  the  schools  in  Milwaukee,  realizing  that 
the  need  of  a  large  number  of  school  children  in  Milwau- 
kee  was  not  met  by  the  customary  first-grade  work,  be- 
came an  earnest  advocate  of  the  kindergarten  idea.  Miss 
Sarah  A,  Stewart,  principal  of  the  Milwaukee  city  nor- 
mal school,  also  became  an  advocate  of  the  idea,  and 
enough  interest  was  aroused  to  lead  to  the  establishment, 
in  1879-80,  of  a  kindergarten  in  the  training  school.  In 
1882  it  was  made  part  of  the  school  system  of  Milwau- 
kee. 

The  success  of  the  system  in  Milwaukee  had  its  effect 
on  other  cities,  and  they  fell  into  line.  Sheboygan  was 
the  first  to  follow  the  lead.  Then  came  Berlin  in  1885, 
Burlington  in  1887,  Bayfield,  Baraboo  and  Lake  Geneva 
in  1888,  Hayward  in  1889,  Racine  and  Dodgeville  in 
1 89 1,  Marinette  and  Wauwatosa  in  1893,  Fond  du  Lac 
in  1894  and  Oshkosh  in  1895.  In  the  past  half  dozen 
years  many  cities  have  adopted  them,  so  that  now  the 
kindergarten  is  part  of  the  public  school  system  in  more 
than  eighty  cities  and  towns  in  the  State.  In  250  or  more 
public  kindergartens  there  are  20,000  children  enrolled. 
The  movement  can  thus  be  seen  to  be  well  under  way  and 
promises  to  make  a  great  advance  in  the  future. 

The  first  kindergarten  to  be  opened  in  a  normal  school 
was  organized  at  the  Oshkosh  Normal  in  May,  1880, 
v>'ith  Miss  Laura  Fisher,  now  supervisor  of  kindergar- 
tens in  Boston,  as  director.  It  was  used  as  a  school  of 
observation  mainly,  and  no  kindergarten  training  course 
was  attempted,  since  there  was  no  call  for  trained  kin- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  177 

dergartners.  A  similar  experiment  was  soon  after  made 
at  the  Platteville  Normal.  Kindergartens  have  now 
been  established  in  six  of  the  seven  normal  schools  in  the 
State.  In  only  one,  however — that  at  Milwaukee — is  a 
training  school  for  teachers  maintained. 

MANUAL  TRAINING 

Manual  training  is  a  phase  of  educational  work  that 
has  been  developed  in  Wisconsin  in  the  past  two  decades 
chiefly.  Educators  are  quite  generally  agreed  as  to  the 
value  of  such  training,  and  it  has  come  into  not  only  the 
high  schools,  but  the  graded  and  district  schools.  The 
tendency  now  seems  to  be  to  apply  it  principally  to  the 
lower  grades.  Industrial  drawing,  domestic  science  for 
girls,  and  the  use  of  tools  by  boys  are  the  practical  ends 
sought.  The  most  notable  example  of  the  application  of 
this  idea  of  education  is  found  at  the  Stout  Normal 
Training  School  at  Menomonie,Wis.,  established  through 
the  munificence  of  Senator  Stout.  To  encourage  the 
introduction  of  this  work  the  State  gives  special  aid  to 
schools  adopting  manual  training,  and  last  year  fifteen, 
cities  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  offered.  It 
has  become  the  policy  of  the  State  to  grant  aid  to  high 
schools,  offering  manual  training  in  wood  and  mechanical 
training  for  boys  and  work  in  sewing  and  cooking  for  the 
girls,  providing  manual  training  is  gradually  extended 
to  the  grades. 

A  new  department  is  the  establshment  of  the  county 
schools  for  agricultural  and  domestic  economy.  The 
4.  12. 


178    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

legislature  provided  for  two  of  these.  One  was  located 
at  Menomonie,  Dunn  County,  and  one  at  Wausau,  and 
both  have  promising  futures.  It  is  expected  others  will 
soon  be  established. 

Instruction  in  agriculture  has,  for  the  biennial  period 
just  closed,  received  much  attention  in  the  Teachers' 
institutes.  On  the  first  of  January,  1902,  a  law  went 
into  effect  requiring  all  applicants  for  certificates  to  teach 
in  country  schools  to  pass  an  examination  in  the  elements 
of  agriculture.  Reports  go  to  show  that,  generally 
speaking,  the  teachers  have  met  this  requirement  sur- 
prisingly well. 

County  training  schools  for  teachers  is  a  new  idea  in 
education,  which  has  grown  out  of  the  institute  system. 
Its  purpose  is  the  development  of  ideal  rural  school 
teachers.  The  idea  was  crystallized  into  legislation  in 
1899,  and  now  seven  counties  have  such  schools — Buf- 
falo, Dunn,  Marathan,  Manitowoc,  Richland,  Waupaca 
and  Wood.  In  the  main  these  schools  serve  as  feeders 
to  the  normal  schools. 

The  Eau  Claire  high  school,  it  is  believed,  can  claim 
the  distinction  of  being  the  first  of  the  public  schools  of 
the  State  to  institute  manual  training.  This  was  begun 
in  a  small  way  in  a  room  in  the  basement  of  the  school 
building  in  the  latter  eighties.  About  1888  James  H. 
Stout,  a  millionaire  lumberman  and  philanthropist  of 
Menomonie,  Dunn  county,  became  interested  in  the  new 
system  of  education  and,  with  R.  B.  Dudgeon,  now  su- 
perintendent of  public  schools  at  Madison,  Wis.,  began 
plans  for  the  establishment  of  a  school  at  which  boys 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  179 


might  be  taught  the  useful  arts  of  handicraft.  Mr. 
Dudgeon  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  year  studying  the 
system  in  its  various  forms  of  operation  in  the  East. 
The  best  points  that  were  practicable  were  adopted  and 
gradually  incorporated  into  the  new  school.  From  this 
beginning  the  great  Stout  Manual  Training  School  has 
grown  to  its  present  proportions.  Senator  Stout's  con- 
tributions to  the  school  foot  up  to  about  $200,000.  The 
school  is  supported  and  under  the  management  of  the 
city  of  Menomonie  as  part  of  its  school  system.  The 
work  pursued  is  varied  in  character  and  extended  to  both 
sexes.  The  experiment — it  can  hardly  be  called  so  any 
longer — is  the  only  one  of  its  particular  kind  in  the 
State,  and  is  taken  as  a  model  by  many  students  of  the 
system. 

Manual  training  is  now  installed  in  many  of  the  high 
schools  of  the  State  and  growing  in  importance.  The 
following  schools  in  Wisconsin  received  State  aid  for 
manual  training  during  the  year  just  closed:  Appleton, 
Chippewa  Falls,  Bayfield,  Eau  Claire,  Fond  du  Lac, 
Grand  Rapids,  Janesville,  Marinette,  Mayville,  Meno- 
monie, Oconomowoc,  Racine,  Superior,  Wausau  and 
Washburn. 

One  of  the  important  educational  movements  fostered 
by  the  State  and  by  the  municipalities  is  that  represented 
by  free  public  libraries.  In  1895  there  were  but  twenty- 
eight;  the  number  in  1905  is  127.  In  1895  but  three 
libraries  were  housed  in  their  own  buildings.  There  are 
now  fifty-seven  library  buildings  erected  or  provided  for. 
The  total  amount  given  for  library  buildings  is  $2,291,- 


i8o   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

300,  of  which  Andrew  Carnegie  has  provided  $668,500. 
When  the  library  commission  was  estabhshed,  there 
were  no  traveling  libraries  in  the  State.  There  are  now 
about  300.  The  State  also  maintains,  through  the  com- 
mission, a  library  training  school  and  a  legislative  refer- 
ence department. 


CHAPTER    VII 
In  the  World  of  Letters,  Science  and  Art 


BRIEF  as  has  been  the  period  of  its  Statehood, 
Wisconsin  has  made  generous  contribution 
i  to  the  world  of  letters,  science  and  art.  The 
printed  output  has  been  surprisingly  large 
— whether  In  the  form  of  books  or  In  the 
more  ephemeral  guise  of  pamphlets  and  broadsides.  In 
1893  the  State  Historical  Society  compiled  a  bibliogra- 
phy of  Wisconsin  authors,  and  more  than  8,000  entries 
were  included  in  this  formidable  list.  Since  then  the 
number  has  at  least  doubled.  There  is  one  private  col- 
lection which  comprises  no  less  than  two  hundred  books 
of  verse  credited  to  Wisconsin  authors.  This  term  may 
be  said  to  include  writers  who  were  born  In  Wisconsin 
or  who  have  at  some  time  made  the  State  their  home. 

Doubtless  most  of  the  printed  matter  referred  to  is 
mere  literary  flotsam,  and  but  a  small  portion  of  it  will 
survive  beyond  the  life  of  the  writers,  but  there  is  not 
lacking  a  fair  proportion  of  creditable  prose  and  verse. 
The  unconsidered  trifles  that  mark  the  beginnings  of 
literary  endeavor  in  any  new  community  are  interesting 
especially  as  Indicating  the  development  from  the  era 
of  frontier  life  to  a  settled  condition  of  society.  The 
first  crude  efforts  are  Important  only  because  of  their 
historical  association,  but  In  that  connection  they  possess 
a  distinct  place  in  the  history  of  literature  for  any  lo- 
cality. It  is  only  in  this  particular  that  the  early  liter- 
ature of  New  England  and  of  the  Revolutionary  period 
is  worthy  of  preservation,  and  the  same  Is  true  of  the 
first  efforts  in  print  that  found  circulation  in  Wisconsin, 
and  In  all  of  the  States  of  the  Middle  West. 

183 


1 84    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

The  most  valuable  and  permanent  contribution  to 
literature  by  Wisconsin  authors  is  that  which  is  credited 
to  Wisconsin  historians.  These  have  been  University 
professors  mainly,  who  have  used  the  Historical  Society 
as  a  laboratory.  The  facilities  for  research  among  the 
immense  accumulations  of  manuscript  and  printed 
sources  available  here  have  enabled  them  to  add  much 
to  the  world's  knowledge  of  history,  and  much  of  their 
work  is  valuable  in  that  the  subjects  are  presented  from 
the  viewpoint  of  trained  investigators  and  writers. 
Among  the  names  that  most  readily  occur  as  belonging 
to  the  group  of  Wisconsin  historians  are  the  following: 

Dr.  Reuben  Gold  Thwaites,  editor  of  the  "Jesuit  Re- 
lations," "La  Hontan's  Travels,"  Hennepin's  memoir 
and  contemporary  narratives,  dealing  with  the  early 
Canadian  period;  editor  of  "Early  Western  Travels;" 
also  author  of  numerous  books  on  American  history. 

Professor  Frederick  J.  Turner,  whose  valuable  con- 
tributions to  the  history  of  the  changing  American  fron- 
tier have  given  a  new  meaning  to  that  significant  phase 
of  American  history. 

Dr.  Charles  Kendall  Adams,  a  recognized  authority 
in  his  day  on  Columbus  and  other  historical  topics. 

Professor  William  Francis  Allen,  the  most  prolific  and 
one  of  the  most  scholarly  of  Western  historians. 

Consul  Willshire  Butterfield,  author  of  "The  Dis- 
covery of  the  Northwest  in  1634,"  editor  of  "The 
Washington-Crawford  Letters,"  etc. 

Serious  and  valuable  historical  work  has  also  been 
done  by  a  long  list  of  writers  whose  researches  have  been 


THE 

NEW  YORK 

PUBLIC  LI'^'^ARY 

Asfot,  Lenox.  mA  Ti*tefly 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  185 

utilized  in  monographic  form.  Among  these  may  be 
mentioned  the  members  of  the  Parkman  Club,  whose 
series  of  pamphlets  appeared  in  1895-6.  There  is,  of 
course,  a  great  mass  of  material  in  book  form  dealing 
with  local  history,  some  of  which  is  worthy  of  inclusion 
in  a  form  more  enduring  than  ephemeral  brochures. 

In  the  allied  field  of  economics  and  political  science 
mention  must  not  be  omitted  of  the  books  written  by 
Dr.  Richard  T.  Ely,  Professor  John  R.  Commons  and 
Dr.  Paul  Reinsch. 

Scientific  books  of  recognized  value  have  been  writ- 
ten by  the  following  Wisconsin  men  and  women,  the 
list  here  given  being  necessarily  incomplete : 

Dr.  George  W.  Peckham  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  G. 
Peckham,  numerous  works  dealing  with  the  habits  of 
wasps  and  spiders  of  certain  families.  Their  work  is 
recognized  in  this  country  and  in  Europe  as  authorita- 
tive in  their  special  field. 

Increase  A.  Lapham,  works  on  botany  and  other  de- 
partments of  science. 

President  C.  R.  Van  Hise,  Roland  Duer  Irving,  T. 
C.  Chamberlin  and  R.  D.  Salisbury,  works  dealing  with 
the  geology  of  the  Northwest. 

Dr.  Nicholas  Senn,  books  on  surgery. 

John  Muir,  books  descriptive  of  the  glaciers  in  the 
Northwest  region,  etc.  John  Muir's  boyhood  was  spent 
in  Central  Wisconsin. 

Carl  Jonas,  of  Racine,  compiled  the  first  Bohemian- 
English  dictionary  ever  issued.  Mrs.  Susan  Stuart 
Frackleton's  work  on  pottery,  "Tried  by  Fire,"  is  re- 


1 86    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

garded  as  the  best  on  that  subject,  at  least  as  regards 
the  art  in  this  country.  The  translations  of  Professor 
Rasmus  B.  Anderson  from  the  Scandinavian  have  been 
widely  commended,  as  have  Jeremiah  Curtin's  transla- 
tions from  the  Polish,  including  the  chief  novels  of 
Sienkiewicz.  Gerhard  Balg  wrote  a  scholarly  work  on 
the  syntax  and  glossary  of  the  first  Germanic  Bible  and 
a  comparative  glossary  of  the  Gothic  Bible. 

In  the  domain  of  fiction  the  output  has  been  neither 
large  nor  especially  noteworthy,  though  some  novels  of 
average  merit  are  not  wanting.  The  first  novel  by  a 
Wisconsin  author  appeared  in  1857,  and  was  published 
anonymously,  the  title  being  as  follows : 

"Garangula,  the  Ongua-Honwa  Chief:  A  Tale  of 
Indian  Life  among  the  Mohawks  and  Onondagas  Two 
Hundred  Years  Ago."  By  a  Citizen  of  Milwaukee. 
Milwaukee,  1857. 

The  list  of  Wisconsin  writers  of  fiction  includes  the 
following : 

Colonel  Charles  A.  King,  author  of  about  fifty  stories, 
chiefly  delineating  hfe  in  army  posts  and  war-time  epi- 
sodes. The  best  known  of  these  are  "The  Colonel's 
Daughter"  and  "Between  the  Lines." 

Hamlin  Garland,  author  of  "Prairie  Folks,"  "A 
Member  of  the  Third  House,"  "The  Spirit  of  Sweet- 
water," etc. 

William  Henry  Bishop,  author  of  "The  Golden  Jus- 
tice," etc. 

Charles  Keeler  Lush,  author  of  "The  Federal  Judge," 
"The  Autocrats,"  etc. 


SWKET   BvH-ByE. 


u      NEW  VORK        , 
PUBUCUBRARV 

^^stor,  Lenox  ^ndTWen^ 
Foundations. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  187 

Charles  D.  Stewart,  autiior  of  "The  Fugitive  Black- 
smith." 

Elizabeth  Jordan,  author  of  "Convent  Tales,"  etc. 

Elliott  Elmore  Peake,  author  of  "The  Darlingtons," 
"The  Pride  of  Tellfair,"  etc. 

Others  who  may  be  mentioned  as  having  written  one 
or  more  books  of  romance,  adventure  or  of  purpose  in 
the  form  of  fiction  are  Colonel  John  Hicks,  Mrs.  Ella 
Giles  Ruddy,  Mrs.  Beulah  Brinton,  Frank  C.  Culley, 
Mrs.  Mary  Holland  Kinkaid,  Mrs.  Florence  Campbell, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Baker  Bohan. 

Perhaps  in  the  list  of  Wisconsin  writers  of  fiction 
should  be  included  Mrs.  Emma  Dorothy  Elize  Nevitte 
Southworth,  one  of  the  most  prolific  writers  for  women 
of  a  sentimental  mould  who  ever  found  a  printer.  She 
was  at  one  time  a  school  teacher  in  Platteville.  Mrs. 
Southworth  produced  novels  by  the  dozen,  sometimes 
turning  out  three  a  year.  She  continued  at  this  rate 
until  she  was  an  octogenarian. 

Among  the  successful  writers  for  children  are  included 
Colonel  C.  A.  Curtis,  Mrs.  Warren  R.  Anderson,  Mrs. 
Aubertine  Woodward  Moore,  Mrs.  Kate  Upson  Clark. 

Writers  of  humor  include  the  following: 

"Brick"  Pomery,  author  of  "Sense  and  Nonsense," 
"Brickdust,"  etc. 

"Bill"  Nye,  author  of  a  large  number  of  humorous 
books.     One  of  them  he  introduces  thus : 

"Go,  little  book, 

Bearing  an  honored  name  ; 
And  everywhere  that  you  have  went 
They'll  know  that  you  have  came." 


1 88    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

William  F.  Kirke,  author  of  "The  Norsk  Nightin- 
gale," "Fleeting  Fancies,"  etc. 

George  W.  Peck,  author  of  "Peck's  Bad  Boy," 
"Uncle  Ike,"  etc. 

The  hst  of  essayists  is  led  by  Neal  Brown,  author  of 
"Critical  Confessions."  Writers  of  homely  philosophy 
gathered  into  book  form  include  Lute  Taylor,  John 
Nagle  and  "Uncle  Dick"  Petherick. 

Two  songs  of  national  circulation  have  emanated  from 
Wisconsin :  "Silver  Threads  Among  the  Gold,"  written 
by  Eben  E.  Rexford,  of  Shiocton,  and  "In  the  Sweet 
By  and  By,"  written  by  S.  Fillmore  Bennett  during  his 
residence  in  Elkhorn.  In  his  later  years  the  author  of 
this  song  became  totally  blind.  The  original  manuscript 
copy  of  this  song  passed  into  the  posession  of  J.  E.  Bur- 
ton, of  Lake  Geneva.  How  the  song  came  to  be  writ- 
ten is  thus  told  by  Mr.  Bennett  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Burton : 

"It  was  about  time  for  closing  business  in  the  even- 
ing that  J.  P.  Webster,  whose  melodies  have  made  Wis- 
consin famous,  came  into  the  store  feeling  somewhat 
depressed.  I  said  to  Webster,  'What  is  the  matter, 
now?'  He  replied,  'It  is  no  matter;  it  will  be  all  right 
by  and  by.'  The  idea  of  the  hymn  came  to  me  like  a 
flash  of  sunshine,  and  I  replied:  'The  Sweet  By  and  By; 
why  would  not  that  make  a  good  hymn?'  'Maybe  it 
would,'  he  said,  indifferently.  I  then  turned  to  my  desk 
and  penned  the  hymn  as  fast  as  I  could  write.  In  the 
meantime  two  friends,  N.  H.  Carswell  and  S.  E.  Bright, 
had  come  in.  I  handed  the  hymn  to  Mr.  Webster.  As 
he  read  it  his  eyes  kindled  and  his  whole  demeanor 


^A^^4^  ^^^-«-*^  ^^^fvvw^^^f  7ii    '&^ 


dZcA^-A-vV'  ^^^^-<-^^-^   C^-vv,.aL-.-w^   <Sv^    s-<*-^ 


// 


J^&_-v.-v-«^-v—  q'-*-T>-i-^^-^  -ppr^^.^   r^"^"^  .y~<x-^^  ^~^^<-.^J 


^^'--^^^  ^y^-^*^  -t^y-^-j^    ^.___,    ,   ,^^^  ..w.^^  ^^  -- 

^ — ?y — ^ 

Silver  Threads  Amongst  the  Gold. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  189 

changed.  Stepping  to  the  desk  he  began  writing  the 
notes  instantly.  In  a  few  moments  he  requested  Mr. 
Bright  to  hand  him  his  violin,  and  he  played  with  little 
hesitation  the  beautiful  melody  from  the  notes.  A  few 
moments  later  he  had  jotted  down  the  notes  for  the 
different  parts  and  the  chorus.  I  do  not  think  it  was 
more  than  thirty  minutes  from  the  time  I  took  my  pencil 
to  write  the  words  before  the  hymn  and  the  notes  had  all 
been  completed,  and  we  four  gentlemen  were  singing  it 
exactly  as  it  appeared  in  the  'Signet  Ring'  a  few  days 
later,  and  as  it  has  been  sung  the  world  over  ever  since." 

A  notable  group  of  German  poets  made  Wisconsin 
their  home  in  the  early  fifties.  In  that  stirring  period 
of  stress  and  storm,  when  the  German  revolution  sent 
a  hundred  thousand  political  refugees  and  their  sym- 
pathizers into  exile  in  America,  many  of  them  were 
attracted  to  Wisconsin.  They  became  known  as  the 
Forty-Eighters.  Most  of  them  were  men  of  education 
and  many  of  them  of  rank.  There  were  among  them 
many  college  professors,  journalists,  men  of  high  literary 
attainments,  university  students  belonging  to  noble  fami- 
lies, who  sacrificed  home,  fortune,  position  and  brilliant 
prospects  in  order  to  secure  liberty  of  thought  and  action. 

About  this  time  Moritz  Schoeffler's  German  printing 
office  in  Milwaukee  was  turning  out  thousands  of  pam- 
phlets descriptive  of  Wisconsin's  attractiveness.  These 
were  distributed  in  the  various  provinces  of  Germany 
and  guided  thousands  of  immigrants  to  the  new  State. 
In  Milwaukee  German  immigrants  arrived  by  the  hun- 
dreds every  week.     German  schools  were  established; 


I90   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

German  newspapers  multiplied;  German  art,  German 
song,  German  literature  and  German  social  life  received 
an  impetus  that  caused  Milwaukee  to  become  known 
as  the  "German  Athens  of  America."  The  "Banner 
und  Volksfreimd"  established  a  department  which  it 
called  "Wisconsin's  Deutsche  Dichterhalle"  (Wiscon- 
sin's German  Temple  of  Poesy),  and  the  ready  pens  of 
the  exiles  contributed  thereto  a  mass  of  literature  of 
great  originality,  richness  and  beauty.  About  the  same 
time  Bernhard  Domschke  issued  the  initial  numbers  of 
the  "Corsar,"  and  Christian  Esselen  launched  his  high- 
class  periodical  called  "Atlantis."  The  most  intellec- 
tual and  gifted  German-Americans  were  spurred  to 
literary  endeavor,  and  naturally  an  interesting  literary 
group  was  formed  in  Wisconsin.  Some  of  its  members 
have  found  a  permanent  niche  in  the  German  hall  of 
letters. 

A  curious  literary  war,  having  its  storm  center  in 
Milwaukee,  was  waged  about  this  time  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  known  as  the  war  of  the  Grays  and  the 
Greens.  The  former  were  the  old  conservative  Ger- 
mans, leaders  of  the  earlier  immigration,  whose  ideas 
were  rooted  in  religion.  The  Greens  were  the  Forty- 
Eighters,  chiefly  idealists  and  extreme  radicals,  whose 
bitter  sarcasm  and  vitriolic  humor  disturbed,  but  did 
not  vanquish,  the  less  ready-tongued  Grays.  Old  resi- 
dents of  Milwaukee  recall  a  favorite  tavern  on  Market 
street  where  the  Grays  and  the  Greens  were  wont  to 
foregather  to  pursue  with  tongue  the  arguments  begun 
"with  pen.    The  Grays  did  not  lack  earnestness  and  faith, 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  191 

but  what  they  wrote  was  not  Hterature.  The  Greens 
clothed  their  writings  in  form  to  please  as  well  as  to 
appeal  to  reason. 

The  Greens  were  indeed  a  notable  group  of  writers. 
Some  years  ago,  under  the  auspices  of  the  leading  Chi- 
cago German-Americans,  there  was  compiled  a  critical 
anthology  of  German-American  literature.  In  the 
period  devoted  to  the  Forty-Eighters  thirty-one  poets 
have  been  deemed  worthy  of  representation.  Seven  of 
them  were  residents  of  Wisconsin,  including  Madame 
Mathilde  Anneke,  Konrad  Krez,  Edmund  Maerklin, 
Ernst  Anton  Zuendt,  Augustus  Steinlein,  Rudolph  Puch- 
ner  and  Henricus  von  See  ( Wilhelm  Dilg) .  The  heart 
and  soul  of  this  notable  group,  which  included  many 
other  members  of  minor  poetic  talent,  was  Madame 
Anneke.  This  gifted  woman,  whose  energetic  nature 
and  rare  sympathies  were  freely  at  the  disposal  of  the 
weary  and  the  heavy-laden,  exerted  an  influence  upon 
those  who  came  within  the  influence  of  her  circle  that 
was  truly  remarkable.  Sorrow  and  disappointment  pur- 
sued her  from  childhood,  but  she  faced  every  succeeding 
misfortune  with  cheerful  courage,  inspiring  her  associ- 
ates with  like  spirit.  But  in  her  verses  she  poured  out 
the  feelings  of  her  heart. 

An  unhappy  early  marriage,  and  consequent  legal 
struggle  to  obtain  possession  of  her  child,  led  her  to 
warmly  espouse  equal  legal  rights  for  women.  She 
established  in  Germany  what  was  doubtless  the  pioneer 
woman's  rights  journal.  The  government  promptly 
suppressed  it.     Her  second  husband,  Fritz  Anneke,  was 


192    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

a  Prussian  officer  whose  sympathies  were  enlisted  in  the 
cause  of  the  revolutionists  of  '48.  When  Anneke  was 
imprisoned  at  Cologne,  awaiting  trial  on  the  charge  of 
treason,  Madame  Anneke  sold  furniture  and  carpets  and 
bought  a  printing  press,  editing  a  revolutionary  news- 
paper till  forced  to  fly  for  safety.  In  the  meantime  her 
husband  had  been  liberated,  and  she  joined  him  in  the 
field.  She  accepted  a  place  on  his  staff,  of  which  Carl 
Schurz  was  also  a  member.  Madame  Anneke  served 
till  the  end  of  the  struggle,  saw  many  battlefields,  and 
was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fray,  doing  a  soldier's  duty 
and  sharing  all  the  hardships  of  her  soldier  husband. 
They  were  forced  to  flee  for  their  lives,  finding  haven 
first  in  France,  then  in  Switzerland.  In  1849  they 
came  to  America.  Madame  Anneke  lectured  to  large 
audiences  in  Boston,  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  In 
the  fifties  she  began  the  publication  of  the  "Frauen- 
zeitung."  The  later  years  of  her  life  were  devoted  to 
educational  work.      She  died  in  Milwaukee  in  1884. 

One  of  the  talented  members  of  Madame  Anneke's 
circle  was  Edmund  Maerklin.  In  the  revolution  of  '48 
he  served  on  Franz  Sigel's  staff.  He  was  a  personal 
friend  of  such  well-known  German  literary  men  as 
Uhland,  Schwab,  Kerner  and  Herwegh.  He  v/as  the 
author  of  many  keen  satires.  His  celebrated  poem, 
"Der  Deutsche  Cavallerist,"  written  when  Vicksburg 
capitulated,  is  said  to  have  been  reprinted  at  the  time 
in  every  German  newspaper  published  in  North 
America. 

Konrad  Krez  was  a  young  exile  who  left  his  father- 


ijifi'SH 


■^  iy  ^  ^  iA'S 


3  9  -^^  -J. 


C-c.Cr ---;-;»   J-:; 


«i<ni As. »;'■..""  "  ^";  ~  Ai"  ~"  r  ^  .  *jL  "  "^  '■  =•  '="  "  ■  ■'   ."  •■  -  -  =  ■" " "  •"    =  ^.i-s'^i  ^4 


ki  " 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  193 


land  under  sentence  of  death  at  the  age  of  twenty,  but 
whose  heart  remained  rooted  In  German  soil  till  the 
day  of  his  death — and  he  lived  to  nearly  the  allotted 
three  score  years  and  ten.  His  exquisite  lyric,  "An  Mein 
Vaterland,"  has  been  reprinted  in  every  German  an- 
thology that  has  appeared  since  the  day  the  poem  was 
first  published.  There  is  not  in  the  German  language 
a  poem  that  conveys  so  poignantly  the  feeling  of  heim- 
vceh.  The  chaste  and  simple  words  stir  one  powerfully 
with  the  pathos  of  the  exile's  cherished  love  for  a  father- 
land which  he  can  never  see  again.  The  verses  have 
been  set  to  music  by  two  composers,  Th.  Rudolph  Reese 
and  Richard  Ferber.  Several  translations  of  the  poem 
Into  English  have  appeared.  The  story  Is  current  that 
the  German  emperor  chanced  upon  Krez's  poem  In  a 
German  publication,  and  was  so  affected  by  Its  pathos 
that  he  caused  the  restrictions  applicable  to  the  return 
of  the  revolutionists  of  '48  to  be  greatly  modified. 

Of  the  few  writers  who  antedated  the  Forty-EIghters, 
mention  may  be  limited  to  Carl  de  Haas,  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  and  Alexander  Conze,  of  Milwaukee.  The  latter 
gave  promise  of  a  great  poetic  gift,  but  he  found  a 
soldier's  death  In  Mexico  when  but  twenty-eight  years 

of  age. 

The  names  that  most  readily  occur  of  the  recent 
school  of  German  poets  are  Frank  Siller,  Otto  William 
Soubron  and  Julius  Gugler.  Mention  must  not  be  omit- 
ted of  the  excellent  translations  which  American  poetry 
has  been  given  by  them — chiefly  by  Siller  and  Soubron. 
Longfellow's  poems  have  been   favorites  in  this  par- 

4,  13. 


194    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

ticular.  William  Dilg  translated  "Hiawatha"  and 
Frank  Siller  "Evangeline."  In  the  latter,  Longfellow 
recognized  the  best  of  the  numerous  German  versions 
of  his  Acadian  poem.  It  preserves  not  only  the  spirit 
of  the  original,  but  renders  in  like  meter  practically  a 
literal  translation  of  the  story,  with  all  its  idioms  and 
characteristics.  Siller  translated  from  many  languages. 
His  paraphrases  of  thirteen  quatrains  from  Omar  Khay- 
yam were  among  the  earliest  attempts  of  the  kind  in 
America. 

Of  the  writers  of  verse  in  English,  mention  must  be 
limited  to  a  few  Wisconsin  writers  whose  work  ranks 
above  the  great  mass  of  rhyme  which  has  found  its  way 
into  print.  Reduced  to  this  limit,  the  formidable  list 
is  not  large.  Probably  most  critics  would  select  the  fol- 
lowing as  entitled  to  rank  among  the  first  eight  of  the 
two  hundred  and  more  writers  who  have  essayed  this 
form  of  literature : 

James  Gates  Percival — a  poet  of  national  reputation 
in  his  day;  author  of  "A  Dream  of  a  Day,"  "Clio,"  etc. 
His  poem,  "The  Coral  Grove,"  and  one  or  two  others, 
may  be  found  in  nearly  half  a  hundred  anthologies. 

Hamlin  Garland — a  native  and  resident  of  West  Sa- 
lem; author  of  "Prairie  Songs"  and  "Along  the  Trail." 

Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox — a  native  of  Dane  County;  au- 
thor of  "Drops  of  Water,"  "Shells,"  "Poems  of  Pas- 
sion," etc. 

John  Leslie  Garner,  of  Milwaukee,  author  of 
"Strophes  of  Omar  Khayyam,"  published  in  1888,  and 
repubhshed  a  few  years  ago  in  England;  regarded  as 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  195 


one  of  the  best  paraphrases  from  the  Persian,  as  it  was 
the  first  by  an  American  author. 

John  Goadby  Gregory,  of  Milwaukee,  author  of  "A 
Beauty  of  Thebes"  and  other  felicitous  poems. 

Mark  R.  Forrest,  of  Milwaukee,  author  of  "Bubbles 
and  Dreams." 

Mrs.  Ellen  Palmer  Allerton,  whose  girlhood  home 
was  in  Wisconsin;  author  of  "Poems  of  the  Prairies." 
Her  "Walls  of  Corn"  had  a  wide  vogue  in  its  day. 

Charles  A.  Keeler,  a  native  of  Wisconsin;  author  of 
"Idyls  of  Eldorado,"  "A  Light  through  the  Storm," 
and  several  other  books  of  verse. 

The  year  that  Wisconsin  assumed  Statehood,  1848, 
there  was  issued  the  first  book  of  rhyme  written  by  a 
resident.  It  was  Elbert  Herring  Smith's  pretentious 
volume  on  "Black  Hawk,"  the  curious  history  of  which 
is  told  in  Wheeler's  "Chronicles."  It  was  not  until  1862 
that  a  book  of  verse  appeared  written,  printed  and  bound 
in  the  State.  This  was  "Teone,"  a  book  containing  259 
pages,  long  ascribed  to  the  authorship  of  Mary  Ann 
Smith,  but  really  the  work  of  her  father.  The  same  year 
appeared  Carrie  Carlton's  "Wayside  Flowers,"  also 
printed  in  Milwaukee.  Ella  Wheeler's  "Shells,"  issued 
from  a  Milwaukee  press  in  1873,  was  preceded  by 
Michael  Quigley's  "Friar's  Curse"  in  1870.  Mary  H. 
C.  Booth's  "Wayside  Blossoms"  came  out  in  1864,  but 
was  printed  in  Germany.  B.  I.  Dorward's  "Wild 
Flowers,"  1872,  was  printed  in  Milwaukee.  Since  1865 
the  output  of  books  of  verse  has  been  large.  Not  count- 
ing pamphlets  and  excluding  Percival's  many  books  is- 


196   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

sued  before  he  came  to  this  State,  the  first  books  whose 
authorship  entitles  them  to  a  place  in  a  bibliography  are 
the  following: 

PRINTED  IN  WISCONSIN  BEFORE  1 875 

"Voyage  of  Pere  Marquette,"  by  Ehzabeth  Farns- 
worth  Mears.     Fond  du  Lac,  i860. 

"Teone,"  by  "Rusco."  Milwaukee,  1862.  ("Daily 
News"  print.) 

"Wayside  Flowers,"  by  "Carrie  Carlton."  Mil- 
waukee, 1862.  Published  by  Strickland  &  Co. 
Jermain  &  Brightman  print. 

"The  Friar's  Curse,"  by  Michael  Quigley.  Mil- 
waukee,  1870.     "Evening  Wisconsin"  print. 

"Wild  Flowers  of  Wisconsin,"  by  B.  I.  Dorward. 
Milwaukee,  1872.  "Sentinel"  print.  Pub- 
lished by  the  "Catholic  News"  Co. 

"Shells,"  by  Ella  Wheeler.  Milwaukee,  1873. 
Published  by  Hauser  &  Storey. 

"Poems  of  a  Day,"  by  A.  M.  Thomson.  Milwau- 
kee, 1873.     "Sentinel"  print. 

"Oswald  Grey,"  by  J.  T.  Breese.      Milwaukee, 

1873. 

PRINTED  ELSEWHERE  BEFORE  1875 

"Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak;  or  Black  Hawk, 
and  Scenes  of  the  West,"  by  a  Western  Tour- 
ist.    New  York,  1848. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  197 

"Home  Ballads,"  by  Abby  Allin.     Boston,  1851. 
"Jerusalem,"  by  Rev.  Roswell  Park,  D.D.    New 

York,  1857. 
"A  Tribute  to  Kane,"  by  George  W.  Chapman. 

New  York,  i860. 
"Wayside   Blossoms,"   by   Mary   H.    C.    Booth. 

Heidelberg,  1864. 
"Flowers  and  Leaves,"  by  A.  A.  Hoskin.    Chicago, 

1867. 
"Elva   Lee,"   by   Maurice    McKenna.      Chicago, 

1868. 
"Before  the  Dawn,"  by  C.  R.  Burdick.     Buffalo, 

1872. 
"Drops  of  Water,"  by  Ella  Wheeler.     New  York, 

1872. 
"Immortelles,"  by  J.  O.  Barrett.  Boston,  1874. 
Thus,  previous  to  1875,  but  eight  books  of  verse  were 
issued  from  Wisconsin  presses.  All  but  one  of  these 
were  printed  in  Milwaukee.  The  list  of  Wisconsin  verse 
books  printed  elsewhere  previous  to  1875  numbers  ten. 
Since  1875  Wisconsin  writers  of  verse  have  published 
more  than  two  hundred  books. 

For  several  months  in  1886  there  was  a  curious  con- 
troversy in  the  press  of  the  United  States  relative  to  the 
authorship  of  the  poem,  "Solitude,"  which  Miss  Ella 
Wheeler  (now  Mrs.  Wilcox)  contributed  to  the  New 
York  "Sun"  in  1883.  Colonel  John  A.  Joyce  claimed 
to  have  written  it  and  to  have  scratched  the  words  with 
a  diamond  on  the  window  pane  of  a  hotel  in  Washington. 
In  a  book  which  he  published  in  1886  he  included  it  as 


198    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

his  own.     Miss  Wheeler  gave  abundant  proof  that  she 
wrote  this  poem,  which  contains  the  well-known  lines : 

"Laugh,  and  the  world  laughs  with  you; 
Weep,  and  you  weep  alone; 
For  the  sad  old  earth  must  borrow  its  mirth. 
But  has  trouble  enough  of  its  own  '' 

Doubtless  the  name  that  by  virtue  of  its  bearer's  lit- 
erary accomplishments  properly  heads  the  list  of  Wiscon- 
sin writers  is  that  of  James  Gates  Percival.  He  was 
State  geologist  of  Wisconsin  from  1854  to  1856.  He 
died  in  the  little  village  of  Hazel  Green,  Wis.,  and  there 
his  grave  remained  unmarked  for  many  years,  until  a 
Yale  classmate  secured  by  subscription  the  sum  of  $500 
for  a  monument,  suitably  inscribed  as  follows : 

Eminent  as  a  poet. 

Rarely  accomplished  as  a  linguist. 

Learned  and  acute  in  science. 

A  man  without  guile. 

Percival  was  one  of  the  most  eccentric,  as  he  was  one 
of  the  most  talented  men  who  ever  came  to  Wisconsin. 
Numberless  stories  are  told  of  his  personal  pecuHarities. 
In  his  day  he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
American  poets.  In  1828  George  P.  Morris  planned 
to  publish  in  his  New  York  "Mirror"  "the  hkenesses  of 
nine  living  American  poets."  Percival's  occupied  the 
center  of  the  group.  His  name  was  linked  with  Bry- 
ant's; but  time  has  changed  the  judgment  of  the  former 
generation.  Childhood  experiences  were  responsible, 
in  a  measure,  for  the  views  of  life  which  made  Percival 


.#,v 


James  Gates  Percival. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  199 

an  eccentric  and  a  misanthrope.     He  sought  to  end  his 
hfe  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  and  his  poem,  "The  Sui- 
cide," embodies  the  train  of  thought  that  actuated  him 
at  the  time.     He  hved  to  be  sixty  years  of  age,  and  the 
publication  of  his  first  book  was  the  one  brief  period 
of  these  years  that  seemed  to  him  worth  the  living.    Fe- 
male   companionship    he    avoided    almost    frantically; 
comradeship  he  repelled;  companionship,  except  that  of 
books,  he  avoided.     When  he  built  his  house  it  had  no 
door,  and  no  windows  in  front;  the  only  entrance  was 
in  the  rear,  and  visitors  never  succeeded,  by  any  pretense, 
in  crossing  the  threshold.     Sensitively  shy,  his  erratic 
manners  and  strange  apparel  served  to  attract  attention 
to  him.     Miserably  poor  all  his  days,  he  must  often 
have  suffered  for  the  necessaries  of  life.     He  might  have 
been  a  prosperous  country  physician,  as  his  father  was 
before  him,  but  he  abandoned  the  medical  profession 
after  his  first  case;  he  preferred  the  slender  income  and 
drudgery  of  a  writer's  life.     Often  he  would,  as  he  has 
himself  described  it  in  a  letter  that  is  unusually  com- 
municative, "go  home  with  weary  knees  to  a  supperless 
cottage  and  feast  on  moonshine."      During  one  trying 
year  of  penury  his  income  from  literary  employment, 
which  was  his  sole  resource,  amounted  to  sixty-five  dol- 
lars.    His  experiences  seemed  to  inculcate  no  prudent 
habits  of  thrift;  when  fortune  momentarily  smiled  upon 
him,  once  or  twice,  his  entire  cash  capital  and  the  limit 
of  his  credit  were  exchanged  in  a  lump  for  packages  of 
books.     He  was  thus  continually  struggling  with  finan- 
cial difficulties.      He  left  a  remarkable  librai-y  of  ten 


200    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

thousand  volumes,  which  was  disposed  of  at  auction. 
Even  now,  after  the  lapse  of  fifty  years,  the  book  hunter 
may  occasionally  find  in  some  bookstall  a  volume  bear- 
ing his  characteristic  autograph  on  the  flyleaf. 

In  Wisconsin  Percival,  who  was  an  ardent  geologist, 
was  known  as  "Old  Stonebreaker." 

"The  most  of  us  that  knew  Dr.  Percival  did  not 
know  him  till  he  came  to  the  West,"  said  Colonel  E.  A. 
Calkins  at  a  memorial  meeting  of  the  Wisconsin  His- 
torical Society.  "He  walked  with  his  head  bent,  his 
eyes  cast  downward,  and  with  slow  and  uncertain  step. 
Those  of  our  citizens  who  often  saw  him  will  not  soon 
forget  his  aspect  of  poverty,  almost  of  squalor — his  tat- 
tered gray  coat,  his  patched  pants — the  repairs  of  his 
own  hands — and  his  weather-beaten,  glazed  cap,  with 
earpieces  of  sheepskin,  the  woolly  side  in." 

The  late  Horace  Rublee,  editor  of  the  Milwaukee 
"Sentinel,"  frequently  saw  Percival  at  the  State  capital. 
He  thus  described  the  poet:  "In  person  Percival  was 
somewhat  below  the  medium  height,  and  rather  slight 
and  frail.  His  countenance  was  indicative  of  his  ex- 
treme sensitiveness  and  timidity;  pale  and  almost  blood- 
less ;  the  eyes  blue,  with  an  iris  unusually  large,  and  when 
kindled  with  animation,  worthy  of  a  poet;  the  nose 
rather  prominent,  slightly  Roman  in  outline  and  finely 
chiseled,  while  the  forehead — high,  broad  and  swelHng 
out  grandly  at  the  temples — marked  him  as  of  the  nobil- 
ity'of  the  intellect.  In  his  dress  he  was  eccentric.  He 
seemed  to  withdraw  himself  as  much  as  possible  from 
all  intercourse  with  his  fellow  men,  and  to  surrender 


w 

A 

OF 

PLANTS  &  SHELLS, 

FOUND    I^^  THE   VICINITY   OF 

]milwauki:e, 

.          ON  THS 

1 

JJTesl  aide  or  £,nke  Michigatu 

.     BY   I.   A.  r^APHAM. 

i..IiIuW.3.i!):i;:asy-;:  vy-.^c. 

rRi.\r!:i),  at  tuk  .m)vj;kticEK  o- iicl-. 

■/'■ 

FACSIMILE    OF    TITLE-PAGE    OF    THE    FIRST     r$OOKLET 
PRINTED    IN    WISCONSIN    TIvRRITORY. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  201 

himself  wholly  to  intellectual  pursuits.  During  the  time 
he  spent  in  our  city  he  scarcely  formed  an  acquaintance." 

