The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Volume 1, 1917-1918

by Various

SURVEY OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES

THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE

Seven new members have joined the State Historical Society during the quarter ending September 30; Charles D. Rosa, of Beloit; Edward P. Farley, of Chicago; Earl Murray, of Green Bay; William T. Evjue, of Madison; Frank M. Crowley, of Madison; Charles H. Crownhart, of Madison; and Dr. L.A. Quaife, of Rosalia, Washington. In the same period the Society lost through death two of its valued members, Otto B. Joerns, of Stevens Point, and Henry E. Legler, of Chicago.

In the death of Henry E. Legler on September 13 this Society sustained the loss of a valued friend and member. Many and divers as were the public positions he occupied—newspaper editor, legislator, secretary of the Milwaukee School Board, secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, librarian of the Chicago Public Library—it is not to the man as a public official that our thoughts involuntarily turn, but to the man as a friend. With unusual business capability, which involved securing the utmost of service and loyalty from his employees, Mr. Legler was possessed of personal characteristics that endeared him as well to the office messenger as to the members of the governing boards under whom he worked. His associations with this Society and the members of the library staff were long and close, and it seems fitting that we should express both sorrow for his loss, and gratification that it had been our privilege to have known him intimately.

Miss Mabel Swerig, for two years a faithful and efficient worker in the reference division of the Historical Library, severed her connection with the Society in September in order to enter upon a course of library training at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. Miss Mary Farley, for three years a member of the library staff, on October 1, assumed direction of the library maintained by Marshall Field and Company for its employees. The new position will afford Miss Farley an excellent opportunity for development in the line of her chosen profession. At the beginning of September Theron Brown, for the past two years assistant in the public documents division of the Library, enlisted for technical service in the United States Navy.

Carl Russell Fish and Frederic Logan Paxson, curators of the Society and professors of American history in the University of Wisconsin, spent the summer in Washington engaged in service for

the government. Professor Fish’s time was given to the National Board for Historical Service, of which he is a member. Professor Paxson gave his services to the committee on public information.

Prof. Winfred T. Root, member of the State Historical Society and of the faculty of the State University, conducted history courses at the summer session of the University of Chicago.

Rev. Eugene Updike recently terminated a twenty-seven year pastorate of the First Congregational Church of Madison. In the last fifty-two years this church has had but two pastors, Mr. Updike’s predecessor having served a quarter of a century.

Capt. Arthur L. Conger, who delivered the annual address at the meeting of the State Historical Society in 1916, is now serving on General Pershing’s staff in France. Mrs. Conger has recently gone to France to be near her husband.

At the time of going to press, plans are practically complete for the annual meeting of the State Historical Society to take place October 25. Two events new to the annual program are a luncheon to be tendered by the Society to its members and invited friends and a conference of local historical societies. Because of Prof. Frederic L. Paxson’s work for the government, he was unable to prepare the annual address announced in the September number of the Magazine. In his stead Prof. Carl R. Fish will speak on “The Frontier a World Problem.” A full report of the meeting will appear in a later number of the Magazine.

The use of pageantry in depicting the historical development of a community is rapidly gaining headway in Wisconsin. Among those that attracted state-wide attention was the one given at Portage during the week of the Columbia County Fair, August 22-25, 1917. “America and the Nations” was the title of the pageant, and it was given in three episodes. In the first there was a symbolical scene representing the spirit of the Fox and the Wisconsin rivers. Then followed the Jesuit fathers, French traders, trappers, and pioneers. In the second episode the coming of miners, lumbermen, fishermen, and farmers was witnessed. The closing scene was a grand review of all the leading nations of the world, symbolizing an international unity. Over 700 people took part in the pageant.

The citizens of Chippewa County staged an interesting pageant at Holcombe during the week of their Community Fair, September 13 and 14. The pageant, given under the direction of H. A. Edminster, portrayed the coming of the fur traders in the Chippewa Valley, a bit of Indian life, the coming of the priests, lumbermen, and the first permanent settlers. The closing scene depicted the modern economic and industrial development of that region. One very interesting

part of the performance was the appearance of an ox team hitched to an old “jumper,” driven by Mr. and Mrs. Edminister, representing their coming into that region.

Among those working for the cause of history in Wisconsin, none are doing more effective or practical work than some of the history committees of the county councils of defense. Among those that are rendering a real service is the committee of Eau Claire County, headed by William W. Bartlett. Their object is to gather, preserve, index, and make available for public use the proceedings of every event that takes place in Eau Claire County pertaining to the war. A complete file of newspaper clippings that deal with the war will be preserved. Also an effort is being made to secure a photograph and brief sketch of every young man entering the service from Eau Claire County. Such practical work as this commends itself to every patriotic citizen in Wisconsin, and the committees in other counties might do well to follow Eau Claire’s lead.