As  a  philologist  Percival  was  the  most  remarkable 
man  of  his  generation.  Self-taught,  he  was  conversant 
with  the  literature,  in  the  original,  of  every  country  of 
Europe.  Many  of  the  dialects  he  mastered  sufficiently 
to  employ  in  writing  poetry.  When  Ole  Bull  landed 
in  this  country  Percival  greeted  him  with  a  poem  written 
in  Danish.  Percival's  last  printed  poem  was  written  in 
German.  Professor  Shepard  vouches  that  he  wrote 
verse  in  thirteen  different  languages ;  he  imitated  all  the 
Greek  and  German  meters,  amusing  himself  with  render- 
ing select  passages  from  Homer  in  English  hexameters, 
with  the  encouraging  approbation  of  Professor  Kingsley. 
In  the  forties  he  printed  a  series  of  excerpts  from  the 
three  leading  groups  of  European  languages — Slavonic, 
Germanic  and  Romanic.  Each  of  these  groups  embraces 
four  languages :  the  Slavonic — Polish,  Russian,  Servian, 
Bohemian;  the  Germanic — German,  Low  Dutch,  Dan- 
ish, Swedish;  the  Romanic — Italian,  Spanish,  Portu- 
guese, French. 

Material  assistance  was  given  by  Percival  to  Dr.  Noah 
Webster  in  the  editorial  work  connected  with  the  pub- 
lication of  the  great  dictionary  that  bears  the  name  of 
the  latter.  Percival  engaged  to  correct  the  proofsheets, 
but  speedily  his  great  scholarship  in  etymologies  and  the 
scientific  bearing  of  words  caused  his  work  to  be  greatly 
amplified.  It  amounted,  in  fact,  to  correcting  and'  edit- 
ing the  manuscript.  In  the  original  edition  of  Web- 
ster's Dictionary,  published  in  two  volumes,  due  credit 
is  given  Percival  for  his  editorial  work. 


202    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


The  poems  of  Percival  first  appeared  in  1821,  and 
various  editions  under  various  titles  appeared  until  1859, 
when  Ticknor  &  Fields  issued  the  final  edition  in  two 
volumes  in  their  blue  and  gold  series. 

In  art  Wisconsin  citizens  have  made  notable  contri- 
butions. Carl  Marr,  a  native  of  Milwaukee,  has 
achieved  European  fame  as  a  painter.  Koehler  and 
Lorenz  are  local  artists  whose  fame  has  extended  beyond 
the  confines  of  the  State.  Vinnie  Ream  Hoxie,  well- 
known  as  a  sculptor,  was  born  in  Madison;  the  house  in 
which  she  came  into  the  world  was  a  log  structure,  and 
the  first  erected  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Monona.  Among 
the  promising  sculptors  of  to-day  are  Misses  Helen 
Mears  and  Jean  P.  Miner,  of  Oshkosh,  some  of  whose 
work  has  been  acquired  for  the  State,  and  is  now  in  the 
capitol. 

American  invention  Is  also  indebted  to  residents  of  the 
State.  The  first  patent  ever  granted  to  a  citizen  of 
Wisconsin  was  in  1842,  when  David  Irvin  filed  his  draw- 
ings of  an  improvement  in  saddles.  The  principal  Wis- 
consin inventions  since  that  date  are  the  following : 

Typewriter,  by  C.  Lathan  Sholes,  of  Kenosha,  in 
1867.  In  1870  he  and  his  associates  established  the  first 
typewriter  factory  in  the  country,  on  the  banks  of  the 
old  Milwaukee  canal.  Twelve  machines  were  made 
here,  the  selling  price  being  $125  each.  "In  1873  the 
machine  was  deemed  practically  perfected  and  taken  to 
Illon,  N.  Y.,  where  it  was  first  manufactured  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale  and  marketed  as  the  original  Remington 
machine." 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  203 

Self-spacing  type,  by  Linn  B.  Benton  of  Milwaukee, 
in  1883. 

Milk-testing  device,  by  Dr.  Stephen  M.  Babcock  of 
Madison,  who  presented  the  invention  to  the  world.  It 
has  revolutionized  the  dairy  industry  in  the  United 
States. 

Reynolds-Corliss  type  of  engine,  by  Edwin  Reynolds 
of  Milwaukee. 

Thermostat  and  humidostat,  by  Warren  S.  Johnson 
of  Whitewater,  later  of  Milwaukee,  using  at  first  com- 
pressed air  and  now  electricity  for  the  regulating  devices. 

Lee  rifle,  adopted  for  the  British  army,  by  a  watch- 
maker of  Stevens  Point,  whose  name  it  bears. 

Harvester,  by  George  Esterly  of  Heart  Prairie,  in 
1 844.  It  enormously  simplified  one  phase  of  farm  work. 

As  belonging,  in  a  measure,  in  this  class,  may  be  men- 
tioned the  contribution  made  many  years  ago  by  Increase 
A.  Lapham  in  giving  to  the  Federal  authorities  the  data 
and  suggestion  which  have  developed  into  the  present 
signal  service. 

At  the  present  time  Wisconsin  inventors  secure  about 
five  hundred  patents  annually,  there  being  but  twelve 
States  which  surpass  this  Commonwealth  in  the  total 
number  granted. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

Northern  Wisconsin's  Great  Fires 


MEMORABLE    dates    on    which    great 
havoc  was  wrought  by  fires  in  Wiscon- 
sin include  the  following: 
At  Peshtigo  and  surrounding  coun- 
try, embracing  several  counties,  Octo- 
ber 8,  1871. 

At  Oshkosh,  April  28,  1875. 

At  Marshfield,  June  27,  1887. 

At  Iron  River,  July  27,  1892. 

At  Fifield,  July  27,  1893. 

At  Phillips,  July  27,  1894. 

The  great  drought  of  the  summer  and  fall  of  1871 
will  long  be  remembered  by  the  people  of  Northern 
Wisconsin.  With  the  exception  of  slight  showers  of 
only  an  hour  or  two  in  duration  in  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, no  rain  fell  between  the  8th  of  July  and  the  9th 
of  October — some  three  months.  The  streams  and 
swamps  and  wells  dried  up.  The  fallen  leaves  and 
underbrush  which  covered  the  ground  in  the  forests 
became  so  dry  as  to  become  ignitible  almost  as  powder, 
and  the  ground  itself,  especially  in  the  cases  of  alluvial 
or  bottom  lands,  was  so  utterly  parched  as  to  permit  of 
being  burned  to  the  depth  of  a  foot  or  more.  The  ex- 
pression, "The  sky  was  as  brass  and  the  earth  ashes," 
became  a  reality. 

For  weeks  preceding  the  culmination  of  this  state  of 
things  in  the  terrible  conflagration  of  the  8th  and  9th 
of  October,  fires  were  sweeping  through  the  timbered 
country,  and  in  some  instances  the  prairies  and  "open- 
ings" of  all  that  part  of  Wisconsin  lying  northward  of 

307 


2o8    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

Lake  Horicon,  or  "Winnebago  Marsh,"  which  was 
Itself  on  fire.  Farmers,  sawmill  owners,  railroad  men, 
Indeed  all  interested  in  exposed  property,  were  called 
upon  for  constant  and  exhausting  labor,  day  and  night, 
In  contending  against  the  advancing  fires. 

The  sawmills  in  the  pine  regions  of  Brown,  Shawano, 
Oconto,  Manitowoc,  Kewaunee  and  Door  counties  were, 
many  of  them,  located  In  the  very  midst  of  the  pine 
forests  and  surrounded  with  a  debris  of  slabs,  edgings, 
shingle  refuse,  etc.,  forming  a  ready  conductor  for  the 
undermining  fires  in  the  adjacent  forests  to  the  mills  and 
houses  around  them.  The  work  of  protecting  these 
mills  was  long,  harassing  and  exhausting,  the  ground 
being  so  dry  that  water  could  not  be  obtained  from  the 
wells,  and  the  means  of  defense  were  mainly  by  circum- 
vallating  the  property  with  ditches.  These  were.  In  the 
main,  effectual,  so  long  as  the  fire  preserved  the  ordinary 
character  of  previous  forest  fires,  not  fanned  with  gales 
nor  supplemented  by  a  long-heated  and  ignitible  con- 
dition of  the  atmosphere,  which  followed  later  on.  In 
this  labor  of  fighting  fire  the  mill  men,  farmers  and 
others  were  engaged  through  October,  the  exhausting 
work  going  on  with  good  cheer,  in  the  constant  hope 
that  either  the  welcome  rain  would  come,  or  that,  finally, 
the  ground  would  be  wholly  burned  over  and  leave  noth- 
ing further  for  the  flames  to  feed  upon.  Here  and  there 
mills  and  houses  were  burned;  fences,  haystacks  and  out- 
lying property  were  swept  off ;  but  no  great  disaster  had 
yet  occurred.  Still  no  rain  came,  and  for  many  days 
previous  to  the  great  disaster  a  general  gloom  and  fear 
seemed  to  have  come  upon  the  threatened  region. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  209 

The  long-continued  labor  of  fighting  the  fire  exhausted 
aU  energies,  and  an  overhanging  smoke  permeated  the 
atmosphere,  sometimes  so  dense  as  to  prevent  seeing 
objects  a  few  rods  distant,  seriously  affecting  the  eyes 
and  lungs.  This  was  not  alone  the  case  in  the  forests, 
but  in  towns  and  in  largely  cleared  settlements.  In 
Green  Bay,  Depere,  Appleton,  Oconto,  Menominee, 
Kewaunee,  and  other  places,  the  smoke  was  frequently 
so  dense  that  buildings  at  the  distance  of  a  square  were 
invisible,  and  on  the  lake  and  bay  the  smoke  assumed 
the  dimensions  of  an  immense  fog,  obscuring  the  shores 
and  rendering  navigation  difficult.  The  fires  also  made 
travel  on  the  roads  difficult  and  often  dangerous.  Trees, 
fallen  and  burning,  obstructed  the  highways,  and  bridges 
In  every  direction  were  burned;  where  bridges  were  gone 
the  streams  had  dried  up,  thus  allowing  them  to  be 
passed  without  much  difficulty.  The  Chicago  and 
Northwestern  Railway  ran  for  fifty  miles  through  this 
burning  region — between  Oshkosh  and  Green  Bay — and 
it  was  only  by  the  services  of  a  large  force  of  men,  sta- 
tioned along  the  line,  that  it  was  kept  in  passable  con- 
dition. The  fires  approached  the  track  so  closely  in 
many  places  that  trains  had  to  be  run  at  Increased  speed 
to  prevent  their  taking  fire.  As  an  Illustration  of 
the  narrow  escapes  on  that  fatal  Sunday  of  the  eighth 
of  October,  may  be  mentioned  that  of  Older's  circus — 
a  long  and  heavy  caravan,  composed  of  upward  of  eighty 
horses  and  some  twenty  wagons — passed  safely,  during 
that  day,  over  the  bridges  between  Green  Bay  and  Mani- 
towoc, some  of  which  were  burning  at  the  time,  and 

4,    14. 


2IO    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

nearly  all  of  which  were  destroyed  before  night.  If 
any  one  of  the  bridges  which  spanned  the  deep  and  im- 
passable ravines  on  that  road  had  been  burned  in  advance 
of  the  progress  of  the  caravan  it  would  have  been 
hemmed  in  and  destroyed.  Many  devices  were  resorted 
to  for  the  protection  of  life.  Excavations  were  made 
in  the  earth,  with  earth-covered  roofs,  in  which  persons 
sought  refuge.  Many  resorted  to  wells,  which  from  the 
long  drought  had  become  dry.  Much  property, 
which  had  been  taken  from  houses  and  placed  in  the  open 
fields  for  safety,  was  destroyed,  while  the  houses  them- 
selves frequently  escaped.  But  time  drew  on,  the  ground 
was  burned  over,  and  the  long-harassed  people  began 
to  talce  breath,  believing  that  the  worst  was  passed. 

This  was  the  condition  of  things  up  to  Sunday,  the 
eighth  of  October.  The  air  was  dense  with  smoke  and 
fitful  blasts  of  hot  air — so  stifling  that  at  times  it  was 
difficult  to  breathe.  All  these  northern  towns  had  kept 
ready,  as  well  as  they  could,  for  the  emergency.  In 
Green  Bay  the  fire  engines  had  been  kept  at  work  wetting 
the  buildings,  and  an  extra  police  force  was  detailed  to 
keep  watch.  The  buildings  were  so  dry  that  a  spark 
would  have  set  them  on  fire;  flakes  of  ashes  from  the 
smouldering  timbers  fell  in  the  streets  like  a  snowstorm, 
and  the  citizens  were  anxious  as  if  in  the  face  of  some 
impending  calamity.  A  hot,  southerly  gale  was  blow- 
ing, and  in  the  midst  of  it,  on  Sunday  afternoon,  a  house 
took  fire  in  the  central  part  of  the  city.  The  interior 
was  only  slightly  burned,  however,  and  the  fire  was  ex- 
tinguished before  it  reached  the  outer  air.     Had  it  ob- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  211 

tained  headway  the  Imagination  tails  to  comprehend  the 
result.  The  country,  on  three  sides  of  the  city,  was 
on  fire,  and  on  the  fourth,  where  lay  the  only  apparent 
outlet,  were  the  waters  of  the  bay,  into  which  must  have 
swarmed  the  population  to  a  death  only  preferable  to 
that  which  followed  at  their  backs.  It  was  the  same 
gale  which  swept  over  Chicago.  That  city  was  then 
burning,  and  that  day  and  night  the  deadly  blast  was 
sweeping  through  the  country  northward,  filling  the  land 
with  death  and  destruction. 

But  northward  from  Green  Bay,  in  Oconto  County, 
and  for  some  distance  into  Menominee  County,  on  the 
west  shore  of  the  bay,  and  throughout  the  whole  length 
and  breadth  of  the  peninsula,  which  includes  the  whole 
of  Door  County,  and  parts  of  Brown,  Kewaunee  and 
Manitowoc  counties,  the  fires  reached  their  greatest 
devastation. 

What  is  known  as  the  Sugar  Bush  settlement  lies  be- 
tween Oconto  and  Peshtigo,  extending  six  or  eight  miles 
form  north  to  south,  and  two  or  three  miles  in  width. 
It  is  one  of  those  oases  of  hard-wood  timber  land,  which 
are  frequent  among  the  pine  forests  and  are  superior 
farming  lands.  It  was  settled  by  a  thrifty,  industrious 
and  prosperous  community  of  farmers,  who  owned  their 
land  and  prided  themselves  on  the  beauty  of  their  farms. 
A  few  miles  to  the  northeast  was  the  village  of  Peshtigo. 
It  was  a  village  of  about  1,200  inhabitants,  mainly 
engaged  in  the  lumber  operations  of  the  Peshtigo  Com- 
pany, which  had  its  headquarters  there.  The  village 
stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Peshtigo  River,  about  eight 


212    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


miles  from  its  mouth,  and  was,  for  that  region,  a  place 
of  some  age,  sawmills  having  been  operated  there  for 
upward  of  twenty-five  years.  Among  the  features  was 
a  woodenware  factory,  which  had  been  only  recently 
completed  at  a  cost  of  $125,000,  which  was  in  full  oper- 
ation, manufacturing  pails,  tubs,  churns,  and  other 
wooden  hollow  ware.  It  was  the  most  extensive  one  of 
the  kind  in  the  United  States.  There  were  also  a  saw- 
mill, a  sash  and  door  factory,  a  grist  mill,  a  machine 
shop,  boarding  houses,  an  extensive  store,  upward  of 
one  hundred  dwelling  houses,  several  hotels,  two 
churches,  two  schoolhouses,  etc.  A  railway  connected 
it  with  the  "Lower  Village,"  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
some  eight  miles  distant.  It  was  a  hive  of  industry, 
and  had  not,  probably,  an  unemployed  person  within 
the  precincts.  It  is  estimated  that  on  the  night  of  the 
fire  it  had  a  population  of  1,500  or  1,600  inhabitants 
within  its  borders,  as  some  300  laborers  were  at  work, 
in  the  immediate  vicinity,  on  the  new  extension  of  the 
Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railway,  and  a  company  of 
fifty  Scandinavian  emigrants  had  arrived  there  the  day 
previous  to  the  fire.  Of  these  1,500  or  more  people 
less  than  a  thousand  were  accounted  for  after  the  fire, 
while  all  over  the  desolate  plain  and  in  the  forests,  and 
in  the  river  bed,  human  bones  attested  the  fearful  loss 
of  life. 

With  the  southerly  gale,  the  fire  first  struck  the  Sugar 
Bush.  The  testimony  is  singularly  unanimous  here,  as 
well  as  in  the  cases  of  other  places  burned,  as  to  the 
dreadful  premonition  and  the  final  burst  of  flame.     An 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  213 


unusual  and  strangely  ominous  sound;  a  gradual  roar- 
ing and  rumbling  approach.  It  has  been  likened  to  the 
approach  of  a  railroad  train — to  the  roar  of  a  waterfall, 
to  the  sound  of  a  battle,  with  artillery,  going  on  at  a  dis- 
tance. The  people,  worn  out  with  the  long  harassing 
by  fire  for  weeks  before,  quailed  at  this  new  feature,  and 
when  the  flames  did  make  their  appearance — not  along 
the  ground,  as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  meet  them, 
but  consuming  the  tree-tops,  and  filling  the  air  with  a 
whirlwind  of  flame — the  stoutest  hearts  quailed  before  it. 
There  have  been  many  opinions  in  explanation  of  this 
apparent  fire-storm  in  the  sky.  It  has  been  attributed 
to  electrical  causes  and  to  the  formation  of  gas  from  the 
long-heated  pine  forests  of  that  region.  The  following 
explanation  seems  most  plausible :  The  same  wind  storm 
and  condition  of  the  atmosphere,  had  they  occurred  on 
the  ocean,  would  have  produced  waterspouts.  There 
the  water  is  drawn  up  by  a  powerful  attraction  above, 
and  the  clouds  descend  to  meet  it,  accompanied  by  a 
violent  whirlwind.  Here  there  were,  doubtless,  whirl- 
winds, having  a  tremendous  circular  velocity,  and  mov- 
ing from  north  to  south  at  a  more  moderate  speed  of 
from  six  to  ten  miles  an  hour.  The  pine  tree  tops  were 
twisted  off  and  set  on  fire,  and  the  burning  debris  of  the 
ground  was  caught  up  and  whirled  through  the  air  in 
a  literal  cloud  of  fire.  To  use  an  anomalous  expression : 
it  was  a  waterspout  of  fire.  No  wonder  that  the  stoutest 
hearts  were  appalled  before  such  an  unheard-of  pres- 
ence, which  could  not  be  attacked  nor  resisted  with  any 
appliance  in  human  grasp,  and  no  wonder  that  the  af- 


214    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

flicted  people  abandoned  every  thought  but  that  of 
seeking  safety.  A  writer  in  the  London  "Spectator," 
referring  to  the  pecuHar  character  of  these  fires,  sug- 
gests that  they  may  have  been  caused  by  a  condition  of 
the  atmosphere,  "similar  to  the  well-known  Foen  wind 
of  Switzerland,"  and  quotes  the  following  passage  from 
an  eminent  naturalist  respecting  this  wind:  "It  is  the 
terror  of  the  country.  Fires  are  immediately  extin- 
guished on  every  hearth  and  in  every  oven,  and  in  many 
valleys  watchmen  go  about  to  make  sure  that  this  pre- 
caution is  observed,  as  a  single  careless  spark  might  cause 
a  disastrous  conflagration  in  the  dried-up  state  of  the 
atmosphere." 

At  Peshtigo  hundreds  were  saved  by  throwing  them- 
selves into  the  river.  In  the  Sugar  Bush  there  was  no 
stream  deep  enough  for  such  a  refuge;  men,  women  and 
children,  horses,  oxen,  cows,  dogs,  swine — everything 
that  had  life,  was  seized  with  pain  and  ran,  without 
method,  to  escape  the  impending  destruction.  The 
smoke  was  suffocating  and  blinding,  the  roar  of  the  tem- 
pest deafening,  the  atmosphere  scorching;  children  were 
separated  from  their  parents  and  were  trampled  upon 
by  the  crazed  beasts;  husbands  and  wives  were  calling 
wildly  for  each  other,  and  rushing  in  wild  dismay,  they 
knew  not  where,  while  others,  believing  that  the  Day 
of  Judgment  was  surely  come,  fell  upon  the  ground  and 
abandoned  themselves  to  its  terrors.  Indeed,  this  ap- 
prehension that  the  last  day  was  at  hand  pervaded  even 
the  strongest  and  most  mature  minds.  All  the  condi- 
tions of  the  prophecies  seemed  to  be  fulfilled.     The  hot 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  215 

atmosphere,  filled  with  smoke,  supplied  the  "signs  in  the 
sun,  and  in  the  moon,  and  in  the  stars" ;  the  sound  of  the 
whirlwind  was  as  "the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring,"  and 
everywhere  there  were  "men's  hearts  failing  them  for 
fear,  and  for  looking  after  those  things  which  are  com- 
ing on  the  earth;  for  the  powers  of  heaven  shall  be 
shaken."  Near  the  town  of  Robinsonville,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  bay,  is  a  conventual  school,  around  which 
hangs  a  superstitious  air  from  some  circumstances  con- 
nected with  its  establishment.  It  is  said  that  the  af- 
frighted people  of  that  vicinity  thronged  to  it  in  the 
behef  that  the  world  was  being  consumed,  and  falling 
upon  their  faces,  crawled  round  and  round  it  with  long- 
continued  prayers.  Multitudes  of  other  instances  are 
related  of  similar  superstitions. 

The  Sugar  Bush  was  almost  wholly  burned  away. 
Four  dwelling  houses  and  one  or  two  barns  were  saved. 
The  people  were  all  either  killed  or  driven  out.  Some 
were  burned  near  the  buildings;  some  were  caught  in  the 
fields  and  woods  by  the  descending  fires;  others  fled  to 
the  woods  and  were  caught  there,  and  some  found  their 
way  to  Peshtigo,  either  to  death  or  ultimate  escape. 

Of  the  village  of  Peshtigo  there  was  not  a  vestige 
left  standing,  except  one  unfurnished  house,  which  stood 
apart  from  others,  and  escaped.  The  fire  burned  with 
such  fury  that  but  little  effort  was  made  to  save  any 
property.  It  had  been  before  assailed  by  fire  during 
the  drought,  and  had  been  saved  by  great  efforts,  and 
this  time  its  courageous  people  called  forth  again  to 
renew  the  fight;  but  a  few  minutes  sufficed  to  show  that 


2i6   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  enemy  this  time  was  irresistible.  The  men  essayed 
a  fight  against  it,  but  sent  the  women  and  children  to 
the  rear  and  shortly  followed  themselves.  Most  of  them 
ran  into  the  river,  where  they  contested  for  room  with 
the  horses,  cows  and  swine.  Some  of  them  drowned  out- 
right; some  sank  after  long  exhaustion,  and  others  lived 
the  night  through.  Many  ran,  terror-stricken  and  with- 
out thought,  into  places  where  was  the  least  chance  of 
safety,  and  there  perished.  In  the  great  boarding-house 
occupied  by  mill  workers,  inflammable  in  its  every  part, 
it  is  supposed  that  large  numbers  were  burned.  In  the 
mills  and  factories,  in  outhouses,  in  cellars,  covered  by 
inflammable  buildings,  on  the  bridge,  and  in  the  open 
streets  they  were  caught  by  the  inexorable  fate  and 
consumed.  The  next  morning  the  sad  remnants  of  the 
Peshtigo  people,  tired  and  maimed,  found  their  way,  on 
foot  and  in  wagons,  to  Marinette  and  to  the  mills  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  A  warm  welcome,  with  a  great 
and  generous  opening  of  doors  and  hearts,  met  them, 
and  their  needs  were  ministered  to.  If  there  never  be- 
fore was  such  a  fire,  there  was  also  never  before  such  a 
healing  of  its  scars. 

Northward,  from  Peshtigo,  the  hurricane  seems  to 
have  divided  into  two  columns  or  wings.  The  easterly 
one  scorched  the  edge  of  the  village  of  Marinette  and 
swept  over  the  village  of  Minekaunee,  lying  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Menominee  River,  at  its  mouth.  Here 
there  were  about  fifty  buildings  burned,  three  stores,  an 
extensive  new  sawmill,  a  flouring  mill,  two  hotels,  and 
thirty-five   dwelling  houses.      Several  scows,  nearly  a 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  217 

million  feet  of  lumber,  and  a  number  of  horses,  cows 
and  other  animals,  were  burned.  Clouds  of  burning 
cinders  were  driven  across  the  river,  and  it  was  a  mar- 
velous escape  for  the  village  of  Menominee,  immediately 
opposite.  A  mill  was  burned  there,  however.  The 
violence  of  the  gale  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
burning  cinders  were  showered  upon  the  decks  of  ves- 
sels seven  miles  distant  on  the  bay. 

The  western  column  of  fire  also  gave  Marinette  a 
narrow  escape,  burning  some  buildings  on  its  western 
border.  Crossing  the  Menominee,  it  swept  through  the 
forests  to  the  northward  and  struck  the  settlement  of 
Birch  Creek,  north  of  Menominee.  It  had  a  population 
of  about  100,  who  were  mainly  a  farming  people,  having 
about  fifteen  farms.  Here  nineteen  people  were  burned 
to  death,  and  many  were  badly  injured.  The  loss  of 
life  in  the  township  was  twenty-seven.  The  Birch  Creek 
settlement  extended  from  five  to  nine  miles  north  of 
Menominee.  The  current  of  fire  seemed  to  take  a  north- 
westerly course  from  here,  and  did  not  extend  to  the 
bay  shore.  A  surveying  party  of  men — eight  or  ten 
persons — who  were  running  out  a  line  for  the  northern 
extension  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railway, 
were  in  the  woods  near  the  shore,  northwardly  from 
Birch  Creek,  on  that  night,  and  slept  soundly  through 
it,  not  knowing  of  the  awful  havoc  which  was  going 
on  not  far  from  them. 

This  describes  only  what  took  place  in  towns  and  set- 
tlements. What  occurred  in  the  dense  and  lonely  for- 
ests, which  extend  north  and  west  for  long  distances, 


21 8    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


no  one  can  tell.  As  these  are  penetrated  by  loggers  and 
hunters,  charred  corpses  are  found  from  time  to  time, 
and  the  scathed  trees  only  tell  the  story  of  the  dreadful 
fires  through  which  they  passed. 

Maps  will  show  the  portion  of  the  long  peninsula 
which  divides  the  waters  of  Green  Bay  from  those  of 
Lake  Michigan.     The  county  of  Door  is  wholly,  and 
those  of  Kewaunee  and  Brown  partly,  situated  within 
its  borders.     The  population,  in  the  interior  townships, 
is  still  a  farming  one,  composed  mainly  of  Belgians  and 
Bohemians.     The  country  was  heavily  timbered  with 
hard  wood  and  pine,  and  sawmills  were  scattered  along 
the  two  shores.     The  Belgian  population  began  to  arrive 
there  many  years  ago,  and  from  almost  utter  destitution 
had  surrounded  themselves   with   comfortable   circum- 
stances, with  substantial  dwellings  and  barns,  and  a  mod- 
erate outfit  of  horses  and  cattle.     This  was  the  largest 
region  swept  by  the  fire,  and  here  was  the  greatest  loss 
in  Northern  Wisconsin.     The  fiery  tempest  may  be  said 
to  have  swept  over  its  whole  length  and  breadth,  though 
some  portions  of  it  escaped  actual  devastation.     The 
villages  of  Kewaunee,  Ahnepee  and  Sturgeon  Bay  were 
sorely  pressed,  but  were  saved.     So  were  also  the  lower 
villages  of  Dykesville,  Little  Sturgeon,  and  Jacksonport. 
These  are  all  on  the  shores,  and  were  more  or  less  pro- 
tected by  open  spaces  around  them.     But  the  farms  and 
clearings,  hewn  out  of  the  forests  and  strewn  with  fallen 
timber,  were  illy  fitted  to  resist  the  approach  of  the  fire. 
The  outstanding  haystacks,  the  heavy  log  fences,  the 
piles  of  cord-wood,  hemlock  bark,  fence-posts,  and  other 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  219 

products  of  the  forests,  which  the  hard-working  people 
get  out  ready  to  haul  to  the  shore  with  the  first  snows, 
were  prompt  conductors  to  carry  the  fire  across  these 
cleared  plains. 

The  most  intense  havoc  occurred  in  the  towns  of  Hum- 
boldt and  Green  Bay,  in  the  county  of  Brown;  Casco, 
Red  River,  Lincoln  and  Ahnepee,  in  the  county  of  Ke- 
waunee, and  Brussels,  Forestville,  Nasewaupee,  Clay 
Banks,  Union  and  Sturgeon  Bay,  in  the  county  of  Door 
— an  area  of  five  hundred  square  miles.  The  population 
of  these  towns,  in  1870,  was  7,857.  A  large  part  of 
this  population  suffered  by  fire.  Many  lost  everything 
— houses,  barns,  fences,  wagons,  hay  and  grain,  and,  in 
numerous  instances,  cattle.  Others  lost  a  part  of  their 
property,  and  there  was  scarcely  a  family,  which  wholly 
escaped,  that  did  not  divide,  from  its  own  scanty  items, 
with  its  destitute  neighbors.  Here  and  there  were  coun- 
try stores  and  grist  mills.  Their  doors  were  opened, 
and  the  hungry  and  destitute  sufferers  were  invited  to 
come  and  take  freely  of  whatever  there  was  to  eat  and 
to  wear.  It  was  fortunate  that  the  weather  was  warm, 
so  that  there  was  no  immediate  distress  from  exposure, 
and  the  houseless  people  either  huddled  into  the  dwell- 
ings and  barns  which  were  saved,  or  slept  out  upon  their 
burned  fields. 

Little  enough  was  saved.  There  was  no  place  of 
safety.  Some  attempt  was  made  to  carry  out  bedding 
and  such  valuables  as  were  most  prized,  but  the  terrible 
gale  and  rain  of  fire  sought  out  every  hiding  place. 
Stoves,  furniture  and  bedding  were  frequently  taken  to 


220    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  open  fields,  and  these  were,  almost  without  exception, 
consumed — in  some  cases  the  houses  from  which  they 
had  been  taken  escaping.  Houses  were  burned,  while 
adjoining  barns  were  saved.  Fences,  pumps  and  out- 
houses were  burned,  while  dwelling  houses,  within  a  few 
yards,  escaped.  By  mere  instinct  the  horses  and  cattle 
mainly  made  their  own  way  to  places  of  safety.  Many 
were  burned,  but  it  is  remarkable  that  by  far  the  largest 
number  saved  themselves.  As  to  the  loss  of  human  life 
on  the  peninsula,  there  are,  of  course,  no  accurate  sta- 
tistics; the  estimates  were  that  several  hundred  persons 
perished — some  as  high  as  five  or  six  hundred.  Most 
of  the  bodies  found  were  lying  on  their  faces,  without 
mark  of  fire,  which  shows  that  death  was  caused  by 
suffocation. 

The  news  of  the  great  disaster  came  swiftly  enough 
to  the  towns  and  villages  which  had  been  saved,  along 
the  borders  of  the  great  conflagration.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  reach  the  inland  burned  region  with  wagons,  for 
the  bridges  were  gone  and  the  roads  blockaded  with 
fallen  timber;  but  rehef  organizations  were  promptly 
formed  at  Green  Bay,  Milwaukee,  Sturgeon  Bay,  Ke- 
waunee, Ahnepee,  etc. ;  boat  loads  of  supplies  were  sent 
along  the  shores,  discharging  parts  of  their  cargoes  at 
every  place  where  a  landing  could  be  made,  and  mes- 
sengers were  despatched  overland  to  announce  to  the 
sufferers  where  they  could  go  for  food.  These  messen- 
gers went  on  foot,  and  on  what  are  called  in  that  country 
"buckboards,"  a  light  wagon,  which  could  be  lifted  over 
obstructions.     Some  of  the  messengers  were  physicians, 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  221 

who  carried  stocks  of  medicines  and  liniments,  and  who 
did  the  double  duty  of  ministering  to  the  sick  and  burned 
and  announcing  to  all  where  they  could  find  supplies. 
Flour,  in  bags  of  a  convenient  size  to  be  carried  on  men's 
backs,  bacon  and  salt  meats,  and  cooked  provisions  of  all 
kinds,  constituted  the  relief  in  the  first  days  after  the  fire, 
and,  in  proof  of  the  energy  with  which  the  service  was 
performed,  it  should  be  stated  that  before  the  week  was 
past  there  was  probably  not  a  hungry  person  in  all  that 
stricken  and  almost  impenetrable  region. 

Perhaps  a  calamity  so  terrible  may  be  partly  or  even 
more  than  compensated  for  by  the  outburst  of  generosity 
and  the  unsealing  of  the  fountains  of  humanity.  Men 
who  had  spent  their  lives  in  pursuit  of  money  turned 
short  in  their  career  and  opened  their  hearts  and  their 
purses  to  their  suffering  brethren;  women  who  fancied 
they  could  do  little  else  than  the  finer  labors  of  needle- 
work entered  boldly  into  the  field  and  found  themselves 
expert  in  the  manufacture  of  clothing;  and  corpora- 
tions, which  had  the  proverbial  reputation  of  having  no 
souls,  achieved  the  possession  of  large  and  warm  ones. 
Towns  and  cities  gathered  into  the  great  charity  and 
sent  forward  cartloads,  and  sometimes  trainloads  of  pro- 
visons,  clothing  and  bedding.  Before  the  smoke  had 
blown  away  relief  associations  were  formed  in  all  the 
towns  adjoining  the  burned  regions — at  Green  Bay,  Me- 
nominee and  Marinette,  Sturgeon  Bay,  Kewaunee,  etc. 
Collections  of  money  and  provisions  were  made  and  sent 
forward.  Then  followed,  as  the  news  of  the  disaster 
spread,  similar  organizations  In  other  parts  of  the  State. 


222    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

And  then  began  to  flow  in  an  avalanche  of  supplies. 
From  every  county,  and  nearly  every  city,  village  and 
neighborhood  of  Wisconsin  came  carloads  of  food  and 
clothing.  The  manufacturers  of  almost  all  kinds  of 
staple  goods  came  forward  with  liberal  contributions  of 
their  specialties.  The  cotton  and  woolen  mills  of  New 
England,  the  clothing  and  boot  and  shoe  houses,  the 
factories  of  flannels,  hosiery,  underwear,  bedding,  house 
furnishings,  farming  implements  and  tools,  indeed  al- 
most every  industrial  branch  in  the  whole  country,  sent 
liberally,  each  of  its  kind.  The  Government  at  Wash- 
ington, infected  in  its  turn  by  the  bounteous  charity  all 
around,  gave  liberally  of  its  army  stores,  and  all  supplies 
were  brought  free  over  the  railways,  which,  with  the 
telegraph  and  express  lines,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  did 
this  vast  work  without  charge. 


CHAPTER    IX 
The  Booming  of  the  Gogebic 


THE  STORY  of  the  rise  and  collapse  of  the 
Gogebic  boom  is  a  dramatic  episode  in  the 
financial  history  of  the  State.  A  people 
noted  for  business  conservatism  yielded 
to  insane  excitement  when  an  opportunity 
seemed  to  offer  untold  wealth  without  paying  its  equiva- 
lent. The  "boom"  had  its  center  in  Milwaukee,  and 
while  the  speculative  craze  over  the  properties  reached 
beyond  the  State  in  many  directions,  the  majority  of 
the  victims  were  in  Wisconsin.  Millionaires  were  made 
in  a  day,  and  bankruptcy  followed  in  the  night.  It  was 
stated  at  the  time  that  three-fourths  of  the  professional 
men  of  Milwaukee  and  fully  seven-eighths  of  the  busi- 
ness men  were  involved.  Homes  were  mortgaged  or 
sold,  savings  from  hard-earned  salaries  were  withdrawn 
from  banks,  money  was  borrowed — all  to  be  invested  in 
Gogebic  stock. 

What  is  known  as  the  Gogebic  iron  range  extends 
from  Lake  Numakagon,  in  Wisconsin,  in  a  northeasterly 
direction  into  the  northern  peninsula  of  Michigan  to 
Lake  Agogebic,  a  distance  of  80  miles.  The  iron- 
bearing  vein,  however,  is  but  25  miles  in  length,  and 
varies  in  width  from  100  to  400  feet.  Hon.  Increase 
A.  Lapham,  when  State  Geologist  many  years  ago,  sug- 
gested that  iron  deposits  might  be  found  in  the  range 
that  crossed  the  dividing  line  of  Wisconsin  and  North- 
ern Michigan.  The  credit  of  the  first  actual  discovery 
of  ore,  nevertheless,  belongs  to  Captain  Nat.  D.  Moore, 
then  an  obscure  mining  captain  in  the  employ  of  the 
La  Pointe  Iron  Company,  on  the  Negaunee  range  in 

4,  15. 

225 


226    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

Michigan.  In  1872,  with  a  group  of  men,  Moore  had 
been  sent  out  by  his  company  to  superintend  the  explora- 
tions around  Penokee  Gap.  In  their  journey  the  party 
traversed  the  Gogebic  range.  Moore  felt  satisfied  that 
there  was  ore  in  the  region,  and  later,  in  company  with 
Captain  James  T.  Wood,  he  returned  to  investigate  the 
resources  further.  A  tornado  had  passed  over  this  sec- 
tion shortly  before,  and  under  the  roots  of  a  fallen  tree 
Moore  discovered  hematite.  His  find  was  on  the  site 
of  what  is  now  the  Colby  mine,  near  Bessemer,  Mich., 
the  first  mine  in  the  district  to  ship  ore.  A  year  later 
he  interested  sufficient  capital  to  enter  the  lands,  for 
which  $4  an  acre  was  required,  as  a  portion  of  it  was 
a  school  section.  Between  1874  and  1876  Moore  went 
to  Wausau  and  entered  the  lands  in  Wisconsin.  Busi- 
ness men  became  interested,  and  the  captain  organized 
the  Iron  Chief  Mining  Company.  This  company  owned 
all  the  range  property  on  the  Wisconsin  side  of  the 
Montreal  River,  the  dividing  line  between  Wisconsin 
and  Michigan. 

The  first  work  done  was  in  1878,  when  another  com- 
pany, with  Captain  Moore  at  the  head,  started  work 
on  the  Colby  mine.  This  work  was  more  as  an  experi- 
ment than  for  the  purpose  of  actual  mining.  The  pres- 
ence of  high-grade  ore  was  fully  attested,  but  operations 
were  stopped  by  the  lack  of  funds.  In  1882  Moore 
pointed  out  to  the  chief  of  the  exploring  party  of  the 
Cambria  Steel  Company  the  iron  region  he  had  discov- 
ered, calling  his  attention  particularly  to  the  Colby  prop- 
erty.    This  company  at  once  put  men   at  work,   and 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  227 

$30,000  was  used  in  exploration.  A  dispute  over  a 
difference  of  $10,000  in  the  lease  caused  the  company 
to  abandon  operations.  Charles  L.  Colby,  of  Milwau- 
kee, then  president  of  the  Wisconsin  Central  Railway, 
soon  after  paid  $30,000  for  the  lease  and  $70,000  for 
the  lease  on  section  15  adjoining.  The  Penokee  and 
Gogebic  Development  Company,  of  which  Moore  was 
general  manager,  had  been  organized  meantime,  and  the 
lease  was  transferred  to  it.  Work  was  begun  at  once, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1884  1,000  tons  of  ore  were  shipped 
to  Cleveland. 

This  was  the  first  impetus  given  to  mining  in  the 
Gogebic  range.  The  quality  of  the  ore  at  once  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  experts  in  Cleveland,  and  miners 
and  moneyed  men  began  to  arrive.  In  the  spring  of 
1885  John  E.  Burton,  of  Lake  Geneva,  purchased,  with 
two  others,  the  controlling  interest  in  the  Aurora  mine. 
At  the  time  Burton  was  the  Wisconsin  agent  of  the 
Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society,  drawing  a  salary  of 
$8,000  a  year.  Two  years  before  he  had  been  the  New 
York  promoter  of  the  Tllden  silver  mines  of  Colorado. 
Burton  had  the  push  and  enthusiasm  necessary  to  put 
the  mines  before  the  public.  Stock  in  the  Aurora  mine 
advanced  500  per  cent,  in  seven  months.  Before  the 
season  of  1886  opened  Burton  had  secured  the  controll- 
ing interest  in  nine  mines.  Including  the  Aurora. 

The  boom  reached  Its  height  in  1886.  Around  the 
site  of  the  Colby  mine  grew  the  city  of  Bessemer.  What 
had  been  in  1884  the  blazed  right  of  way  of  the  Mil- 
waukee, Lake  Shore  and  Western  Railway  became  the 


228    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

main  street  of  Ironwood,  In  1886  a  city  of  4,000  popu- 
lation. Hurley  sprang  from  a  village  of  a  few  log 
houses  to  a  city  of  brick  buildings  and  stores.  The 
Gogebic  "Iron  Tribune"  was  established  at  Hurley  for 
the  express  purpose  of  exploiting  the  possibilities  of  the 
region.  Special  excursions  of  prospective  buyers  and 
newspaper  men  were  run  to  the  mines  from  Milwaukee, 
Chicago  and  Cleveland.  Fifteen  thousand  people  had 
come  to  the  range  to  settle.  The  first  issue  of  the  Goge- 
bic "Iron  Tribune"  gave  what  was  considered  a  conser- 
vative estimate  of  the  value  of  the  range.  The  figures 
were  $23,465,000.  From  October,  1885,  to  May, 
1886,  stocks  in  the  various  mines  had  increased  in  value 
from  100  to  1,200  per  cent.  Burton  at  one  time  had 
forty  buildings  in  the  course  of  construction  in  Hurley. 
He  was  obliged  to  resign  his  connection  with  the  Equi- 
table Life  Assurance  Society  in  order  to  attend  to  his 
mining  interests.  An  immense  hotel,  finer  than  any- 
thing in  the  State,  outside  of  Milwaukee,  was  built  by 
him  in  Hurley,  and  a  great  banquet,  graced  by  the  pres- 
ence of  Governor  "Jerry"  Rusk  and  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Fifield,  marked  its  opening.  In  less  than  a 
year  after  his  purchase  of  the  controlling  interest  in  the 
Aurora  Burton  was  said  to  be  worth  $1,310,000,  from 
which  he  derived  an  annual  income  of  $75,000.  Captain 
Moore's  wealth  was  even  more.  There  were  altogether 
twenty-two  companies  on  the  range,  with  a  nominal 
capital  of  $40,000,000,  while  the  most  conservative  of 
the  experts  stated  that  not  more  than  $1,000,000  had 
been  put  into  improvements.  A  broad  margin  was  left 
for  speculators  to  work  on  with  the  credulous. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  229 

And  speculators  did  some  heavy  work.  More  than 
one  forty  beyond  what  was  understood  to  be  the  Hne  of 
the  ore  vein  was  marked  by  pits  and  shafts.  Holes  were 
dug  and  immediately  upon  striking  ore  the  owner  would 
capitalize  at  from  $100,000  to  $1,000,000.  Elegantly 
engraved  certificates  of  stock  were  at  once  placed  upon 
the  market.  The  par  value  of  a  share  would  be  $25, 
and  it  would  be  sold  for  from  $1  to  $3  a  share  in  order, 
as  the  promoters  claimed,  to  secure  money  to  proceed 
with  the  work.  All  of  the  devices  used  from  time  im- 
memorial whereby  something  might  be  got  for  nothing 
were  brought  into  play — and  other  devices  which  had 
their  origin  in  this  boom.  Stock  exchanges  for  trading 
in  Gogebic  stocks  were  established  in  Milwaukee  and 
Chicago,  Some  of  the  more  enterprising  of  the  pro- 
moting firms  had  their  stocks  quoted  at  alleged  stock 
exchanges  in  New  York  and  Boston.  To  give  the  char- 
acter of  permanency  to  these  exchanges,  which  were 
mostly  rooms  fitted  up  by  the  promoters  themselves  with 
a  large  blackboard  and  chairs  for  the  multitude,  old  and 
established  mining  stocks  were  quoted,  and  sometimes 
stocks  in  the  famous  copper  mines  were  also  listed.  One 
method  adopted,  when  a  promoter  had  a  big  block  of 
stock  to  dispose  of  and  was  selling  from  day  to  day, 
was  to  boost  the  prices  on  the  quotation  board.  And 
it  was  common  practice  for  the  promoters  selling  stock 
to  buy  back  small  offerings  from  purchasers  at  the  ad- 
vanced price,  and  the  transaction  would  be  duly  heralded 

in  such  expressions  as  this:  "A  block  of  stock 

was  bought  in  to-day   for  ."     One  expression 


230   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

which  became  current  in  transactions  of  this  kind  was 
"nabbed  it  up."  Some  innocent  clerk,  who  had  put  up 
$ioo  of  his  savings  for  stock  and  had  sold  again  at  an 
advanced  figure,  would  relate  to  his  friends  how  two 
days  after  buying  he  offered  it  at,  say,  fifty  cents  a  share 
advance,  and  it  was  "nabbed  up,  quick." 