Mr. Charles E. Brown, chief of the Wisconsin Historical Museum, entertained in September a group of friends who are interested in the study of local Indian history at his attractive home in Nakoma, a suburb of Madison. A picnic supper was served, after which Mr. Brown gave an instructive talk upon Nakoma and its environment. Brief talks relating chiefly to Indian history were made by others present.

The surviving members of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry held a joint meeting with the Scandinavian Veterans’ Association at Madison in September and plans were inaugurated for erecting a monument to the memory of Colonel Heg. Wisconsin had the distinction during the war of sending a regiment to the front composed almost exclusively of Scandinavians. Col. Hans Heg, their famous commander, was born in Norway, and came to America when eleven years old. At the opening of the Civil War he was holding the position of state prison commissioner, which he resigned in order to raise a regiment of troops. The Fifteenth Wisconsin brought credit to itself and to its state, and the name of Colonel Heg deserves a permanent place among the Wisconsin heroes of the Civil War.

At the meeting of the Wisconsin Federation of Women’s Clubs, held in Madison during October, the history section met in the museum of the State Historical Society. The visitors were taken for an automobile ride and sightseeing trip about the city.

The annual meeting of the Sauk County Historical Society was held at Baraboo, October 5, 1917. All the officers of the Society were reëlected for the ensuing year. The report of the

treasurer revealed an especially gratifying condition, a considerable sum of money in the treasury and practically all membership dues paid in. A bequest of $200 from the estate of the late W. W. Warner of Madison, was received during the year. The Society voted to send two delegates to the annual meeting of the State Historical Society at Madison, October 25. The address of the evening was given by Mr. M. M. Quaife, Superintendent of the State Historical Society, on the subject, “The Angel of Wisconsin.”

The Old Rivermen’s Association of Minneapolis and St. Paul held their meeting in the latter city on September 4, 1917, and the chief address of the meeting was given by George B. Merrick, of Madison. No group of men in the upper Mississippi Valley has played a more romantic part in the opening up of this region than the old steamboat men. Their membership now numbers about 150, and the experiences which they relate form an interesting chapter in early Wisconsin history.

Wisconsin’s Indian drama entitled “Glory of the Morning,” written by Prof. W. E. Leonard, is being produced by Mrs. Emma Garrett Boyd of the Casino Studio, New York. The proceeds are being devoted to the war fund. This drama was first produced in Madison in 1912 by the Wisconsin Dramatic Society under the direction of Prof. T. H. Dickinson. As a summer festival play it has become one of the most popular in the country.

An interesting old account book kept by Jean Brunet of Brunet Falls (now Cornell), Wisconsin, was recently given to the Society by Mrs. Gustave Robart of Holcombe. The old Brunet tavern was the most widely known of any in the Chippewa Valley, and every traveler who went up and down the valley stopped with Jean Brunet. During its palmy days as many as 150 men were fed there at one time. The entries in the book cover the period from 1862 to 1876. Mrs. Robart, its donor, is a child of the first white settler in that part of the valley.

Recent accessions to the Society’s historical museum include fine examples of early English chinaware, an early American clock, lamp, children’s clothing, laces and embroideries, a steelyard, kitchen fire shovel, boat-builders’ rule, a railroad stock certificate, and other articles of interest. The most valuable single specimen is a large silver trophy cup given by the Army and Navy News and won by the First Wisconsin Infantry in the Second Brigade football contest among the troops stationed on the Mexican border in 1916.

An interesting collection of war relics has been placed on exhibit in one of the rooms of the museum just off the auditorium. The exhibit represents the current history of the present war, as illustrated

by relics, war implements, and posters. The contents of the exhibit are changed every few days.

A valuable collection of papers was recently presented to the Society by Dr. Herbert B. Tanner. The collection contains many of the letters of John Lawe, the well-known merchant and fur trader of Green Bay, and some letters of George Boyd, an early Wisconsin Indian agent. Lawe through an inheritance left him by his uncle, Jacob Franks of Montreal, became a very wealthy trader, and following the War of 1812 settled in Green Bay. Here he acted as agent for the American Fur Company and his operations extended from Milwaukee as far west and north as the upper Mississippi. As adviser and counselor for the Indians and fur traders he became the leading citizen in what is now Wisconsin. Dr. Tanner’s donation contains fifty-three letters written by Lawe himself, ranging in time from 1824 until his death in 1846. Their chief interest lies in the additional light that they throw upon the early fur-trading interests of Wisconsin and the Northwest. The collection contains eighteen letters written by Jacob Franks covering the period from 1818 to 1830. Those written during the latter years express a feeling of regret over the gradual disappearance of the fur trade, and the coming in of new settlers. There are several letters of a personal nature that add interest to the collection. The Society is indebted to Doctor Tanner for this contribution of fur-trading documents.

SOME WISCONSIN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, JANUARY-JULY, 1917

The sixty-fourth annual session of the Wisconsin Teachers’ Association was held at Milwaukee, November 2 to 4, 1916. The chief value of its published Proceedings is in the fifty-nine papers and abstracts which it contains. Four of the principal addresses form a symposium on the subject of progress during the last decade in rural schools, secondary schools, normal schools, and the University of Wisconsin, the fourth topic being discussed by Dr. Charles R. Van Hise in his presidential address. Three important papers deal with recent achievements in elementary, rural, and secondary education. Notable addresses by persons from outside the state are those of William Wirt, John Finley, L. D. Coffman, and Dr. Maria Montessori. In addition to the papers, the volume contains minutes of business sessions, committee reports, the constitution and by-laws of the organization, and a list of members.

The twenty-second report of the commissioner of banking deals with the year closing on November 17, 1916. During this period state banks and trust companies gained $774,100 in capital invested,

representing in all an investment of $23,672,350. The total resources of $298,617,175.61 show a gain for the year of $44,675,247.15. The increase in deposits amounted to $43,424,626.33. Attention is called to the increase from 21% to 22.7% in the average reserve held by state banks. The conclusion of the commissioner, based upon an analysis of the statistics of which the report largely consists, is that “the financial outlook for Wisconsin is most encouraging.” In a section on legislation the passage of a law to create a uniform system of school savings banks, under state supervision and subject to state control, is recommended. Most of the report is given over to statements of state banks, mutual savings banks, trust companies, land mortgage associations, and national banks.

The Department of English of the University of Wisconsin has issued a small pamphlet with the title A List of Books on the War. Out of the great mass of books on the subject a rigorous selection of some 270 titles has been made. These aim to include the most important works published prior to June 1, 1917. Short pamphlets and tracts have been excluded, and the titles are chiefly English and French. They are grouped into six divisions: “Background and Origins,” “Course and Conduct,” “Personal Narratives,” “Thought concerning the War,” “Peace and Readjustment,” “Miscellaneous.” The selections are discriminating, and the bulletin should prove of great value to students of the war.

An admirable innovation has been made in issuing the Governor’s Memorial Day proclamation as a small pamphlet, very neatly put up, rather than as a broadside of large, awkward size, and difficult to preserve in a series.

The importance of the dairy industry in Wisconsin is clearly brought out in a report of the dairy and food commissioner on Butter Factories and Cheese Factories Operated in 1916; Dairy Statistics for 1915. The gross profits in all branches of the industry for 1915 are estimated at more than $110,000,000. Approximately 235,000,000 pounds of cheese were produced. More than 124,000,000 pounds of butter were made in the state, about 20,000,000 pounds in excess of the production of 1909. The report contains an interesting statistical comparison of cheese and butter production for the years 1909 and 1915. Lists of operators of butter and cheese factories, and of cheese factories operated in 1916 by counties, are included. There is also a list of condenseries in Wisconsin.

Agriculture in the High School, A Manual for the High Schools of Wisconsin has been brought out by the Department of Public Instruction. The authors are Henry N. Goddard and John A. James. Issued as a guide for high schools giving agricultural work, particularly

for those maintaining four-year departments, the manual illustrates admirably the new movement in secondary education. A historical sketch contains an account of the various laws which have shaped the agricultural movement in Wisconsin. The proper interpretation and method of applying these laws is made clear. The practical problems of the needs in the organization and management of high school agricultural departments are considered in detail, and a great amount of material helpful to the administration of such a department—particularly as to the scope and character of the work—is included. The manual has been prepared with great care, and appears to be a model of its kind.