Concerning  the  opening  and  development  of  the  mines 
themselves,  there  grew  up  a  distinct  terminology,  with 
words  and  phrases  which  became  part  of  the  every-day 
talk.  Not  merely  in  the  so-called  stock  exchanges,  but 
on  the  streets,  in  offices,  and  in  the  homes  wherever  the 
epidemic  had  spread,  there  was  talk  about  "striking  the 
footwall"  at  a  certain  depth;  or  "they  uncovered  at  the 
Norrie,  say,  a  fine  body  of  hematite  this  morning," 
or  "at  the  depth  of  50  feet  they  uncovered  ore  that  as- 
sayed sixty-three  per  cent."  The  old  gold  mining 
phrases  were  worked  in,  also,  and  one  would  hear  that 
"the  Colby  was  panning  out  big." 

Maps  were  in  circulation  which  it  was  current  belief 
were  prepared  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
showing  the  contour  of  the  range  for  a  distance  of  six 
or  eight  miles,  with  two  deep  lines,  one  blue,  the  other 
red,  running  their  tortuous  course  through  the  rugged 
landscape.  These  were  commonly  believed  to  indicate 
the  zone  of  magnetic  attraction,  and  it  was  thought  that 
the  body  of  ore  was  continuous  between  these  lines.  It 
was  an  interesting  feature  of  exploitation  that  every 
property  which  was  stocked  and  put  on  the  market  would 
show  up  on  this  map  as  extending  squarely  across  the 
space  between  these  two  colored  lines.     As  the  promoter 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  231 

expatiated  upon  the  certainty  of  finding  a  big  body  of 
,  ore  while  the  work  progressed,  the  failure  to  strike  the 
ore  was  invariably  explained  as  the  failure  rightly  to 
locate  these  lines.  As  shown  in  the  map,  there  was  a 
space  bet'veen  them  of  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  so 
there  was  always  a  latitude  for  sinking  holes  in  the 
wrong  place.  These  explanations  progressed  with  the 
work,  and  the  final  one  generally  was  that  the  dip  or  angle 
of  the  walls  enclosing  the  ore  probably  sunk  at  this  point 
and  more  capital  would  be  required  to  go  deeper  until 
the  walls  were  found.  There  was  a  mockery  in  these 
expressions  after  the  boom  had  collapsed  and  people  were 
grieving  more  or  less  secretly  over  their  losses,  that  made 
their  repetition  seem  as  incongruous  and  ghastly  as  a 
ioke  at  a  funeral. 

The  boom  had  its  humorous  side,  too,  which  the  vic- 
tims of  it  couldn't  appreciate  until  years  had  elapsed. 
The  fresh  innocence  of  business  men,  who  in  their  own 
affairs  were  analytical  and  careful,  but  who  were  inocu- 
lated with  the  craze  and  indulged  in  the  most  hair- 
brained  speculations,  is  surprising.  The  story'  is  told  of 
one  of  these  who  stepped  into  an  oflfice  to  pay  his  church 
dues  to  the  treasurer  of  his  society.  The  treasurer  asked 
him  to  sit  down  a  minute  while  he  finished  two  letters 
which  he  must  get  off  in  the  next  mail.  "Why  must  you 
hurry  them  so?"  inquired  the  business  man.  The  treas- 
urer wheeled  around  in  his  chair,  and  in  a  confidential 
tone  said,  "I'll  tell  you ;  we  have  just  had  news  of  a  great 

lead  of  ore  struck  in  the (a  new  mine) .      I  have 

just  put  $2,000  into  it  myself  and  am  writing  two  cousins 


232    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

to  wire  me  to  buy  up  some  stock  for  them  before  the 
news  gets  around.  Don't  speak  of  it."  The  business 
man  was  at  once  alert.      "Can't  you  take  me  in  on  that, 

Brother ?"     The  sequel  of  this  incident  was  told 

many  times  after  by  the  business  man,  who  did  not  that 
morning,  nor  for  some  time  after,  pay  his  church  dues. 

He  would  repeat,  "I  said,  'Brother ,  can't  you 

take  me  in  on  that?' — and  he  did." 

Most  of  the  mining  properties  were  capitalized  on  the 
basis  of  $1,000,000 — 40,000  shares  of  $25  each,  though 
a  few  were  for  less.  When  the  sharp  edge  of  the  boom 
began  to  wear  off,  the  capitalization  of  some  of  the  prop- 
erties was  increased  by  consolidating  two  or  more  of 
them.  One  property,  the  Valley  mine,  was  combined 
with  two  other  holes  in  the  ground  and  capitalized  at 
$3,000,000,  and  the  stock  in  this,  before  there  was  a 
pound  of  merchantable  ore  in  sight,  had  a  big  sale  at 
$1.25  a  share,  representing  a  cash  value  for  the  three 
holes,  or  "prospects,"  of  $150,000. 

Not  all  the  mines,  by  any  means,  were  shams.  The 
ore  was  there  and  plenty  of  it.  The  properties  that  were 
shipping  high-grade  ore  were  paying  an  eight-per-cent. 
dividend.  In  1885  the  Aurora  mine  shipped  5,256  tons 
of  ore;  in  1886,  100,000  tons,  which,  however,  did  not 
represent  the  capacity  of  the  property.  Transportation 
facilities  were  poor;  the  railway  company,  which  in  1884 
had  pushed  its  line  across  the  range  to  Ashland,  and  had 
built  immense  ore  docks  there,  was  unable  to  supply  cars, 
and  the  number  of  ore  boats  hauling  the  product  to 
Cleveland  was  limited.     The  Colby,  at  the  close  of  the 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  233 

season,  in  1886,  had  shipped  300,000  tons.  The  net 
income  on  100,000  of  Gogebic  product  was  $190,000 
as  against  $135,000  for  a  like  amount  from  the  Mar- 
quette range.  The  ore  was  of  better  quality  than  any 
of  the  imported  material  which  at  this  time  was  the  chief 
source  of  supply.  The  percentage  of  iron  in  the  ore 
varied  from  62  in  the  Colby  to  65  in  the  Aurora,  with  a 
correspondingly  low  percentage  of  phosphorous.  The 
opening  of  the  Gogebic  range  came  just  at  the  time  when 
steel  structures  were  displacing  wood  and  the  railroads 
were  extending  their  lines.  It  had  been  estimated  that 
about  1884  the  demand  for  high-grade  bessemer  ore 
exceeded  the  supply  by  1,000,000  tons  annually.  There- 
fore there  was  no  danger  of  flooding  the  market  when 
the  Gogebic  deposit  became  known  to  the  world. 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1887  that  the  crash  came.  It  is 
not  to  be  understood  that  it  was  sudden.  The  precise 
moment  when  the  Gogebic  boom  collapsed  cannot  be 
stated.  It  is  simply  known  that  there  came  to  be  a  time 
when  each  holder  of  stock,  failing  to  dispose  of  it  in  the 
so-called  stock  exchanges,  offered  his  holdings  indis- 
criminately at  any  price  and  found  no  buyers.  Some 
of  the  more  reputable  promoters,  like  Burton  and  Moore, 
when  this  time  arrived,  found  themselves  heavy  stock- 
holders, directors  and  officers  in  companies  whose  stock 
could  not  be  given  away;  and,  worst  of  all,  these  com- 
panies had  no  money  in  their  several  treasuries  with 
which  to  continue  the  work  of  development.  Premo- 
nitions of  disintegration  came  months  before  it  could  be 
said  that  the  speculative  craze  had   reached  its  high- 


234    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


water  mark.     A  number  of  causes,  similar  to  those  in 
the  history  of  all  booms  of  this  kind,  combined  to  bring 
about  the  break.     During  the  early  part  of  1887  It  was 
manifest  that  the  number  of  new  purchasers  of  stock  had 
about  reached  its  limit.     As  these  fell  off,  the  tendency 
of  the  speculators  was  to  prey  upon  each  other.     Then 
it  became  apparent,  also,  that  some  of  the  less  scrupulous 
of  the  promoters  had  failed  to  put  anything  like  the 
proper  proportion  of  the  receipts  from  the  sale  of  stock 
into  the  work  of  development.      Many  mines  that  were 
prospected  at  the  time  and  failed  to  give  returns  have 
since  panned  out  well.    Moreover,  the  hope  of  the  earher 
purchasers  of  stock  for  dividends  had  been  deferred  so 
long  that  many  small  holders  began  quietly  to  dispose 
of    their    holdings.      Occasionally    these    people    were 
startled  by  hearing  that  the  lease  of  the  property  in 
which  their  money  was  sunk  had  been  cancelled  by  the 
failure  of  the  promoters  to  carry  on  the  work  of  develop- 
ment.     Practically  all  of  the  companies  on  the  Gogebic 
range  at  the  time,  in  which  stock  had  been  sold  indis- 
criminately, were  based  upon  leases  rather  than  upon 
the  actual  title  to  the  land  being  prospected.      In  the 
excitement  attendant  upon  the  sale  of  stock  very  few 
people  had  taken  the  trouble  to  inquire  what  was  the 
foundation  of  the  company  in  which  they  had  invested, 
and  were  greatly  surprised  to  learn  that  the  leases  re- 
quired continuous  prospecting  work  and  the  payment  of 
royalties  at  the  expiration  of  a  specified  time.     The  news 
of  the  cancellation  of  the  leases  of  mines  came  to  be  a 
very  disturbing  factor  in  the  situation,  and  so,  through 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  235 

a  combination  of  different  elements,  the  confidence  of  the 
speculators  and  small  investors  came  to  be  undermined, 
which  caused  the  bottom  to  fall  out  of  the  Gogebic  boom. 

The  majority  of  those  who  were  exploiting  the  range 
were  sincere  enough.  Several  of  them  risked  and  lost 
every  dollar  of  their  own,  a  fact  which  vouched  for  their 
faith  if  not  for  their  judgment.  And  it  is  not  to  be  in- 
ferred that  all  trading  in  stock  was  inherently  dishonest. 
There  were  promoters  who  tried  to  keep  within  the  limits 
of  legitimate  transaction  and  did;  there  were  others  who 
tried  to  do  so  and  did  not  seem  to  know  when  the  tide 
of  speculation  carried  them  from  their  moorings. 

How  much  was  lost  no  one  may  ever  know.  Most  of 
the  big  promoters  themselves  "went  broke."  The  great- 
est noise  came  from  the  losers  of  small  sums.  Business 
men  and  capitalists  who  had  been  stung  for  the  most 
part  kept  the  fact  secret  until  a  failure  revealed  their 
speculating  experience. 


CHAPTER    X 
During  the  War  with  Spain 


IN  the  Spanish-American  War  Wisconsin  was  out- 
ranked by  eleven  States  only  in  the  number  of 
men  furnished.  Its  quota  comprised  four  in- 
fantry regiments  and  one  battery,  and  the  total 
strength  of  these  troops  on  the  muster-out  was 
5,242  men.  The  deaths  and  casualties  among  Wisconsin 
volunteers  was  as  follows:  Killed  or  died  of  wounds,  2; 
died  of  disease,  128;  wounded  in  action,  4.  A  great 
many  of  the  deaths  from  diseases  occurred  in  this  coun- 
try while  in  encampment  in  Tennessee,  Alabama  and 
Florida.  Among  those  who  died  in  Cuba  was  John  T. 
Kingston,  a  former  member  of  the  State  Senate,  who 
was  regarded  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  party,  destined 
to  a  brilliant  career.  He  had  declined  a  commission, 
preferring  a  place  in  the  ranks. 

Another  death  that  created  a  profound  impression  was 
that  of  Dr.  W.  K.  Danforth,  of  Milwaukee,  who  offered 
his  services  to  the  Cuban  volunteers  and  became  chief 
medical  adviser  in  the  insurgent  army.  He  was  shot 
down  by  guerillas  from  an  ambuscade.  Dr.  Danforth 
was  hurrying  forward  to  attend  the  wounded  in  the  fight- 
ing before  Santiago.  All  the  ambulances  and  pack  trains 
passing  beneath  the  trees  in  which  his  slayers  were  con- 
cealed were  made  targets,  no  matter  what  their  mission. 
Seven  of  the  guerillas  were  captured  and  sentenced  to 
be  shot. 

It  was  at  Coamo,  in  Porto  Rico,  that  Wisconsin  volun- 
teers were  under  fire  for  the  first  time.  They  attacked 
Coamo  from  in  front,  drove  the  enemy  out  of  the  city, 
and  gave  the  Sixteenth  Pennsylvania  a  chance  to  do  all 

239 


240    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


the  fighting.  As  a  result,  the  Keytsone  troops  won  all 
the  glory,  killed  six  Spaniards,  wounded  a  dozen  more, 
took  150  prisoners,  and  received  the  credit  for  having 
won  the  battle  of  Coamo.  The  Wisconsin  soldiers  had 
to  content  themselves  with  being  the  first  to  enter  the 
city  and  with  raising  the  Stars  and  Stripes  over  the  town. 
The  colors  of  the  Third  Regiment  were  the  first  to  be 
raised  in  Coamo. 

To  understand  the  battle  of  Coamo  a  description  of 
the  city  and  surrounding  country  is  necessary.  The  land 
is  very  hilly  along  the  entire  south  coast,  and  toward  the 
interior  it  becomes  mountainous.  Coamo  is  eight  miles 
from  the  seashore,  and  is  situated  in  a  pocket  of  high 
hills.  These  hills  are  a  guard  to  the  city,  being  covered 
with  ravines  and  cliffs,  which  in  many  places  are  impas- 
sable. An  advance  on  the  city  by  any  other  way  than 
the  roads  which  lead  to  the  town  is  next  to  impossible. 
Three  roads  lead  toward  the  city.  From  the  southwest 
is  the  San  Juan  road,  leading  from  Ponce  through  Coamo 
to  San  Juan.  This  road  takes  a  northeasterly  direction 
from  the  city  toward  Aibonita.  From  the  south  is  a 
road  leading  from  St.  Isabel,  the  road  having  been 
named  after  the  town.  On  all  these  roads  the  Spanish 
Government  had  built  many  culverts  and  bridges  to  cover 
ravines  and  streams.  The  work  was  done  with  great 
care  and  the  bridges  were  therefore  very  substantial. 
The  roads  are  all  macadamized  and  are  like  boulevards. 
On  the  outskirts  southwest  of  the  city  was  a  blockhouse, 
situated  between  the  San  Juan  and  the  St.  Isabel  roads. 
From  the  blockhouse  the  Spaniards  had  a  clear  range 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  241 

of  the  valley  leading  toward  the  city.  In  this  blockhouse 
the  enemy  was  lodged,  and  from  here  the  Spaniards  had 
shut  off  former  attempts  to  enter  the  city. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  against  Coamo  was  made 
at  a  meeting  of  General  Ernst  and  the  commanders  of 
the  Second  and  Third  Wisconsin  regiments,  the  Six- 
teenth Pennsylvania,  and  Troop  C,  First  New  York 
Cavalry.  It  was  decided  that  for  the  night  strict  out- 
posts were  to  be  kept,  and  to  shut  off  all  communication 
from  the  town.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Parker, of  the  Third, 
was  named  as  field  officer  and  posted  Company  K,  of 
Tomah,  and  Company  G,  of  Wausau,  on  high  hills  com- 
manding the  San  Juan  road,  and  a  full  view  of  the  block- 
house and  the  city.  All  night  a  vigilant  watch  was  kept 
on  the  Spaniards,  but  they  made  no  demonstration.  The 
commanders  were  given  their  instructions  for  the  night 
and  all  retired  early,  being  tired  from  the  march  of  the 
day  previous. 

At  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  troops  were  awakened. 
The  men  were  told  to  take  their  guns  and  belts,  haver- 
sacks and  three  meals,  and  their  ponchos.  The  orders 
were  to  leave  all  other  equipment  behind.  It  was  yet 
dark,  but  throughout  the  camp  the  cooks  worked  over 
fires,  and  at  4:30  breakfast  was  served.  They  were  in 
high  spirits — only  the  sick  were  sad.  Several  when  told 
that  they  must  remain  in  camp  wept;  they  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  report  for  duty.  They  even  pretended  to 
be  well,  though  the  surgeons  well  knew  them  to  be  unfit 
for  service. 

While  the  Second  and  Third  Wisconsin  were  pre- 

4,  16. 


242    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

paring  for  the  battle,  the  Sixteenth  Pennsylvania  was 
moving.  It  had  been  ordered  to  attack  the  enemy  from 
the  rear.  All  the  American  forces  had  camped  before 
Coamo,  on  the  San  Juan  road,  two  miles  southwest  of 
the  city.  At  3  :30  in  the  morning  the  Sixteenth  advanced 
over  the  mountains  toward  the  north,  and  by  transcribing 
a  long  circle  around  the  town  came  up  on  the  road 
east  of  it.  It  was  just  6  o'clock  when  the  Second  and 
Third  began  to  move.  While  the  Pennsylvania  troops 
were  going  around  from  the  rear  the  battery  advanced 
from  the  southwest.  Taking  a  position  in  the  valley, 
near  the  San  Juan  road,  it  had  a  clear  sweep  of  the  block- 
house and  also  commanded  a  range  for  firing  into  the 
town  if  desirable.  The  Second  and  Third  Wisconsin 
supported  the  battery  on  the  left,  and  as  soon  as  the 
regiments  had  left  their  camps  and  were  in  the  field  the 
advance  began.  The  Second  was  nearest  the  battery. 
Colonel  Born  ordered  Lieutenant-Colonel  Solliday  to 
lead  the  advance  party,  consisting  of  the  First  Battalion, 
Company  A,  Captain  Spencer,  of  Marshfield,  acting  as 
skirmishers,  and  Company  B,  Oshkosh,  and  Company 
D,  Ripon,  supporting  them.  Major  Green,  commanding 
the  Third  Battalion,  consisting  of  Company  M,  Captain 
Lee,  Oconto;  Company  K,  Captain  Zink,  Beaver  Dam; 
Company  I,  Captain  Hodgins,  Marinette,  and  Com- 
pany L,  Captain  Padley,  Ashland,  supported  the  First 
Battalion  and  followed  close  behind.  The  Second  Bat- 
talion, in  command  of  Major  Grutzmacher,  having 
Companies  E,  F,  G  and  H,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Oshkosh, 
Appleton  and  Manitowoc,  respectively,  started  down  the 
San  Juan  road. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  243 

General  Ernst  and  staff  had  taken  a  position  on  the 
hill  where  Captain  Warren  and  the  Tomah  men,  from 
the  Third,  had  acted  as  pickets  during  the  night,  and 
from  here  he  directed  Colonel  Moore  where  to  move 
his  regiment.  He  was  to  take  the  Third  to  the  south  of 
the  town  and  advance  by  way  of  the  St.  Isabel  road,  thus 
cutting  off  all  escape  in  that  direction.  Captains  War- 
ren and  Abraham  and  their  companies  had  been  left 
behind  on  outpost  duty,  and  Company  A,  Neillsville, 
guarded  the  camp  at  Juanta  Diaz,  so  that  the  Third 
only  had  nine  companies  in  the  field.  Major  Richards 
and  his  adjutant.  Lieutenant  Massee,  were  given  Com- 
pany D;  Captain  Turner,  Mauston,  and  Company  F, 
Captain  Lee,  Portage,  as  an  advance  guard.  Major 
Kircheis  and  Adjutant  Schalle  followed  with  the  Second 
Battalion,  consisting  of  Company  B,  Captain  Schultz, 
La  Crosse;  Company  M,  Captain  Peck,  La  Crosse; 
Company  I,  Captain  McCoy,  Sparta;  Major  George 
and  the  First  Battalion,  Company  E,  Captain  Ballard, 
Eau  Claire;  Company  C,  Captain  Kinney,  Hudson; 
Company  I,  Lieutenant  Smith,  West  Superior;  Com- 
pany H,  Captain  Ohnstead,  Menominee,  followed  to  the 
left. 

The  movement  began  at  6:30  o'clock.  The  battery 
by  that  time  had  taken  its  position,  and  Major  Richards 
and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Solliday  sent  out  their  skirmish- 
ers. They  stretched  out  in  a  line  covering  nearly  a  mile, 
and  cautiously  the  advance  on  the  hills  south  of  the  town 
began.  On  the  heights  the  enemy  was  to  be  seen  watch- 
ing the  movements.     Inch  by  inch  the  boys  crept  through 


244    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  wet  grass,  which  was  high  enough  to  almost  hide 
them  completely  from  view.  The  regiment  followed 
as  close  behind  as  was  deemed  safe  without  exposing 
them  to  an  ambush. 

The  skirmishers  and  their  supports  had  gone  about 
600  yards  when  General  Ernst  moved  from  the  hill  on 
which  he  had  stationed  himself  and  went  over  to  the 
battery.  It  was  just  7  o'clock,  the  hour  arranged  for 
the  battle  to  begin.  It  had  been  estimated  that  the 
Pennsylvania  troops  must  by  that  time  be  in  the  rear  of 
the  town. 

The  first  report  from  the  battery  came  unexpectedly. 
The  attack  had  opened.  When  smoke  arose  beyond  the 
hills  it  was  thought  the  town  was  being  deserted  and 
fired,  but  the  information  soon  came  that  the  blockhouse 
and  not  the  town  was  being  destroyed.  Then  came 
another  shot.  That  one  burst  in  the  air,  just  before 
it  reached  the  hill  over  which  the  firing  was  being  di- 
rected. Then  followed  shot  after  shot  until  the  air  was 
fairly  alive  with  the  whistling  of  the  shells.  The  birds 
in  the  fields  and  the  groves  had  been  singing.  The  air 
was  now  filled  with  shrieking  and  frightened  songsters 
who  flew  about  in  confusion. 

It  was  here  that  the  Mauston  troops  of  the  Third  Wis- 
consin were  for  the  first  time  under  fire.  While  the 
battery  was  shelling  the  blockhouse  Major  Richards  had 
advanced  the  skirmishers  toward  the  east,  and  was  within 
range  of  the  hill  on  which  the  Spanish  outposts  were 
stationed.  Thoroughly  aroused  by  the  American  bold- 
ness in  shelling  the  blockhouse,  the  Spaniards  opened  fire 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  245 

on  the  advancing  skirmishers.  For  five  minutes  bullets 
whistled  thick  and  fast  over  the  heads  of  Captain  Tur- 
ner's men.  But  they  were  powerless  to  return  the  shot 
because  under  the  cover  of  heavy  brush  the  Spaniards 
could  not  be  seen.  The  Mauser  bullets  hummed  un- 
pleasantly, but  they  moved  right  ahead,  and  soon  after 
the  hill  was  deserted  and  the  Spaniards  retreated  toward 
the  town. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Second  and  Third  Wisconsin  regi- 
ments had  had  comparatively  smooth  advancing.  The 
hard  marching  had  not  yet  begun,  and  the  troops  soon 
began  to  realize  it.  Rivers,  ravines,  groves  with  deep 
underbrush  and  other  obstructions,  were  soon  encoun- 
tered. In  order  to  get  their  positions  the  troops-  had 
to  pass  a  deep  ravine.  On  the  steep  sides  of  the  gulch 
high  grass  grew,  and  one  by  one  the  soldiers  let  them- 
selves slide  down  the  cut.  The  climb  on  the  other  side 
was  equally  laborious,  but  all  reached  the  top  in  safety 
after  some  little  delay  in  the  advance. 

Scarcely  had  this  one  been  passed  than  another  was 
encountered.  Then  came  the  river,  the  bluffs  on  both 
sides  of  which  were  so  steep  that  for  a  time  it  was 
thought  impossible  to  reach  the  other  side.  The  block- 
house had  long  before  been  riddled  and  the  cannonade 
had  ceased.  Now  the  infantry  fire  of  the  Sixteenth 
Pennsylvania  began,  and  that  settled  the  question  about 
descending  the  ravine.  Supporting  their  guns  in  one 
hand,  and  with  the  other  holding  themselves  in  vines 
that  hung  over  the  cliff,  the  men  began  to  lower  them- 
selves.     They   knew   not  what   awaited   them   below. 


246    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

Neither  did  they  care.  The  firing  in  the  distance  was 
enough  to  urge  them  on  so  that  they  might  take  part  in 
it.  Once  below  the  river  was  waded  and  the  march 
through  a  corn  field  brought  them  to  the  St.  Isabel  road, 
leading  to  the  town. 

While  the  Third  and  Second  Battalions  of  the  Third 
Regiment  were  coming  along  the  road,  Adjutant  Hol- 
way  and  Major  George  led  the  First  Battalion  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  Scouts  were  now  sent  out  to 
see  what  effect  the  battery  had  had  on  the  blockhouse. 
They  returned  and  reported  that  the  blockhouse  had 
been  riddled  and  was  on  fire.  As  the  Third  advanced 
down  the  road  it  soon  reached  the  blockhouse,  and  the 
men  now  saw  for  themselves  the  terrible  effect  of  their 
fire.  Only  a  few  timbers  remained.  On  the  roads,  200 
yards  from  the  ruins,  lay  large  pieces  of  rock  and  dirt 
which  had  been  plowed  up  by  the  cannon  balls.  Some 
of  the  shells  had  struck  into  a  hill  beyond  the  Spanish 
fortifications  and  had  torn  huge  holes  in  it. 

A  short  distance  further  down  the  road  brought  the 
Third  to  another  river.  At  this  point  Colonel  Born  and 
the  Second  were  just  emerging  from  the  grove  through 
which  they  had  cut.  Both  regiments  crossed  the  stream 
together,  the  Third  taking  the  lead.  Along  the  road 
several  bridges  were  crossed.  These  the  Spaniards  had 
tried  to  blow  up,  but  had  failed.  They  had  evidently 
been  scared  away  before  they  could  place  the  powder 
in  the  holes,  which  they  left  there  for  the  Americans  to 
cover  up.  In  several  places  intrenchments  had  also  been 
prepared,  one  of  which  was  at  the  junction  of  the  San 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  247 

Juan  and  the  St.  Isabel  roads,  which  met  a  mile  from 
the  town.  It  was  at  this  point  that  Major  Grutzmacher, 
of  the  Second  Battalion  of  the  Second  Regiment,  had 
intended  to  join  the  other  forces,  but  his  advance  on  the 
road  had  been  cut  off,  a  large  bridge  having  been  blown 
up  by  the  Spaniards.  He  had  to  return  and  cross  over 
where  the  Second  and  Third  did  and  enter  the  city  on 
the  St.  Isabel  road.  All  wagon  trains  and  the  battery 
also  were  delayed  until  the  bridge  could  be  rebuilt. 

The  Wisconsin  troops  were  now  within  a  mile  of  the 
town,  and  the  natives  came  out  to  meet  them.  Word 
came  that  the  Spaniards  had  deserted  the  place,  and  were 
being  engaged  by  the  Pennsylvania  men  on  the  outskirts 
toward  the  west.  The  Badger  men  hurried  on,  tired, 
but  still  spoiling  for  a  brush  with  the  Spaniards.  As  the 
Third  entered  the  town  many  natives,  waving  white  flags, 
came  out  to  meet  them.  They  cheered  the  Americans. 
At  every  house  and  in  all  streets  in  the  town  groups  of 
natives  stood  and  cheered  the  soldiers.  It  was  a  repe- 
tition of  the  entrance  to  Ponce.  The  Spanish  entrench- 
ments were  now  encountered.  Those  had  been  made 
by  digging  a  ditch  across  the  streets,  while  at  other  places 
bags  of  sand  had  been  piled  at  the  intersections.  The 
garrison  was  passed.  A  mob  of  natives  was  already  in 
possession,  looting  and  pilfering  the  place.  Everything 
Spanish  was  torn  to  pieces  by  the  populace,  which  seemed 
to  have  the  utmost  hatred  for  Spain.  The  stores  were 
all  closed.  Many  merchants  had  fled.  The  town  was 
on  the  verge  of  starvation.  The  Spanish  soldiers  had 
taken  all  they  needed,  and  country  folk  had  not  brought 
eatables  to  town  for  over  a  week,  fearing  the  soldiers. 


248    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

The  Third  Regiment  flag  was  raised  over  the  town. 
Later  came  word  that  the  Pennsylvanians  had  routed  the 
300  Spanish  regulars.  Frightened  by  the  advances  of 
the  Wisconsin  troops,  the  enemy  had  attempted  to  flee 
toward  the  north,  and  had  run  directly  into  the  Keystone 
men.  A  sharp  but  decisive  skirmish  in  the  brush  had 
taken  place.  In  it  the  Pennsylvanians  had  a  few 
wounded,  while  the  Spanish  loss  was  six  killed,  twelve 
wounded,  and  150  prisoners.  About  135  Spaniards 
escaped  by  taking  to  the  hills.  Later  some  surrendered. 
The  Second  and  Third  went  into  camp  just  outside  the 
town. 

On  the  afternoon  of  August  12  occurred  the  first 
fatalities.  For  nearly  four  hours  the  Spanish  regulars, 
who  were  guarding  the  mountain  pass  leading  to  Ai- 
bonita,  poured  shot  and  shell  into  the  Portage,  Mauston, 
Sparta  and  La  Crosse  troops  encamped  there,  and  when 
it  was  over,  the  first  Wisconsin  man  in  the  Porto  Rican 
campaign  had  been  killed. 

The  Spanish  regulars  had  tried  to  destroy  a  bridge 
leading  over  a  high  ravine,  and  Companies  D,  F,  L  and 
M  of  the  Third,  under  Major  Kircheis,  had  been  sent 
out  to  hold  the  structure.  Failing  in  their  design,  the 
enemy  had  taken  to  the  mountains,  a  mile  beyond, 
climbed  the  summits  of  three  very  high  hills,  entrenched 
themselves,  and  with  the  aid  of  two  three-inch  pieces  of 
artillery,  defied  the  advance  of  the  American  army.  To 
reach  Aibonita,  three  miles  away  where  the  Spanish  held 
a  strong  position,  it  was  necessary  to  pass  through  the 
pass  traversing  the  Sierras  Del  Sur  Mountains.     The 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  249 

enemy,  entrenched  on  three  hills,  commanded  this  pass. 
Scouts  had  looked  for  other  roads  leading  through  the 
hills,  but  with  each  advance  toward  the  hills  the  fire  of 
the  enemy  began. 

To  charge  the  hills  with  infantry  was  considered  im- 
possible. The  mountains  are  covered  with  chaparral 
in  many  places,  and  the  trails  could  be  easily  defended. 
General  Wilson  ordered  Major  Lancaster,  of  the  Fourth 
Artillery,  to  dislodge  the  enemy.  Two  miles  from  camp 
the  hills  held  by  the  Spanish  came  in  view.  The  enemy 
now  commanded  as  good  a  view  of  the  artillery  as  the 
battery  did  of  the  entrenchments.  The  road  which  leads 
toward  this  outpost  is  along  the  crest  of  a  mountain. 
Round  and  round  the  artillery  wound  itself  about  the 
hills,  and  then  it  came  in  full  view  of  the  battalion  hold- 
ing the  outpost,  and  also  the  enemy. 

As  the  firing  by  the  enemy  began  the  battery  advanced 
up  the  road.  The  fire  from  the  Spanish  now  changed. 
It  seemed  that  for  a  few  moments  the  battery  was  neg- 
lected. All  efforts  of  the  enemy  now  seemed  turned  on 
the  infantry — all  Wisconsin  men.  In  all  a  dozen  shells 
had  been  thrown  by  the  Spaniards  when  the  fatal  one 
came.  The  artillery  was  still  advancing,  and  had  not 
yet  opened  fire,  when  a  Spanish  shell  struck  in  the  midst 
of  Captain  McCoy's  company  on  the  hill,  sloping  toward 
the  outpost  headquarters.  Corporal  Johnson  and  one 
private  were  fatally  wounded,  and  four  other  soldiers 
were  less  seriously  hurt. 

While  the  wounded  infantrymen  were  being  cared  for 
by  their  comrades,  the  artillery  was  not  having  an  easy 


250   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

task.  The  full  efforts  of  the  enemy  now  seemed  to  be 
centered  on  it.  Under  a  heavy  fire  the  artillery  was 
planted.  Three  pieces  were  stationed  in  the  field  below 
the  road  in  full  exposure  to  the  enemy's  guns  and  in- 
fantry. Fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  Spanish  shell 
had  been  fired  the  American  battery,  all  this  time  under 
the  fiercest  fire,  began  its  execution. 

General  Wilson  and  staff  now  arrived  and  directed 
the  infantry  to  cease  firing  on  account  of  the  long  range. 
But  the  Spaniards  continued  to  shoot  at  the  Portage  and 
La  Crosse  troops.  Once  the  range  had  been  fixed  the 
guns  of  the  Third  Battery  worked  with  deadly  effect. 
The  cannonade  on  the  earthwork  soon  had  its  effect,  and 
whole  companies  of  Spanish  infantry  could  be  seen 
leaving.  The  fire  on  the  position  held  by  the  artillery 
was  more  diflicult,  but  by  continuous  firing  the  gunners 
on  the  hill  had  to  leave  with  their  field-pieces,  but  not 
until  nearly  an  hour  after  the  firing  began.  During  this 
time  they  had  continued  to  shell  the  artillery  and  the 
Badger  infantry  along  the  roads  and  on  the  hills. 

Everything  on  the  hills  was  now  silenced.  At  least 
so  thought  the  attacking  forces.  The  position  of  some 
of  the  field-pieces  was  changed,  the  guns  being  ordered 
further  up  to  the  Spaniards.  One  gun  was  hauled 
further  down  the  road.  Company  F,  in  command  of 
Captain  Lee,  was  ordered  to  escort  the  piece,  and  to  do 
so  had  to  leave  its  position  behind  rocks  and  march  along 
the  exposed  roadway.  But  there  was  not  presumed  to 
be  any  danger  in  that.  The  enemy  was  supposed  to  have 
been  whipped  and  to  have  been  driven  from  the  hills. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  251 

As  the  horses  and  the  cannon  dashed  on  toward  the 
enemy's  hills,  followed  by  the  Portage  troops,  who  were 
to  hold  the  position  evacuated,  or  supposed  to  have  been 
evacuated  by  the  enemy,  a  surprise  came.  A  hail  of 
bullets  from  Spanish  infantry  and  several  shells  from  the 
hill  showed  that  the  Spaniards  still  were  there  and  in 
full  possession  of  the  position.  The  fire  of  the  enemy 
was  now  heavier  than  ever.  The  infantry  poured  vol- 
ley after  volley  and  soon  forced  the  artillery  to  retreat 
back  to  the  rear.  The  Portage  troops  also  fell  back, 
escaping  barely  with  their  lives,  several  of  the  soldiers 
being  wounded  however  The  artillery  ammunition  of 
the  battery  in  the  field  was  now  all  gone.  More  was 
ordered  from  Coamo,  but  before  It  could  be  gotten  out 
the  artillery  had  been  driven  from  the  field  under  a 
storm  of  shell  and  bullets. 

As  the  artillery  retired  the  Wisconsin's  infantry  held 
its  position,  expecting  a  charge  of  the  enemy.  In  vain 
did  the  Badger  volunteers  wait.  The  Spaniards  were 
not  there.  While  the  latter  were  pouring  In  volleys  at 
the  artillery  and  in  the  direction  where  the  Infantry  lay, 
it  had  been  impossible  to  locate  them.  It  was  known 
that  the  soldiers  had  left  the  intrenchments,  but  from 
where  they  fired  after  that  was  only  speculation.  The 
Mausers  emitted  no  smoke.  The  whistling  of  their  bul- 
lets was  the  only  sign  of  the  enemy.  When  the  battery 
had  retired  and  the  assault  was  over,  the  Spanish  became 
bolder,  and  knowing  themselves  safe  from  any  further 
shell,  came  out  of  their  hiding.  Then  it  was  discovered 
that  they  had  gone  further  down  the  hill  in  a  banana 


252    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


grove,  under  the  big  leaves  of  which  they  lay  hidden 
while  they  repulsed  the  artillery. 

This  was  the  final  opportunity  the  Badger  troops  had 
of  demonstrating  their  metal.  The  campaign  In  Porto 
Rico  ended  with  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards  and  the 
complete  triumph  of  the  American  soldiers. 


CHAPTER   XI 
Politics  Since  thb  War 


THE  period  immediately  following  the  close 
of  the  war  of  secession  was  not  one  of 
special  political  activity  within  the  State. 
There  was  no  lack  of  interest  in  the  larger 
movements  of  the  general  government — 
the  impeachment  proceedings,  the  effort  to  establish  the 
political  and  industrial  status  of  the  freed  slaves,  and 
the  work  of  reconstruction,  but  these  were  not  questions 
upon  which  the  loyal  citizens  of  Wisconsin  divided.  The 
fact  that  the  Union  Republicans,  as  the  dominant  party 
was  called  at  that  time,  had  a  certain  majority,  the  nat- 
ural relaxation  from  the  intense  strain  preceding  and 
during  the  war,  the  general  desire  of  those  who  had  been 
in  the  ranks  to  return  at  once  to  the  avocations  of  peace, 
all  combined  to  keep  dormant  for  a  time  questions  which 
later  were  to  become  important  political  issues.  Occa- 
sionally a  ripple  would  disturb  the  quiet  surface,  as  when 
the  legislature  first  resolved  that  it  was  Senator  Doo- 
little's  duty  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate 
because  of  his  support  of  President  Johnson,  and  later 
resolved  that  the  Senator  be  instructed  to  resign.  The 
record  may  here  be  anticipated  to  say  that  Senator  Doo- 
little  did  not  recognize  it  as  his  duty  to  resign,  and  did 
not  even  show  the  legislature  the  courtesy  of  acknowl- 
edging the  receipt  of  their  instructions. 

The  party  conventions  resolved  themselves  into  more 
or  less  friendly  rivalries  for  the  honors  to  be  distributed 
in  the  form  of  nominations.  There  was,  naturally,  a 
disposition  to  honor  the  men  who  had  distinguished 
themselves  by  leadership  or  bravery  during  the  war. 

255 


256    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

When  the  Union  Republican  Convention  of  1865,  there- 
fore, nominated  General  Lucius  Fairchild  for  Governor, 
General  "Tom"  Allen  for  Secretary  of  State,  Colonel 
John  G.  McMynn  for  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, and  General  "Jerry"  Rusk  for  Bank  Comptroller, 
there  was  general  satisfaction  throughout  the  party.  The 
Democrats  found  it  wise  to  imitate  this  by  the  nomi- 
nation of  General  Harrison  C,  Hobart  for  Governor. 
More  was  heard  about  honoring  the  soldier  a  few  years 
later  than  this,  when  the  exigencies  of  sharp  political 
contests  brought  the  "old  soldier"  shibboleth  more  pro- 
fessionally, but  less  sincerely,  into  all  campaigns. 

Under  and  through  all  the  quiet  of  these  six  or  eight 
years  there  were  intimations  and  suggestions  which,  it 
appears  now,  might  have  forecast  for  the  observing  eye 
the  issues  of  a  few  years  later.  Two  influences  were  at 
work,  not  having  any  necessary  relation  to  each  other, 
yet  destined  to  jointly  evolve  important  results.  One 
of  these  was  the  anti-liquor  sentiment;  the  other,  the 
anti-railroad  movement.  The  first  of  these  was  not  a 
new  thing.  From  the  organization  of  the  State,  and 
indeed  before  that,  in  territorial  days,  the  liquor  question 
had  assumed  large  proportions.  In  1853  the  friends  of 
the  temperance  movement  secured  the  submission  to  the 
people  of  the  question  of  the  enactment  of  a  prohibitory 
law,  and  the  people  of  the  State  voted  in  favor  of  such 
a  law — 27,519  for  the  law,  24,109  against.  The  first 
legislature  after  this  vote  was  taken  defeated  the  bill 
meant  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the  referendum. 
The  legislature  of  1855  passed  a  prohibitory  law,  and 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  257 

Governor  Barstow  vetoed  it.  Prior  to  this,  in  1849, 
the  Bond  Law  was  enacted,  one  of  the  most  stringent 
of  hquor  laws.  It  was  not  Hkely,  therefore,  that  the 
temperance  question  should  long  remain  quiescent — and 
it  did  not.  The  Civil  Damage  Law,  better  known  as 
the  Graham  Bill,  came  later  and  aided  in  an  important 
political  upheaval. 

The  anti-railroad  movement  was  the  logical — even  if 
unhappy — result  of  the  rapid  construction  of  railroads 
through  the  State,  and  the  consequent  increasing  impor- 
tance of  the  transportation  problem.  Before  the  war 
complaints  of  various  kinds  had  been  heard,  but  at  this 
time  there  was  more  insistence  shown.  Charges  of  gross 
discrimination,  extortionate  charges,  disregard  of  the 
rights  and  conveniences  of  the  public  were  being  made. 
In  his  second  message  Governor  Fairchild  is  constrained 
to  recommend  that  the  legislature  take  some  action  in 
the  premises.  No  doubt,  then  as  now  many  unjust  as 
well  as  many  trivial  charges  were  made,  but  coming  as 
they  did  from  every  section  of  the  State,  and  with  in- 
creasing clamor,  it  is  surprising  that  so  little  attention 
was  paid  to  them  on  the  part  of  the  dominant  party. 

These,  then,  were  the  two  questions  which  in  the  do- 
main of  State  politics  rose  highest  above  the  level,  and 
from  the  close  of  the  war  until  the  culmination  of  the 
granger  movement  as  a  political  factor  in  1873,  ^"^  the 
enactment  of  the  Potter  law  the  next  spring,  they  grew 
in  importance.  The  railroad  problem  was  easily  the 
dominant  one.  In  the  growth  of  the  anti-railway  senti- 
ment there  might  have  been  discovered  the  seeds  of  the 

4,    17. 


258    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

Greenback  movement  which  came  later,  and  of  the  closer 
organization  of  labor  for  political  purposes,  and  of  the 
support  which  socialism  has  been  and  is  receiving.  It 
is  not  that  there  is  a  necessary  relation  between  railroad 
aggression  and  a  proposed  national  fiscal  policy,  or 
between  railroad  aggression  and  the  peculiar  tenets  of 
modern  socialism,  or  of  the  advocacy  of  silver  as  the 
standard  of  exchange,  but  that  these  various  movements 
under  different  names  get  their  chief  support  from  the 
same  source.  They  constitute  in  their  order  a  persistent 
protest  against  the  encroachment  of  the  business  inter- 
ests, represented  chiefly  by  the  great  corporations,  upon 
the  liberties  of  the  individual. 

fairchild's  administration 

With  General  Fairchild  on  the  Union  Republican 
ticket,  nominated  and  elected  in  1865,  were  two  men 
destined  in  later  years  to  occupy  the  Executive  chair. 
They  were  William  E.  Smith,  the  new  State  treasurer, 
and  General  J.  M.  Rusk,  the  new  bank  comptroller. 
The  ticket  had  a  majority  of  about  9,000.  In  his  first 
message  to  the  legislature  Governor  Fairchild  refers  to 
the  danger  of  a  financial  panic  which  threatened  the 
State  in  the  spring  of  1865  when  the  national  bank  sys- 
tem was  instituted.  He  pays  a  tribute  to  the  wisdom 
of  his  predecessor  in  ofl'ice,  to  whom  he  thinks  was  due 
the  credit  of  averting  the  threatened  trouble.  The  only 
legislative  act  of  1866  of  more  than  passing  mention 
was  the  joint  resolution  addressed  to  United  States  Sena- 


4*i^^  ^ 


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THE 
NEW  VORK 

PUBLIC  library' 

Astor,  Lenox  ,„d  riJcler, , 
foun.lahons. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  259 


tor  Doolittle  to  the  effect  that  it  was  his  duty  to  resign, 
he  having  placed  himself  in  direct  antagonism  to  the 
party  which  elected  him.  In  the  fall  elections  Philetus 
Sawyer  and  C.  C.  Washburn  were  among  the  Repub- 
licans elected  to  Congress. 