The last report of the attorney-general continues the opinions, January 1, 1916, to December 31, 1916, and the eighth biennial report, July 1, 1914 to June 30, 1916. The first 65 pages contain a summary of the work of the attorney-general. An examination of these pages shows that during the period indicated 68 civil, 59 industrial commission, 2 bankruptcy, and 8 forfeiture cases were disposed of. Thirty-six criminal cases were disposed of, 23 in lower courts, 12 in the Supreme Court, and 1 in the United States Supreme Court. The official opinions of the attorney-general, filling 917 pages, embrace in their scope a great amount of state activity. In the printing of these opinions there is no classification or grouping of the material, such as in the reports of the attorney-general of Indiana, for example. A strictly chronological order is followed.

The report of the dairy and food commissioner for the year ending June 30, 1916, illustrates the vital need of protecting the public against the sale of adulterated and misbranded foods. It contains the reports of the state chemist, dealing with the inspection of beverages, canned vegetables, dairy products, dried fruit, and drugs; of the assistant dairy and food commissioner, and of the inspector of weights and measures. Special attention is called to the new dairy and food laws, and the new era in the dairy industry of Wisconsin which these laws introduce. As a result of unsanitary conditions in cheese factories and meat markets, and misrepresentations of foods, 79 convictions were secured. Druggists to the number of 226 were selling spirits of camphor not standard. Between April 17 and June 30, 2,221 factories were inspected. It was found that 35% of the butter factory operators and 24% of the cheese factory operators were complying with the license law and the new regulations. Much has been done in the economic interests of the public by the inspector of weights and measures, for the number of inaccurate computing scales decreased from 17% in 1914 to 8% in 1916.

The Country Church an Economic and Social Force is an interesting bulletin edited by the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin. It points out that the thriving church in a rural community tends to unify agriculture, which in turn serves to nurture the church. The country or hamlet church thrives best where population is constant, and successful farming is advanced through the influence of the church upon daily habits. It is suggested that principles for the re-parishing of rural districts might be established through a joint commission of the national religious bodies, with a view toward creating stronger churches for the farmers. Several descriptions are given of Wisconsin country churches in which the religious leaders are fostering a progressive agriculture through coöperative social development. The remarkable story of a great country pastor, John Frederick Oberlin, who for sixty years labored for the social, industrial, and religious uplift of a poverty-stricken community, is given in illustration of the theories advanced in the bulletin.

The seventeenth biennial report of the Wisconsin state prison is largely statistical. The average number of convicts for the year ending June 30, 1915, was 807; for the year ending June 30, 1916, it was 906. During the latter period 140 to 180 convicts were employed and housed outside of the walls of the institution. Under the chaplain’s direction, school was held from one to two o’clock, three days a week, during six months of the year. There were fourteen classes and an average attendance of 110 men. Instruction was given the illiterate in four grades in reading, arithmetic, writing, and spelling. Earnings of inmates for the year were $35,696.50. New prisoners admitted numbered 511; of these 483 were male; 23 were under twenty years of age, and 117 over fifty years; 495 were white, 12 black, 3 Indian, and 1 mulatto; 230 were Catholic, 148 Protestants, 108 Lutherans, 3 Hebrews, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Seventh Day Adventist; 17 had no religion; 27 were illiterate, 41 had high school education, and 7 were college men; 174 were native to Wisconsin, 28 to Illinois, 29 to Michigan, 19 to Minnesota, 20 to New York, and 11 to Pennsylvania; 26 were born in Austro-Hungary, 20 in Finland, 34 in Germany, 10 in Norway, and 27 in Russia. The others came from various states and countries throughout the world. Statistics are given concerning occupations, residence by counties, crimes, terms of sentences, discharges, pardons, population since the organization of the prison in 1852, the binder twine plant, farm and gardening operations, and many other matters.

The merit system for the public service of Wisconsin was established in 1905, and the sixth biennial report of the Civil Service

Commission has now been issued, covering the work done from July, 1914, to July, 1916. The classified service of the state comprises the exempt, competitive, noncompetitive, legislative employee, and labor classes. In these classes there are about 3,200 employees. From July 1, 1914 to July 1, 1916, 4,995 persons took competitive examinations. Of these, 2,903 passed, 2,079 failed; 376 permanent and 147 temporary appointments were made. That is, 58% passed, and 10½% were appointed to positions. The number of applicants for positions at state institutions has decreased, for various reasons. The report contains a map showing the number and distribution of employees in the state classified service. It also presents the results of certain studies aiming to increase the efficiency of the service. Half of the report consists of financial tables and rules.