The  second  year  of  Governor  Fairchild's  first  term 
was  marked  by  more  activity.  A  suggestion  of  the 
undercurrent  of  ill  feeling  toward  the  railroads  was  no- 
ticeable in  the  Governor's  second  message  to  the  legis- 
lature. The  following  extract  from  that  message  in- 
dicates how  important  the  subject  was  becoming: 

"The  strife  which  for  years  past  has  existed  between 
a  portion  of  our  people  and  various  corporations  of  the 
State  has,  I  regret  to  say,  in  nowise  abated.  Com- 
plaints of  injustice  and  oppression  on  the  part  of  the 
railroad  companies  are  still  heard.  A  portion  of  our 
people  are  still  complaining  that  unjust  discriminations 
are  made  by  these  corporations,  and  demand  the  aid  of 
legislative  enactment  to  reduce  the  tariffs  of  freight  to 
a  more  equitable  standard.  The  companies,  on  the 
other  hand,  earnestly  assert  that  their  charges  are  just 
and  equitable. 

"That  there  is  wrong  somewhere  seems  probable. 
That  either  party  is  absolutely  right  or  wrong  is  by  no 
means  certain.  To  arrive  at  the  exact  merits  of  the 
controversy  an  extended  and  critical  examination  of  facts 
and  figures  is  required,  which  no  legislature  in  this  State 
has  yet  provided  for.  This  strife  is  in  every  way  hos- 
tile to  the  interests  of  all  concerned.  It  increases  the 
distrust  with  which  the  people  always  look  upon  cor- 


26o   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

porations,  and  thereby  diminishes  their  success  and  im- 
pairs their  usefulness.  It  consumes  the  time  of  each 
legislature  in  useless  and  never-ending  disputes.  It  re- 
pels the  investment  of  railroad  capital  within  our  borders. 
It  is  productive  only  of  bad  results  and  should  be  stopped 
immediately.  If  the  railway  companies  are  in  the  wrong, 
either  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  fact  should  be  ascertained 
and  the  wrong  corrected  by  proper  legislation.  The 
people  have  in  past  years  demanded  an  investigation,  and 
the  corporations  invite  the  same,  asserting  that  honest, 
impartial  investigation  is  what  they  want,  and  that  they 
will  abide  by  its  award. 

"Past  legislatures  have,  either  from  want  of  time  or 
facilities  for  obtaining  the  requisite  information,  failed 
to  arrive  at  any  satisfactory  conclusion  on  the  subject. 
Each  succeeding  legislature,  therefore,  finds  itself  just 
where  its  predecessor  commenced,  and  before  any  defi- 
nite action  can  be  had  the  day  of  adjournment  arrives 
and  the  strife  is  continued  for  another  year.  I  know  of 
no  better  plan  for  procuring  the  data  necessary  to  intelli- 
gent action  than  by  the  appointment  of  a  commission 
from  your  body  or  by  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
to  investigate  thoroughly  and  carefully  the  whole  ques- 
tion, and  submit  the  result  of  such  investigations  to  this 
or  the  succeeding  legislature.  This  investigation  is  due 
to  the  corporations,  for  while  it  is  your  duty  to  compel 
on  their  part  a  strict  observance  of  the  restrictions  which 
the  State  has  placed  upon  them,  it  is  none  the  less  your 
duty  to  protect  them  in  the  exercise  of  all  their  legitimate 
franchises.      It  is  especially  due  to  the  people,  and  it  is 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  261 

your  peculiar  province  as  their  chosen  guardians,  to  stand 
between  them  and  unjust  oppression  from  whatever 
source  it  may  come,  and  I  am  confident  you  will  discharge 
this  duty  without  fear  or  favor.  The  subject  is  im- 
portant and  replete  with  difficulties,  and  should  com- 
mand your  earnest  attention  that  exact  justice  may  be 
done." 

The  term  of  Timothy  O.   Howe  as  United  States 
Senator  having  expired,  he  was  re-elected  in  January, 
1867,  having  the  unanimous  party  support.     His  oppo- 
nents on  the  Democratic  side  were  Charles  A.  Eldridge 
and  General  E.  S.  Bragg.     Senator  Doolittle  having 
disregarded  entirely  the  resolution  of  the  preceding  legis- 
lature that  it  was  his  duty  to  resign,  another  joint  reso- 
lution was  aimed  at  him,  INSTRUCTING  him,  this  time,  to 
resign.     To  this  resolution,  as  to  the  previous  one.  Sena- 
tor Doolittle  paid  no  regard.     It  was  at  the  close  of  this 
session  that  we  first  hear  complaint  of  the  work  of  the 
lobbyists.     A  Milwaukee  paper,  in  summing  up  the  work 
of  the  session,  says  rings  were  formed  in  support  of  and 
in  opposition  to  certain  bills  more  boldly  and  conspicu- 
ously than  before.     Another  paper  charged  the  members 
generally  with  idleness  and  avarice.     It  says  that  each 
member  drew  during  the  session  thirty  dollars'  worth  of 
stationery,  seventy-five  dollars'  worth  of  postage  stamps, 
and  a  copy  of  Webster's  unabridged  dictionary.     These 
perquisites  cost  the  State  in  the  aggregate  over  $14,000. 
This  criticism  of  extravagance  was  not  without  its  effect, 
for  it  is  on  record  that  the  members  of  the  succeeding 
legislature  did  not  draw  a  dollar's  worth  of  stamps  or 
similar  perquisites. 


262   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


The  Republican  Convention  ot  1867  renominated  the 
State  officers,  and  the  Democrats  a  few  days  later  placed 
a  ticket  in  the  field  headed  by  J.  J.  Tallmadge,  a  promi- 
nent merchant  of  Milwaukee.  The  Republican  ticket 
was  elected  by  about  4,500  majority.  The  enthusiasm 
in  the  State  over  the  nomination  of  General  Grant  for 
the  Presidency,  and  the  campaign  and  election  which 
followed,  gave  the  year  1868  a  political  interest  which 
events  of  purely  State  scope  could  not  have  developed. 
There  was  an  election  in  the  spring  to  fill  two  vacancies 
on  the  Supreme  Bench,  and  partisan  nominations  were 
made,  the  Republicans  naming  L.  S.  Dixon  and  Byron 
E.  Payne,  and  the  Democrats  Charles  Dunn  and  E. 
Holmes  Ellis.  The  Republicans  were  elected.  We 
hear  nothing  this  year  of  complaints  against  the  rail- 
roads, nor  of  any  proposed  railway  legislation,  nor  any 
clamor  for  new  laws  of  any  kind.  The  session  of  the 
legislature  was  a  very  quiet  one.  Sawyer  and  Washburn 
were  again  returned  to  Congress,  with  other  Republican 
members  and  one  Democrat. 

During  the  second  year  of  Governor  Fairchild's  sec- 
ond term  ( 1 869)  we  hear  more  of  the  railroad  question. 
A  determined  effort  was  made  to  pass  a  bill  establishing  a 
uniform  railway  rate.  The  effort  failed,  but  it  indicated 
the  restive  feeling  concerning  the  railroads.  It  was  at 
this  session  that  Matthew  Hale  Carpenter  was  first 
elected  United  States  Senator.  The  story  of  that  sena- 
torial contest  is  told  elsewhere. 

The  Republican  State  Convention  was  held  on  Sep- 
tember I,  and  General  Fairchild  was  for  the  third  time 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  263 

placed  at  the  head  of  the  ticket.  There  seems  to  have 
been  no  serious  rivalry,  although  on  the  informal  ballot 
first  taken  in  the  convention  for  Governor,  David  At- 
wood  received  59  votes  to  Fairchild's  63.  The  Demo- 
crats held  their  convention  a  week  later  and  placed  C. 
D.  Robinson  at  the  head  of  their  ticket.  The  Fairchild 
ticket  was  elected  in  November  with  an  average  majority 
of  9,000,  nearly  double  the  majority  given  the  repub- 
licans two  years  previously. 

Again  in  the  legislature  which  met  in  1870,  we  find 
the  railroad  rate  question  in  agitation.  A  bill  was  intro- 
duced having  for  its  purpose  the  establishment  of  uniform 
rates,  and  to  regulate  the  running  connection  of  railways. 
The  bill  failed  of  passage,  but  there  was  a  sharp  dis- 
cussion of  it  which  revealed  Intense  feeling.  This  legis- 
lature passed  what  is  known  as  the  Esterly  law,  which 
authorized  cities  and  towns  to  give  aid  to  railways  by 
taking  securities  not  to  exceed  $5,000  per  mile. 

A  little  spice  was  added  to  the  work  of  the  session  by 
the  proposition  to  remove  the  capital  to  Milwaukee. 
Milwaukee  had  recently  completed  a  fine  courthouse, 
sufficiently  large  to  accommodate  the  State  administra- 
tion offices,  and  this  courthouse  was  offered  to  the  State 
if  the  removal  were  made.  It  is  not  probable  that  the 
proposition  originated  in  seriousness,  but  it  became  a 
very  serious  matter  to  Madison  people  and  those  of  the 
middle  and  southwestern  parts  of  the  State,  and  some 
active  political  maneuvering  was  done.  The  bill  never 
got  beyond  the  Assembly,  where  it  was  defeated  by  a 
vote  of  56  to  30. 


264    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

In  the  fall  of  1S70  Alexander  Mitchell  and  C.  A. 
Eldrldge,  Democrats,  and  G.  W.  Hazelton,  J.  Allen 
Barber,  Phlletus  Sawyer,  and  J.  M.  Rusk,  Republicans, 
were  elected  to  Congress. 

Although  no  recommendations  were  made  in  the  Gov- 
ernor's message  of  1871  concerning  railway  legislation, 
a  limited  anti-pass  measure  was  Introduced  making  it  a 
felony  for  a  juror  or  a  commissioner  in  a  railv/ay  dam- 
age award  case  to  accept  a  free  railway  pass.  The  meas- 
ure failed  to  pass.  The  liveliest  contest  of  the  session,  and 
one  that  brought  into  action  the  political  ability  of  nearly 
all  the  members,  was  what  is  known  as  the  Chippewa  Im- 
provement and  Boom  Company  bill.  The  measure  in- 
volved a  sharp  rivalry  between  Eau  Claire  and  Chippewa 
Falls,  and  Its  promoters  and  opponents  managed  to  get 
it  entangled  with  every  other  piece  of  important  legis- 
lation. The  bill  passed,  but  was  vetoed  by  Governor 
Fairchild. 

At  the  Republican  State  Convention,  held  in  August, 
there  were  tw^o  prominent  candidates  for  Governor, 
General  C.  C.  Washburn  and  William  E.  Smith.  Wash- 
burn was  nominated.  The  Democratic  State  Conven- 
tion, held  the  same  month,  nominated  Ex-Senator  Doo- 
little  for  Governor,  and  General  E.  S.  Bragg  for  Attor- 
ney-General. Doolittle,  who  had  recovered,  measurably, 
from  the  feeling  engendered  by  his  support  of  President 
Johnson,  went  Into  the  campaign  vigorously,  and  with 
much  confidence  that  he  would  be  elected.  The  Wash- 
burn ticket,  however,  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  about 
10,000. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  265 


carpenter's  first  election 

Senator  Doolittle's  apostasy,  as  It  was  called  by  the 
Republicans,  made  impossible  his  re-election  to  the  Sen- 
ate, and  as  the  end  of  his  term  approached,  and  especially 
after  the  election  of  the  legislature  in  1869,  a  great  deal 
of  attention  was  given  to  the  subject  of  the  senatorship. 
It  was  the  general  expectation  that  General  Washburn 
would  be  a  candidate.  He  had  served  several  terms  in 
Congress,  had  risen  to  the  rank  of  major-general  dur- 
ing the  war  of  secession,  and  was  a  man  of  wealth  and 
distinction  in  the  State.  But  there  were  other  candidates 
also.  Horace  Rublee,  at  that  time  one  of  the  editors 
of  the  State  "Journal,"  and  very  widely  acquainted, 
became  a  recognized  candidate,  as  did  former  Governor 
Salomon  and  O.  H.  Waldo,  the  latter  a  prominent  attor- 
ney of  Milwaukee.  Somewhat  late  in  the  campaign 
Matthew  Hale  Carpenter,  a  brilliant  lawyer,  who  had 
won  distinction  also  as  an  orator,  and  who,  during  the 
war,  as  a  Democrat,  had  warmly  supported  the  ad- 
ministration of  President  Lincoln,  entered  the  contest. 
Once  having  determined  to  be  a  candidate.  Carpenter 
entered  upon  the  campaign  with  all  the  force  and  bril- 
liancy for  which  he  was  noted,  and  soon  it  was  apparent 
that  the  real  contest  was  to  be  between  him  and  Wash- 
burn. A.  M.  Thomson,  a  Janesville  editor,  and  at  this 
session  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  took  charge  of  Car- 
penter's cause,  and  to  him  is  attributed  the  conception 
of  the  scheme  to  exhibit  the  comparative  ability  of  the 
different  candidates,  in  what  Mr.  Rublee  grimly  called 


266   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

a  "spelling-down  match."  An  invitation  was  issued, 
signed  by  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  legislature, 
inviting  the  different  senatorial  candidates  to  address  the 
legislature  on  a  specified  evening  "on  the  political  issues 
of  the  day."  The  city  was  full  of  visitors,  the  senatorial 
contest  having  drawn  hundreds  of  people  from  through- 
out the  State,  and  when  the  evening  came  the  candidates 
had  a  large  audience.  It  should  be  said  that  Carpenter 
was  the  only  candidate  who  willingly  accepted  the  invi- 
tation. The  others  not  being  speakers,  and  realizing 
that  they  would  be  at  a  disadvantage  beside  Carpenter, 
yet  dared  not  decline  the  invitation.  Carpenter  spoke 
first.  He  was  not  only  a  brilliant  and  attractive  speaker, 
but  he  was  a  good  "mixer";  he  had  the  art  of  putting 
himself  at  once  in  sympathy  with  his  hearers.  He 
pleased,  naturally.  Washburn  followed,  and  being 
somewhat  annoyed  at  the  exhibition,  displayed  some 
temper,  which  did  not  help  his  cause.  The  other  gen- 
tlemen acquitted  themselves  fairly  well,  but  all  felt  from 
that  evening  that  Carpenter  was  to  be  the  winner.  It 
took  six  ballots  in  the  Republican  caucus,  however,  to 
determine  the  result.  The  contest,  owing  to  the  strategy 
of  the  joint  oratorical  exhibition,  has  gone  into  legisla- 
tive history  by  the  title  applied  to  it  by  Mr.  Rublee — 
Spelling-down  Match.  The  political  significance  of  the 
oratorical  contest  has  perhaps  been  overestimated. 
There  is  little  reason  to  doubt  that  Carpenter,  with  his 
magnetic  personal  qualities,  his  energy  and  determina- 
tion, would  have  won  without  this.  The  "Spelling-down 
Match,"  however,  served  to  soften  the  blow  to  the  dis- 


Horace  Rublee. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  267 

appointed  candidates  by  making  it  clear  to  them  how 
plainly  they  were  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  contest  with 
the  brilliant  lawyer. 


carpenter's  defeat 

It  needed  more  goodwill  than  he  had  stored  up  from 
his  successful  candidacy  in  1869,  and  more  philosophy 
than  he  had  cultivated  during  a  brilliant  term  in  the  Sen- 
ate, to  enable  Carpenter  to  accept  with  good  grace  the 
defeat  that  came  to  him  in  1875.  He  had  distinguished 
himself  in  the  Senate  beyond  the  expectations  of  his 
warmest  admirers.  He  had  crossed  steel  with  the  lead- 
ers of  that  body  of  able  men,  such  as  Sumner,  and  his 
forensic  ability  and  evident  legal  acumen  had  made  him 
a  national  character.  When  the  close  of  his  term  ar- 
rived, therefore,  none  of  his  friends  and  admirers,  much 
less  himself,  could  conceive  that  there  was  any  doubt 
of  a  re-election.  But  based  chiefly  upon  personal 
grounds,  an  opposition  had  grown  up  which  assumed 
momentous  import  when  the  legislature  met.  Both 
houses  were  safely  Republican,  and  Judge  E.  W.  Keyes, 
then  chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee,  had 
charge  of  Carpenter's  campaign.  The  caucus  was  held 
and  Carpenter  won  there  easily;  but  it  was  significant 
that  a  goodly  number  of  Republicans,  when  they  found 
that  Carpenter  would  carry  the  caucus,  refused  to  attend. 
However,  Judge  Keyes'  position  as  the  head  of  the  party, 
and  more,  his  known  ability  as  a  successful  leader  and 
dictator,  made  his  declaration  that  Carpenter  would  be 


268    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


re-elected  seem  prophetic,  and  few  doubted  that  that 
would  be  the  result.  Nevertheless,  the  opponents  stood 
together.  Washburn  was  in  the  field  as  a  candidate. 
Carpenter  and  his  friends  claimed  that  this  was  a  breach 
of  faith;  that  Washburn  had  agreed  not  to  enter  the 
senatoral  field — but  there  he  was.  It  was  found  that 
there  were  seventeen  Republican  Senators  and  Assembly- 
men w^ho  declared  their  intention  not  to  vote  for  Car- 
penter when  the  legislature  voted.  Carpenter  hurried 
home  from  Washington;  his  colleague,  Howe,  urged  the 
Republicans  to  stand  by  him;  General  Grant  was  alleged 
to  have  urged  the  Republican  leaders  to  aid  Carpenter. 
The  candidate  himself  talked,  pleaded  and  promised; 
Judge  Keyes  commanded  and  threatened,  but  all  without 
avail.  When  the  day  arrived  for  the  two  houses  to 
ballot  Carpenter  had  59  votes,  eight  less  than  the  neces- 
sary number.  The  bolters  divided  their  votes  between 
Washburn,  Cole,  Bragg  (the  Democratic  candidate), 
Rublee,  former  Governor  Lewis  and  Judge  Orton. 
"Thus  the  vote  stood,"  says  Carpenter's  biographer, 
"with  but  slight  variations  during  ten  long,  stormy  days 
— days  full  of  suspense,  sorrow,  bitterness,  supplication, 
agony  and  hatred."  Judge  Keyes,  in  his  written  ac- 
count of  the  contest,  says  all  honorable  means  were 
taken  to  break  the  ranks  of  the  bolters.  Their  friends 
and  neighbors  from  their  different  sections  of  the  State 
were  brought  to  Madison  to  plead  and  to  advise  them. 
There  were  times  when  it  seemed  likely  that  the  bolt- 
ers could  not  hold  out.  When  Carpenter's  friends 
thought  the  opposition  was  going  to  pieces  there  sud- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  269 

denly  appeared  a  printed  statement  addressed  to  the 
Republicans  of  the  State,  and  signed  by  all  the  bolters, 
giving  the  reasons  why  they  could  not  support  Carpen- 
ter. Having  thus  publicly  declared  their  position  there 
was  little  likelihood  of  any  break.  And  yet  it  is  the  tes- 
timony of  Judge  Keyes  that  if  a  blizzard  had  not  de- 
layed the  arrival  of  trains  bringing  new  relays  of  influ- 
ential friends  to  plead  with  the  bolters,  Carpenter  would 
have  won.  It  was  frequently  charged  that  Washburn 
was  the  chief  influence  in  holding  the  bolters  together — 
not  because  he  felt  confident  of  winning  himself,  but  that 
he  was  bitterly  opposed  to  Carpenter.  But  the  weight 
of  testimony  is  that  Ex-Senator  Doolittle,  a  puritan  in 
his  religion  and  his  morals,  and  bitterly  opposed  to  Car- 
penter, was  the  chief  influence  in  holding  the  opposition 
together.  Doolittle  had  no  love  for  Cameron,  but  he 
advised  the  coalition  of  the  Democrats  and  the  bolters 
to  compass  Carpenter's  defeat.  It  was  through  Doo- 
little that  the  Democrats  agreed  to  vote  once  for  any 
Republican  whom  the  bolters  would  name.  Then  there 
was  lively  work  to  decide  upon  the  Republican.  Justice 
Cole,  then  upon  the  Supreme  Court  Bench,  seemed  to 
many  the  most  available  man,  though  he  had  been  ur- 
gent In  his  advice  to  the  bolters  to  stand  by  the  caucus 
nominee.  Cameron,  also,  had  from  his  home  In  La 
Crosse  written  and  telegraphed  to  bolting  members  not 
to  disrupt  the  party,  but  vote  for  Carpenter.  Cole, 
however,  seemed  most  in  favor — Washburn  had  given 
up  and  gone  from  Madison  before  the  culmination  of 
the  contest — and  had  it  not  been  for  prejudice  against 


270    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


Cole  on  the  part  of  some  German  Democrats  because 
of  a  court  decision  in  favor  of  temperance,  made  some 
years  prior,  Cole  would  probably  have  been  the  man 
selected.  When  the  crucial  moment  arrived  it  was  found 
that  all  the  bolters  and  all  the  Democrats  would  vote 
for  Cameron,  but  that  several  would  not  vote  for  Cole. 
The  situation  was  too  delicate  to  admit  of  any  experi- 
ments, and  the  Carpenter  opposition  decided  upon  Cam- 
eron, who  was  elected  on  the  next  vote. 

Washburn's  administration 

Washburn  was  still  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of 
Congress  when  he  was  defeated  for  the  Senate  by  Car- 
penter. His  term  in  Congress  expired  in  March,  1871. 
Before  his  retirement  it  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the 
leaders  of  the  party  that  he  would  be  a  candidate  for 
Governor.  It  was  alleged  later — in  1875 — when  Wash- 
burn was  again  a  candidate  for  the  Senate  against  Car- 
penter, that  before  his  term  in  Congress  expired  he  had 
come  to  an  explicit  agreement  with  Senators  Howe  and 
Carpenter  that  he  would  not  again  be  a  candidate  for 
the  Senate,  and  that  the  Senators  would  support  his 
gubernatorial  ambition.  In  justice  to  W^ashburn  it 
should  be  said  that  he  vehemently  denied  having  made 
such  an  agreement.  When  the  Republican  State  Con- 
vention met  in  1871,  William  E.  Smith,  then  State 
treasurer,  was  a  candidate,  but  Washburn  not  only  had 
the  support  of  the  two  Senators,  but  all  the  Republican 
Congressmen,  and  of  the  party  organization  as  well. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  271 


He  was  nominated  by  a  vote  of  142  to  1 1 1  for  Smith. 
In  the  legislature  of  1872  we  get  the  first  glimpse  of 
W.  D.  Hoard,  afterward  Governor,  in  politics.  He  was 
elected  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Senate.  In  his  message 
Governor  Washburn  touched  quite  as  much  upon  affairs 
of  national  import  as  upon  purely  State  matters.  He 
advocated  a  telegraph  postal  system  and  took  a  strong 
stand  in  favor  of  a  reform  of  the  Federal  Civil  Service. 
This  legislature  passed  the  general  incorporation  act, 
which  did  away  with  separate  acts  incorporating  private 
companies.  An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  repeal 
a  number  of  railroad  charters.  By  far  the  most  im- 
portant act  of  the  legislature  was  the  enactment  of  the 
Civil  Damage  Law,  known  as  the  Graham  law.  This 
law  was  almost  as  radical  as  its  predecessor,  the  Bond 
Law  of  1849.  It  made  the  vendor  of  liquor  liable  in 
damages  to  the  family  of  a  drunkard  to  whom  he  sold 
liquor.  Robert  Graham,  afterward  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  was  the  author  of  the  bill,  and  the 
contest  over  it  was  very  bitter.  In  the  general  election 
in  the  fall  Wisconsin  gave  Grant  a  plurality  of  19,000. 
In  his  second  message  to  the  legislature  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  second  year  (1873),  Governor  Washburn 
took  up  the  railroad  question  in  a  vigorous  manner. 
"Many  vast  and  overshadowing  corporations,"  he  told 
the  legislature,  "in  the  United  States  are  justly  a  source 
of  alarm."  And  he  advises  the  legislature  that  it  "can- 
not scan  too  closely  every  measure  that  should  come  be- 
fore it  which  proposed  to  give  additional  rights  and 
privileges  to  the  railways  of  the  State."      He  recom- 


272    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

mended  a  board  of  railway  commissioners.  During  this 
session  the  legislature  passed  a  bill  authorizing  the  con- 
struction of  a  bridge  across  the  Mississippi  River  at 
Prairie  du  Chien.  This  measure  Governor  Washburn 
vetoed  on  the  alleged  ground  that  it  nullified  an  act  of 
Congress.  This  veto  angered  the  legislature  and  the 
railroads.  An  attempt  was  made  to  pass  it  over  his 
veto,  but  it  failed. 

It  was  charged  by  the  railroad  men  and  other  enemies 
of  Washburn  that  his  veto  of  the  bill  was  based  not  upon 
constitutional  grounds,  as  he  alleged,  but  because  he  be- 
lieved that  the  bridge  at  Prairie  du  Chien  would  injure 
the  traffic  of  his  home  city,  La  Crosse.  Whatever  merit 
this  charge  may  have  had,  Washburn  must  have  the 
credit  of  stating  his  constitutional  grounds  of  objection 
very  clearly.  He  took  occasion,  too,  to  give  the  legisla- 
ture a  sharp  rebuke.  He  tells  them  that  such  a  bold  act 
of  nullification  (of  Federal  authority)  was  never  at- 
tempted even  by  those  States  known  to  be  the  most  jeal- 
ous in  guarding  their  State  sovereignty. 

In  his  second  message  Washburn  had  recognized  the 
opposition  which  the  Graham  law  had  aroused,  but  took 
the  ground  that  the  law  should  be  given  a  trial  before 
attempting  to  repeal  it.  As  stated  elsewhere,  this  was 
one  of  the  things  used  to  defeat  him.  Washburn  was 
not  wholly  in  harmony  with  the  leaders  of  his  party  in 
the  State;  nevertheless,  he  was  given  an  unanimous  re- 
nomination,  and  W.  R.  Taylor  became  the  candidate  of 
the  allied  liquor-granger  Democratic  party.  It  is  told 
in  another  place  how  Washburn  was  defeated  by  this 
combination. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  273 

Taylor's  administration 

To  the  casual  observer  of  political  movements  there 
appeared  no  reason  in  1873  why  Governor  Washburn 
and  his  party  should  not  be  continued  in  power.     It  is 
true  Washburn  had  not  been  wholly  satisfactory  to  the 
party  leaders,  and  he  had  not  worked  altogether  har- 
moniously with  the  legislature;  and,  too,  he  had  antago- 
nized the  railroads — but  no  one  or  all  of  these  had 
caused  any  conspicuous  or  open  rupture.    Washburn  had 
served  several  terms  in  Congress  and  was  a  man  of  un- 
questioned integrity,  as  well  as  of  firmness  of  opinion. 
He  is  described  by  those  who  knew  him  as  cold  and  un- 
sympathetic in  his  personal  relations,  but  this  may  have 
been  based  upon  his  disinclination  to  adopt  the  views  of 
other   party   leaders   upon   dominant   questions,    and    a 
large  measure  of  self-confidence.     In  his  first  message 
to  the  legislature  he  took  a  decided  stand  for  govern- 
ment telegraph  postal  service.     He  evidently  consulted 
his  own  judgment  rather  than  the  political  wisdom  of  his 
associates  when   he   said  In   his   second   message   that 
"many    vast    and  overshadowing    corporations    in    the 
United  States  are  justly  the  source  of  alarm"  and  added 
that  "the  legislature  cannot  scan  too  closely  every  meas- 
ure that  should  come  before  it  which  proposed  to  give 
additional  rights  and  privileges  to  the  railways  of  the 
State."      His  attitude   here   and  in   his  veto  of  a  bill 
passed  by  large  majorities  authorizing  the  C.  M.  &  St. 
P.  Ry.  Co.  to  construct  a  bridge  across  the  Mississippi 
River  at  Prairie  du  Chien  brought  him  the  hostility  of 

4.   18. 


274    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  railroads;  his  endorsement  of  the  Civil  Damage 
law,  known  as  the  Graham  law;  and  lastly  and  chiefly, 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  Grange  movement  during  the 
eighteen  months  preceding  the  election  of  1873,  had 
given  the  Democrats  hope. 

It  was  an  incongruous  combination,  an  "unholy  al- 
liance," if  not  formed  out  of  the  naturally  antagonistic 
elements,  at  least  engendered  of  the  conditions,  that 
brought  about  Taylor's  election.  Taylor  was  a  well- 
educated  farmer  of  Dane  County,  an  aggressive  mem- 
ber of  the  Grange,  and  a  man  of  unquestioned  integrity. 
The  Grange  had  not  hitherto  entered  politics  openly; 
and  it  was  still  claimed  by  its  prominent  members  that 
whatever  they  did  in  politics  must  be  done  outside  the 
organization.  But  the  Grange  certainly  did  work  with 
quite  remarkable  unanimity,  whether  technically  within 
the  portals  or  "outside  the  gates"  of  its  effective  organi- 
zation. 

For  the  election  of  Taylor  credit  has  generally  been 
given  to  the  Granger  movement,  but  there  is  good 
reason  to  believe  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  aggressive 
action  of  the  liquor  interests,  under  the  guidance  and  in- 
spiration of  Sam  Rindskopf,  who  afterward  became 
better  known  in  connection  with  the  Whiskey  trials;  and 
the  very  effective  antagonism  of  the  railway  interests, 
which  had  come  to  look  upon  Washburn  as  an  enemy, 
the  Granger  movement  itself  could  not  at  that  time  have 
elected  a  State  ticket.  Taylor  was  elected  by  a  majority 
of  about  15,000 — not  sufficiently  large  to  warrant  the 
belief  that  the  Granger  movement  itself  could  have  ac- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  275 

complished  the  result.  It  was  a  combination  of  three 
factors  which  elected  him,  and  any  one  failing  he 
could  not  have  won.  The  combination  was  incongruous 
in  that  the  railroads  worked  to  elect  a  ticket  which 
evolved  the  most  radical  railway  law  yet  enacted,  the 
Potter  law;  and  the  Grange,  a  majority  of  whose  mem- 
bers held  pronounced  temperance  views,  worked  in  col- 
lusion with  the  most  virulent  of  the  anti-temperance 
element — no  such  combination  had  ever  been  seen  work- 
ing in  Wisconsin  up  to  that  time  and  nothing  since,  until 
the  alliance  made  in  1890  between  the  Catholics  and  the 
Lutherans  to  defeat  the  Republicans  because  of  the  enact- 
ment of  the  Bennett  law.  To  the  Democratic  party 
leaders  of  that  time  is  due  large  credit  for  the  strategy 
which  effected  the  combination. 

The  reform  party  had  elected  a  majority  in  the  legis- 
lature on  joint  ballot,  but  not  a  majority  in  the  Senate. 
Some,  therefore,  of  the  more  radical  measures  touching 
railway  interests  failed  of  passage  In  the  Senate.  Gov- 
ernor Taylor,  in  his  first  message,  suggested  a  railway 
commission  to  aid  in  remedying  the  transportation  evils, 
but  did  not  recommend  It.  Nevertheless,  the  legislature 
passed  the  measure,  which  became  famous  as  the  Potter 
law,  and  which  Is  treated  under  a  separate  caption.  It 
also  passed  a  stringent  anti-pass  law  similar  to  the  one 
enacted  by  the  legislature  of  1899.  Both  these  measures 
were  repealed  in  1876,  though  the  Potter  law  had  been 
upheld  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and  by  the 
United  States  District  Court. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  refer  to  the  Potter 


276    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

law,  a  measure  just  in  many  of  lis  provisions,  yet  re- 
pealed in  the  face  of  its  endorsement  by  the  courts,  as 
proof  that  the  measure  was  born  before  its  time;  and 
proof  also  that  the  claim  that  the  Granger  movement 
was  the  cause  of  Governor  Taylor's  election,  alone,  is 
not  well  founded.  Had  the  Granger  movement  been 
sufficiently  strong  In  1873  to  elect  Governor  Taylor  and 
a  Democratic  legislature,  without  the  aid  of  the  rail- 
roads and  the  liquor  interest,  it  would  not  have  fallen  to 
pieces  so  soon  after  its  success.  It  is  eloquent  of  its  in- 
herent weakness  as  a  distinct  political  movement  that  its 
apparent  success  disintegrated  it,  almost  before  that  suc- 
cess could  be  realized. 

Governor  Taylor  gave  the  State  a  creditable  adminis- 
tration. The  legislature  elected  in  his  second  year  was 
largely  Democratic,  so  that  what  he  accomplished  with 
his  first  legislature  is  all  that  is  distinctively  to  his  credit. 
He  and  the  balance  of  the  ticket  were  defeated  by  the 
Ludington  ticket  In  1875.  Governor  Taylor's  career  Is 
an  illustration  of  the  Irony  of  fate.  Had  he  succeeded 
In  carrying  the  State  against  the  Republicans  again  in 
1875,  he  would  have  been,  in  all  human  probability, 
selected  as  Tilden's  running  mate  in  1876.  Had  he 
been,  and  the  ticket  had  carried  Wisconsin,  he  would 
have  been  in  line  for  the  Presidency.  Whether  Gov- 
ernor Taylor  ever  indulged  in  any  day  dreams  of  this 
sort  Is  not  known,  but  his  candidacy  at  the  head  of  the 
Granger  movement  was  pregnant  of  great  possibilities. 

In  1874,  C.  G.  Williams,  L.  B.  Caswell,  H.  S. 
Magoon,  A.  M.  Kimball  and  J.  M.  Rusk,  Republicans, 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  277 

and  Geo.  W.  Gate,  S.  D.  Burchard  and  William  Pitt 
Lynde,  Democrats,  were  elected  to  Congress. 

ludington's  administration 

The  administration  of  Governor  Ludington,  who  de- 
feated Governor  Taylor  for  re-election  in  1875,  was 
rather  uneventful,  although  some  of  the  laws  passed 
by  the  legislature  were  important  in  their  bearing.  The 
legislature  of  1876  repealed  the  Potter  law,  notwith- 
standing its  endorsement  by  the  Federal  Court  and  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and  provided  for  the  elec- 
tion of  a  railroad  commissioner.  This  latter  provision 
shows  how  strongly  reactionary  the  legislature  was. 
There  was  a  demand  apparently  for  the  wiping  out  of 
all  vestiges  of  the  Potter  law,  and  so  the  commission  of 
three  members  had  to  go  with  the  rest.  The  anti-pass 
law,  also,  was  repealed.  Ludington,  who,  through  his 
business  experience  and  association  naturally  had  little 
sympathy  with  the  movements  to  control  the  railways, 
did  not  hesitate,  in  his  message,  to  recommend  the  repeal 
of  the  Potter  law,  and  it  was  recognized  that  while  his 
judgment  might  be  at  fault,  his  courage  in  making  such 
recommendation  was  beyond  question.  This  recommen- 
dation was  one  of  the  things  used  against  him  by  mem- 
bers of  his  own  party  when  the  time  approached  for 
holding  the  next  State  convention,  in  1877.  Ludington 
had  not  proven  pliable  in  the  hands  of  his  party  friends 
in  Milwaukee,  and  by  persistent  pressure  from  the 
younger  members  of  the  party  in  his  home  city  he  was 


278    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


finally  induced  to  announce,  through  the  press  that  he 
would  not  accept  a  renomination.  It  was  during  this 
year  that  Henry  C.  Payne  began  to  take  an  influential 
part  in  the  work  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  State. 
Payne  was  the  head  of  the  Young  Men's  League,  the 
work  of  which,  together  with  the  decisive  action  taken 
by  the  party  the  next  year  on  the  money  issue,  had  much 
to  do  with  winning  the  majority  of  the  Germans  in  the 
State  to  the  Republican  banner.  Payne  afterward  be- 
came postmaster  in  Milwaukee,  and  was  for  years  the 
recognized  leader  of  the  party.  He  was  a  candidate 
for  a  place  in  McKinley's  Cabinet,  but  failed  of  appoint- 
ment. In  1 90 1  he  was  appointed  Postmaster-General 
in  President  Roosevelt's  Cabinet,  which  position  he  held 
until  his  death  in  1904. 

In  1876  a  young  woman,  Miss  Lavinia  Goodell,  ap- 
plied for  admission  to  the  bar,  and  Chief  Justice  Ryan, 
giving  the  decision  of  the  court,  refused  the  application. 
The  next  session  of  the  legislature,  that  of  1877,  passed 
a  law  allowing  women  to  practise  law.  John  B.  Casso- 
day,  the  present  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  was 
Speaker  of  the  Assembly  when  that  law  was  enacted. 

The  pressure  brought  by  the  younger  Republicans  of 
Milwaukee  to  get  Governor  Ludington  out  of  the  field 
contemplated  the  bringing  out  of  Wm.  E.  Smith  for 
Governor,  and  when  the  convention  met  Mr.  Smith  was 
nominated. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  279 

Cameron's  election 

The  story  of  Angus  Cameron's  election  as  United 
States  Senator  to  succeed  Carpenter  has  already  been 
told  in  the  account  of  Carpenter's  defeat.  There  re- 
mains to  be  said  that  Cameron  had  not  only  not  en- 
couraged the  bolt  to  himself,  but  had  strongly  advised 
the  re-election  of  Carpenter  as  a  measure  of  party  safety. 
He  was  not  less  surprised  than  were  the  Republicans  of 
the  State  generally.  Angus  Cameron  was  a  native  of 
New  York,  born  of  Scotch  parents.  He  was  a  lawyer 
of  large  means  and  had  served  five  years  in  the  legisla- 
ture, four  in  the  Senate  and  one  in  the  Assembly.  Of  the 
latter  house  he  was  the  speaker.  He  was  recognized  as 
a  man  of  character  and  ability,  and  the  Republicans  of 
the  State  accepted  his  election  with  kindliness. 

Next  to  Carpenter,  Judge  Keyes  was  the  most  in- 
fluential and  conspicuous  figure  in  the  bitter  contest.  His 
loyalty  to  Carpenter  probably  prevented  one  of  the  other 
Republican  candidates  from  being  elected.  A  number 
of  times  he  was  approached  by  representatives  of  the 
bolters  and  told  that  if  he  would  withdraw  Carpenter 
he  could  name  the  Republican  to  be  elected.  But  Keyes' 
respect  for  party  organization  and  his  personal  loyalty 
to  Carpenter,  once  having  taken  up  the  Senator's  cause, 
impelled  him  to  spurn  the  proposition  as  often  as  it  was 
made. 

A  dramatic  incident  occurred  when  the  vote  was  being 
taken  which  elected  Cameron.  As  the  names  were  called, 
the  Democrats  and  bolters  all  gave  Cameron  their  votes, 


28o   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

and  just  when  the  call  had  progressed  to  a  point  which 
gave  Cameron  a  majority,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  tre- 
mendous cheer  that  went  up  from  the  bolters,  a  Demo- 
crat arose  and  addressed  the  chair,  saying:  "I  desire  to 
change  my  vote  from  Cameron  to  Carpenter."  A  buzz 
as  of  excited  bees  went  up  from  the  Assembly  and  the 
suspense  was  terrible  to  both  sides.  There  was  a  mo- 
ment's delay  which  seemed  to  Carpenter's  opponents  to 
be  interminably  long.  The  Carpenter  men  broke  out  in 
wild  cheering,  believing  that  the  deadlock  was  broken. 
When  they  subsided  the  clerk  announced  the  vote  giving 
Cameron  the  election. 

No  one  ever  suspected  Cameron  of  having  even  nega- 
tively encouraged  the  coalition  in  his  own  behalf,  and 
there  is  no  record  of  any  demands  having  been  made 
upon  him  by  Democrats  for  the  service  they  rendered 
him  at  that  time.  At  the  expiration  of  Senator  T.  O. 
Howe's  third  term,  in  1880,  Senator  Carpenter  was 
elected  to  succeed  him.  He  died  a  year  later,  and  Sen- 
ator Cameron,  whose  first  term  had  expired  but  three  or 
four  days,  was  elected  to  fill  out  Carpenter's  unexpired 
term. 

THE  GREENBACK  MOVEMENT 

Wisconsin  has  not  been  a  fertile  field  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  financial  vagaries,  yet  the  greenback  movement 
took  root  in  the  State,  and  blossomed  out  into  a  State 
ticket  in  1877,  duly  nominated,  on  a  platform  that  had 
the  merit  of  directness,  at  least.     Like  similar  move- 


z^^^&^L.^^^ 


^ 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  281 

ments  in  other  periods  It  drew  to  Itself  the  disaffected  in 
the  older  parties,  and  seemed  to  appeal  strongly  to  the 
farmer  and  the  laboring  classes.  It  was  this  that  made 
the  old  parties  treat  the  greenback  heresy  with  a  tender- 
ness which  the  dominant  sentiment,  at  least  among  the 
Republicans,  did  not  warrant.  Its  propagandists  were 
energetic  and  conspicuous  and  the  progress  made  in  the 
agricultural  sections  alarmed  the  old  parties.  As  a  con- 
sequence, the  Republican  State  convention,  which  nomi- 
nated Wm.  E.  Smith  for  Governor,  In  1877,  wobbled 
shamelessly  on  the  money  question.  It  resolved  in  its 
platform  that  "we  hold  that  silver  should  be  restored 
to  its  former  place  as  money,  and  made  legal  tender  in 
the  payment  of  debts  except  where  otherwise  distinctly 
provided  by  law."  Like  all  weak  attempts  to  compro- 
mise a  well-defined  principle,  this  money  plank  in  the 
Republican  platform  failed  to  satisfy  those  for  whom 
it  was  made — and  it  simply  compelled  the  Democrats  to 
go  a  step  farther.  The  convention  of  the  latter  party 
declared  "its  hostility  to  the  financial  policy  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  withdrawing  capital  from  taxation,  in- 
creasing the  public  debt  by  declaring  currency  bonds 
payable  in  gold,  demonetizing  silver  In  the  Interest  of 
the  creditor  at  the  expense  of  the  debtor  and  attempting 
to  force  resumption  when  it  will  bring  ruin  upon  the 
business  of  the  country,  etc."  It  declared  also  "its  oppo- 
sition to  national  bank  currency,  and  demanded  that  the 
Government  furnish  its  own  notes  in  place  thereof." 

The   Greenbackers   who   couldn't   affiliate   with   the 
Democrats  nor  the  Socialists  and  called  themselves  "mid- 


282    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

dle-of-the-road"  Greenbackers,  held  their  convention  at 
Portage,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  their  ticket  Edw. 
P.  Allis,  a  prominent  and  wealthy  manufacturer  of 
Milwaukee.  Their  platform  demanded  the  immediate 
repeal  of  the  Specie  Resumption  Act;  declared  that  it 
was  an  exclusive  function  of  the  Government  to  supply  a 
circulating  medium;  and  expressed  belief  that  paper 
money  issued  by  the  Government  was  the  best  circulating 
medium. 

The  Socialists  came  to  the  front  as  a  party  for  the  first 
time  that  fall  and  nominated  a  ticket,  calling  themselves 
Social  Democrats.  Their  platform,  like  that  of  the 
Greenbackers,  was  explicit.  They  demanded  that  all 
industries  be  put  in  control  of  the  Government  and  op- 
erated by  free  co-operative  unions  for  the  good  of  the 
whole  people;  declared  all  charters  of  telegraph  and 
mining  companies  void  and  that  these  enterprises  should 
be  conducted  by  the  Government;  and  declared  for  uni- 
versal suffrage.  The  foreign  contingent  in  Milwaukee 
at  a  meeting  held  subsequent  to  the  convention  were 
strongly  against  woman  suffrage.  Colin  Campbell,  a 
sturdy  old  Scotchman  whom  the  party  had  named  for 
Governor,  announced  that  the  universal  suffrage  plank 
must  stand  or  he  would  not,  and  it  stood. 

No  more  incongruous  elements,  however,  were 
brought  together  under  the  Greenback  and  Socialist 
banners  than  were  under  the  Democratic  flag.  In  view 
of  the  position  taken  later  by  some  of  them  upon  the 
money  question,  it  is  interesting,  to  say  the  least,  to  find 
the  names  of  Wm.  F.  Vilas,  E.  B.  Vilas  and  General 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  283 

Bragg  as  candidates  before  a  convention  that  had  de- 
clared its  hostility  to  national  bank  currency,  and  prac- 
tically demanded  a  greenback  currency.  The  platform 
was  known  as  the  Bragg  platform.  Judge  James  Mal- 
lory,  the  candidate  for  Governor,  was  a  prominent 
Greenbacker. 

Horace  Rublee,  who  had  for  years  been  conspicuous  in 
the  councils  of  the  Republican  party,  and  who  had  served 
eight  years  as  United  States  Minister  to  Switzerland, 
was  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Central  Com- 
mittee. He  was  dissatisfied  with  the  equivocal  position 
taken  by  the  convention  on  the  currency  issue.  Wm. 
E.  Smith,  the  candidate  for  Governor,  and  J.  M.  Bing- 
ham, candidate  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  fully  sympa- 
thized with  him  and  Mr.  Rublee,  determined  to  call 
a  public  meeting  in  Milwaukee  wherein  the  Re- 
publican party  could  right  itself.  The  meeting  was 
held  and  resolutions  were  adopted  placing  the  party 
unequivocally  on  a  sound  money  platform.  This 
action  did  much  to  align  the  Germans  on  the  side  of 
the  Republican  party.  It  defined  clearly  the  chief  issue 
between  the  Republicans  and  the  three  other  parties,  and 
put  the  Republican  ticket,  with  Governor  Smith  at  its 
head,  squarely  against  the  "field."  The  result  was  the 
election  of  the  Smith  ticket  by  a  plurality  of  about 
80,000. 

GOVERNOR  smith's  ADMINISTRATION 

The  Greenback  movement  seemed  to  collapse  after 
the  election  of  Governor  Smith;  at  least  it  did  not  again 


2  84    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

assume  influence  enough  to  seduce  the  Democratic  party. 
It  nominated  a  State  ticket  twice  after  this,  but  with 
diminishing  results,  and  finally  lost  its  identity  in  the 
Labor  party.  Not  so  much  is  heard  of  it  thereafter  as 
a  political  factor  in  Wisconsin.  The  resumption  of  specie 
payments  and  the  improving  condition  of  the  country 
financially  and  industrially  seemed  to  make  unnecessary 
the  demands  which  it  had  organized  to  give  expression 
to.  The  first  year  of  Governor  Smith's  administration 
passed  with  little  to  disturb  the  political  quiet. 

The  second  year  the  re-election  of  Senator  Carpenter, 
after  a  sharp  contest,  an  account  of  which  is  given  else- 
where, lent  a  little  spice  to  the  situation.  The  legislature 
of  1879  passed  a  law  against  the  adulteration  of  milk 
and  milk  products,  which  may  be  said  to  mark  the  ad- 
vent of  the  cow  in  Wisconsin  politics.  The  cow,  it  must 
be  said,  has  cut  an  important  figure  in  Wisconsin  politics. 
The  legislation,  which  through  more  or  less  agitation, 
has  aided  the  development  of  the  dairy  business  and 
agriculture  generally  to  their  present  high  state  in  Wis- 
consin, was  not  without  effort;  and  when  W.  D.  Hoard 
was  styled  the  "cow"  candidate  for  governor  in  1888,  it 
was  not  so  much  a  term  of  reproach  as  a  tribute  to  the 
recognized  importance  of  the  dair}^  interests,  which 
Hoard  had  come  to  typify. 

Governor  Smith's  first  term,  though  offering  little  for 
the  historian  to  seize  upon,  was  marked  by  painstaking 
work,  a  freedom  from  acrimonious  political  discussion 
and  a  quiet  dignity,  which  may  be  said  to  have  charac- 


II     NevNVORK 
[  PUBUC  UBRAR^ 

^sior,  Lenox  and  T^c^cn^ 
foundations. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  285 


terized  the  Governor  and  his  associates  in  the  administra- 
tion, as  men.  The  ticket  was  unanimously  renominated 
in  the  fall  of  1879.  The  Democrats  nominated  Judge 
James  G.  Jenkins  for  Governor,  and  the  Smith  ticket 
was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  12,000. 

During  the  first  year  of  Governor  Smith's  second 
term  the  State  Republican  convention  was  held  to  elect 
delegates  to  the  national  convention,  which  nominated 
James  A.  Garfield  for  the  Presidency.  The  part  taken 
by  Wisconsin  in  the  nomination  of  Garfield  forms  an 
interesting  episode  in  the  political  history  of  the  State, 
and  by  far  the  most  interesting  of  that  year.  In  that 
convention,  Wisconsin  had  twenty  delegates,  among  the 
number  being  J.  B.  Cassoday,  now  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Wisconsin;  Phlletus  Sawyer  and 
Joseph  V.  Quarles,  afterwards  United  States  Senators; 
and  General  J.  M.  Rusk,  afterward  Governor  of  Wis- 
consin and  a  member  of  President  Harrison's  Cabinet. 
The  delegation,  as  polled  at  the  convention,  stood  9  for 
Washburn ;  7  for  Blaine ;  3  for  Sherman ;  i  for  Grant, 
and  thus  it  stood  for  long-drawn  out  balloting  until  the 
break  came.  That  Wisconsin  was  chiefly  responsible  for 
the  nomination  of  Garfield  was  conceded  at  the  time,  and 
hence  the  history  of  how  the  break  came  about  and  the 
attitude  of  General  Garfield  toward  Wisconsin's  move 
is  of  special  Interest.  The  story  of  it,  as  told  by  the  late 
A.  J.  Turner  of  Portage,  is  as  follows: 

"It  became  apparent  to  me  very  early  in  the  conven- 
tion that  there  was  to  be  a  deadlock  and  I  also  became 
satisfied  from  the  manner  in  which  General  Garfield  was 


286    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

received  every  time  he  entered  the  convention  hall  that  he 
was  a  prime  favorite  with  the  people  and  would  make 
a  superb  presidential  candidate,  and  I  so  stated  at  a 
meeting  of  the  delegation.  The  suggestion  met  with 
a  ready  response  from  other  members  of  the  delegation, 
and  it  was  tacitly  understood  that  at  the  proper  time 
the  delegation,  or  the  most  of  it,  would  vote  for  General 
Garfield.  All  of  the  delegates,  however,  it  was  well 
understood,  would  be  loyal  to  their  chosen  candidates  as 
long  as  they  had  a  fair  chance  of  a  nomination,  but  none 
of  them  were  of  the  'last  ditch'  order,  save  General 
Bryant,  who  was  a  Grant  man  at  all  times. 

"On  the  day  the  nomination  was  made  the  excitement 
was  intense.  For  a  full  week  the  battle  had  raged,  and 
all  felt  that  the  strain  could  last  no  longer  and  that  a 
break  must  come;  but  how  the  contest  was  to  terminate 
no  one  might  tell.  On  the  ballot  before  any  break  oc- 
curred, it  was  urged  by  Mr.  Carter,  myself  and  perhaps 
others,  that  our  votes  now  be  given  to  General  Garfield. 
Chairman  Cassoday  stepped  over  to  the  Indiana  delega- 
tion and  had  a  brief  conference  with  General  Harrison, 
and  on  his  return  he  asked  that  the  Washburn  men  give 
Mr.  Washburn  another  vote,  as  there  were  reasons  to 
think  that  on  the  next  ballot  a  goodly  number  of  the 
Indiana  delegates  would  cast  their  votes  for  him  also, 
and  give  an  impetus  to  his  candidacy.  With  this  under- 
standing, Delegates  Carter  and  James  of  the  Third  Dis- 
trict, voted  for  Mr.  Washburn  to  contribute  to  his 
boom.  There  was  a  very  kindly  feeling  toward  Mr. 
Washburn,  and  they  would  have  voted  for  him  when 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  287 

their  favorite  was  out  of  the  field.  On  the  next  ballot, 
however,  when  the  Indiana  delegation  voted  as  they  had 
been  doing  all  along  and  Mr.  Washburn  received  no 
additional  strength  from  there,  it  became  apparent  to 
us  all  that  he  was  a  'dead  duck'  and  that  we  should  look 
in  another  direction  for  a  candidate,  and  the  moment 
Indiana  was  polled  there  was  a  demand  on  Mr.  Cassoday 
that  our  votes  be  reported  for  General  Garfield.  Mr. 
Cassoday  polled  the  delegation  hastily  and  had  hardly 
got  through  before  Wisconsin  was  called  for  its  vote.  It 
was  given  as  stated,  all  of  the  Washburn  men  but  one, 
General  Van  Steenwyk,  the  Sherman  men  and  all  of  the 
Blaine  men  but  one,  Mr.  Stephenson,  voting  for  General 
Garfield. 

"When  the  vote  of  Wisconsin  was  announced,  the 
turmoil  that  had  reigned  supreme  for  a  time  was  hushed 
for  the  moment  as  in  the  stillness  of  death,  and  every  eye 
was  turned  toward  the  Wisconsin  delegation  as  if  to 
inquire,  'What  does  that  mean  ?'  It  is  absolutely  certain 
that  no  delegate  outside  of  our  own  delegation  suspected 
that  anything  of  the  sort  was  about  to  happen.  They 
could  not  have  done  so,  for  we  didn't  know  ourselves 
what  we  were  going  to  do  until  a  moment  before.  In  a 
moment  the  galleries  and  the  convention  itself  were  in 
the  wildest  uproar.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  such  scene  ever 
occurred  in  a  convention  before.  The  popular  chord 
had  been  touched  as  if  by  the  wand  of  a  magician,  and 
Wisconsin  was  profoundly  happy  over  the  furore  it  had 
created.  General  Garfield,  pale  and  dumbfounded,  arose 
from  his  seat  and  challenged  the  right  of  any  delegate 


288    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

to  vote  for  him  without  his  consent,  a  consent  he  had 
not  given. 

"While  the  uproar  was  at  its  height,  Senator  Frye 
of  Maine  made  his  way  hastily  to  the  seat  of  Senator 
Sawyer,  a  Blaine  man,  and  urged  him  to  bring  the  Blaine 
men  of  the  delegation  into  line  again.  No  doubt  Mr. 
Sawyer's  will  was  good,  but  there  was  an  inexpressible 
sadness  on  his  countenance  as  he  shook  his  head  and  re- 
plied that  he  feared  it  was  too  late.  Mr.  Cassoday  went 
back  to  Mr.  Garfield's  seat  and  urged  him  to  leave  the 
convention,  as  he  was  concerned  lest  he  might  per- 
emptorily decline  any  further  use  of  his  name,  but  he 
regarded  it  as  his  duty  to  remain  with  the  delegation. 
While  this  was  transpiring.  Senator  Dickinson  of  Frank- 
lin County,  New  York,  whose  acquaintance  I  had 
formed,  having  formerly  been  a  resident  of  that  section 
of  the  State,  came  hastily  to  my  seat  and  inquired  confi- 
dentially if  there  was  a  concerted  movement  looking  to 
the  nomination  of  General  Garfield.  Right  here,  I  must 
confess,  as  I  stated  to  Mr.  Cassoday  at  the  time,  that 
I  'stuffed  the  hat,'  for  I  replied  in  the  most  confidential 
and  positive  manner  possible,  that  there  was,  and  that 
General  Garfield's  nomination  was  certain  to  be  made. 
The  twenty  Blaine  men  from  New  York  immediately 
came  into  our  camp,  but  I  do  not  assert  that  my  report  to 
Mr.  Dickinson  influenced  their  votes  in  the  least  degree. 
I  confess  that  I  felt  some  of  the  tinges  of  a  guilty  con- 
science that  I  should  have  deceived  my  friend,  but  I 
reconciled  myself  with  the  thought  that  it  was  all  for  the 
good  of  the  cause. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  289 


"Right  here  I  want  to  state  what  I  regard  as  the  finest 
piece  of  political  generalship  I  ever  saw  in  a  convention, 
and  I  have  attended  a  good  many.  When  it  seemed 
likely  that  the  entire  convention  was  about  to  be  stam- 
peded to  General  Garfield,  General  Beaver  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  grim  and  grizzly  one-legged  old  soldier  that 
he  was,  mounted  his  seat,  and  resting  upon  his  crutch, 
with  a  wave  of  his  hand,  gave  the  word  of  command  to 
the  immortal  '306.' 

"  'Grant,  men,  steady!  steady!' 

"The  watchword  was  immediately  taken  up  by  the 
followers  of  the  great  commander,  and  quietly  they 
passed  the  words :  'Grant,  men,  steady !'  down  their  lines, 
and  the  column  was  firm  once  more  as  the  rock  of  Chica- 
mauga,  and  gave  ample  evidence  of  General  Beaver's 
soldierly  qualities. 

"What  followed  every  one  knows.  General  Garfield 
was  nominated  and  triumphantly  elected.  I  am  morally 
certain  that  if  we  had  not  voted  for  General  Garfield  at 
the  very  moment  that  we  did,  all  of  the  other  candidates 
would  have  withdrawn  and  the  convention  would  have 
been  brought  to  a  direct  vote  on  the  next  ballot  between 
General  Grant  and  James  G.  Blaine.  Who  is  wise 
enough  to  say  who  would  have  been  the  choice  of  the 
convention  in  that  event?    I  am  not. 

"One  thing  we  can  all  remember  with  pride,  how- 
ever, and  that  was  the  magnificent  manner  in  which 
Judge  Cassoday  announced  the  vote  of  Wisconsin.  'Wis- 
consin casts  two  votes  for  General  Grant,  two  votes  for 
James  G.   Blaine  and  TWENTY  VOTES   FOR  GENERAL 

4,  19. 


290    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


James  A.  Gx'\rfield  !'  His  voice  rang  out  as  clear  as  a 
bugle  note,  and  It  electrified  the  convention." 

The  influential  part  taken  by  the  Wisconsin  delegation 
in  the  nomination  of  General  Garfield  naturally  stimu- 
lated the  feeling  that  Wisconsin  should  have  a  place  in 
the  Cabinet.  Judge  Keyes'  friends  started  a  movement 
in  his  behalf.  His  prominence  and  ability,  together  with 
his  wide  knowledge  of  the  postal  serv^ice,  seemed  to  fit 
him  especially  for  the  position  of  Postmaster-General. 
But  General  Garfield  had  other  plans,  and  the  hope  of 
the  Wisconsin  Republicans  came  to  naught. 

During  the  last  year  of  Governor  Smith's  second  term, 
( 1881)  Senator  Carpenter  died  at  Washington  and  Sen- 
ator Cameron  was  elected  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term. 
General  Rusk  was  nominated  for  Governor  by  the  Re- 
publicans, and  Nicholas  D.  Fratt,  a  banker  and  farmer 
of  Racine  County,  by  the  Democrats. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  President  Garfield,  Ex-Senator 
T.  O.  Howe  was  selected  by  President  Arthur  to  be 
Postmaster-General. 

carpenter's  second  election 

Four  years  after  his  spectacular  defeat.  Carpenter  was 
again  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate.  The 
third  term  of  Senator  T.  O.  Howe  expired  in  March, 
1879.  But  others  beside  Carpenter  had  their  eyes  upon 
Howe's  seat.  Philetus  Sawyer,  who  was  later  to  serve 
two  terms  as  United  States  Senator,  was  found  to  have 
aspirations ;  Senator  Howe  was  more  than  willing  to  sue- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  291 

ceed  himself;  Horace  Rublee  was  tentatively  a  candidate, 
and  most  important  of  all,  Judge  E.  W.  Keyes,  whose 
conspicuous  success  as  a  party  leader  had  exalted  him  to 
a  high  place  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  of  the  State,  was 
an  avowed  candidate.  Indeed,  Keyes  had  been  laying 
plans  for  his  candidacy  for  some  time.  And  it  was  not 
surprising  in  view  of  the  staunch  loyalty  shown  by  him 
to  Carpenter  four  years  previously,  that  Keyes  and  his 
friends  felt  that  Carpenter  might  reciprocate  at  this 
time.  But  considerations  of  this  kind  did  not  weigh  with 
Carpenter  and  his  friends,  and  so  the  contest  progressed 
with  five  candidates.  When  the  caucus  met  and  voted 
Keyes  was  shown  to  be  sHghtly  in  the  lead.  The  vote 
stood:  Keyes,  28;  Howe,  25;  Carpenter,  24;  Sawyer, 
5 ;  Rublee,  5.  There  was  no  such  intense  feeling  mani- 
fested as  during  the  contest  which  ended  in  Cameron's 
election,  yet  the  contest  was  a  sharp  one  and  the  previous 
relation  of  the  leading  candidates  made  the  situation  a 
delicate  one.  At  the  end  of  five  days  Keyes  and  Howe 
withdrew  and  Carpenter  was  named.  He  died  about 
two  years  later  in  Washington,  while  attending  the  ses- 
sion of  Congress. 

In  several  ways  Carpenter  was  the  most  brilliant  man 
that  Wisconsin  has  sent  to  the  United  States  Congress. 
He  was  a  great  lawyer  and  an  orator  and  debater  of  re- 
markable power.  But  these,  with  all  of  his  attractive 
personal  qualities,  never  won  for  him  the  measure  of 
confidence  of  the  people  which  his  predecessor.  Judge 
Howe,  enjoyed.  Whether  he  would  have  attained  to 
Howe's  place  in  the  confidence  of  the  people  had  he  lived 


292    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

is  doubtful,  but  he  added  luster  to  the  name  of  his  State 
and  deserves  a  place  in  her  hall  of  fame. 

sawyer's  election 

Senator  Cameron's  first  term  in  the  United  States 
Senate  came  to  an  end  in  1881.  Philetus  Sawyer,  who 
had  already  served  ten  years  in  the  lower  house  of  Con- 
gress, was  a  candidate  for  the  seat.  E.  W.  Keyes  was 
also  a  candidate,  and  it  seemed  to  many  that  he  was  the 
most  promising  one.  Keyes  really  seemed  to  be  the 
logical  candidate.  He  had  brought  about  Carpenter's 
election  by  withdrawing  four  years  previously,  and  in 
1875,  when  Carpenter  was  defeated,  Keyes  resisted  all 
temptations  to  forsake  Carpenter  and  stuck  to  him  loyally 
to  the  end.  His  prominence  in  the  party  and  his  recog- 
nized ability  seemed  to  point  to  him  as  the  man — ^but 
the  sharp  contest  ended  in  a  victory  for  Sawyer,  who 
then  entered  upon  a  twelve  years'  experience  in  the 
Senate. 

Keyes'  loyalty  to  his  party  and  his  persistent  cheerful- 
ness and  kindliness  saved  him  from  sulking  in  his  tent 
at  this  time,  as  it  did  a  month  later,  when,  his  friends  felt, 
upon  the  death  of  Senator  Carpenter,  that  he  should  be 
Carpenter's  successor,  and  Cameron,  recently  defeated 
by  Sawyer,  stepped  in  and  carried  off  the  honor. 

GOVERNOR  rusk's  ADMINISTRATION 

The  election  of  General  Rusk  as  Governor,  in  the  fall 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  293 

of  1 88 1,  brought  to  the  front  one  of  the  most  pictur- 
esque figures  in  the  political  history  of  the  State.  General 
Rusk  was  not  an  unknown  factor  in  the  party.  He  had 
served  several  terms  in  Congress  and  had  been  State 
Bank  Comptroller.  He  also  had  an  excellent  military 
record  before  his  election  as  Governor.  But  the  execu- 
tive office  offered  room  for  the  exercise  of  those  qualities 
which  gave  him  renown  as  an  administrative  officer,  and 
as  a  shrewd  politician.  With  one  exception — Robert  M. 
La  FoUette — Rusk  had  the  best  practical  knowledge  of 
politics  as  a  working  science  of  any  one  who  has  figured 
in  political  leadership  in  the  State.  There  was  a  ro- 
mantic glamour  over  his  career,  too,  which  tended  to 
enhance  his  importance  in  politics.  He  was  a  product 
of  Ohio  and  began  his  life  in  Wisconsin  as  a  farmer. 
He  was  uncouth  and  uneducated.  Later  he  graduated 
as  a  stage  driver,  and  here  his  qualities  as  a  "mixer"  came 
into  play.  In  a  few  years  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  legislature.  Then  the  war  broke  out,  and  he  went 
into  the  service  as  a  major  and  came  out  a  brigadier- 
general.  Then  he  was  elected  State  Bank  Comptroller 
and  after  that  he  was  sent  to  Congress.  It  was  a  career 
that  appealed  to  the  imagination  of  the  farmers,  and 
to  the  ambitious  in  all  walks  of  life.  If  Rusk's  winning 
qualities  were  to  be  summed  up  in  one  expression  it  would 
be  that  he  was  possessed  of  an  uncommon  portion  of 
common  sense. 

Rusk's  administration  was  not  distinguished  by  legis- 
lation of  paramount  importance.  John  C.  Spooner  was 
elected  Senator  at  the  expiration  of  Cameron's  term  in 


294    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

1885.  The  legislative  sessions  were  changed  from  an- 
nual to  biennial,  and  this  change  lengthened  Governor 
Rusk's  first  term  to  three  years.  As  he  was  elected  three 
times,  he  has  the  distinction  of  having  occupied  the  office 
of  Governor  of  the  State  longer  than  any  other  incumbent 
— seven  years. 

It  was  during  Governor  Rusk's  second  term  that  the 
labor  riots  occurred  in  Milwaukee,  and  the  Governor's 
prompt  action  in  quelling  them  gave  him  national  fame. 
In  May,  1886,  all  the  federated  trades  unions  In  Mil- 
waukee joined  in  a  strike  to  secure  an  eight-hour  day. 
It  took  but  a  few  days  for  the  thousands  of  idle  men 
to  become  lawless.  Men  in  factories  who  had  not  joined 
the  strike  were  compelled  to  quit  work,  sometimes  by 
force,  and  a  general  paralysis  of  industries  was  threat- 
ened. The  local  authorities  were  unable  to  cope  with 
the  strikers.  In  defiance  of  proclamations  great  gather- 
ings were  held,  and  in  the  section  of  the  city  where  there 
were  many  pronounced  anarchists  it  seemed  inevitable 
that  there  would  come  a  widespread  destruction  of  prop- 
erty and  probably  a  great  loss  of  life.  The  city  authori- 
ties hesitated  about  calling  on  the  Governor  for  help, 
but  pressure  from  the  business  and  manufacturing  in- 
terests finally  brought  about  an  appeal  to  the  Governor 
through  the  sheriff's  office.  Governor  Rusk  came 
promptly,  accompanied  by  several  members  of  his  staff. 
The  situation  was  explained  to  him,  and  several  of  the 
big  manufacturers  whose  plants  were  still  being  oper- 
ated, and  the  officers  of  the  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  Railway 
demanded  protection  for  their  property  and  men.  Affairs 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  295 

seemed  hastening  to  a  crisis.  The  strikers  were  angry 
and  defiant,  declaring  that  they  would  close  every  factory 
and  shop  by  force  if  the  men  still  at  work  did  not  join 
them  peacefully.  The  most  ominous  feature  of  the  situ- 
ation was  the  influence  exerted  by  the  anarchistic  element 
of  the  strikers.  Paul  Grottkau,  an  agitator  and  anar- 
chist, was  delivering  speeches  In  all  parts  of  the  city, 
wherever  the  strikers  assembled. 

Governor  Rusk  called  several  companies  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard  in  the  city  Into  service.  One  of  these  com- 
panies was  the  Kosciusko  Guards,  made  up  chiefly  of 
Poles,  who  came  from  the  section  of  the  city  where  the 
majority  of  the  strikers  hved.  That  this  company  should 
be  called  out  to  protect  the  peace  against  the  acts  of  their 
neighbors,  friends  and  relatives,  angered  the  strikers. 
While  this  company  was  guarding  the  works  of  the 
Illinois  Steel  Company,  at  Bay  View,  the  strikers  at- 
tacked them,  throwing  slag,  stones  and  clubs.  The 
guards  fired  at  the  crowd,  but  no  one  was  killed,  and 
the  strikers  grew  more  angry  and  lawless.  The  next 
day  the  strikers  In  larger  numbers — there  were  more  than 
1,500  In  the  crowd — went  to  Bay  View  with  the  ex- 
pressed purpose  of  driving  out  the  workmen  there  who 
had  refused  to  strike.  The  oflicers  in  command  of  the 
troops  had  been  given  explicit  orders.  They  were  to 
warn  the  strikers  not  to  enter  the  grounds  of  the  steel 
company;  then,  if  they  persisted,  to  fire  over  their  heads. 
If  this  did  not  deter  them  the  troops  were  to  fire  directly 
into  the  ranks.  The  troops  were  compelled  to  fire  Into 
the  strikers,  and  In  all  seven  persons  were  killed.     The 


296    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

strikers  retreated  and  then  dispersed  for  the  day,  threat- 
ening dire  vengeance  upon  the  troops.  Representatives 
of  the  strikers  called  on  Governor  Rusk  at  his  hotel  and 
protested  against  the  firing  by  the  troops.  Governor 
Rusk's  reply  was  pointed  and  forceful.  He  said  in  sub- 
stance, "Go  back  and  tell  your  men  that  If  they  keep  the 
peace  they  will  not  be  disturbed,  but  that  I  shall  pro- 
tect from  violence  the  men  who  desire  to  work,  and  the 
property  of  the  city,  if  I  have  to  shoot  down  every  law- 
violating  striker  In  Milwaukee."  This  declaration,  clear 
and  decisive,  backed  as  it  was  by  the  action  of  the  sol- 
diers that  day,  put  an  end  to  the  strike.  After  that 
night  there  was  no  further  disturbance,  and  Governor 
Rusk  was  hailed  as  the  man  of  the  hour.  His  prompt 
and  effective  action  not  only  quieted  the  trouble  in  Mil- 
waukee, but  it  was  believed  to  have  had  a  wholesome 
effect  In  other  States  where  there  were  labor  troubles. 

Governor  Rusk's  course  during  the  riots  naturally 
made  him  objectionable  to  the  strike  leaders  and  agi- 
tators generally,  and  it  was  threatened  that  if  he  were 
renominated  the  labor  vote  would  defeat  him,  but  the 
order-loving  people  stood  by  him.  T.  A.  Chapman,  at 
that  time  the  leading  merchant  of  Milwaukee,  had  been 
talked  of  as  likely  to  be  nominated  to  succeed  Rusk  at 
the  close  of  the  latter's  second  term,  but  Mr.  Chapman, 
in  a  newspaper  interview  soon  after  the  riots  were 
quelled,  declared  that  he  couldn't  think  of  being  a  can- 
didate If  Rusk  could  be  Induced  to  run  again.  "This 
State  owes  It  to  itself  and  to  Governor  Rusk,"  said  Mr. 
Chapman,  "to  place  the  seal  of  approval  upon  his  action 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  297 

during  the  labor  troubles."  Rusk  was  not  averse  to 
serving  another  term,  and  so,  without  opposition,  he  was 
nominated  and  then  elected. 

It  was  during  Rusk's  second  term  that  the  Republican 
leaders  began  to  fear  that  unless  something  were  done 
to  divert  the  movement  the  Prohibition  party  would  in 
a  few  years  gain  sufficient  numbers  to  endanger  the  Re- 
publican majority — the  Prohibition  accretion  being  al- 
most wholly  from  the  Republican  ranks.  In  1884  the 
Temperance  Party  in  Wisconsin  became  affiliatedwith  the 
National  Prohibition  Party.  Ten  years  previously  an 
attempt  had  been  made  to  bring  about  such  an  affiliation, 
but  the  leaders  of  the  temperance  element  took  the 
ground  that  the  Republican  party  had  always  been 
friendly  to  the  temperance  cause,  and  that  there  was  no 
reason  for  leaving  it.  It  was  then  the  hope  of  the  tem- 
perance leaders  that  through  Republican  assistance  they 
could  secure  the  submission  to  the  people  of  a  prohibit- 
ory law.  In  1878  a  petition  with  15,000  names,  asking 
that  the  people  be  allowed  to  vote  on  a  prohibitory  law, 
was  presented  to  the  legislature.  WlUIam  T.  Price,  then 
a  State  Senator,  presented  the  petition.     The  petition 

was  denied.  The  following  year  a  petition  with  40,000 
names  was  presented  and  again  denied.  In  1880,  1881 
and  1882  the  legislature  was  repeatedly  asked  to  submit 
the  question  to  the  people,  and  each  time  it  was  denied, 
the  vote  against  granting  the  petition  being  larger  in 
1882  than  it  had  been  In  1874. 

In  June,  1881,  a  convention  held  at  Madison  voted 
to  put  aseparate  ticket  in  the  field,  the  name  of  the  new 


298    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

party  being  the  Independent  Temperance  party.  An 
anti-treating  law  had  been  passed  by  the  legislature  as 
a  sort  of  sop  to  the  temperance  people,  but  that  was  re- 
pealed by  the  next  legislature.  When,  therefore,  the 
Temperance  party,  in  despair  of  securing  what  they 
wished  from  the  Republicans,  affiliated  with  the  Na- 
tional Prohibition  party,  the  Republicans  felt  that  there 
was  danger  in  the  situation.  The  Republican  leaders 
believed  something  should  be  done  to  avert  the  threat- 
ened trouble. 

At  the  City  Republican  Convention  in  Milwaukee,  in 
the  spring  of  1884,  held  to  nominate  a  mayor,  Emil 
Wallber  was  named,  and  the  platform  he  canvassed  and 
was  elected  upon  contained  a  temperance  plank  reading 
substantially  thus:  "We  believe  the  liquor  interests 
should  bear  their  fair  and  just  proportion  of  the  ex- 
penses of  government."  It  wasn't  very  strong,  and  what 
there  was  of  it  was  non-committal,  but  it  was  meant  to 
pacify  the  temperance  people.  The  platform  upon 
which  Governor  Rusk  was  renominated  contained  sub- 
stantially the  same  plank.  Mild  and  Inoffensive  as  it 
seemed,  it  was  the  means  of  bringing  about  a  change 
in  the  license  law,  which  quadrupled  the  minimum  fee 
for  selling  liquors,  and  made  it  possible  for  a  city  once 
in  three  years  to  vote  to  raise  the  amount  to  the  maxi- 
mum. In  other  words,  it  was  a  step  in  the  direction  of 
submitting  the  liquor  control  question  to  the  people. 
Edward  Sanderson  and  Henry  C.  Payne,  chairman  and 
secretary,  respectively,  of  the  Republican  State  Central 
Committee,  were  the  men  who  proposed  the  temperance 
plank  and  afterward  secured  the  law  referred  to. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  299 


The  effort  to  pacify  the  Prohibitionists  by  increasing 
the  cost  of  licenses  to  sell  liquor  was  not  very  successful. 
In  the  fall  of  1886  John  M.  Olin,  the  Prohibition  can- 
didate for  Governor,  received  17,089  votes.  This  was 
the  high-water  mark  for  the  Prohibitionists.  The  total 
vote  that  year  was  286,332.  In  1904,  when  the  total 
vote  cast  was  449,560,  the  Prohibitionists  polled  less 
than  9,000  votes. 

The  decline  in  strength  and  influence  of  a  movement 
that  promised  so  much  as  a  factor  In  politics  Is  Interest- 
ing and  worthy  of  study.  Perhaps  later  a  longer  per- 
spective may  bring  a  clearer  apprehension  of  causes  of 
that  decline  than  can  be  gained  now.  From  the  view- 
point of  the  present  day  there  seem  to  have  been  sev- 
eral contributing  causes.  Chief  among  them  was  the 
reaction  from  the  Intense  feeling  prevalent  among  tem- 
perance people  that  legislation  must  be  the  chief  factor 
in  promoting  temperance.  Then  the  aggressive  organ- 
ization of  the  liquor  interests  rallied  to  their  support 
a  large  portion  of  the  German  population  of  the  State, 
and  caused  temperance  people  who  had  formerly  affili- 
ated with  the  Republican  party  to  fear  the  overthrow 
of  that  party  by  the  liquor  power,  and  the  complete 
dominance  of  the  latter  In  the  administration  of  State 
affairs.  Another  factor  was  the  higher  standard  of  per- 
sonal temperance  which  had  been  cultivated  throughout 
the  State,  in  part,  at  least,  by  the  political  agitation,  and 
still  another  was  the  enactment  of  the  Australian  voting 
system  which  prohibited  the  holding  of  caucuses  and  elec- 
tions In  or  about  saloons. 


300    WISCONSIiN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

spooner's  election 

Angus  Cameron  had  been  re-elected  United  States 
Senator  in  1881  to  fill  out  the  residue  of  Carpenter's 
term  after  the  latter's  death.  This  term  was  to  expire 
in  March,  1885.  The  previous  fall  John  C.  Spooner, 
of  Hudson,  general  solicitor  for  the  Omaha  Railway, 
had  made  a  very  thorough  speaking  canvass  of  the  State 
in  the  interest  of  the  State  and  national  tickets.  Spooner, 
though  a  native  of  Indiana,  had  come  to  Wisconsin  when 
but  a  lad,  was  educated  at  the  State  University  and  be- 
gan his  very  successful  law  practice  here.  He  had  been 
known  hitherto  as  a  public  speaker  of  ability,  but  in  the 
campaign  referred  to  he  outdid  himself.  Wherever  he 
went — and  he  traveled  continuously  for  forty  days  pre- 
ceding the  election — he  drew  great  audiences.  This 
campaign,  combined  with  a  very  pleasing  personality  and 
address,  made  him  for  the  time  being  the  most  popular 
man  in  the  State.  It  was  very  natural  that  he  should 
be  frequently  mentioned  after  the  fall  elections  as  a  suit- 
able candidate  for  the  Senate.  Before  Spooner  decided 
to  announce  himself,  however,  a  candidate  better  known 
than  he  had  entered  the  field — General  Lucius  Fairchild. 

General  Fairchild  was  but  recently  returned  from 
abroad,  where  he  had  successfully  been  Consul-General 
and  Minister  to  Spain.  His  distinguished  services  dur- 
ing the  war,  his  record  as  Secretary  of  State,  and  Gov- 
ernor for  three  terms,  together  with  his  honorable  ser- 
vices abroad,  gave  him  a  distinction  which  seemed  likely 
to  obscure  the  pretensions  of  any  other  candidate.    When 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  301 


Spooner  entered  the  contest  later  he  was  backed  by  the 
younger  element  of  the  party,  while  General  Fairchild 
had  the  support  of  most  of  the  party  leaders,  and  of  the 
principal  party  paper,  the  Milwaukee  "Sentinel."  Mr. 
Rublee,  then  editor  of  the  "Sentinel,"  did  not  know 
Spooner  well,  while  he  and  Governor  Fairchild  had  been 
life-long  friends.  The  "Sentinel's"  support  of  Fairchild 
was  therefore  exceedingly  earnest,  and  Spooner  fared 
roughly  at  its  hands.  It  was  an  interesting  contest,  con- 
sidering the  candidates  alone.  Spooner  was  but  forty- 
two,  and  Fairchild  twenty  years  older.  When  Fairchild 
was  Governor  Spooner  had  been  his  private  secretary. 
Spooner  had  also  seen  service  in  the  war;  he  went  in  as 
a  private  and  came  out  a  major.  An  outsider  given  the 
facts  concerning  the  two  men,  and  not  knowing  the  In- 
fluences at  work,  would  probably  have  considered  Fair- 
child's  prospects  of  success  much  the  brighter.  But 
Spooner  was  elected  and  entered  upon  a  career  which  has 
not  only  brought  renown  to  himself  but  has  added  luster 
to  the  name  of  the  State  he  represents.  It  Is  true  his 
opportunities  have  been  greater  than  were  afforded 
others,  such  as  the  conditions  and  perplexing  constitu- 
tional problems  growing  out  of  the  Spanish-American 
War  and  its  conquests.  But  his  glory  Is  that  he  has 
always  been  equal  to  the  opportunity.  He  took  a  place 
In  the  front  rank  as  a  debater  early  in  his  first  term.  So 
commanding  a  position  did  he  occupy  at  the  close  of  that 
term  that  had  the  Republicans  been  In  power  In  the  State 
he  would  have  been  reelected  without  a  thought  of  oppo- 
sition.    But  in  the  meantime  there  had  been  a  political 


302    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

revolution  in  Wisconsin,  brought  about  by  the  Bennett 
law  agitation,  and  there  was  a  Democratic  legislature 
assembled  in  Madison. 

After  Hoard's  defeat  by  George  W.  Peck,  In  1890, 
by  the  largest  majority  that  had  ever  been  given  a  suc- 
cessful gubernatorial  candidate,  it  took  the  Republican 
leaders  several  years  to  regain  their  confidence,  and 
when  the  time  came  for  holding  the  State  convention 
in  1892  there  was  but  one  candidate  that  could  be  called 
such  in  the  field — Major  W.  H.  Upham,  of  Marshfield. 
Remembering  Senator  Spooner's  splendid  field  work  in 
the  campaign  of  1884,  the  party  leaders  proposed  to  him 
that  he  be  a  candidate.  Spooner  was  averse  to  entering 
the  field,  feeling  that  it  was  an  almost  hopeless  case,  but 
finally  when  Major  Upham  consented  to  step  out  if 
Spooner  would  run,  the  latter  agreed  to  contest  the  field 
with  Peck.  He  made  a  splendid  campaign,  though  a 
losing  one,  and  Peck,  with  the  prestige  of  a  30,000  ma- 
jority in  1890,  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  but  7,000. 

This  campaign  gave  Spooner  a  still  stronger  hold 
upon  the  people  than  he  had  before,  and  five  years  later, 
when  there  was  a  Republican  majority  and  Senator  Vilas' 
term  had  expired,  Spooner  was  reelected  by  the  unani- 
mous party  vote  as  Vilas'  successor.  There  were  no 
other  candidates.  Several  men  were  mentioned,  but  no 
other  was  seriously  considered.  He  entered  upon  his 
duties  at  the  same  time  that  William  McKinley  was 
inaugurated  President.  The  promise  he  gave  of  ability 
to  cope  with  the  most  perplexing  problems  was  more 
than  fulfilled  in  the  work  he  did  while  the  momentous 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  303 

questions  growing  out  of  the  acquisition  of  territory 
through  the  Spanish-American  War  were  before  Con- 
gress. His  work  there  has  become  a  part  of  the  history 
of  the  nation.  The  estimate  in  which  he  was  held  by 
President  McKinley  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  in  1898 
he  was  offered  the  portfoHo  of  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
and  in  1901  was  offered  that  of  Attorney-General,  both 
of  which  cabinet  positions  he  declined,  preferring  to 
remain  in  the  Senate. 

Around  Senator  Spooner's  third  election  there  were 
some  dramatic  features  that  were  wholly  lacking  in  the 
former  ones.  There  had  come  into  the  ascendancy  in 
the  party  a  new  element,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Rob- 
ert M.  La  Follette,  who  in  1900  had  been  elected  Gov- 
ernor. The  story  of  his  rise  is  told  elsewhere.  For 
several  years  before  his  election  as  Governor  La  Follette 
had  advocated  the  enactment  of  a  primary  election  law, 
and  in  the  conventions  of  1900  and  1902  the  Republican 
party  was  pledged  to  the  enactment  of  such  a  measure. 
La  Follette  and  his  friends  believed  that  Spooner  and 
the  older  party  leaders  who  were  with  him  were  un- 
friendly to  the  measure,  though  so  far  as  Senator 
Spooner, was  concerned  he  had  never  expressed  himself 
on  the  subject.  When  the  platform  was  brought  before 
the  convention  it  contained  a  clause  laudatory  of  Spoon- 
er's brilliant  work  in  the  Senate,  and  recommended  his 
reelection  at  the  end  of  his  term  in  1903  on  condition 
that  Spooner  endorse  the  platform  to  be  adopted  by  the 
convention.  This  was  felt  by  Spooner's  friends  to  be 
both  a  rebuke  and  a  threat.     During  the  debate  upon 


304    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

this  part  of  the  platform  Spooner's  friends  contended 
that  his  record  as  Senator  being  wholly  satisfactory  to 
his  party,  it  was  presumptuous  to  demand  that  he  en- 
dorse in  advance  a  measure  he  could  have  no  part  in 
enacting  or  enforcing,  and  that  could  have  no  legitimate 
connection  with  his  work  in  the  United  States  Senate. 
But  the  platform  was  adopted  and  it  was  generally  un- 
derstood that  if  Spooner  should  decline  to  endorse  the 
platform  his  reelection  would  be  opposed.  Those  who 
were  unfriendly  to  Spooner  felt  that  his  self-respect 
would  prevent  his  endorsement  of  the  platform  under 
such  conditions,  and  that  he  could  not  be  re-elected  with- 
out making  that  concession.  But  the  strength  of  the 
feeling  throughout  the  State  for  Spooner  had  been  un- 
derestimated. Within  one  week  after  the  fall  election 
in  1902,  a  majority  of  the  members-elect  and  hold-overs 
had  signed  a  paper  pledging  their  support  to  Spooner. 
When  in  1903  the  time  came,  he  was  re-elected  without 
an  opposing  vote  in  his  party. 

peck's  administration 

George  W.  Peck,  who  was  elected  Governor  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  in  1890,  had  not  figured  prominently 
in  politics  prior  to  that  year.  He  had  held  various  ap- 
pointive legislative  positions,  but  that  was  all.  In  the 
spring  of  1890  the  Bennett  law  agitation  gave  new  sig- 
nificance to  the  Democratic  propaganda.  Though  he 
could  hardly  be  classed  as  a  young  man.  Peck  was  a 
great  favorite  with  the  younger  element  of  the  Democ- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  305 

racy  in  Milwaukee,  and  he  was  brought  out  as  a  can- 
didate for  Mayor  and  triumphantly  elected.  As  the 
Germans  began  to  line  up  with  the  Democrats  during  the 
summer,  the  belief  grew  that  Peck  was  the  man  to  be 
nominated  for  Governor,  and  in  due  time  he  received 
the  nomination — not  without  some  misgivings  on  his 
part,  and  a  measure  of  surprise. 

George  W.  Peck'  for  several  years  prior  to  his  selec- 
tion for  political  honors  had  been  publishing  a  humorous 
paper  in  Milwaukee — "Peck's  Sun."  This  paper,  with 
the  publication  in  book  form  of  "Peck's  Bad  Boy,"  which 
appeared  first  in  serial  form  in  the  paper,  brought  to  the 
editor  and  author  wealth  and  a  certain  fame.  It  was, 
however,  a  genial  personality,  a  persistent  kindliness,  and 
a  manly  frankness  and  simplicity  which  made  him  a 
popular  candidate,  rather  than  the  literature  which  went 
forth  under  his  name. 