The chief functions of the state fire marshal, as indicated in his ninth annual report, are two: combatting incendiarism, and doing fire prevention work. Coöperating with the local departments, the fire marshal has investigated 389 fires during the period covered by the report, from July 1, 1915 to December 31, 1916. Forty-six arrests were made, 12 persons were convicted and sentenced, 5 pleaded guilty and were sentenced, 6 were paroled, and 5 were sent to the hospital for the insane. In the year ending December 31, 1915, 3,066 fires in the state damaged buildings and contents to the extent of $5,932,980. These figures show the importance of the educational campaign for fire prevention conducted by the fire marshal. Thirteen newspaper articles were issued. These are printed in full in the report. Some of the titles are: Some Fires and Their Lessons, Safe Homes, Gasoline, Kerosene, Spring Clean Up, Safe Schoolhouses, and Holiday Fires. The report contains tables dealing with values, losses, classification of property, fire causes, number of fires according to classification of risk and cause, and other matters.

The biennial report of the adjutant-general deals with the two fiscal years ending June 30, 1916. It is a survey of the military activities of the state of Wisconsin during a period of trial and service. From July 1, 1914 to June 30, 1916, the Wisconsin National Guard increased from 201 officers and 2,990 enlisted men to a total of 208 officers and 4,224 enlisted men. Of these the report states that “4,168 officers and men are temporarily in the service of the United States in response to the call of the President issued June 18, 1916.” Since the date of this report, the war has placed a new responsibility upon the guard. The adjutant-general’s report gives information in regard to organization and strength, legislation, equipment, instruction, small arms firing, naval militia, medical

department, expenses, military reservation, and pensions. The National Defense Act oath, making obligatory a three-year term of reserve service by national guard organizations, was taken by officers and enlisted men of the guard “with fine zeal and loyalty to their country, their state, and their organization.”

The first biennial report of the State Conservation Commission is one of unusual interest. Through a law of 1915 this commission (consisting of three commissioners and a secretary) succeeded to the powers and duties of the Forestry Board, State Park Board, Conservation Commission, Commissioners of Fisheries, and the State Fish and Game Warden Department. The purpose was to consolidate “all the closely related duties and problems of administration over forest and stream, fish and game, and to give powerful impetus to the conservation of the natural resources of the Badger State.” The result has been a notable increase in efficiency and economy. The change, it may be noted, dispensed with the services of twenty-two members of boards and commissions. A strict civil service régime has been inaugurated. The report contains a considerable number of papers and division reports dealing with the conditions, problems, constructive plans and achievements which are shaping the conservation movement in the state. A large number of admirably chosen illustrations show the richness, variety, and beauty of the resources of nature in Wisconsin. These pictures enhance the value of a report which contains information of peculiar interest and significance to the people of the state.

The biennial report of the secretary of state is largely a collection of financial statistics covering the fiscal years ending June 30, 1915 and June 30, 1916. The condition of all state funds, receipts and disbursements, the net disbursements of the state, the valuation of taxable property in the counties, and the apportionment of tax and special charges for 1914 and 1915, collected in 1915, are shown in detailed statements, and various tabular statements.

Part four of the ninth annual report of the Railroad Commission is an elaborate collection of financial and operating statistics of railroad companies for the period from June 30, 1914 to June 30, 1915. The report is divided into three parts: steam railroads, electric railways, and express companies. There are 234 closely printed pages of statistical tables and figures, which lay bare with utmost exactness and detail all phases of the finances and operations of the three classes of public carriers mentioned. The statistics are not confined merely to Wisconsin; for example, the tables exhibiting the income account of steam railroads for the year ending December 31, 1914, show first the accounts of interstate roads in Wisconsin, and

thereafter the records of the entire systems of interstate roads which operate in Wisconsin.

The Railroad Commission of Wisconsin has published a digest covering the decisions contained in volumes I to XV of the official reports of the commission. The digest therefore covers all the decisions from July 20, 1905 to February 4, 1915. The compilation has been made by Harold L. Geisse. Its purpose is “to state briefly and yet clearly the principles and facts set forth in the decisions of the Commission….” The subject titles are alphabetically arranged, and carefully supplemented by cross-references. Precise references to sources are given for each decision. The value of such a compilation for lawyers is obvious. It should be noted that the separate volumes of the reports are each provided with an “index-digest.” For example, in volume XVI, recently published, this index covers pages 869 to 936. Volume XVI contains the opinions and decisions of the Railroad Commission from February 10, 1915 to November 15, 1915. Reports are given on hundreds of important cases dealing with railway, telegraph, telephone, express, and public utility problems.