The  campaign  of  that  fall  was  one  long  to  be  remem- 
bered by  those  who  participated  in  it.  The  Bennett  law, 
which  was  the  bone  of  contention,  is  treated  of  elsewhere. 
The  Democratic  campaign  managers,  with  the  shrewd- 
ness which  characterized  their  predecessors  during  the 
granger  movement,  bent  their  energies  upon  widening 
the  breach  between  the  Catholics  and  Lutherans  and  the 
Republican  party.  It  was  at  the  suggestion  of  these 
leaders  that  the  Lutheran  and  Catholic  pastors  became 
political  organizers,  and  were  able  to  report  from  all 
sections  of  the  State,  practically  to  a  man,  how  their 
parishioners  would  vote.      This   knowledge   gave  the 

Democratic  leaders  great  confidence.     The  only  element 

4,  20. 


3o6    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

of  uncertainty  in  the  situation  was  the  Bennett  law  Demo- 
crats. It  was  confidently  claimed  by  the  latter  and  by 
the  Republicans  that  these  bolters  would  poll  10,000 
votes;  indeed  those  at  the  head  of  the  bolt  claimed  to 
have  that  many  names  on  their  list.  But  when  the  elec- 
tion came  what  there  were  of  the  Bennett  law  Democrats 
were  merged  in  the  pitiful  Republican  minority.  Peck 
won  by  a  plurality  of  about  30,000. 

It  was  during  Peck's  first  term  that  William  F.  Vilas 
was  elected  United  States  Senator,  to  succeed  Senator 
Spooner.  Vilas  had  been,  prior  to  this,  a  member  of 
President  Roosevelt's  Cabinet,  and  was  recognized  as  the 
leading  Democrat  of  the  State.  There  was  no  serious 
opposition  to  his  election  as  Senator  in  1891.  Even 
before  his  elevation  to  a  Cabinet  position  he  had  acquired 
fame  as  a  lawyer  and  as  an  orator  far  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  State.  The  speech  delivered  by  him  at  the  great 
banquet  given  to  General  Grant,  after  the  latter's  return 
from  his  trip  around  the  world,  brought  him  into  imme- 
diate notice  as  one  of  the  chief  orators  of  the  country. 
A  few  years  later,  in  1884,  he  had  presided  over  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  which  nominated  Gro- 
ver  Cleveland  for  President.  He  had  been  elected  a 
member  of  the  Assembly  from  one  of  the  Dane  County 
districts,  and  was  serving  in  the  legislature  when  called 
to  Washington  to  accept  a  Cabinet  portfolio.  In  the 
Senate  Vilas  soon  took  a  leading  place,  his  experience  in 
the  Cabinet  giving  him  a  prestige  above  manyolder  Sena- 
tors. It  is  probable  that  had  his  party  been  in  control 
in  Congress  he  would  have  acquired  even  a  larger 
measure  of  fame. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  307 

The  administration  of  Governor  Peck  was  highly 
creditable  to  him  and  to  his  party.  It  was  characterized 
by  economy  and  painstaking  work  in  all  the  departments. 
The  two  gerrymanders  made  by  the  legislature  reflected 
severely  upon  the  party  generally,  but  it  had  no  necessary 
connection  with  the  excellent  administrative  work  of 
Governor  Peck  and  his  associates  in  the  capltol. 

When  the  Democratic  State  Convention  met  In  1892 
Governor  Peck  and  the  balance  of  the  State  officials 
were  renominated  by  acclamation.  The  Republican  con- 
vention, held  early  In  the  year  to  elect  delegates  to  the 
national  convention,  repudiated  entirely  the  Bennett  law, 
and  added  that  to  have  brought  forward  such  an  issue 
was  unfortunate  and  unwarranted  from  any  point  of 
view.  The  regular  Republican  State  Convention,  held 
in  May,  which  nominated  Senator  Spooner  for  Governor, 
resolved,  "That  we  regard  the  educational  Issue  of  1890 
as  permanently  settled."  In  the  election  of  1892  Gov- 
ernor Peck's  plurality  at  the  previous  election  was  re- 
duced from  30,000  to  7,000,  and  the  Democrats  still 
controlled  the  legislature. 

During  Governor  Peck's  second  term  there  was  an- 
other senatorial  election,  and  one  which  gave  to  the  news- 
papers much  interesting  reading.  Philetus  Sawyer's 
term  as  Senator  expired  in  1893,  and  the  candidates  who 
had  kept  in  the  background  because  of  Colonel  Vilas' 
prominence  two  years  before  now  came  forward.  Gen- 
eral E.  S.  Bragg  was  the  best  known  and  the  most  con- 
spicuous. Colonel  John  H.  Knight,  a  friend  and  former 
business  partner  of  Senator  Vilas,  announced  his  can- 


3o8    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

didacy;  and  last  but  not  least,  Congressman  John  L. 
Mitchell  entered  the  lists.  Before  the  caucus  General 
Bragg  was  to  all  appearances  well  in  the  lead,  and  the 
surprise  was  general  when  the  first  ballot  taken  in  the 
caucus  on  January  i8  showed  Mitchell  to  have  29,  Bragg 
27,  Knight  21,  and  Dodge  2.  From  that  time  on  until 
a  week  later,  when  Mitchell  won,  the  contest  was  sharp 
and  at  times  bitter.  Bragg's  wide  acquaintance,  his  war 
record,  his  fighting  qualities,  and,  more  than  anything 
else,  the  rather  threatening  talk  of  his  supporters,  who 
seemed  imbued  with  the  little  general's  pugnacity,  all 
tended  to  give  the  contest  wide  notoriety.  The  second 
formal  ballot  taken  showed  a  gain  for  Mitchell  of  two, 
and  a  loss  of  one  for  Knight.  The  Bragg  men  held 
together  to  the  end,  and  when  the  thirty-first  ballot  was 
taken  on  the  afternoon  of  January  26,  and  Mitchell  had 
45  votes,  the  Bragg  vote  had  increased  to  33,  without 
having  been,  at  any  stage  of  the  proceedings,  less  than 
it  was  on  the  first  ballot.  The  following  day,  January 
27,  in  joint  session,  the  legislature  formally  elected  John 
L.  Mitchell  United  States  Senator. 

A  great  deal  of  bitterness  was  engendered  during  the 
contest.  It  was  charged  that  Senator  Vilas  was  using 
all  his  influence  to  elect  Colonel  Knight,  and  that  finding 
this  impossible,  and  being  determined  to  beat  Bragg,  he 
turned  the  Knight  vote  to  Mitchell.  General  Bragg 
took  his  defeat  very  much  to  heart,  and  several  years 
elapsed  before  he  could  recall  with  equanimity  the  inci- 
dents of  the  contest. 

Senator  Mitchell  was  a  son  of  Alexander  Mitchell, 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  309 

then  deceased,  who  had  himself  been  a  Congressman, 
and  whose  record  as  a  banker  and  railroad  president 
gave  him  prominence  throughout  the  entire  Northwest. 
The  younger  Mitchell  had  served  during  the  war  of  the 
secession,  and  his  work  in  the  lower  house  had  won  the 
respect  of  his  associates.  He  was  a  modest,  unassuming 
man,  and  made  no  pretense  to  being  an  orator  or  an 
embryo  statesman.  His  record  of  six  years  in  the  Sen- 
ate confirmed  among  his  associates  there  the  estimate 
of  him  held  by  his  friends  in  the  State,  that  he  was  a  man 
of  scrupulous  honesty,  of  painstaking  industry,  and  pos- 
sessed of  rare  judgment  and  tact  in  dealing  with  men. 

THE  TREASURY  SUITS 

The  chief  event  which  transpired  during  the  four 
years'  administration  of  Governor  Peck,  and  one  which 
reflects  great  credit  upon  him  and  his  associates,  was  the 
suing  of  former  State  treasurers  to  recover  interest 
money  which  they  had  received  on  State  funds  deposited 
in  the  different  banks.  The  practice  upon  which  these 
suits  were  based  had  been  carried  on  for  many  years. 
Attention  had  occasionally  been  called  to  what  was  con- 
ceded by  all  to  be  a  pernicious  practice,  by  the  press,  but 
there  was  no  organized  effort  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  In 
1882,  when  the  Republican  leaders  established  a  new 
morning  paper  in  opposition  to  the  "Sentinel,"  N.  S. 
Murphy,  the  owner  of  the  "Sentinel,"  carried  on  for  a 
time  a  bitter  attack  upon  the  practice  of  the  treasurers 
and  charged  that  even  the  trust  funds  were  being  loaned 
for  the  personal  profit  of  the  treasurer.    Somewhat  later, 


3IO   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


after  the  "Sentinel"  had  changed  hands,  the  Milwaukee 
"Journal,"  a  Democratic  paper,  took  up  the  matter — 
not  with  any  thought  that  the  treasurers  could  be  com- 
pelled to  return  the  interest  already  taken,  but  with  the 
hope  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  practice.  Then  for  a  time 
the  subject  was  dropped.  In  1885  a  Chicago  paper, 
through  correspondence  from  Wisconsin,  pointed  out 
the  injustice,  if  not  dishonesty,  of  allowing  a  treasurer  to 
draw  $25,000  a  year  from  the  State.  Then  the  matter 
was  dropped  again,  until  1889.  In  the  meantime  the 
incumbent  of  the  office  was  drawing  from  $25,000  to 
$30,000  a  year  in  interest. 

The  method  by  which  the  treasurers  had  secured  large 
profit  from  the  State  funds  was  very  simple.  Whenever 
there  was  a  surplus  above  the  daily  needs  of  the  State 
in  the  treasury  the  surplus  was  deposited  in  some  bank, 
and  on  this  sum  the  banks  paid  two  or  three  per  cent, 
interest,  the  rate  depending  somewhat  upon  the  needs 
of  the  bank.  The  banks  carrying  large  State  deposits 
would  at  the  end  of  each  quarter  send  a  draft  to  the 
State  treasurer,  personally.  In  one  case  the  treasurer 
had  caution  enough  to  have  the  quarterly  interest  re- 
mitted to  a  relative  in  another  portion  of  the  State,  but 
these  sums  were  readily  traced  when  the  suit  was  being 
tried.  The  grounds  upon  which  the  treasurers  justified 
themselves  was  that  they  did  not  stand  in  the  relation  of 
trustees,  but  having  each  given  a  bond  for  the  security 
of  the  State  funds,  their  liability  and  that  of  their  bonds- 
men ceased  when  they  turned  over  to  the  State  the  sums 
which  actually  came  into  their  hands.     This  was  con- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  311 

sidered  a  plausible  argument  for  the  people,  and  par- 
ticularly satisfying  to  the  campaign  managers  of  both 
parties,  who  In  their  turn  called  regularly  upon  the  treas- 
urers for  large  contributions  to  the  campaign,  but  it  did 
not  stand  before  the  court. 

When  the  Democrats  came  into  power  in  1891  they 
were  pledged  to  repeal  the  Bennett  law;  but  this  they 
felt  would  only  be  a  negative  virtue  at  best,  and  so  they 
cast  about  for  some  means  by  which  they  could  discredit 
the  opposition  and  at  the  same  time  strengthen  them- 
selves. They  decided  that  the  misuse  of  the  treasury 
funds  was  the  most  available  issue.  After  some  time  in 
preparation,  the  Attorney-General,  Mr.  J.  L.  O'Connor, 
began  suits  first  against  Edward  McFetridge  and  his 
bondsmen,  and  Henry  Harshaw  and  his  bondsmen. 
The  cases  came  up  in  the  November  term  of  the  Dane 
County  Circuit  Court,  Judge  Newman,  from  another 
circuit,  being  called  in  to  try  them.  Judgment  was  en- 
tered in  favor  of  the  State  In  both  cases.  In  March,  1892. 
An  appeal  was  taken  by  both  McFetridge  and  Harshaw 
to  the  Supreme  Court. 

The  lower  court  found  the  following  facts  in  the  Mc- 
Fetridge case,  which  are  applicable  to  the  Harshaw  case : 
That  the  State  funds  had  been  deposited  in  certain  banks, 
with  the  understanding  that  they  should  pay  the  defend- 
ant treasurer  interest  thereon,  the  amount  thereof,  with 
interest  from  the  beginning  of  the  defendant's  term 
added,  being  due  the  State.  The  conclusions  of  law 
were  that  the  funds  of  the  State  in  the  custody  of  State 
treasurers  belonged  to  the  State,  and  that  money  earned 


312    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

by  them  as  interest  belonged  to  the  State  as  accessory 
to  the  fund,  and  should  have  been  accounted  for  by  the 
treasurers  at  the  expiration  of  their  terms  of  office;  hav- 
ing failed  to  do  this  they  and  their  bondsmen  were 
severally  responsible  for  the  amount  so  unaccounted  for. 
The  appellants  excepted  to  both  the  findings  of  fact  and 
of  law  below  in  each  and  every  particular,  only  in  so  far 
as  they  showed  the  terms  of  each  treasurer. 

On  January  lo,  1893,  the  Supreme  Court  handed 
down  its  decision  in  the  case,  confirming  substantially  the 
decision  of  the  lower  court.  The  opinion,  which  was 
unanimous,  was  an  exhaustive  document  of  about  15,000 
words.  The  decision  was  in  substance  that  the  treas- 
urers committed  no  criminal  act  in  the  deposit  of  the 
State  funds,  and  that  the  title  to  such  funds  rests  with 
the. State  and  does  not  pass  to  the  treasurers  or  their 
sureties;  that  the  sureties  were  liable  in  that  the  failure 
to  turn  over  the  interest  was  a  failure  to  perform  the 
duties  of  office  guaranteed  by  bondsmen ;  that  the  statutes 
could  not  contemplate  allowing  an  officer  to  profit  by  his 
own  illegal  conduct;  that  the  deposits  were  not  made 
as  an  investment,  and  hence  there  was  no  violation  of 
the  law  prohibiting  the  investment  by  treasurers  of  State 
funds.  The  interest  accrued  on  the  money  held  as  State 
money  by  the  treasurer  as  public  officer,  and  hence  be- 
longed to  the  State. 

After  the  Supreme  Court  decision  was  given  suits 
against  other  former  State  treasurers  were  begun,  and 
while  all  did  not  reach  the  Supreme  Court,  judgments  to 
the  amount  of  about  $725,000  were  secured  against  the 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  313 

former  treasurers  and  their  bondsmen.  Of  this  amount 
there  was  turned  back  into  the  State  Treasury  $373,- 
385.95.  During  the  progress  of  the  additional  suits, 
the  Democrats  were  deposed,  the  election  of  1904  bring- 
ing in  a  Republican  legislature  and  a  full  set  of  Republi- 
can State  officials.  There  had  been  shown  on  the  part 
of  the  Democrats  in  the  legislature  of  1893  a  disposition 
to  let  off  the  former  treasurers  from  the  payment  of  a 
portion  at  least  of  the  interest  on  the  interest  which  they 
had  appropriated.  The  Democratic  leaders  were  nearly 
unanimous  in  their  desire  not  to  bear  too  hard  on  the 
men  who,  in  the  appropriation  of  the  interest,  had  merely 
followed  a  long-established  custom.  When,  therefore, 
the  Republican  legislature  in  1895  took  the  matter  up, 
there  was  a  pretty  strong  sentiment  in  favor  of  easing 
somewhat  the  burdens  of  the  ex-officials  and  their  bonds- 
men. 

But  the  Democrats  as  a  campaign  cry  had  charged 
that  the  Republicans  would  refund  the  money  already 
paid  into  the  treasury  as  a  result  of  the  suits,  and  the 
Republicans  had  inserted  in  their  platform  a  declaration 
binding  them  not  to  do  this.  To  discontinue  action,  there- 
fore, against  those  defendants  who  had  not  yet  paid  the 
money  into  the  treasury,  seemed  like  a  glaring  injustice 
to  those  defendants  who  had  paid.  At  this  juncture 
Senator  Philetus  Sawyer,  one  of  the  heaviest  losers 
among  the  bondsmen  of  the  treasurers,  who  had  already 
paid,  publicly  pledged  himself  not  to  attempt  to  recover 
what  he  had  paid  as  surety  if  the  legislature  should  re- 
lease the  remaining  defendants.     Sawyer  had  paid  in  as 


314    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

surety  more  than  $100,000.  His  magnanimous  action 
probably  made  possible  the  passing  of  the  law  which 
released  Edward  McFetridge  from  the  payment  of  a 
balance  still  due  of  over  $50,000,  and  discontinued  the 
cases  against  former  Treasurers  Baetz  and  Kuehn, 
against  whom  judgment  had  been  entered  in  the  lower 
court  in  the  sum  of  $228,000. 

The  passing  of  the  bill  releasing  several  of  the  former 
treasurers  and  their  bondsmen  was  pretty  severely  criti- 
cised. Democrats  as  well  as  Republicans  voted  for  it, 
so  that  it  was  not  a  distinctly  party  issue,  but  it  engen- 
dered a  good  deal  of  ill-feeling.  It  was  so  manifestly 
a  discrimination  in  favor  of  three  of  the  former  treas- 
urers that  many  people  in  nowise  interested  in  the  treas- 
urers themselves  felt  it  to  be  an  injustice.  At  the  foun- 
dation of  the  legislative  action,  however,  was  a  strong 
and  pretty  general  feeling  that  while  the  court  decision 
was  entirely  just,  the  result  of  it  dealt  unfairly  with  men 
who,  with  no  intention  of  wrong  doing,  had  merely  fol- 
lowed long  established  custom,  and  during  that  time  had 
paid  out  large  sums  for  the  support  of  their  respective 
parties.  In  other  words,  everyone  was  glad  to  have  the 
practice  ended,  but  many  did  not  care  to  have  the  onus 
and  financial  burden  of  it  put  upon  the  ex-treasurers. 
Another  fact  which  had  great  influence  with  the  legisla- 
ture when  the  bill  to  release  was  before  them,  was  that 
the  time  limit  had  expired  as  to  several  former  State 
treasurers  who,  though  they,  like  the  others,  had  profited 
from  the  practice,  were  exempt  from  prosecution. 

The  treasury  cases  constituted  an  important  episode 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  315 

in  the  political  history  of  the  State,  quite  as  much  because 
of  incidents  of  far-reaching  effect  growing  out  of  them  as 
because  of  their  net  results,  though  the  latter  were  not 
insignificant.  The  State  Treasury  was  enriched  in  the 
sum  of  nearly  $400,000,  and  a  dangerous  practice  in 
the  handling  of  public  funds  was  abolished. 

hoard's  administration 

During  the  years  between  1875  ^^^  1 890  the  Republi- 
can party  maintained  its  dominance  in  State  affairs.  That 
it  was  enabled  to  do  this  was  due  chiefly  to  national  issues 
rather  than  to  its  uplifting  of  any  well-defined  State 
policy.  The  tariff  issue  was  probably  the  most  potent 
influence  in  continuing  the  party  in  power.  The  period  re- 
ferred to  was  marked  by  an  enormous  industrial  devel- 
opment in  the  State,  and  the  tariff  issue  naturally  related 
itself  to  the  growing  industries.  The  Greenback  craze, 
and  the  Labor  party,  under  vagaries  sounding  the  whole 
gamut  from  anarchy  to  state  socialism,  and  the  prohi- 
bition issue,  aided  too,  by  driving  conservative  men,  to 
whom  party  ties  meant  little,  to  a  closer  affiliation  with 
the  party  which  stood  for  conservatism.  And  beside 
these  was  the  negative  influence  of  an  absence  of  a  dis- 
tinct State  issue  to  claim  the  attention  or  stir  the  en- 
thusiasm of  any  party.  There  had  been  sharply  con- 
tested elections  of  Senators,  Congressmen,  Governors 
and  minor  State  officials,  but  none  involving  any  dis- 
tinctly State  issue. 

The  railroad  problem,  which,  it  may  be  repeated,  was 
a  convenient  medium  of  expression,  not  only  for  protests 


3i6    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

against  real  or  fancied  wrongs  in  transportation,  but  in 
a  larger  way  the  expression  of  a  fear  of  the  encroach- 
ment on  the  part  of  corporations  upon  the  rights  of  the 
public,  was  not  conspicuous,  yet  its  influence  was  persis- 
tent; and  though  it  was  not  clearly  recognized  either  by 
Mr.  Hoard  himself  or  his  opponents,  the  sentiment 
which  required  a  candidate  for  Governor  known  to  be 
friendly  to  the  farming  interests,  and  which,  as  related 
hereafter,  resulted  in  the  nomination  of  W.  D.  Hoard, 
was  a  manifestation  of  it.  It  should  be  said  that  every 
legislature  during  the  fifteen  years  referred  to  had  meas- 
ures brought  before  them  having  for  their  purpose  a 
closer  supervision  of  railways.  Many  of  them  took  the 
form  of  bills  to  increase  the  taxes  of  railway  companies; 
others  to  establish  uniform  rates,  others,  still,  to  regulate 
operation.  Some  of  these  bills  belonged  to  the  class  that 
came  to  be  called  "hold-ups" :  that  is,  measures  intro- 
duced for  the  purpose  of  frightening  companies  into 
granting  some  favor;  some  were  trivial;  but  there  were 
too  many  of  them  which,  even  when  they  proposed  im- 
possible things,  showed  evidence  of  a  sincere  desire  to 
restrict  and  control  business  interests,  to  be  set  aside 
heedlessly. 

During  the  closing  years  of  Governor  Rusk's  last  term 
a  number  of  gubernatorial  candidates  made  their  ap- 
pearance. The  prominent  ones  were  E.  C.  McFetridge, 
who  had  been  State  Treasurer,  and  Horace  A.  Taylor, 
who  later  became  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
which  position  he  now  holds.  Both  of  these  men  had 
y  large  following.     Taylor  had  been  Chairman  of  the 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  317 

Republican  State  Central  Committee  and  had  effected 
a  better  organization  than  had  McFetridge.  The  sum- 
mer of  1888  was  well  advanced  before  there  was  a 
prospect  of  any  other  candidate.  The  story  of  how 
another  candidate  did  come  into  the  field  and  won  is  in- 
teresting. During  the  winter  of  1887-8,  Horace  Rublee, 
editor  of  the  Milwaukee  "Sentinel,"  had  spent  a  month 
in  Colorado,  and  while  there  met  a  fellow  citizen — W. 
D.  Hoard — whose  acquaintance  he  had  not  before  made. 
Hoard  was  practically  unknown  in  politics,  but  was  well 
known  among  the  farmers  of  the  State.  He  was  the 
most  popular  lecturer  on  dairy  topics  at  the  Farm  In- 
stitutes, and  a  recognized  authority  on  dairying.  Dur- 
ing the  weeks  they  were  together  Rublee  and  Hoard 
talked  a  good  deal  about  State  politics,  and  Rublee  fre- 
quently expressed  the  wish  that  it  were  possible  to  secure 
a  candidate  from  among  the  farmers  who  would  be  in- 
dependent of  the  "ring"  influences — some  one,  in  short, 
who  would  bring  to  the  office  good  business  sagacity  and 
a  fresh  manliness  unspoiled  by  political  experience,  and 
who  could  command  the  support  of  the  farming  element. 
The  day  before  the  newly-made  friends  separated, 
Hoard  had  told  Rublee  that  he  had  in  mind  the  very 
man — Henry  C.  Adams  of  Madison,  a  farmer,  a  uni- 
versity graduate,  and  a  lecturer  before  Farm  Institutes 
and  other  gatherings  of  farmers.  At  Rublee's  request 
Hoard  agreed  to  write  a  letter  to  the  "Sentinel"  pro- 
posing Adams  as  a  candidate. 

Rublee  returned  to   Milwaukee  and  within  a  week 
received  from  Henry  C,  Adams  a  long  letter  bringing 


3i8    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

out  W.  D.  Hoard  as  a  farmer's  candidate  for  Governor. 
In  the  meantime  Hoard  was  preparing  a  letter  to  bring 
out  Adams  for  Governor.  Adams'  letter,  though  it  ap- 
peared anonymously,  was  well  received.  Farmers  in 
all  parts  of  the  State  took  up  the  suggestion  with  avidity; 
and  almost  before  he  knew  it  Hoard  was  launched  as  a 
candidate.  Thus  what  Hoard  proposed  to  do  for 
Adams  the  latter  did  for  him,  without  either  knowing 
what  the  other  had  in  mind.  Hoard  won  easily  in  the 
convention  over  Taylor  and  McFetridge;  was  elected 
by  a  plurality  of  20,000  over  his  Democratic  opponent, 
James  Morgan,  a  Milwaukee  business  man,  and  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  office  in  January,  1889. 

The  enactment  of  the  Bennett  law  was  the  most  note- 
worthy event  in  Governor  Hoard's  two  years'  admin- 
istration. The  Bennett  law,  which  brought  about  a 
political  upheaval,  was  enacted  by  the  legislature  of 
1889.  It  was  introduced  by  an  iVssemblyman  named 
Bennett,  from  the  Southwestern  portion  of  the  State, 
and  when  passed  was  known  as  Chapter  519,  Laws  of 
1889.  So  far  as  the  most  careful  investigation  can  dis- 
cover, Bennett  had  no  thought  of  attacking  the  parochial 
or  private  schools ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  there  was  any 
influence  back  of  the  measure  having  this  as  an  ulterior 
object.  The  potency  of  the  measure  in  causing  a  politi- 
cal revolution  in  the  State  seems  to  have  been  of  spon- 
taneous generation.  The  only  reason  for  its  introduc- 
tion ever  given  was  a  good  one;  namely,  that  50,000 
children  in  the  State,  between  the  ages  of  7  and  14,  were 
not  attending  school  of  any  kind,  and  hence  a  rigid  com- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  319 

pulsory  school  law  was  needed.  If  this  were  the  sole 
reason  for  its  enactment,  the  law  served  well  its  purpose, 
for  there  was  a  marked  improvement  in  the  conditions 
in  the  years  immediately  following  its  passage,  though 
the  law  itself  was  repealed  by  the  next  legislature. 

The  law  contained  the  usual  provisions  of  a  compul- 
sory school  law,  but  two  of  its  requirements  were  believed 
by  Catholics  and  Lutherans  to  have  been  aimed  directly 
at  their  parochial  schools.  The  first  of  these  was  that 
every  child  should  attend  some  "private  or  pubHc  day 
school  in  the  district  in  which  he  resides."  The  second 
offensive  provision  was  that  "no  school  shall  be  regarded 
as  a  school,  under  this  act,  unless  there  shall  be  taught 
therein,  as  part  of  the  elementary  education  of  children, 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic  and  United  States  history 
in  the  English  language." 

If  either  of  these  provisions  had  been  omitted  it  might 
have  been  possible  to  convince  the  opponents  of  the 
measure  that  it  was  not  intended  in  any  way  to  interfere 
with  parochial  schools.  But,  having  the  two  provisions, 
it  was  difficult  to  convince  that  it  was  a  mere  accident  or 
a  coincidence  that  a  piece  of  machinery  so  destructive  to 
parochial  schools  had  been  set  in  operation.  While  the 
parochial  schools,  both  Catholic  and  Lutheran,  were 
multiplying  rapidly,  it  was  clearly  impossible  to  have  all 
children  attend  such  schools  "in  the  city,  town  or  district" 
where  they  resided.  Besides  the  opposition  to  the  law  on 
this  technical  ground,  there  was  a  feeling — afterwards 
assiduously  cultivated — that  the  law  was  meant  as  a 
covert  attack  upon  the  German  and  Scandinavian  lan- 
guages. 


320   WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


The  first  criticism  of  the  law,  which  had  been  enacted 
by  the  votes  of  both  Democrats  and  Republicans,  ap- 
peared in  a  weekly  German  paper  published  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Milwaukee.     Some 
time  early  in  1890  a  pamphlet  in  German  of  perhaps  50 
pages  was  published  by  Christian  Korner,  who  was  con- 
nected with  the  "Germania"  newspaper,  in  Milwaukee, 
severely  criticising  the  law  as  an  attack  upon  the  German 
language  and  upon  the  parochial  schools,  and  calling 
upon  Lutherans  and  Catholics  to  unite  to  secure  the  re- 
peal of  the  law.    Not,  however,  until  some  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic leaders  took  up  the  subject  did  the  full  perfidy  of 
the  law  appear.    To  the  Hon.  R.  B.  Anderson,  professor 
of  Scandinavian  literature  in  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin and  afterward  United  States  minister  to  Copenhagen, 
belongs  the  credit  of  first  directing  the  attention  of  the 
Democratic  leaders  to  the  fact  that  the  clause  requiring 
attendance  at  school  "in  the  city,  town  or  district"  in 
which  the   child   resides  would   operate   to   close  two- 
thirds  of  the  parochial  schools  in  the  country  districts. 
Once  the  buzfuz  eloquence  of  the  Democratic  leaders 
was  turned  upon  the  alleged  outrage,  its  full  perfidy  ap- 
peared.    Then  followed  a  campaign  unique  in  its  char- 
acter, in  that  it  brought  about  a  close  working  alliance 
between  the  Lutherans  and   Catholics.     Every  church 
society    became    the    field    for    political    organization. 
There  are  in  existence  now  some  of  the  blanks  prepared 
for  the  use  of  priests  of  the  Catholic  church  in  polling 
their  members.     The  late  Archbishop  Katzer,  then  the 
head  of  the  Catholic  Archdiocese  of  Milwaukee,  took 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  321 


the  lead  for  the  churches,  and  to  his  superb  powers  of 
organization  and  to  the  preceding  strategy  of  the  Demo- 
cratic leaders  in  making  it  a  church  issue,  is  due  the  credit 
of  the  great  Democratic  victory  in  1890. 

Many  of  the  Republican  party  leaders,  notably  H.  C. 
Payne,  foresaw  trouble  with  the  law  before  the  churches 
had  organized  their  campaign,  and  were  not  pleased 
when  Governor  Hoard  threw  down  the  gauntlet  to  the 
churches  defending  the  law  in  a  public  address.  The 
"Little  Red  Schoolhouse"  became  the  battle  cry  of  the 
Republicans  after  the  State  convention  had  renominated 
Governor  Hoard,  and  much  enthusiasm  rallied  around 
it.  Support  was  offered  the  Republicans  by  vv^hat  was 
believed  to  be  a  great  army  of  "Bennett  Law  Demo- 
crats." This  reinforcement  made  up  in  enthusiasm  what 
they  lacked  in  votes,  and  they  helped  to  encourage  the 
Republicans.  Governor  Hoard  was  confident  from  the 
beginning  of  the  campaign  that  he  would  win,  and  he 
made  a  splendid  campaign.  What  encouraged  him 
most,  perhaps,  was  the  support  secretly  promised  him 
by  the  Irish  priests  of  the  Catholic  Church,  who  ap- 
peared not  to  sympathize  with  their  ultramondane 
brethren.  Many  of  Hoard's  supporters  felt  confident 
that  their  favorite  would  ultimately  reach  the  White 
House  upon  the  educational  issue;  but  that  issue,  like 
the  Republican  majority  of  that  year,  disappeared  with 
the  election.  George  W.  Peck  was  elected  by  a  plurality 
of  nearly  30,000,  and  a  Democratic  legislature  made 
laws  in  Madison  during  the  next  four  years. 


4.  21. 


322    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

GERRYMANDERING  THE  STATE 

When  John  Johnston,  a  leading  Milwaukee  banker, 
presented  Geo.  W.  Peck's  name  to  the  convention  which 
nominated  the  latter  for  Governor,  he  charged  that  the 
legislative  apportionment  of  the  State  was  scandalously 
unfair  to  Democrats.  The  Democratic  legislature, 
which  was  elected  that  fall  with  the  Peck  ticket,  had 
hardly  organized  for  work  in  1891  before  plans  were 
laid  for  redistricting  the  State.  Dr.  Wendall  A.  Ander- 
son of  La  Crosse,  secretary  of  the  Democratic  State 
Committee,  who  is  given  credit  for  the  apportionment 
made,  was  on  hand  to  aid  the  legislature.  In  due  time 
the  apportionment  was  prepared  and  passed  by  the  legis- 
lature. Republican  members  protested  against  the  mani- 
fest injustice  of  the  divisions  made,  but  without  effect. 
Apparently  the  purpose  was  to  ensure  the  election  of  a 
Democratic  legislature  in  perpetuity.  When  the  legis- 
lature adjourned  the  subject  was  taken  up  by  some  of 
the  Republican  leaders,  and  It  was  decided  to  bring  action 
in  the  Supreme  Court  to  set  the  apportionment  aside 
because  unconstitutional.  The  late  A.  J.  Turner  of  Por- 
tage prepared  most  of  the  evidence  upon  which  the  ac- 
tion was  brought,  and  Senator  Spooner  made  one  of  the 
arguments  before  the  court.  It  was  shown  that  in  mak- 
ing the  senatorial  apportionment  little  attention  was 
paid  to  population.  Brown  County,  for  example,  with 
a  population  of  12,676  less  than  the  unit  of  represen- 
tation, was  made  a  district;  Outagamie  County,  with 
13,350  less,  was  made  a  district,  and  so  on.     In  other 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  323 

cases  districts  were  made  with  a  population  far  in  ex- 
cess of  the  unit  of  representation.  The  same  disregard 
of  population  was  shown  in  forming  Assembly  Dis- 
tricts. For  instance,  La  Crosse  County,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  38,801,  and  largely  Republican,  was  given  one 
member  of  the  Assembly,  while  Manitowoc  County,  a 
Democratic  stronghold,  with  a  population  of  37,831, 
was  given  three  Assemblymen.  The  unfairness  and 
injustice  of  the  apportionment  naturally  aroused  the 
Republicans. 

When  the  Republicans  determined  to  bring  the  matter 
into  court  they  decided  that  the  proper  method  was  to 
have  public  bodies  in  the  districts  most  affected  direct 
that  proceedings  be  begun.  Accordingly,  boards  of 
supervisors  in  several  counties  directed  their  respective 
district  attorneys  to  begin  proceedings  before  the  Su- 
preme Court.  The  plan  was  to  bring  the  action  in  the 
form  of  an  application  for  an  injunction,  and  if  that 
failed  to  apply  for  a  writ  of  mandamus.  The  rules  of 
the  Supreme  Court  required  that  in  such  proceedings 
the  application  must  be  made  first  to  the  Attorney-Gen- 
eral to  make  the  necessary  petition  to  the  court  for  leave 
to  sue.  This  was  done,  and  Attorney-General  O'Connor 
signed  and  filed  the  necessary  papers,  and  on  Feb.  2, 
1892,  leave  was  granted  the  Attorney-General  to  bring 
the  action.  Senator  Spooner,  C.  E.  Estabrook  and  Col. 
Geo.  W.  Bird  appeared  for  the  State,  the  title  of  the 
case  being  "The  State  ex  rel.  vs.  Cunningham."  Gen- 
eral Edward  S.  Bragg  appeared  for  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Thos.  J.  Cunningham.     The  case  came  up  before 


324    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  Supreme  Court  on  Feb.  9,  1892,  and  on  March  22, 
1892,  the  court  handed  down  its  decision  declaring  the 
Apportionment  Act  to  be  unconstitutional. 

The  Apportionment  Act  of  1 89 1  having  been  declared 
unconstitutional,  Governor  Peck  on  June  i,  1892,  called 
a  special  session  of  the  legislature  to  make  a  new  ap- 
portionment. The  ihstructions  and  rebuke  contained  in 
the  opinions  of  the  court  did  not  have  the  proper  effect 
on  the  legislature.  It  met  pursuant  to  the  call  on  June 
28  and  proceeded  to  make  another  apportionment. 
Against  the  protest  of  the  Republican  minority,  they 
passed  a  new  measure,  which  was  only  a  slight  improve- 
ment on  the  former  one.  The  RepubHcans  decided  to 
test  the  second  law,  but  here  they  met  a  serious  ob- 
stacle. The  Attorney-General  insisted  that  the  special 
session  had  fully  observed  the  requirements  laid  down 
by  the  court,  and  hence  had  passed  a  constitutional  meas- 
ure. He  refused  to  bring  the  action,  and  reported  in  a 
communication  to  the  court  his  reasons  for  so  doing. 

The  petitioner  in  the  case  was  C.  F.  Lamb  of  Madi- 
son, and  his  attorneys  applied  to  the  court  to  be  allowed 
to  bring  action  without  leave  of  the  Attorney-General. 
After  considering  the  case  the  court  granted  leave  to  the 
petitioner  to  bring  action  unless  the  Attorney-General 
should  begin  the  action  himself  before  August  19,  1892. 
Thus  the  second  case  came  before  the  Supreme  Court. 
As  attorneys  for  the  petitioner  were  Senator  Spooner, 
Geo.  G.  Green,  Colonel  Geo.  W.  Bird  and  C.  E.  Esta- 
brook.  Wm.  F.  Vilas,  but  recently  elected  United 
States  Senator,  appeared  for  the  Secretary  of  State.   On 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  325 

August  28,  1892,  the  defendant  demurred  to  the  com- 
plaint on  the  grounds  ( i )  That  the  court  had  no  juris- 
diction of  the  subject  of  the  action;  (2)  that  the  plain- 
tiff had  not  the  right  to  sue  in  the  name  of  the  State  upon 
the  alleged  cause  of  action;  (3)  that  there  was  a  defect 
of  parties,  in  that  the  Attorney-General  of  the  State  was 
the  officer  required  by  law  to  prosecute  the  action  afore- 
said, and  no  cause  of  action  was  shown  to  exist  in  favor 
of  the  said  relator.  On  Sept.  13  the  plaintiff  applied 
for  an  order  to  strike  out  as  frivolous  the  demurrer  and 
asking  for  judgment  as  prayed  for  in  the  complaint. 
Thus  the  merits  of  the  case  came  up  directly  for  de- 
cision. Arguments  on  the  demurrer  on  its  merits  were 
made  Sept.  20,  1892,  and  on  Sept.  27  the  court  handed 
down  its  decision  overruling  the  demurrer.  Justice  Wins- 
low  dissenting,  on  the  ground  that  without  the  consent 
of  the  Attorney-General  the  court  could  not  take  juris- 
diction. 

Again  a  special  session  of  the  legislature  was  called, 
to  meet  on  October  27,  and  this  session  passed  the  ap- 
portionment measure  under  which  the  next  legislature 
was  elected.  The  effect  of  the  gerrymander  was  to  dis- 
credit the  Democrats,  and  probably  helped  to  bring 
about  their  overthrow  in  1894. 

upham's  administration 

Several  influences  combined  to  make  Republicans  suc- 
cess in  1894  easy:  The  panic  of  1893  had  generally 
discredited  the    Democratic   administration;   now   that 


326    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


the  obnoxious  Bennett  law  had  been  repealed  the  Lu- 
therans and  Catholics  were  finding  the  bonds  that  held 
them  together  in  1890  to  be  irksome;  the  A.  P.  A. 
movement  (American  Protective  Association),  which 
took  naturally  to  opposing  the  alliance  between  the  Cath- 
olics and  Lutherans,  was  assuming  large  proportions. 
It  seemed  easy  to  forecast  Republican  success,  and  it  was 
natural  that  there  should  be  a  goodly  number  of  can- 
didates for  the  State  offices.  More  candidates  for  Gov- 
ernor were  out  in  the  field  working  the  last  month  pre- 
ceding the  convention  than  in  any  previous  campaign. 
The  principal  ones  were  Major  Edw.  Scofield,  Major 
W.  H.  Upham,  former  Congressman  Nils  P.  Haugen, 
Horace  A.  Taylor,  James  G.  Monahan  and  E.  I.  Kidd. 
All  the  surface  indications  pointed  to  the  nomination 
of  Scofield.  But  when  the  convention  met  and  the  first 
skirmishing  was  over,  it  was  found  that  Major  Upham 
had  the  greatest  "second-choice"  strength,  and  he  was 
nominated  the  second  day  of  the  convention.  Haugen, 
whose  candidacy  was  put  forward  by  Robert  M.  La 
Follette,  showed  surprising  strength.  Several  years 
prior  to  this  a  branch  of  the  Republican  League  had 
been  organized  in  Wisconsin,  and  Haugen,  unexpectedly 
to  the  other  candidates,  received  strong  support  from 
its  members.  Early  in  the  year  the  Milwaukee  Re- 
publicans had  pinned  their  faith  to  John  C.  Koch,  a 
prominent  German  merchant,  who  had  been  elected 
Mayor  of  Milwaukee  when  Peck  became  Governor. 
After  the  Bennett  law  episode  it  seemed  the  proper  thing 
to  select  a  German  candidate.     Koch  was  hailed  as  thf 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  327 

"inevitable"  candidate.  He  looked  upon  the  proposition 
kindly  for  some  time,  but  late  in  the  spring  of  1894  he 
announced  to  his  friends  that  the  demands  of  his  business 
interests  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  enter  the  race. 

The  "A.  P.  A."  element  was  given  a  portion  of  the 
credit  for  Upham's  nomination.  This  organization 
was  much  in  evidence,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  mem- 
bers of  it  themselves  greatly  exaggerated  their  political 
influence.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  a  matter  of  record 
that  Upham,  when  he  became  Governor,  paid  no  at- 
tention to  the  demands  of  the  "A.  P.  A."  for  recogni- 
tion. The  "A.  P.  A."  ran  its  course  in  a  few  years. 
Before  the  year  1900  it  was  difficult  to  find  many  per- 
sons willing  to  admit  that  they  had  been  members. 

Governor  Upham  began  his  administration  under  con- 
ditions which  had  not  been  paralleled  in  the  history  of 
the  State.  The  Republican  party  had  been  out  of  power 
for  four  years,  and  every  office  that  could  be  so  filled 
was  occupied  by  Democrats.  The  results  of  the  financial 
distress  of  1893  had  made  office  seekers  of  hundreds  of 
Republicans  who  hitherto  had  been  liberal  contributors 
to  the  party  campaigns.  This  addition  to  the  usual 
horde  of  hungry  office  seekers  made  Governor  Upham's 
lot  a  trying  one.  It  is  said  that  there  were  nearly 
6,000  applications  on  file  for  the  150  odd  offices  which 
he  could  either  directly  or  indirectly  make  appointments 
to.  Nevertheless,  Upham's  unfailing  cheerfulness  and 
his  splendid  business  experience  stood  him  in  good  stead, 
and  he  emerged  from  the  turmoil  with  what  must  be 
considered  great  credit.    The  enactment  of  the  measure 


328    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

which  released  several  of  the  former  State  treasurers 
from  the  judgments  standing  against  them  brought  the 
administration  its  only  serious  criticism;  and  when  it  is 
considered  that  it  took  both  Democratic  and  Republi- 
can votes  to  pass  the  measure,  and  that  members  of  both 
factions  of  the  dominant  party  voted  for  it,  the  aiming  of 
criticism  directly  at  the  administration  was  hardly  fair. 
It  was  during  Upham's  administration  that  factional 
lines  came  to  be  drawn  within  the  Republican  party. 
This  fact  also  made  Upham's  work  difficult. 

For  years  before  his  nomination  it  had  been  Governor 
Upham's  desire  to  see  the  State  establish  a  home  or 
school  for  the  feeble-minded.  He  strongly  recommended 
the  work  in  his  message  to  the  legislature,  and  the  legis- 
lature carried  out  the  recommendations.  He  strongly 
urged  in  that  message  also  the  erection  of  a  building 
to  house  the  vast  collection  of  the  State  Historical  So- 
ciety, and  the  magnificent  Historical  Library  Building 
is  the  result. 

Upham  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  about  53,000 
over  Geo.  W.  Peck,  the  largest  plurality  ever  given  a 
candidate  for  a  State  office,  up  to  that  time.  He  could 
have  been  renominated,  but  his  large  lumber  and  manu- 
facturing interests  demanding  his  attention,  he  an- 
nounced in  June,  1896,  his  intention  not  to  be  a  candi- 
date again. 

Governor  Upham  was  a  close  friend  of  President 
McKinley,  and  did  much  during  the  latter  part  of  1895 
and  the  early  months  of  1896  to  crystallize  sentiment  in 
the  State  favorable  to  McKinley's  presidential  aspira- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  329 

tions.  Wisconsin's  delegation  to  the  St.  Louis  conven- 
tion in  1896  was  unanimously  and  enthusiastically  for 
McKinley. 

scofield's  administration 

The   factional  differences  in  the   Republican   ranks, 
which  first  became  manifest  during  the  Upham  admin- 
istration,  became   more  marked  during  the  campaign 
which  ended  in  the  nomination  and  election  of  Major 
Edw.  Scofield  in  1 896.     The  principal  candidates  before 
the  Republican  convention  that  fall  were  Edward  Sco- 
field, R.  M.  La  Follette,  Emil  Baensch,  Ira  B.  Brad- 
ford, Eugene  E.  Elliott  and  C.  E.  Estabrook.    The  con- 
test was  understood  to  be  chiefly  between  Scofield  and 
La  Follette,  and  the  hopes  of  the  other  candidates  rested 
in  the  possibility  of  a  deadlock  that  would  eliminate  the 
two  leading  candidates.    On  the  first  ballot  La  Follette 
had  261  1-2;  Scofield,   249  1-2;  Baensch,   83;  EUiott, 
48  1-2;  Bradford,  31;  Estabrook,  60.     After  the  first 
ballot  Elliott's  vote  began   to   disintegrate,   and  went 
naturally  to  Scofield.     On  the  fifth  ballot,  in  pursuance 
of  an  understanding  between  La  Follette  and  Baensch, 
the  former's  supporters  were  to  give  Baensch  votes,  in 
return  for  which  on  the  next  ballot,  Baensch  was  to  re- 
turn the  favor.    But  when  it  appeared  as  if  La  Follette's 
strength  was  going  to  pieces,  the  Bradford  and  the  El- 
liott men  went  almost  solidly  for  Scofield,  so  that  the 
fifth  ballot  stood:    Scofield,  323  1-2;  La  Follette,  238; 
Baensch,  108  1-2;  Elliott,  5;  Estabrook,  3;  Bradford, 


330    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

2.  This  brought  Scofield's  vote  so  near  the  point  of 
winning  that  he  gained  still  further,  and  the  next  ballot 
was  not  completed  when  H.  C.  Adams,  who  had  made 
the  speech  nominating  La  Follette,  moved  to  make  Sco- 
field's nomination  unanimous.  The  strength  shown  by 
La  Follette  at  this  time  was  an  important  factor  in  his 
future  campaigns.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  did  not  lose 
a  dozen  votes.  Some  of  his  men  went  to  Baensch  as  a 
compliment,  but  had  they  known  that  it  was  a  final  ballot 
they  would  have  stood  firmly  with  La  Follette.  Sco- 
field's Democratic  opponent  was  W.  C.  Silverthorn. 

Major  Scofield  had  had  the  advantage  of  four  years' 
experience  in  the  State  Senate  before  entering  upon  the 
duties  of  Governor,  so  that  he  was  not  unfamiliar  with 
State  affairs.  He  brought  to  the  oflice  the  experience  of 
a  long  and  successful  business  career,  and  an  integrity 
that  was  Puritan-like  in  its  firmness  and  aggressiveness. 
By  education  he  was  methodical  and  accurate  in  all  of  his 
dealings  and  by  nature  courageous  almost  to  reckless- 
ness. When  these  qualities  of  the  man  are  thoroughly 
understood,  it  does  not  seem  so  surprising  that  he  had 
been  in  office  less  than  a  month  when  he  had  familiarized 
himself  with  every  detail  of  the  State's  financial  system. 
When  he  found  that  for  twenty  years  or  more  it  had 
been  the  practice  to  keep  the  general  fund  of  the  State 
solvent  by  inducing  the  railroad  companies  to  pay  their 
taxes  twice  a  year  in  advance  of  the  time  they  became 
due,  and  by  borrowing  from  the  fund  incomes,  he  took 
prompt  action. 

No  sooner  had  he  ascertained  the  fact  than  he  ad- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  331 

dressed  a  communication  to  the  legislature  informing 
them  of  the  condition  of  the  finances  and  the  methods 
which  had  been  used,  and  asking  them  to  authorize  the 
levy  of  a  tax  that  would  enable  the  general  fund  to  be 
kept  solvent,  prevent  tampering  with  the  trust  fund  in- 
comes and  do  away  with  the  humiliating  practice  of  bor- 
rowing from  the  railroad  companies.  The  message  had 
its  effect,  and  since  that  time  the  railroad  companies  have 
not  been  held  up  for  advance  payment  of  taxes.  The 
State  tax  the  following  year  was  the  largest  ever  known 
up  to  that  time.  It  took  nearly  a  million  dollars  to  square 
things. 

Scofield  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  State  charita- 
ble and  penal  institutions,  and  soon  effected  reform  in 
the  civil  service  so  far  as  it  affected  those  institutions, 
and  compelled  the  whole  system  of  maintenance  to  be 
placed  on  a  stricter  business  basis.  He  put  a  stop  to  the 
appointment  of  help  in  these  institutions  on  recommen- 
dation of  members  of  the  legislature  or  political  leaders, 
and  informed  the  board  of  control  that  he  would  hold 
them  to  strict  account  for  the  appointment  and  keeping 
of  competent  help.  The  Governor  was  a  man  accus- 
tomed to  giving  orders  and  accustomed,  also,  to  have 
them  obeyed,  and  department  heads  soon  learned  that 
he  "meant  business."  So  well  did  his  methods  commend 
themselves  to  the  general  public  that  he  was  given  the 
name  of  the  "business"  Governor. 

During  the  session  of  the  legislature  of  1897  two 
bills  were  passed  and  vetoed  that  became  important  fac- 
tors in  the  next  campaign.    They  were  bills  to  Increase 


332    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  taxes  of  the  sleeping  car  and  express  companies.  The 
bills  did  not  get  through  until  the  last  days  of  the  session, 
and  when  they  reached  the  executive  office  it  was  found 
that  in  their  passage  the  ayes  and  noes  had  not  been 
called  as  required  by  the  Constitution.  The  bills  were 
immediately  returned  to  the  legislature,  with  a  short  mes- 
sage calling  attention  to  the  unconstitutionality  of  the 
measures,  and  urging  that  they  be  properly  passed. 
The  closing  words  of  the  message  were :  "If  we  are  to 
maintain  a  righteous  system  of  taxation  in  our  State  we 
must  see  to  it  that  the  great  public  service  corporations, 
which  receive  without  stint  the  full  protection  of  our 
laws,  shall  pay  their  just  share  of  the  expenses  of  Gov- 
ernment." These  words  were  plain  enough  to  indicate 
Scofield's  attitude  toward  the  subject.  When,  through 
a  dispute  between  legislative  committees,  the  bills  failed 
of  proper  passage,  his  veto  was  charged  to  his  kindliness 
toward  corporations.  During  this  session  the  Corrupt 
Practices  Act  was  passed,  which  not  only  greatly  re- 
stricted the  use  of  money  in  political  campaigns,  but  re- 
quired candidates  to  file  a  statement  of  expenses  showing 
to  whom  and  for  what  purpose  the  money  was  paid. 

In  1892  A.  J.  Turner  of  Portage  made  an  effort  to 
arouse  public  sentiment  against  the  use  of  railroad  passes 
and  franking  privileges  by  public  officials,  to  the  end 
that  a  proper  law  covering  the  subject  might  be  passed. 
Although  Mr.  Turner  sent  letters  and  circulars  over  the 
State,  the  response  was  not  encouraging.  During  the 
legislature  of  1897,  A.  R.  Hall,  a  member  of  the  As- 
sembly from  Dunn  County,  who  for  a  number  of  years 


H^i 


A/v 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  333 

had  been  advocating  in  the  legislature  the  creation  of  a 
railroad  rate  commission  to  control  rates,  agitated  the 
subject  of  an  anti-pass  law  in  connection  with  his  other 
railway-control  propaganda,  but  while  his  suggestions 
were  received  with  some  favor,  there  seemed  to  be  little 
likelihood  of  their  being  enacted  into  laws  for  a  good 
many  years.  During  the  next  session  of  the  legislature, 
however,  a  very  stringent  anti-pass  law  was  placed  on 
the  statute  books,  and  a  constitutional  amendment  em- 
bodying the  substance  of  the  law  was  submitted  to  the 
votes  of  the  people. 

The  legislature  authorized  the  naming  of  a  volunteer 
tax  commission,  and  this  commission  became  the  fore- 
runner of  the  paid  commission  created  in  1899,  which 
has  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  boards  yet 
created. 

GOLD  DEMOCRATS 

Wisconsin  Democrats  took  an  important  part  in  or- 
ganizing the  National  Democratic  party  after  Bryan  was 
nominated  on  a  silver  platform  in  1896.  A  State  con- 
vention of  Democrats  opposed  to  Bryan  and  his  financial 
theories  was  held  in  Milwaukee  in  August,  which 
adopted  resolutions  asserting  their  devotion  to  the  sound 
money  platform  adopted  by  the  National  Convention 
of  1892.  General  Bragg  and  Senator  Vilas  were  prom- 
inent in  this  movement,  and  both  warmly  supported  the 
Palmer  and  Buckner  ticket  nominated  at  Indianapolis. 
The  National  Democrats  did  not  put  up  a  State  ticket 


334    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

and  the   Scofield  ticket  received  a   plurality  of  about 
95,000,  while  McKinley's  vote  was  nearly  103,000. 

scofield's  second  term 

Governor  Scofield  took  the  position  in  1898  that  he 
could  not,  without  loss  of  self-respect,  make  an  effort  to 
secure  a  renomination.  But  his  friends  took  up  his  case, 
and  the  summer  of  that  year  witnessed  a  very  sharp 
pre-convention  campaign,  in  which  indulgence  in  person- 
alities by  the  campaign  orators  and  writers  left  many 
sore  spots.  R.  M.  La  Follette  again  entered  the  lists 
against  Scofield,  taking  the  ground  that  the  control  of 
the  "machine"  should  be  broken  in  the  State,  and  the 
lines  of  demarcation  between  the  factions  in  the  Repub- 
lican party  became  clearly  defined — with  Governor  Sco- 
field as  the  leader  of  the  "Stalwart"  faction  and  La  Fol- 
lette at  the  head  of  the  "Half-Breeds."  La  Follette 
put  the  whole  force  of  his  energy  and  brilliant  oratory 
into  the  campaign,  but  Scofield  won  in  the  convention 
by  a  vote  of  620  1-2,  to  436  1-2  for  La  Follette.  The 
latter,  however,  succeeded  in  having  several  of  his  planks 
adopted  in  the  platform,  and  also  in  having  a  number 
of  his  friends  placed  on  the  ticket. 

So  bitterly  had  the  campaign  waged  that  it  seemed 
probable  that  there  would  be  a  serious  defection.  When 
the  election  returns  were  received  it  was  found  that  Sco- 
field had  a  plurality  of  37,784,  while  the  balance  of  the 
ticket  had  55,000.  Judge  Hiram  Sawyer  was  Scofield's 
Democratic  opponent. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  335 

Scofield's  second  administration  was  marked  by  the 
same  scrupulous  care  for  business  accuracy,  for  economy 
and  for  honesty  in  the  management  of  the  financial  af- 
fairs of  the  State  which  characterized  his  first  term. 
The  permanent  Tax  Commission  was  created,  as  prom- 
ised in  the  platform;  a  stringent  anti-pass  law  was  en- 
acted prohibiting  the  acceptance  or  use  of  passes  or 
franking  privileges  by  public  officials.  These  measures 
attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  occupied  much 
of  the  time  of  the  session. 

In  January,  1899,  Joseph  V.  Quarles  of  Milwaukee 
was  chosen  United  States  Senator  to  succeed  John  L. 
Mitchell,  whose  term  was  soon  to  expire.  The  contest 
was  a  strenuous  one,  and  had  about  it  some  of  the  flavor 
of  the  Washburn-Carpenter  contest.  There  were  five 
leading  candidates,  Quarles,  Ex-Congressman  Isaac 
Stephenson,  Congressman  Joseph  W.  Babcock,  Ex-Con- 
gressman Samuel  A.  Cook  and  Judge  Charles  Webb. 
The  caucus  adjourned  from  day  to  day,  Quarles  show- 
ing the  most  strength  from  the  start.  A  significent  fea- 
ture of  the  first  ballot  taken  was  that  when  it  was  v^oted 
to  have  open  ballots,  Stephenson  lost  a  goodly  number 
of  votes  that  had  been  given  him  when  the  informal 
ballot,  which  had  been  secret,  was  taken.  Sharp  as  the 
contest  was,  it  did  not  seem  to  leave  much  ill  feeling,  and 
Quarles'  election  was  generally  acceptable.  T.  E.  Ryan 
was  given  the  Democratic  vote  in  joint  session.  Quarles 
was  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  State,  a  finished 
speaker,  and  a  courtly  gentleman.  He  filled  out  his 
first  term  with  marked  credit  to  himself  and  honor  to 


336    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  State.     He  was  defeated"  for  re-election  by  R.  M. 
La  Follette,  In  the  legislature  of  1905. 


LA  follette's  administration 

In  the  early  part  of  the  last  year  of  his  administra- 
tion, Governor  Scofield,  in  a  published  interview,  an- 
nounced his  intention  not  to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third 
term.  This  was  made  necessary  by  the  evident  inten- 
tion of  many  of  his  supporters  to  seek  to  renominate 
him.  His  health  for  several  years  had  not  been  satis- 
factory, and  an  old  army  wound  was  troubling  him  to 
such  a  degree  that  his  vitality  was  impaired.  His 
physicians  and  his  family  felt  as  he  did,  that  it  would 
be  dangerous  for  him  to  go  into  another  campaign. 

There  was  a  feeling  among  some  of  the  other  party 
leaders  like  H.  C.  Payne,  Congressman  Babcock  and 
Charles  F.  Pfister  that  La  Follette  had  "put  up"  so  good 
a  fight  for  himself  in  the  previous  two  campaigns  that 
he  was  entitled  to  the  nomination;  and  then,  too,  these 
men  probably  thought  that  by  not  opposing  La  Follette 
they  might  do  away  with  the  factional  fight  in  the  party 
which  had  grown  to  be  very  bitter.  But  despite  the 
opinions  of  the  leaders  mentioned,  there  were  many  who 
did  not  relish  the  idea  of  giving  La  Follette  the  nomi- 
nation; and  there  were  some  who  had  ambitions  of  their 
own.  But  La  Follette  secured  the  nomination  without 
much  of  an  effort  and  was  elected  by  a  good  plurality. 
Louis  Bohmrich  of  Kenosha  was  his  Democratic  op- 
ponent. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  337 

La  Follette  was  about  47  years  old  when  he  assumed 
the  duties  of  Governor.  He  was  born  in  Wisconsin, 
raised  on  a  farm,  and  received  both  his  academic  and 
law  degrees  from  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  As  a 
young  man  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin  he  displayed 
marked  powers  as  an  orator  and  an  organizer.  He 
^was  barely  out  of  school  when  elected  District  Attorney 
of  Dane  County  and  was  sent  to  Congress  when  but  29. 
His  remarkable  energy  and  enthusiasm  won  him  strong 
friends  there.  At  home  his  genius  as  a  political  or- 
ganizer and  as  a  leader  was  fully  recognized,  and  is 
to-day.  In  many  ways  he  is  the  most  successful  political 
leader  the  State  has  ever  had,  judging  him  by  the  pres- 
ent results  of  his  work.  His  courage  and  his  qualities  of 
leadership  have  been  fully  demonstrated. 

The  day  preceding  the  reading  of  Governor  La  Fol- 
lette's  first  message  to  the  legislature,  the  State  Tax  Com- 
mission, appointed  by  Governor  Scofield,  submitted  its 
first  report  to  that  body.  This  report  represented  the 
first  systematic  effort  to  compare  the  taxes  paid  by  the 
different  kinds  of  property,  and  to  find  an  answer  to  the 
question  which  had  been  to  the  front  for  a  number  of 
years — whether  the  railways  were  paying  as  heavy  taxes 
relatively  as  other  property.  The  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion was  contained  in  the  Commission's  recommendation 
that  the  taxes  of  the  railways  of  the  State  be  increased 
$600,000  per  annum.  The  Commission's  report  was 
severely  criticised  by  the  railroads  as  unjust  and  as  based 
upon  insufficient  information,  but  in  the  five  years  that 

have  elapsed  since,  the  railroads  themselves,  in  the  pres- 
4,  22. 


338    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

ence  of  still  heavier  demands  upon  them,  have  acknowl- 
edged the  fairness  of  the  Commission  findings  at  that 
time. 

For  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  candidacy  for  Gov- 
ernor, La  Follette  had  advocated  In  speeches  and  lectures 
the  substitution  of  a  primary  election  for  the  caucus  and 
convention  system.  In  his  first  message  to  the  legislature 
he  paid  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  this  subject.  The 
legislature  was  not  fully  in  accord  with  the  Governor, 
and  before  the  session  adjourned,  owing  to  some  rebukes 
administered  by  the  Governor  and  resented  by  the  legis- 
lature, the  relations  were  somewhat  strained.  This  led 
to  the  organization  in  Milwaukee  of  what  became 
known  as  the  "Eleventh  Story"  movement,  to  prevent 
Governor  La  Follette's  renomlnation  the  following  year. 
The  movement  was  ill-advised  and  came  to  naught.  La 
Follette  was  renominated  and  reelected,  and  with  him 
a  legislature  more  in  accord  with  his  views.  The  con- 
vention which  renominated  him  was  the  one  that  adopted 
the  resolution  aimed  at  Senator  Spooner,  referred  to 
elsewhere. 

The  Governor  was  not  disappointed  in  the  legislature. 
It  passed  a  primary  election  bill  revolutionary  in  its 
character,  to  which  the  Senate  attached  the  referendum 
clause.  In  the  general  election  in  1904  the  vote  was 
heavily  In  favor  of  the  primary  election  law,  and  it  is 
now  in  force.  Later  in  the  session  the  Governor,  in  a 
message,  called  the  attention  of  the  legislature  to  the 
necessity  for  railway  rate  regulation.  This  question  soon 
developed  Into  an  issue,  and  Governor  La  Follette,  tak- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  339 

ing  It  up  with  all  the  vigor  and  force  for  which  he  is 
noted,  succeeded  in  getting  a  comprehensive  law  passed, 
by  the  legislature  of  1905,  creating  a  railway  commis- 
sion, with  power  to  regulate  rates. 

The  culmination  of  the  factional  fight  In  the  Repub- 
lican party  came  in  1904,  when  Governor  La  Follette 
became  a  candidate  for  a  third  time.  Two  other  candi- 
dates appeared,  Ex-Congressman  Cook  and  Ex-Lieuten- 
ant Governor  Baensch.  In  a  number  of  counties  and 
districts  contesting  delegations  were  elected,  so  intense 
and  bitter  was  the  fight  between  the  factions.  When 
the  time  came  for  the  convention,  both  sides  claimed  the 
victory.  The  State  Central  Committee  was  with  the 
Governor,  and  it  had  to  pass  upon  the  credentials  of  the 
delegates.  The  result  of  this  was  that  the  organization 
of  the  convention  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor's 
friends.  The  other  side  protested,  and  then  walked  out 
of  the  convention  and  organized  another  convention, 
known  as  the  Opera  House  Convention,  the  other  being 
styled  the  Gymnasium  Convention.  Both  conventions 
nominated  delegates-at-largeto  the  National  Convention, 
and  a  State  ticket.  There  being  two  sets  of  delegates-at- 
large,  the  contest  came  up  first  for  adjudication  in  the 
National  Convention,  and  the  Opera  House  Convention 
delegates — Senators  Spooner  and  Quarles,  Congressmen 
Babcock  and  Emil  Baensch — were  seated.  This  appar- 
ently gave  regularity  to  the  Stalwart  Convention  and 
ticket,  as  far  as  it  went.  But  in  making  up  the  ticket 
the  Secretary  of  State  had  the  power  to  place  his  own 
ticket  as  the  regular  one,  so  action  was  brought  to  compel 


340    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

him  to  put  the  Cook  ticket — the  one  nominated  by  the 
Opera  House  Convention — on  the  ballot  as  the  regular 
Republican  ticket.  The  case  became  famous.  Promi- 
nent lawyers  appeared  on  each  side  and  ably  made  their 
claims.  The  contention  of  the  Cook  ticket  was  that 
the  Opera  House  Convention  was  the  only  regular  con- 
vention because  the  State  Central  Committee  had  il- 
legally deprived  regularly  credentialed  delegates  of  seats 
in  the  convention,  and  refused  them  a  hearing  before  the 
convention.  The  other  side  held  that  the  statute  pro- 
vided that  in  case  of  a  split  in  the  convention,  the  State 
Central  Committee  in  existence  when  the  split  occurred, 
had  power  to  determine  which  was  regular.  The  case 
was  fully  prepared  by  both  sides,  and  there  were  vol- 
umes of  evidence  going  into  the  merits  of  the  case,  as 
to  which  of  the  contesting  delegations  from  the  differ- 
ent counties  or  districts  were  regularly  chosen.  The 
Supreme  Court  passed  on  the  validity  of  the  law  giving 
the  old  State  Central  Committee  power  to  determine 
which  of  the  two  contesting  delegations  was  regular, 
and  held  that  the  old  committee  could  exercise  that 
power.  As  the  old  committee  had  declared  the  La  Toi- 
lette ticket  to  be  regular,  this  ruling  of  the  court  made 
the  Opera  House  Convention  irregular,  but  granted  the 
ticket  a  place  on  the  ballot.  Chief  Justice  Cassoday 
dissented,  and  in  a  long  opinion  upheld  every  contention 
of  the  Cook  ticket. 

It  was  only  natural  that  the  outcome  of  the  conven- 
tion contest  should  intensify  the  factional  feeling  in  the 
Republican  party,  and  that  more  of  the  National  Repub- 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE  341 

licans,  as  the  ticket  was  named  on  the  official  ballot, 
should  vote  for  Peck,  the  Democratic  nominee,  than  for 
their  own  ticket,  which  had  no  show  of  success.  After 
the  Supreme  Court  gave  its  decision,  S.  A.  Cook,  who 
was  nominated  for  Governor  by  the  Opera  House  Con- 
vention, withdrew,  and  former  Governor  Scofield  was 
put  in  his  place.  Governor  La  Follette  was  reelected, 
his  plurality  being  50,952. 

The  election  of  1904  gave  Governor  La  Follette  a 
legislature  more  friendly  to  him  even  than  the  one  of 
1903,  and  he  was  enabled  to  pass  a  stringent  railway 
rate  commission  measure  and  a  comprehensive  civil  serv- 
ice law.  This  legislature  also  elected  Governor  La  Fol- 
lette United  States  Senator  to  succeed  Senator  Quarles. 

The  most  important  enactments  which  Governor  La 
Follette  has  to  his  credit  are  the  Primary  Election  Law, 
the  Rate  Commission  Law  and  the  Civil  Service  Law. 
The  Rate  Commission  Law,  in  its  general  purpose  and 
trend,  is  highly  satisfactory  to  the  people,  regardless  of 
party.  It  represents  the  logical  outcome  of  the  desire 
for  legislative  supervision  of  railroads  and  other  great 
corporations,  which  we  have  seen  has  been  virtually 
continuous  since  1865.  It  is  the  response  to  an  economic 
law  which  it  would  have  been  wise  to  observe — and  good 
politics  as  well — years  ago.  It  will  not  remedy  all  the 
evils  of  corporation  encroachment,  and  its  wholesomeness 
lies  chiefly  in  its  reinstatement  of  the  principle  of  cor- 
porate control  by  the  legislature  laid  down  thirty  years 
ago  by  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  Potter  Law  cases. 

During  the  past  few  years  the  Socialistic  element  in 


342    WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 

the  State  has  crystaUized  into  a  party  called  the  Social 
Democrats.  This  party  goes  the  whole  distance  in  State 
socialism.  It  cast  nearly  25,000  votes  in  1904,  and  has 
the  promise  in  it  of  greater  growth. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Accault,   Michael,   I,   227. 

Adams,  Charles    Kendall,     IV,     168, 

184. 
Adams,  Henry  C,  IV,  317,  318,  330. 
Adams,  John,  II,  108,  109,  113,  187. 
Agen,  J.    H.,    III.   323. 
d'Aigremont,  Sieur,    I,   39. 
Alban,  J.    S.,   Ill,   272. 
Alban,  S.    H.,   Ill,   270,  271. 
Albenal,  Charles,     I,     122,     123,    162, 

163. 
Alexander,  M.   K.,   II,  197,   198,  201- 

203. 
Alexander,  W.   P.,  Ill,  211. 
Allen,  Benjamin,   III,  269. 
Allen,  Charles  H.,   IV,   169. 
Allen,  Thomas  S.,  Ill,  246,  321;  IV, 

256. 
Allen,  William   Francis,    IV,    184. 
Allerton,  Ellen  Palmer,  IV,  195. 
Allin,  Abby,    IV,   197. 
Allis,  Edward  P.,  IV,  89,  93,  282. 
Allouez,  Claude,    I,    49,    51,    53,    128, 

145-153.   157.  168,  185,   i88,   199,  200, 

265,  273,  274. 
d'Amariton,  Sieur,    I,    288. 
American  Fur    Company,     II,     214, 

221. 
Amherst,  General,   I,  358;  II,  44. 
Anburey,  I,   355. 

Anderson,  Rasmus  B.,    IV,  186,   320. 
Anderson,  Warren    R.,    IV,    187. 
Anderson,  Wendall   A.,   IV,   322. 
Andre,  Louis,    I,    157. 
Andros,  Governor,   I,  319. 
Anneke,  Fritz,     IV,    191. 
Anneke,  Mathilde,    IV,    191,    192. 
d'Argenson,  Sieur,    I,    146. 
Armstrong,  General,    II,    191. 
Arndt,  Charles  C.   P.,   II,  307,  308. 
Arnold,  Jonathan   E.,    II,   307;    III, 

74,   87. 
d'Artagnette,  Pierre,  I,  307,  332. 
Arthur,  Chester  A.,   IV,  290. 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  I,  69;  II,  55,  65- 

69,  72,  78,  225. 
Atkinson,  General,    II,    185-187,    192- 

194,    196-199,  201-205. 
Atwood,  David,   IV,   263. 
Audrean,  Father,    I,   308. 
Auguelle,  Anthony,  I,  227,   228. 
Babcock,  Joseph    W.,    IV,    335,    336, 

339- 
Babcock,     S.   M.,  IV,  62,  63. 
Babcock,  Stephen  B.,   IV,  203. 
Baensch,  Emil,   IV,   329,  339. 
Bailey,  David,    II,    192. 
Bailey,  Joseph,    III,  303,   314. 
Baird,  Henry  S.,  II,  262,  264,  302. 
Baird,  Mrs.    Henry  S.,  II,  214,  215. 
Baker,  Enos  S.,   II,  307. 
Balg,  Gerhard,   IV,   186. 
Bancroft,     George,   I,  348. 
Banks,  General,  III,  236,  257,  259. 
Banks,  W.    H.,    IV,    137. 
Barber,  J.    Allen,    IV,   264. 
Barlow,  J.   W.,    Ill,  316. 
Barnard,  Henry,    IV,    162,    167,    169, 

I7S- 


Barnes,  John,  IV,   120. 

de  la  Barre,  I,   iii,  169,  219. 

Barstow,  William  A.,  Ill,  80,  86,  87, 

89,  90,  227,  301,  302;  IV,  257. 
Bascom,  John   W.,    IV,   167,   168. 
Bashford,  Coles,  III,  67,  86,  87,  89. 
Baxter,  Alexander,  II,  59. 
Beall,  S.  W.,   Ill,  270. 
Bean,  S.  A.,  Ill,  303. 
Beauchamp,   II,   183. 
de  Beauharnois,  Marquis,  I,  244,  255, 

256,  289,  291,  292,  296,  299-301,  303, 
^     307-311,   313.   323-325.   331,   332- 
Beaujeu,  I,  341,  351,  352,  355. 
Beauregard,  General,  III,  157,  260. 
Belair,  I,  266. 
Beloit  College,   II,  230. 
Bennett,  S.    Fillmore,    IV,    188. 
Benoist,  Sieur,   I,  324. 
Benton,  Linn    B.,    IV,    203. 
Benton,  Thomas  H.,  II,  279,  282. 
Berthat,  Colin,  I,  234. 
Bertram,  Henry,   III,  275,  276. 
Best,  Jacob,   IV,   66. 
Biddle,  James   VV.,   II,   213. 
de   Bienville,    I,  313,  330,  34O. 
Bigot,   I,  263,  264. 
Bingham,  George  B.,  Ill,  256. 
Bingham,  J.  M.,  IV,  283. 
Bintliff,  James,    III,   249. 
Bird,  Augustus   A.,   II,  309,  310. 
Bird,  George  W.,    IV,  323,   324. 
Birge,  E.  A.,  IV,  168. 
Bishop,  William    Henry,  IV,   186. 
Bissell,  O.   C,   III,  205. 
Black  Hawk,   I,  36;  II,   181,   187-207. 
Black,  John,    IV,   44. 
Blaine,  James   G.,   IV,  285-289. 
Bland,  Theodoric,   II,    121. 
Blatz,  Valentin,   IV,  66. 
Bloodgood,  Edward,   III,  279,  280. 
Blunt,  C,   III,  275. 
Boardman,     Frederick  E.,  Ill,  303. 
Bodleian  Library,    I,    loi. 
Bohmrich,  Louis,   IV,   336. 
Boilvin,    Nicholas,   II,  265. 
Boisbrant,  Pierre  Dugue,   I,  330. 
Boisguillot,   I,    173. 
Boishebert,  I,  299,  300. 
de   Boisrondet,  Sieur,  I,  218. 
du  Boisson,   I,  293. 
Borth,  Mary  H.   C,  IV,  195,  197. 

91,  98,   100-103. 
Boguet,  Henry,   II,   yj,   124. 
de   Boucher,  La  Perriere,  I,  288. 
Booth,  Sherman  M.,   Ill,   78,  82,  90, 
Bouck,  Gabriel,  III,  226,  270,  272. 
Bourassa,  Charlotte    Ambroisine,    I, 

348.  359- 
Bourassa,  Rene,  I,  348. 
Bovay,  A.  E.,  Ill,  81,  82. 
Bovee,  Marvin  H.,  Ill,  80. 
Bowman,  Major,   II,   94. 
Bradbury,  John,  II,  269. 
Braddock,  General,    I,    341,    345,    351, 

352,  355.  356;   II,  34. 
Bradford,  Ira  B.,  IV,  329. 
Bradstreet,  General,   I,   339;    II,    40, 

54- 


345 


346  WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


Brady,  General  Hugh,   II,  201,  273. 
Bragg,  Edward     S.,     Ill,    226,     234, 

238,    244,   314;    IV,   261,    264,    268, 

283,  307.  308,  323,  333- 
Brebeuf,  1,     119,    120. 
Breese,  J.  T.,  IV,  196. 
Eressani,  I,    119. 
Biovo'irt,   Henry    B.,    II,    218. 
Brevoort,  Mary  Ann,     II,    218,    220, 

221. 
Erinton,  Beulah,  IV,   187. 
Bohan,  Elizabeth  Baker,   IV,   187. 
Bright,  S.   E.,   IV,   188,   189. 
Brisbois,  Joseph,    II,   184. 
Brisbois,  Michael,    II,    77,   212,   213. 
Bristol,  Charles  L.,   II,  220. 
British  Museum,   I,   102. 
Brittan,  VV.   B.,  Ill,  258. 
Brooke,  General,  II,  265. 
Brown,  Harvey   M.,    Ill,  248. 
Brown,   Fames   M.,   IV,   44. 
Brown,  "Neal,  IV,   188. 
Brown,  Thomas   H.,    IV,  44. 
Bruce,  Peter,   IV,    135. 
Brule,  Ettienne,   I,   79. 
Brunet,   Dominique,   II,   211. 
Brunei,  Jean,   II,  184. 
Brunson,   Alfred,    II,   229. 
Bryant,  Benjamin  T.,  Ill,  322,  325. 
Bryant,  George    E.,     Ill,     145,     162, 

163,  183,  264. 
Buell.   General,    III,   306. 
Bull,  Ole.  IV.  201. 
Burchard,  S.    D.,  IV,  277. 
Eurdick,  C.   R.,  IV,   197. 
Burgoyne.  General,  I,  355. 
Burke.  Edmund,    II,  88. 
Burnet,  Governor,    I,   323. 
Burnett,  Thomas       Pendleton,       II, 

296,  298,  304. 
Burr,  Aaron,   II,    161. 
Burton,  John   E.,    IV,   188,   227,  228, 

233- 
Butler,  A.  R.  R.,  IV,  44. 
Butler,  B.   F.,    Ill,   252,  30«. 
Butterfield,  Willshire,    IV,    184. 
Buttrick,  E.   L.,   Ill,  282. 
Cadillac,  Antoine  de  Lamothe,  I,  48, 

52,  53,  276,  321,  322,  327. 
Cadle,  Richard  P.,  II,  229. 
Cadotte,  Jean    Baptiste,    II,    55,    $6, 

60. 
Cadotte,  Michael,  II,  55. 
Cahokia,    II,   103. 

Calkins,  Elias   A.,   Ill,  30;  IV,  200. 
de  Callieres,   Chevalier,  I,  254,  321. 
Callis,  J.  B.,  Ill,  241. 
Calve,  II,  102,   103. 
Cameron,    Angus,    IV,   269,   270,   279, 

280,  290,  292,  300. 
Cameron,  Simon,  III,   159,  161. 
Campbell,  Captain,   II,   166. 
Campbell,  Colin,   IV,  282. 
Campbell.  Florence,  IV,  187. 
Carheil,  Father,  I,  48. 
Carlton,  Carrie,   IV,   195,   196. 
le  Caron,  I,  78. 


Carpenter,  Matthew    Hale,    III,    87; 

IV,  262,  265-270,  279,  280,  284,  290- 

292,  300. 
Carswell,  N.    H.,   IV,   188. 
Cartier,  Jacques,   I,   71,   72,  85. 
Carver,  Jonathan,    II,  43-53. 
Carver,  William  Joseph,   II,  43. 
Cass,  Governor    Lewis,   II,   184,    185; 

III,   77,    78. 
Cassoday,  John   B.,  IV,  278,  285-288, 

340- 
de  Casson,  Dollier,   I,  183,  214. 
Caswell,  L.   B.,   IV,  276. 
Cate,  George   W.,    IV,   277. 
Cavalier,  Jean,   I,  213. 
de  Celeron,  Sieur,  I,  326. 
Chabert,  Sieur,  I,  305. 
Chadbournc,  Paul  A.,    IV,   187. 
Chamberlain,  Everett,    III,    113. 
Chamberlin,  T.   C,  IV,   168,  185. 
Champigny,    I,     321. 
de  Champlain,    Samuel,   I,   72,   75-79, 

83,  85,  86,  93,   loi,  110. 
Chapman,  George  W.,  IV,   197. 
Chapman,  T.   A.,  IV,  296. 
Chapman,  \V.   W.,   II,  300. 
Charles  I,  I,   114. 
Charles  II,    I,    109,    no. 
Charlevoix,  I,  47,  242,  285,  330. 
Chase,  Horace,    IV,   44. 
Chase,  Warren,  III,  108,  109. 
de  Chastes,  Aymar,   I,  72,  75. 
Cheek,  Philip,  III,  322. 
Childs,   Ebenezer,  II,    185,   220;   III, 

109. 
Chouart,  Sieur,   I,   163. 
Cilley,  Jonathan,   II,   304. 
Clark,    George    Rogers,    II,    92-103, 

107. 
Clark,  Kate  Upson,   IV,   187. 
Cleveland,  Grovcr,  IV,   306. 
Colby,  Charles  L.,  IV,  227. 
C»llins,  James,  II,  308. 
Clermont,  Alexander,  II,  224. 
Colbert,  I,  161,  214. 
Columbus,    Christopher,   I,   85. 
Commons,  John  R.,  IV,  185. 
Conkey,  Theodore,    III,   227. 
Constitutional    Conventions   of   1840, 

III,  39,  40. 
Conze,  Alexander,   IV,  193. 
Coob,  Amasa,    lit,   246. 
Cook,  Samuel  A.,   IV,  33s,  341. 
Cooke,  L.   W.,   Ill,  316. 
Coonce,  John    R.,   II,  269. 
Copeland,  Frederick  A.,  Ill,  323. 
de  la  Corne,   I,  257. 
Couillard,  Guillaume,  I,  93. 
Couillard,  Marguerite,   I,  93. 
Courcelles,  I,   168. 
Craigue,  N,  F.,  Ill,  303. 
Grain,  J.   W.,   Ill,  270. 
Crane,  L.    H.    D.,   Ill,   244. 
Cresse,  Michel,  I,  345. 
Crispel,  Father,   I,  290. 
Crocker,  Hans,   IV,  44. 
de  Croisalle,  Sieur,   I,  304. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE 


347 


Cross,  James  B.,  IV,  44. 

Crozat,  I,  327,  328,  330. 

CuUey,  Frank  C,  IV,  187. 

Cumberledge,   James,   III,  325. 

Cunningham,  Thomas  J.,   IV,  323.   - 

Curtin,  Jeremiah,  IV,   186. 

Curtis,  C.    A.,    IV,   187. 

Curtis,  Daniel,    II,   222. 

Cutler,  Lysander,    III,   314. 

Cutler,  Manasseh,    II,    127,   128. 

Dalon,  Claude,  I,  153,  154,  157,  187, 
199,  200,  202,  204-206,  209. 

Daillabout,  I,  256. 

Daland,  W.   C,   IV,   172. 

Dale,  Nicholas  H.,  Ill,  301. 

Dalzell,  Captain,  II,  36. 

Dane,  Nathan,   II,    128. 

Danforth,  W.  K.,  IV,  239. 

Darke,  Colonel,    II,    163. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  II,  207,  300. 

Davis,  John,  IV,  66. 

De  Groat,  Charles  H.,  Ill,  292. 

De  Groff,  A.  W.,  Ill,  323. 

Demoiselle   (La),  I,  347,  348. 

Denonville,  I,    113,   173,   236,  320. 

Derry,  Thomas,  III,  302. 

Dewey,  Nelson,   III,   79. 

Dickinson,  Joseph,    II,   185. 

Dickson,  William,    II,  264. 

Dilg,  William,    IV,    194. 

Dill,  D.  J.,  Ill,  291. 

Dinwiddie,  Governor,    i,    34. 

Dixon,  L.  S.,  IV,  262. 

Dodge,  Augustus,  III,  79. 

Dodge,  Henry  S.,  II,  185,  186,  195- 
198,  201,  203,  204,  283,  284,  293, 
300,  301,  303,  306-308,  311;  III, 
77-80;  IV,    129,   134,   135,   i66. 

Dolan,  John  L.,   Ill,  270. 

Dollard,    I,   106. 

Domschke,  Bernhard,   IV,   190. 

Doolittle,  James  R.,  IV,  255,  259, 
261,  264,  265,  269. 

Dorward,  B.    I.,  IV,  195,   196. 

Doty,  James  Duane,  II,  226,  262, 
264,  279,  280,  284,  286,  293,  29s, 
296,  303-311;  III,  n,  78;  IV,  130, 
13s,  141- 

Dousman,  H.   F.,   IV,  63. 

Dousman,  Hercules   L.,   II,   78. 

Drake,  George  C,  III,  174. 

Drake,  Henry,   IV,   63. 

Druillettes,  Pere,   I,  184. 

Drury,  Lu.H.,  Ill,  304. 

Dubuisson,  I,  276,  277. 

Ducharme,  Joseph,  II,  102,  103,  211, 
217. 

Duchesneau,  I,  233,  320. 

Dudgeon,  R.  B.,  IV,  178,  179. 

Dudonour,   Ensign,  I,  282. 

Duerst,  Mathias,   III,  58,  59. 

Duggan,  W.  T.,  Ill,  316. 

Du  Luth,  Daniel  Greysolon,  I,  163, 
169,  227-230,  233-237,  241,  253,  263, 
319,  320;  II,  63;  (life  of,  I,  22s, 
226). 

Dumont,  Simon  Francois,  I,   i6i. 


Dunn,  Charles,   II,  300;   III,  ■jy^  80; 

IV,  262. 
Duplessis,  Sieur,  I,  302. 
Durantaye,   I,    169,  320. 
Durkee,  Charles,  II,  308;  111,78,  108. 
Early,  Jacob   M.,   II,  207. 
Eaton,  Edward   D.,   IV,   171. 
I'Ecuyer,  Sieur,   I,  310. 
Edgerton,  Benjamin  H.,  II,  296. 
Edwards,  Ninian,   II,  172,  227. 
Eldridge,  Charles  A.,   IV,  261,  264. 
Elliott,  Eugene   E.,   IV,  329. 
Ellis,  A.    G.,   II,  222. 
Ellis,  E.  Holmes,   IV,  262. 
Ely,  Richard  T.,   IV,   185. 
Engle,  Peter  Hill,   II,  302. 
Erickson,  Halford   E.,    IV,    120. 
Ernst,  General,   IV,    241. 
I'Eschelle,  Sieur,   I,  257. 
Estabrook,  C.  E.,  IV,  323,  324,  329. 
Esterly,   George,    IV,  203. 
Etherington,  George,   I,   358;   II,   37- 

39- 
Etienne,   Claude,   I,  loi. 
Fairchild,  Cassius,   III,  268,   269. 
Fairchild,   Lucius,   III,   145,   175,  269, 

288,   314,     322;    IV,     256-258,     262, 

264,  300,  301. 
Fallows,  Samuel,   III,   202. 
Faribault,   Jean   Baptiste,  II,  76. 
Farwell,  Leonard  J.,  Ill,  74,  79,  80. 
Faville,  Stephen,   IV,  63. 
Ferber,  Richard,    IV,  193. 
Ferguson,  Leander,    III,   323. 
Fields,  Abner,   II,  185. 
Fifield,  Lieut. -Governor,   IV,  228. 
Fillmore,  Millard,  III,   134. 
Fischer,    Henry   P.,   Ill,  323. 
Fisher,  Henry  Munro,  IV,  214. 
Fisher,   Laura,  IV,  176. 
Fitch,  H.   M.,  Ill,  256. 
Folle  Avoine,  I,  234. 
Foote,  Commodore,  III,  267. 
Former  Presidents      of      Wisconsin 

Loyal  Legion,  III,  324. 
Forrest,  Mark  R.,  IV,   195. 
Forrest,  N.   B.,  Ill,  264,  299,  304. 
Fourier,  III,   108,   iii,  113,   120. 
Fowler,  Albert,  IV,  40. 
Frackleton,  Susan    Stuart,   IV,    185. 
Frank,  Michael,   IV,   161,    162. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,    II,   86,   87,    109. 
Franks,  Jacob,  II,  76. 
Fratt,  Nicholas  D.,  IV,  290. 
Frazer,  William  C,  II,  300. 
Fremont,  John  C,  III,  147. 
Frontenac,   I,   no,   141,   162,   168,  169, 

187,    202,    204,    210,   214,    215,    233, 

236,  237,  241,  319,  320,  33a. 
Frye,  Henry,    II,   196,  207. 
Frye,  Jacob,   II,    191. 
Gabriel,  Father,  I,  218. 
Gagnier,  Rijeste,  II,  182. 
Gaines,  Edmund   P.,  II,  190. 
de  Galinee,  Rene,  I,   183,  214. 
de   la    Galissoniere,    I,    259,    260,    263, 

264,  268,   325,  326,   332-334,    337. 


348  WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


Galvez,  II,  103. 

Garfield,  James  A.,  IV,  285-290. 

Garland,    B.   S.,   Ill,  97. 

Garland,   Hamlin,  IV,  186,  194. 

Garner,  John   Leslie,    IV",    194. 

Gautier,  Charles,    II,    loi. 

Gehon,    Francis,   II,   300. 

George    III,    II,   31,  87. 

de  Gere,  Amable,  I,  351. 

Gibault,   Father,  II,  94. 

Gibbons,  John,  III,  234,  237-240,  243, 

248,  309. 
Gill,  Charles  R.,  Ill,  154,  290. 
Gillam,    Zachary,   I,   109,   iio. 
Girty,  Michael,  II,   195. 
Gladwin,   Major,  II,  35,  36. 
Gloucester,   Duke  of,  II,  59. 
Glover,  Joshua,  III,  97,  99,  101-103. 
Goberet,   \'ice-Admiral,    I,  266. 
Goodell,  Lavinia,  IV,  278. 
de  la  Gorgendiere,  Sieur,  I,  256,  257. 
Gorrell,  James,  I,  358;  II,  34,  39,  45. 
Graban,  Rev.   Johannes,   III,  47. 
Graham,  Duncan,  II,   182. 
Graham,    Robert,    IV,    271. 
Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  Ill,  147,  245,  246, 

261-263,  265,  268,  284,  294,  313;  IV 

262,  268,  271,  285,  289,  306. 
Gratiot,  General   Charles,   II,  269. 
Gratiot,  Henry,  II,  195.  268,  269. 
Gratiot,    Jean    Pierre    Brugnion,    II, 

268,   269. 
Graves,   William  J.,   II,  304,  305. 
Gray,  E.   B..  Ill,  288,  289,  322. 
Grayson,   William,   II,   125. 
Greeley,  Horace,   III,  84,   108. 
Green,  Georee  G.,   IV,  324. 
Green,  William  A.,  Ill,  290. 
Greene,  Walter   S.,   IV,   63. 
Gregory,  John   Goadby,   IV,  195. 
Griffin,    Michael,   III,   322. 
Grignon,  Amable,  II,  74,  75. 
Grignon,  Augustus,    I,    359;    II,    74, 

211,    320. 

Grignon,  Charles.    II,  74. 
Grignon,  Louis,  II,  74,  211. 
Grignon,  Perrish,   II,   74. 
Grignon,  Pierre,   I,  359;   II,   74,  jji, 

221. 
des  Groscilliers,  Medard  Chouart,  I, 

51,    97-102,    106-112,    114,    116,    128, 

141,   161-163,  226,  265. 
Grottkau,  Paul,   I\',  87,  96,  98,  295. 
Guerin,  Jean,   I,  122. 
Gugler,  Julius,  IV,  193. 
Guignas,  Father,  I,  288,  289. 
Guppey,  J.  J.,  Ill,  227. 
de  Haas,  Carl,  IV.  193. 
Hailman,  Mrs.  W.   N.,   IV,  175. 
d'Hain,    Andre,    I,   168. 
Haldimand,  General,  II,  loa,  iii. 
Hale,  Nathan,   II,  269. 
Hall,  A.  R.,   IV,  332. 
Hall,  William,    II,    195. 
Halleck,  Henry  W.,    Ill,    147,    ,56, 

263,  306. 
Hamilton,    GoTcmor,    II,   93-97,   g^ 

103. 
Hamilton,  Charles  S.,   Ill,   148,   169, 


172,  173,  176,  177,  257,  307,  314. 
Hamilton,  William    S.,   II,    185,    197, 

293,  296,  297. 
Hammond,  A.   W.,   Ill,  323. 
Hancock,  Bradford,  III,  290. 
Hancock,  John,   III,  266,  322. 
Hancock,  Winfield,   III,  232,  248. 
Hardin,  John,   II,    164. 
Hardwick,  Moses,  II,  223,  224. 
Harnden,  Henry,   III,  300,  323. 
Harney,  William  S.,   II,  207. 
Harris,  Charles    L.,    Ill,     168,    i8a, 

261,  262. 
Harrison,  Benjamin,  IV,  285,  286. 
Harrison,  Jesse   M.,    II,   303. 
Harrison,    William    Henry,    II,    169, 

170,   171,   176,  306. 
Harshaw,   Henry,   IV,  311. 
Harvey,  Louis  P.,  Ill,  108,  316-318. 
Harvey,  Mrs.     Louis    P.,    Ill,    318, 

319- 
Haskell,   Frank  A.,   Ill,  248,  249. 
Haugen,  Nils  P.,   IV,  326. 
Hawley,    William,    III,    176. 
Hayet,    Marguerite,    I,    101. 
Hazen,  Chester,   IV,  63. 
Hazleton,   Senator  G.   W.,   Ill,  177; 

IV,   264. 
Heald,  Captain,   II,  174,   175. 
Hebert,    Guillamette,    I,    93. 
Heg,   Hans  C.  Ill,  266-268. 
Helm,   Leonard,  II,  94,  95,   175. 
Hempstead,  Stephen,  II,  269. 
Hennepin,  I,  215-218,  225,  227-230,  233, 

241. 
Henry  IV,   I,  72. 

Henry,  Alexander,   II,  38,  53-60,  63. 
Henry,  James  D.,  II,  191,  197-204. 
Henry,  Moses,   II,   95. 
Henry,  Patrick,    II,  93. 
Henry,  William,    II,    302. 
Herault,  Madeleine,   I,    100. 
Herron,  General,  III,   275. 
Hewitt,  Abraham  B.,   II,  191. 
Hickcox,  George  W.,   II,  308. 
Hicks,  John,   IV,    187. 
Hill,  Allen.   II,  296. 
Hindman,    Thomas   C,   III,  275. 
Hinsdale,  B.  A.,  II,   128. 
Hoard,  Robert  C,  II,  296. 
Hoard,  W.   D.,  Ill,  322;  IV,  63,  64, 

271,  284,   302,  316-319.   321. 
Hobart,   Harrison   C,   III,   149,  226, 

276-278,  302;   IV,  256. 
Hocquart,  I,  268,  303,  331. 
Holmes,    Lieutenant,    II,   202. 
Holton,  Amos,  II,  221. 
Holton,  Edward  D.,  II,  308. 
Holton,  James,  III,  169,  170. 
Hood,  John  Bell,   III,  285. 
Hooker,   D.    G.,   IV,  44. 
Hooker,  Joseph,    III,    147,    238,    340, 

347. 
Hopkins,  General,    II,    176. 
Horner,  John  S.,  II,  295,  298,  300. 
Hoskin,  A.  A.,  IV,   197. 
Howe,  James  H.,  Ill,  292. 
Howe,    Timothy    O.,    Ill,    87:    IV, 

261,  268,  280,  290,  291. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE 


349 


Howell,  Elias,  II,  280. 
Hoxie,  Vinnie  Ream,  IV,  202. 
Hoyt,  J.  W.,  IV,  119. 
Hubbell,  Levi,  III,  74,  87. 
Hull,   General,   II,   173. 
Hunt,  William   Price.  II,  68. 
Hutchins,  Thomas,   II,   124. 
Iberville,    Lemoine,    I,    112,    163,  221, 

241,   254,   266,   282,   327,   347. 
Ilsey,  Charles  F.,  IV,  141. 
Irvin,  David.  II,  296,  300;  IV,  202. 
Irving,    Roland   Duer,   IV,    185. 
Irwin,  Alexander,  II,  76. 
Irwin.   Matthew,  II,  65-67. 
Irwin,    Robert,   Jr.,   II,   76,   222,  223, 

263,  293. 
Jacker,  Father,  I,   196. 
Jackson,   Andrew,    II,  29s,  297,   300. 
Jackson,  Charles  H.,   Ill,  272. 
Jackson,    Stonewall,    III,    236,    237, 

244,  247. 
Jacobi,  Arthur,  III,  259. 
Jacobs,  Jean  Baptiste,   II,  221. 
Jacobs,  William  H.,  Ill,  247. 
James,  D.  G.,  Ill,  323. 
James,    Thomas,   II,    191. 
Jamet,   Lieutenant,   II,   39. 
Jay.  John,  II,   109.  114. 
Jefferson,  John  W.,  Ill,  258. 
Jefferson,    Thomas,    II,   93,    100,    113, 

121,    122,    124,   132,    159. 
de  la  Jemeraye,  I,  243. 
Jenkins,  James  G.,   IV,   285. 
Jogues,  Isaac,  I,  119,  123,  141. 
Johnson,   Andrew,   IV,  255,  264. 
Johnson,  John  W.,   II,  65. 
Johnson,  O.    C,   III,  268. 
Johnson,  Thomas  S.,  II,  221. 

Johnson,  Warren  S.,   IV,  203. 
ohnson.  Sir  William,   I,  340;   II,  59, 

86. 
Johnston,  John,  IV.   145,  322. 
Johnston.    Joseph,    III,   263. 
Jolliet,    Stephen,    I,    49,    69,    99,    179, 

180,  183,   187,   188,   191-194,  196,  197. 

199,  201-206,   209,  210,   213. 
Jonas,  Carl,  IV.   185. 
Jones,  D.  L.,  Ill,  323. 
Jones,  George  Wallace,  II,  295,  296, 

299.  301.   304.  305- 
Jonquiere,   Admiral.   I,  264,  269. 
Jordan,  Elizabeth,  IV,  187. 
Jourdain,   Madeline,  II,  222. 
Joyce,   John   A.,   IV,    197. 
Jumonville,  I,  341. 
Juneau,  Soloman,  II,  267;  IV,  40,  44, 

104,   132. 
Katzer.   Archbishop.    IV,   320. 
de  Kaurv,  II,  46. 
Kautz,  General,  III.  252. 
Keeler,  Charles   A.,   IV,   195. 
Keep,   Albert,   IV,    114. 
Kellogg,  John   A.,   Ill,  235. 
Keokuk,  II,  206. 
Keyes,  E.   W.,   IV,  267-269,  279,  290- 

292. 
Kiala,  I,  300,  301. 
Kidd,   E.   I.,  IV,  326- 


Kilboum,    Byron   H.,    II,    305;    IV, 

40,  44,   104. 
Kilpatrick,  General,  III,  306,  307. 
Kimball,  A.  M.,   IV,  276. 
King,  Charles  A.,  IV,  186. 
King,   Rufus,  III,    147,   148,   180,   232, 

233,  314-     . 
Kingsbury   Lieutenant,  II,  202. 
Kingston,   John  T.,   IV,  239. 
Kinkaid,  Mary  Hollam,   IV,   187. 
Kinzie,  John,   II,   172-176. 
Kirby,  Abner,  IV,  44- 
Kirke,    David,   I,   84. 
Kirke,   John,    I,    no. 
Kirke,  William  F.,  IV,  188. 
Knapp,  Gilbert,  II,  296. 
Knapp,  Samuel  B.,  IV,  134-130- 
Knight,  John  H.,   IV,  307.  308. 
Knowlton,  J.  H.,  Ill,  87- 
Koch,  John  C,   IV,   44,   326. 
Krez,  Conrad,  III,  287;  IV,  191,  19a. 
Kummel,  A.  H.,  Ill,  265. 
de   Lafayette,   Marquis,   I,   183. 
La    Follette,    Robert    M.,    IV,    293, 

303,  326,  330.   334,   336-341- 
La  Grange,  O.   H.,  Ill,  303- 
La  Hontan.  Baron,  I,  225,  242. 
Lalemant,   Gabriel,   I,   119,   120- 
Lamb,  C.  F.,  IV,  324- 
Lane,  D.  H.,  Ill,  168. 
Lane,  James,  III,  258. 
Langlade,    Augustm,    I,   340. 
Langlade,    Charles    Michael,    I,    3I4. 

315,  340,   348,   351,  355-360;   II,  44, 

63,   74,    loi;    (life   of,    I.   346,  347)- 
Lapham,    Increase   A.,   Ill,   43;    AV, 

43,    185,  203,  225. 
Larrabee,   Charles  H.,  Ill,  226,  28a, 

285. 
Lariviere,   Pierre,   II,  212. 
La  Salle,  Rene  Robert,   Cavalier,  1, 

100,   183,  214-221,233,  234,  26s,  319, 

327,  338,  339-     (Life  of,  I,  213). 
de  Lassay,  Marquis,  I,  225,  226. 
Lathrop,  John  H..  IV,  166,  1C7. 
Law,   John,   I,   286,    328- 33°- 
Lawe,  John.  II,  76,  211,  296,  297. 
Lawrence,  Amos  A.,  IV,  171. 
Lee,    Robert    E.,    Ill,    235,    237,    i40. 

242,  245. 
Le  Jeune,  Father,  I,  84. 
Le   Movne,    Charles.   I,   83,   347- 
Leslie,   Lieutenant,   II,  37-39- 
Le  Seur,  Pierre  Charles,  I,  173-  *»», 

242,  265.     (Life  of,  I,  241). 
Lettsom.  John   Coaklet,    II,   S"- 
Lewis,    Andrew.    II.    90. 
Lewis,  J.  M.,  Ill,  289. 
Lewis,    Tames   T..   III.  319- 
Lewis.  Warner,   II,   303. 
de    Lignery,    Sieur,    I,    282,   287,   288, 

290,  291,  341- 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  TI,  206;  HI,  92, 

147,    i.';7,    159,    160,    227,    261,    294, 

322;  IV,  265. 
de  Linctot.  I.  265.  296. 
Lindsay.   Allen.    II,   182,    184. 
I^ipcap.   Solomon,    II,    182. 
Little  Turtle,  II,   164. 


350  WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


Little,   Louis  H.,  Ill,  169. 
Livingston,    Robert,    I,  321. 
Lockwood,    James    H.,    II,    ^^,    i8a, 

184,  226,  227,  264. 
Long,  Thomas,  II,   192. 
Longfellow,   William    W.,    IV,     193, 

194. 
Longstreet,   General,  III,  252. 
de  Longuenil,  I,  282,  324,  325. 
de  Lorndarec,  Amand  Louis,  I,  235. 
Loubias,   Arnold,   I,  345. 
Louis  XIV,  I,  110,  III,  113,  161,  168, 

328. 
de  Louvigny,  I,  283-283. 
Lowry,   David,   II,   228. 
Loyala,   I,    141,    184. 
Loyer,  Jean  B.,  II,  226. 
Lucas,   Governor,    II,  206. 
Ludington,    Harrison,   IV,    44,    277, 

278. 
Lush,  Charles  Keeler,  IV,   186. 
de  Lusignan,  I,  256,  313. 
Lynde,  William  Pitt,  IV,  44,  277. 
Lyon,   William  P.,  Ill,  265. 
McArthur,  Arthur,  III,  89,  269,  284, 

28s,  315- 
McClellan,  George  B.,  Ill,  235,  236, 

238,  239,  245. 
McDowell,   General,  III,  236. 
McFetridge,    Edward    C,    IV,    311, 

314,  316-318. 
Mcintosh,  M.  E.,  Ill,  52. 
Mclntyre,  J.  B.,  Ill,  169,  177,  179. 
McKenna,   Maurice,   IV,  197. 
McKenney,   Thomas   L.,   IV,   66,  67. 
McKenzie,  Alexander,   III,  316. 
McKinley,    William,    IV,    278,    30a, 

303.  328,  329,  334. 
McMynne,  John  C,  IV,  256. 
McNair,   Thomas,   II,    184. 
McSherry,  Edward,   II,  302. 
MacAlister,  James,  IV',    176. 
Macgregory,  Thomas,  I,  320. 
Maerklin,  Edmund,  IV,  191,  192. 
Magoon,  H.  S.,  IV,  276. 
Mahoney,  Maurice,  III,  263. 
Mallory,  James,    IV,  283. 
Malloy,  A.  G.,  Ill,  270. 
Mandeville,  Jack,   II,  183. 
Mansfield,   John,   III,   175. 
Marble,  F.   E.,   Ill,  211. 
March,   Colonel,  I,  267. 
Marden,  F.  A.,  Ill,  325. 
Marest,   Pere,   I,    173. 
Margry,   I,  214. 
Marin,    Sieur,    I,    264,   292,    293,    309- 

3".  313.  314.  340;  (life  of,  I,  312). 
Mariner,    Ephraim,    IV,    in,   112. 
Marion,   La  Fontaine,  I,  320. 
Marquette,    Jacques,    I,    49,    69,    99, 

119,   150,   180,   183,   185-188,   191-197, 

202,    203,    205,    206,    209,    210,    213, 

265.     (Life  of,  I,  183,  184). 
Marquette,    Francois,  I,   184. 
Marr,  Carl,   IV,  202. 
Marshall,   Samuel,   IV,   141. 
Marston,  J.  H.,  Ill,  325. 
Martin,   Araham,   I,   loi. 
Martin,  Helene,  I,  loi. 


Martin,    Morgan    L.,    II,    211,    221, 

264,  293-296,  302,  308;  IV,  126. 
Mason,  Stevens  T.,  II,  294,  303. 
de  Maunoir,   Lieutenant,   I,  282. 
Meade,  General,  III,  313. 
Mears,   Elizabeth     Farnsworth,    IV, 

196. 
Mears,  Helen,  IV,  202. 
Menard,   Father,  I,   106,   107,   122-124, 

127-132,    135-137,    141,    147-      (Life 

of,   I,   119-121). 
Menard,  Charles,  II,  225. 
de  ]a  Mer,    Marguerite,    I,   83. 
Meredith,   Solomon,   III,  24*. 
Merriam,  Adjutant,  II,  198. 
Messager,   Father,  I,  243. 
Metcalf,  John,  II,  272. 
Meyer,  H.   B.,  IV,  120. 
Miller,  Judge,  III,  102. 
Miner,  Jean  P.,  IV,  202. 
Minnehaha,   I,  37. 
Mitchell,   Alexander,    IV,     114,     147, 

148,  264,  308. 
Mitchell,  John  L.,  IV,  308,  309,  335. 
Monahan,  James    G.,    IV,   326. 
Mouet,   Pierre,   I,  345. 
Monro,  Colonel,  II,  43. 
Monroe,  James,   II,  124,   125. 
Montcalm,   I,  290,  339,  356,  357;    II, 

43- 
Montgomery,  Milton,  III,  227. 
de   Monts,   Sieur,   I,  75. 
Moore,   Aubertine    Woodward,    IV, 

187. 
Moore,  J.    B.,  Ill,  293. 
Moore,  Nathaniel    D.,    IV,    225-228, 

Moore,  Webster  P.,  Ill,  303. 

Morgan,  Albert  T.,  Ill,  243. 

Morgan,  James,   IV,  318. 

Morgan,  John,  III,  264. 

Morris,  George  P.,  I\',  198. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  II,  113. 

Morrison,  James,    II,  309. 

Muir,  John,  IV,  185. 

Murphy,   N.   S.,   IV,   309. 

Murphy,    Robert  C,    III,   258. 

Nagle,  John,  IV,  188. 

Nattestad,  Ole  Kundson,   III,  S4- 

Nenangoussik,   I,   286. 

Newman,  Judge,   IV,  311. 

Nicolas,  Louis,  I,   150. 

Nicolet,  Jean,  I,  35,  83-90,  93,  94,  97, 

98,  100,  141,   188,  245. 
Nicolet,  Thomas,  I,  83. 
de  Niverville,  Chevalier,  I,  245. 
Norcross,   Pliny,   III,  323. 
Nouvel,   Henry,  I,   157,   162,   195. 
de   Noyan,    I,  255,  323,  324. 
Noyelle,   I,  303-305.  307- 
Nye,  "Bill,"  IV,  187. 
Oakley,  Frank  W.,   Ill,  237. 
O'Connor,  Edgar,  III,  175,  237. 
O'Connor,  J.  L.,  IV,  311,  323. 
O'Farrell,  James  K.,   IV,  131-134. 
Olin,   John  M.,   IV,  299. 
O'Neil,  John   F.,  II,  309,  310. 
O'Neill,  Edward,  IV,  44. 
Orff,  Henry,  III,  294. 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE 


351 


Original  roster  of  First  Wisconsin 
Regiment,   III,   173.   i74- 

Original  roster  of  Second  Wiscon- 
sin Regiment,  III,  174,   i7S- 

Original  roster  of  Third  Wisconsin 
Regiment,    III,   176. 

Original  roster  of  Fourth  Wiscon- 
sin Regiment,  III,   178. 

Original  roster  of  Fifth  Wisconsin 
Regiment,    III,    178,    179. 

Original  roster  of  Sixth  Wisconsin 
Regiment,    III,    179- 

Original  roster  of  Seventh  Wiscon- 
sin Regiment,  III,   180. 

Original  roster  of  Eighth  Wisconsin 
Regiment,   III,  180,   181. 

Original  roster  of  Ninth  Wisconsin 
Regiment,  III,   181,   182. 

Original  roster  of  Tenth  Wisconsin 
Regiment,    III,   182. 

Original  roster  of  Eleventh  Wiscon- 
sin Regiment,  III,   183. 

Original  roster  of  Twelfth  Wiscon- 
sin Regiment,  III,   183,  184. 

Original  roster  of  Thirteenth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,   III,   184,    185. 

Original  roster  of  Fourteenth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,    III,    185. 

Original  roster  of  Fifteenth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,    III,   185,    186. 

Original  roster  of  Sixteenth  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,  186,  187. 

Original  roster  of  Seventeenth  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,  187. 

Original  roster  of  Eighteenth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,    III,    187,   188. 

Original  roster  of  Nineteenth  Wis- 
consin Regiment,   III,   188. 

Original  roster  of  Twentieth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,   III,   189. 

Original  roster  of  Twenty-first  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,  189,  190. 

Original  roster  of  Twenty-second 
Wisconsin  Regiment,  III,  190, 
191. 

Original  roster  of  Twenty-third 
Wisconsin  Regiment,  III,   191. 

Original  roster  of  Twenty-fourth 
Wisconsin  Regiment,  III,  191, 
192. 

Original  roster  of  Twenty-fifth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,   III,    192,   193. 

•Original  roster  of  Twenty-sixth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,   III,   193. 

Original  roster  of  Twenty-seventh 
Wisconsin  Regiment,  III,  193, 
.194- 

Original  roster  of  Twenty-eighth 
Wisconsin    Regiment,    III,    194, 

195- 

Original  roster  of  Twenty-ninth 
Wisconsin   Regiment,    III,   195. 

Original  roster  of  Thirtieth  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,   196. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-first  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,  196,  197. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-second 
Wisconsin  Regiment,    III,    197. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-third  Wis- 


consin Regiment,  III,  197,  198. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-fourth 
Wisconsin  Regiment,  III,  198, 
199. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-fifth  Wis- 
consin Regiment,   III,    199. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-sixth  Wis- 
consin   Regiment,    III,    199. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-seventh 
Wisconsin  Regiment,  III,  200, 
201. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-eighth 
Wisconsin   Regiment,  III,  201. 

Original  roster  of  Thirty-ninth  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,  202. 

Original  roster  of  Fortieth  Wiscon- 
sin Regiment,  III,  202,  203. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-first  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,    III,   203. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-second 
Wisconsin   Regiment,   III,  204. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-third  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,  204,  205. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-fourth  Wis- 
consin. Regiment,  III,  205,  206. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-fifth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,   III,  206. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-sixth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,    III,  206,  207. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-seventh 
Wisconsin  Regiment,  III,  207, 
208. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-eighth  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,   III,  208. 

Original  roster  of  Forty-ninth  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,  208,  209. 

Original  roster  of  Fiftieth  Wiscon- 
sin  Regiment,   III,  209,  210. 

Original  roster  of  Fifty-first  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  III,  210. 

Originaal  roster  of  Fifty-third  Wis- 
consin Regiment,   III,  210,  211. 

Original  roster  of  Fifty-second  Wis- 
consin  Regiment,    III,   211. 

Original  roster  of  First  Wisconsin 
Cavalry,    III,   212. 

Original  roster  of  Second  Wiscon- 
sin Cavalry,  III,  212,  213. 

Original  roster  of  Third  Wisconsin 
Cavalry,   III,  213,   214. 

Original  roster  of  First  Wisconsin 
Battery,    III,    214. 

Original  roster  of  Second  Wiscon- 
sin Battery,   III,   214. 

Original  roster  of  Third  Wisconsin 
Battery,  III,  215. 

Original  roster  of  Fourth  Wiscon- 
sin  Battery,  III,   215. 

Original  roster  of  Fifth  Wisconsin 
Battery,    III,    21.";. 

Original  roster  of  Sixth  Wisconsin 
Battery,   III,  215. 

Original  roster  of  Seventh  Wiscon- 
son  Battery,   III,   215. 

Original  roster  of  Eighth  Wiscon- 
sin Battery,  III,  215,  216. 

Original  roster  of  Ninth  Wisconsin 
Battery,   III,  216. 


352  WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


Original  roster  of  Tenth  Wisconsin 
Battery,    III,    216. 

Original  roster  of  Eleventh  Wis- 
consin  Battery,   III,  216. 

Original  roster  of  Twelfth  Wiscon- 
sin Battery,  III,  216. 

Original  roster  of  Thirteenth  Wis- 
consin  Battery,    III,   216. 

Original  roster  of  First  Wisconsin 
Heavy  Artillery,    III,   217. 

O'Rourke,  John,   ill,  307. 

Orton,   Harlow   S.,  Ill,  87;  IV,  268. 

Osborne,  J.   H.,  IV,   119. 

Oschwald,  Ambros,   III,   51,  52. 

Osterhaus,    General,   III,  303. 

Owen,  Thomas,   III,  29. 

Owens.   Richard  G.,   IV,  66. 

Page,  Herman  L.,  Ill,  287;  IV,  44. 

Paine,   Byron,   III,  98,   102,   103. 

Paine,  Halbert  E.,  Ill,  279,  303,  314. 

Paine,  Nathan.  Ill,  300. 

Paquette,    Pierre.    II.    198.  201. 

Park.    Roswell,    IV,   :72,   197. 

Parker,  John,   II.   296. 

Parker,   Lieut. -Col.,   IV,  241. 

Parkman,   Francis  A.,   I.  251,  315. 

Parsons,    E.    B.,   Ill,   284. 

Parsons,   S.  H.,   II,  127. 

Partridge,   Oliver,   II,   43. 

Patron,  Jean-Jacques,  I,  233. 

Paul,  George  H.,  I\',  119. 

Pawlett.  William,   IV,  66. 

Payne,    Byron   E.,    IV,  262. 

Payne,   Henry    C,   IV,   278,  298,   321, 

^     336. 

Peake,  Elliott   Elmore,  IV,   187. 

Peck.   George  W.,   I\',   44,    188,   302, 

^     304-307,  309,  321,  322,  324.  326,  328. 

Peckham.   Elizaeth   G.,   IV,  185. 

Peckham.  George  W.,  IV,  iB'i. 

Pedrick.  S.   M.,  Ill,  114. 

Pemouissa.   I.  38,  39,  277,  285. 

Penn,   John,   II,   85. 

Penn,  William,   II,  115. 

People  of  the  Sea,  I,  8g. 

Percival,  James  Gates,  IV,  194,  198- 
202. 

Perier,  Sieur,   I,  331. 

Perriere,   I,  296. 

Perrot,  Nicholas,  I,  127,  136,  161-164, 
167-170,  173,  174,  188,  233,  252,  275, 
320. 

Perry,  Commodore  Oliver  Hazard, 
II,  177,  220. 

de  Peyster,   I,  355. 

Pfister,    Charles    F.,    IV,   330. 

Philleo,  Addison,   II,  226. 

Phillips,   Joseph,   I\'.  44. 

Phillips.   Wendell,    III,   98. 

Phips,  Sir  William,   I.  321. 

Pickett.    George   E..   Ill,  241. 

Pier,  Colvvert  K.,  Ill,  249,  250. 

Pierson,   Father,    I,    195,   230. 

Pinckney,  Thomas,  II,  114. 

Pinkney,   Bretine,   III,   176,  275,   276. 

Pinney,   Captain.  III.  305. 

Plankington.  John,   IV,   43. 

Plautz,  Samuel,  IV,   171. 

Plunkett,  Lieutenant,   III,  162,  163. 


Pomery,  "Brick,"  IV,  187. 
Pontchartrain,    I,    254,    321. 
Pontgrave,  I,  72,  75. 
Pontiac,  I,  36,  351,  358;  II,  31,  33-37, 

39.   40,   44.    188. 
Pope,   Nathaniel,   II,  283. 
Porlier,  Jacques,  II,  76,  211,  221. 
Posey,   Alexander,   II,    197,    198,  201, 

203. 
Potter,  Robert  L.  D.,  IV,  113. 
Pourre,   Eugenio,    II,   104. 
Powell,   Charles  F.,  Ill,  316. 
Powhattan,  I,  35. 
Pownal,   Thomas,  II,   87. 
Prentiss,  Nathaniel   C,   II,  310. 
Prentiss,    W'illiam  A.,    IV,   44. 
Preston,  Lord,  I,  m. 
Preston,    William    C,    II,   281. 
Price,   General,   III,  356. 
Price,   William  T.,  I\',  297. 
Prideaux,    General,    I,   340. 
Proctor,  General,  II.   177. 
Proudfit,  James   K.,   Ill,  264. 
Puchner,   Rudolph,   IV,   191. 
Putnam,  Rufus,   II,   127,  160. 
Quarles,    Joseph   V.,     285,    335,     339, 

341. 
Ouigley,   Michael,   I\ ,    195,   196. 
Raclos,  Collette,  I,  168. 
Raclos,  Madeleine,   I,  168. 
Radisson.  Pierre-Esprit,  I,  51,  97-102, 

105-116,   128,  129,   141,  161,   162,  226. 
Radisson,    Sebastien-Heyet,    I,    loo, 

265. 
de  Ramezav,  Sieur,  I,  282. 
Randall,  Alexander  W.,   Ill,   87,  90, 

92,    148,   149,    155,    156,   159-163,   168, 

170-173.    175.  317- 
Raudin,   Sieur,  I,  265. 
Rauschenberger,   William,   IV,  44. 
Ray,  Adam  E.,  Ill,  118. 
Ray,  P.  H.,  Ill,  316. 
Raymbault,   Charles,   I,   123,  141. 
de  Raymond,   I,  325. 
Red   Bird,   II,  182,   186-188. 
Reese.  Rudolph.  IV,  193. 
Remsch,   Paul,  IV,  185. 
Renault,  Philippe  Francois,   I,  330, 
de  Repentigny,  Sieur.  I,  301,  302. 
Rexford.    Eben    E.,    IV,    188. 
Reynolds,   Edwin,    IV,  203. 
Reynolds,  John,   II,   190,   191,  196. 
de  la  Richardie,   I,  324. 
Richelieu.   Cardinal.   I,   85,   141. 
Rigdon,  Sidney,   III,   128. 
Rindskopf.  Sam.   IV.   274. 
Ritner,   Lieutenant,   II,  200. 
Robbins,   George  W.,  III.  258. 
Robinson,   Charles  D..  Ill,  227. 
Robinson,   M.   W..    III.   316. 
du  Rocher,  Amable,   II,  211. 
Rogers,  Lieutenant,  II,  96. 
Rogers,   Colonel,    II,   34,   45. 
Rogers.    H.    G.,  Ill,  323. 
von  Rohr.   Henry,  III,  47,  48. 
Rolette,  Joseph,   II,  77,  79. 
Ronan.   Ensign,  II,   173. 
de  la  Ronde,   I,  265-267. 
de  la  Ronde,  Denys,  265,  269,  310, 


WISCONSIN  AS  A  STATE 


353 


de  la  Ronde,  John  T.,  II,  tj,  78. 
de  la  Ronde,   Pierre  Francois  Paul, 

I,  269. 
Ronge,   Madame,  IV,  174,   175. 
Roosevelt,    Theodore,    II,    107;    IV, 

278,  306. 
Rose,  David  A.,  IV,  44. 
Roseboome,  Thomas,  I,  320. 
Rounds,   Lester,   III,   108. 
Rouse,  Lewis,   II,  211. 
Rublee,    Horace,    IV,    200,    205,    206, 

208,  283,  291,  301,  317. 
Ruddy,  Ella  Giles,  IV,  187. 
Ruger,    Thomas    H.,    Ill,    148,    172, 

173,  176,    177,  314,  315- 
Rupert,  Prince,  I,   log. 
Rusk,    Jeremiah    M.,    Ill,    286,    322; 

IV,  86,   93,   97,   147,  228,   256,   258, 

264,  276,   285,   290,  292-298. 
Russell,  C.   H.,   Ill,  323. 
Ryan,    Edward   G.,   Ill,  74,   86;    IV, 

114,  143,  278. 
Ryan,   Samuel,    III,   227. 
Ryan,  T.  E.,  IV,  335. 
Sabin,  Ellen  C,   IV,  172. 
St.    Ange,  I,  294. 
St.  Auger,   Sieur,  I,  256. 
St.   Clair,   Arthur,  II,   159,   160-165. 
de   Saint-Lusson,   Sieur,   I,    162,    167, 

i68,   252;    II,   55. 
de  St.   Pierre,  Legardeur,  I,  245,  246, 

26s,  308,   340. 
de  St.   Simon,   Denis,  I,  162. 
Salisbury,   R.    D.,  IV,   185. 
Salomon,  Charles  E.,  Ill,  259. 
Salomon,   Edward,    III,   319. 
Salomon,   Frederick,  Gov.,  Ill,  259, 

288,   314;   IV,   265. 
Sanderson,   Edward.   IV,  298. 
Saunders,   Horace  T.,  Ill,  246. 
Savage,  John   A.,   Ill,  248. 
de  Savigny,   I,  94. 
Sawyer,   Hiram,   IV,  334. 
Sawyer,    Philetus,    IV,   259,   264,    285, 

290,  292,  307. 
Schiller,   II,  53. 

Schilling,   Robert,  IV,  87,  94,  98. 
Schlitz,  Joseph,   IV,  66. 
Schoeffler,  Moritz,  IV,  189. 
Schoolcraft,  Henry  R.,  II,   55;  III, 

Schurz,    Carl,     III,   90-92,     314;     IV, 

192.. 
Schurz,  Mrs.   Carl,  IV,   174,  175. 
Scofield,   Edward,     IV,    326,    329-332, 

334,   iZd,   Zyj^   340- 
Scott,   General   Winfield   S.,  II,   161, 

166,  167,  205,  218;  III,  169,  262. 
von    See,    Henricus,    IV,    191. 
Selby,  Jeremiah,    IV,   40. 
Seignelay,  I,  iii,  234. 
Senn,  Nicholas,  IV,  185. 
Seward,   William   H.,   Ill,  84. 
Shaunce,  T.   B.,  II,  272. 
Shaw,  John,  II,  265. 
Shelby,   Governor,    II,   177. 
Shephard,   C.   F.,  Ill,  211. 
Sheridan,    Philip    H.,    II,    222,    28c, 

285,   313- 


Sherman,  William  Tecumseh,  III, 
147,  231,  245,  247,  263,  267,  271, 
291,  292,  302,  313;  IV,  285. 

Sholes,  C.   I^atham,  IV,  202. 

Shores,  C.  L.,  Ill,  323. 

Shull,  Jesse  W.,  II,  268. 

Sigel,    Franz,    IV,    192. 

Siller,   Frank,   IV,   193,   194. 

Silverthorn,   W.   C,   IV,  330. 

Sinclair,   Lieut. -Governor,  II,  102. 

Sivyer,   William,   IV,  42. 

Slaughter,  William   B.,  II,  ■296-299. 

Smith,  A.   J.,    Ill,  257,  293. 

Smith,  Campbell,  III,   118,  119. 

Smith,  E.   Kirbv,   II,   218-220,  263. 

Smith.   Elbert   Herring,   IV,   195. 

Smith,   George,   IV,    148. 

Smith,   George   B.,    Ill,   38. 

Smith,   Hiram,   IV,   63. 

Smith,  Jeremiah,   II,  296. 

Smith,  Joseph,   III,  125-128. 

Smith,  Joseph   Lee,   II,  263. 

Smith,  Judge,   III,    100. 

Smith,   Marv  Ann,   IV,  195. 

Smith,  William  E.,  IV,  258,  259,  264, 
270,  271,  278,  281,  283-285. 

Snelling,   Colonel,   II,   183-185. 

Somers,  P.  J.,  IV,  44- 

Sonbron,  Otto  William,  IV,  193. 

Southworth,  Emma  Dorothy  E.  N., 
IV,    187. 

Spalding,    Henry   S.,    I,    196- 

Spooner,  John  C,  IV,  293,  300-304. 
306,  307,  322-324.  339- 

Stambaugh.    Colonel,    II,   201. 

Stannard.   Captain,    I,   109. 

Starkweather,  John  C,  III,  14S, 
168,   255,   314. 

State  Historical  Society  of  Wiscon- 
sin,  I,  355. 

Steele,  Frederick,  III,  259. 

Steinlein,   Augustus,    IV,   191. 

Stephens,   J.    P.,  II,  229. 

Stephens,  Thomas,   III,  301. 

Stephenson,    Isaac,    IV,   335. 

Sterling,  John  W..   IV,   167. 

Steuben,  Baron,  II,   iii,  112. 

Stevens,   George  H.,   Ill,  241. 

Stewart,  Charles  D.,  IV.,   187. 

Stillman,  Isaiah,   II,   192-194,  206. 

Story,  John  P.,  Ill,  315. 

Stout,  James  H.,  IV,   i77-i79- 

Stowell,  John  M.,  IV.  44- 

Strang,  James  Jesse,  III,   125-135. 

Street,   Joseph    M.,   II,    190,  227. 

Strong,  Moses  N.,  II,  50,  308;  III, 
80;  IV,   137. 

Sumner,   Charles,  III,  08. 

Sweet,  Benjamin  J.,  Ill,  276-278. 

Symmes,  John   Clive,   II,   160. 

Tainter,    Ezekiel,   II,   230. 

Tainter,    Gorham,   II,   230. 

Tallmadge,  John  J.,   IV,  44,  ifi2. 

Tallmadge,   Nathaniel  P.,  IT,  308. 

Tallmadge,   Samuel   H.,   Ill,  323. 

Talon,  I,   161,   162,  202-204,  252. 

Tammany,   I,  35. 

le  Tardiff,   Oliver,  I,  93. 


354  WISCONSIN  IN  THREE  CENTURIES 


Taylor,    Horace    A.,    IV,     316,     318, 

326. 
Taylor,  Lute,   IV,  188. 
Taylor,    William    R.,    IV,    113,    114, 

272,  274-277. 
Taylor,    Zachary,    II,    176,    192,    196, 

201,  207,  218,  265;  III,  -jT,  78. 
Teas,  Joseph  B.,  II,  296. 
Tecumseh,    I,    36;    II,    170-172,    176, 

177,  188. 
Tenney,  Horace  A.,  Ill,   173. 
Thomas,    George    H.,    Ill,    245,   266, 

284,  313- 
Thomas,  Griff  J.,  Ill,  323. 
Thomas,  John,  II,    191. 
Thompson,  Colonel,  II,  206. 
Thompson,  Samuel  M.,   II,   191. 
Thomson,  A.   M.,  IV,  196,  265. 
Throckmorton,  John,   II,  202. 
Thwaites,  Reuben  Gold,  IV,   184. 
Tonty,    Henry,    I,    215-221,    236,    z^y, 

320. 
Torrey,  W.   H..  Ill,  300. 
Townsend,   Secretary,  II,  59. 
Traeumer,   George  P.,   IV,  97. 
Treadway,   W.   W.,   Ill,  172. 
Treason,  I,  233. 
de  Troyes,  I,   112,  163. 
Trueman,   Alexander,   II,   104. 
Turner,  A.   J.,  IV,  285,  286,  322,  332* 
Turner,   Frederick  J.,   IV,   184. 
Tutchet,   Sir  Samuel,  II,  59. 
Tweedy,  John  H.,  II,  308;  IV,  44. 
Twombly,  John  H.,  IV,  167. 
Tyler,  John,    II,  306. 
Tyler,  President,  III,  318. 
Upham,    Don    A.    J.,    II,    285;    III, 

79;    IV,  44- 
Upham,    William    H.,    II,    322;    IV, 

302,  326-328. 

Utley,   W.    L.,    Ill,   172,   177,   278-280. 

Van  Buren,  Martin.   Ill,  78. 

Van  Hise,  Charles  Richard,  IV,  168, 

^      185. 

de  Varrenne,  Pierre  Gaultier,  (Sieur 

de   Verendrye),   I,  242-245. 
de   Vaudreuil.    I,   237,    285,    287,   290, 

3".  331,  334-336,  357,  358- 
Van  Voorhees,  Dr.,  II,  175. 
de   Verrazano,    Giovanni,    I,    70,    71, 

85. 
de  la  Verendrye,  Sieur,   I,   308. 
de  Verville.   Gautier,  I,  351. 
Viebahn,   C.   F.,   IV,   175. 
de  Vignan,  Nicholas,   I,  -jy,  78. 
Vigo,   Francois,    II,  95,    103. 
Vilas,  E.  B.,  IV,  282. 
Vilas,  William  F.,  IV,  282,  302,  306- 
,,.,,308,   324,  333- 
Villeneuve,   Daniel,  I,  346. 
Villiers,  Conlon,  I,  295,  296,  299,  300- 

303,  306,  324,  347. 

de  Vincennes,  Sieur,  I,  331. 


Vineyard,    James    R.,    II,    296,    297, 

302,  307,  308. 
Wabasha,  II,  102. 
Wadsworth,  E.   R.,  Ill,  172. 
Waldo.  O.   H.,  IV,  265. 
Walker,  George  H.,  II,  296;  IV,  40, 

44- 
Walker,  Isaac   P.,  Ill,  778. 
Wallace,  \\illiam  M.,  Ill,  316. 
Wallber,   Eniil,   IV,  44,  93,  298. 
Walpole,   Thomas,   II,  87. 
Walther,    George    H.,    Ill,  294. 
Walworth,  John,    III,   83. 
Ward,  Lyman  M.,  Ill,  266. 
Warner,   Clement    E.,   Ill,   249. 
Washburn,  C.  C,   III,  300,  301,  314; 

IV,  113,  259,  264,  265,  268-272,  285. 
Washington,  George,  I,  246,  341,  351; 

II,    100,    HI,    113,    114,    126,    160, 

164. 
Watkins,  C.  K.,  Ill,  102. 
Watrous,  J.  A.,  Ill,  316,  323. 
Wawatam,  II,  38. 
Wayne,   Anthony,   II,   112. 
Webb,    General,   III,  248. 
Webb,   Charles,  IV.  335. 
Webster,  Daniel,  III,  303. 
Webster,   J.    P.,   IV,    188. 
Webster,  Noah,  IV,  201. 
Weissert,  A.    G.,  Ill,   288,  322. 
Wells,   Captain,   II,   175. 
Wells,  Horatio  N.,  IV,  44. 
Welton,  C.   B.,  Ill,  323. 
West,   F.  H.,   Ill,  292. 
West,  T.   S.,  Ill,  285. 
Wharton,   Samuel,   II,   87. 
Wheeler,  Joseph,  III,  255,  299. 
Whistler,   Major,   II,  185,   186. 
White  Cloud,  II,  189,  191,  192. 
White   Crow,    II,    195. 
Whiteside,  Samuel,  II,   192,   194. 
Whitney,    Daniel,   II,   263,   272. 
Wight,   Lyman,    III,    128. 
Wilcox,   Ella  Wheeler,   IV,   194-198. 
Wilkinson,    General,   II,   161. 
Williams,   C.  G.,  IV,   276. 
Williams,   Ebenezer,    II,   222. 
Williams,  Eleazer,   IV,   159. 
Winkler,   Frederic   C,    III,  247. 
Winnimeg,   II,    173,    174. 
Winslow,   Justice,   IV,   325. 
Wolcott,  Dr.,  Ill,  103. 
Wolcott,  E.   B.,   Ill,  172. 
Wolfe,   II,   44,   86,   107. 
Wood,    David   E.,    Ill,   266. 
Wood,  James  T.,  IV,  226. 
Woodbridge,  Adjutant,   II,  199. 
Woodworth,  J.  H.,  Ill,  325,  327. 
Wright,  A.  O.,  Ill,  325. 
Young,  Brigham,  III,   125-127. 
Young,  William,  I,  114,   115. 
Zuendt,  Ernst  Anton,  IV,  191. 


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