Though the task of administering the income tax law is not at all times pleasant or easy, yet, in the opinion of the Wisconsin Tax Commission, “five years of experience have proved the law workable; taxpayers generally comply with its mandates without objection; and the resulting revenue has exceeded all expectations.” A chapter dealing especially with problems in the administration of the income tax law, and a series of tables showing the results of the income assessments of 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916, form an interesting part of the eighth biennial report of the Wisconsin Tax Commission. This report is a detailed statement of the work of the commission for the years ending June 30, 1915 and June 30, 1916. In addition to the section on the income tax, the chief features of the report are its chapters on “Duties of Tax Commission,” “General Revision of Tax Laws Recommended,” “Assessment and Taxation of Public Service Companies,” “Inheritance Tax,” “Report of Engineers,” “Municipal Statistics,” and “Statistics of Assessments and Taxes.” A thoughtful address by Thomas E. Lyons on the subject “Our Increasing Public Expenditures” is included. Mr. Lyons finds the remedy for the situation in a closer limitation of the taxing and borrowing powers.

The Wisconsin state budget for 1917 was compiled for the use of the legislature of 1917 by the State Board of Public Affairs. In scientific completeness it represents a considerable advance upon former publications of the kind. To aid the legislature in “determining

policies, and in working out a definite fiscal program and in the drafting of appropriate measures,” complete information is furnished along six lines. These are as follows: a report of actual receipts and disbursements for the three fiscal years prior to July 1, 1916; departmental estimates of receipts and disbursements for the current year 1916-1917; estimated treasury balances as of July 1, 1917; departmental receipts and disbursements for the biennial period beginning July 1, 1917; appropriations available beginning July 1, 1913; appropriations requested by the state departments, boards, commissions, and institutions for the biennium, beginning July 1, 1917. On January 5, 1917, after hearings and investigations, the Board of Public Affairs issued a typewritten bulletin with its recommendations on the budget. The 344 pages of the budget are mimeographed and bound.

The third biennial report of the Wisconsin Highway Commission deals with the state aid highway operations in the years from January 1, 1914, to January 1, 1916, together with preliminary estimates of operations to December 31, 1916. In the first five years of work under the state aid law, 4,846 miles of all types of roadway have been constructed in Wisconsin; of this mileage, 2,771 miles have been surfaced with various materials; in grading, approximately 10,300,000 cubic yards of earth have been excavated and placed in fills; 8,662 concrete culverts have been built on these roads, containing 100,000 cubic yards of concrete; since July 1, 1911, 2,819 county and state bridges have been constructed in accordance with the plans of the commission; at the height of the working season in 1916 the daily employment in the work included 175 engineers, county highway commissioners, and inspectors, 600 foremen, 6,000 laborers, and 2,500 teams. The daily pay roll for state, counties, and towns was in the vicinity of $22,000. In state aid roads and bridge construction in 1915, there was expended $4,134,830; in 1916, $4,215,183; the report estimates an expenditure of at least $4,600,000 in 1917. The report contains many discussions of phases of the road problem that are of timely importance. Many interesting illustrations of the types of construction built under the state aid law are given.

The address on John Muir delivered by President Van Hise upon the occasion of the unveiling of a bronze bust of the famous naturalist at the University of Wisconsin has been published as a small eighteen page pamphlet. At the age of eleven Muir came to America from Scotland with his father, and settled on a farm a few miles from Portage. He spent four years at the University of Wisconsin, maintaining himself by “doing odd jobs during the term and working in

the harvest, fields in the summer.” In speaking of his departure from Madison, Muir writes in his book My Boyhood and Youth, “But I was only leaving one university for another, the Wisconsin University for the University of Wilderness.” President Van Hise gives an eloquent account and interpretation of the life of this noted son of Wisconsin. “The great public service of John Muir,” writes President Van Hise, “was leading the nation through his writings to appreciate the grandeur of our mountains and the beauty and variety of their plant and animal life, and the consequent necessity for holding forever as a heritage for all the people the most precious of these great scenic areas. Probably to his leadership more than to that of any other man is due the adoption of the policy of national parks.”

History of the Civil War Military Pensions, 1861-1885 is the title of a bulletin recently issued by the University of Wisconsin in its History Series (vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-120). It is the doctor’s thesis of John William Oliver. As the title indicates it is a survey beginning with the reorganization of the pension system as a consequence of the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, and it carries the study through a period of twenty-four years. Beginning with a description of the situation before the Civil War, the author examines the succession of acts passed between 1861 and 1870, and the various administrative problems occasioned by the war. “By 1871,” writes Mr. Oliver, “it appears as if Congress had extended the benefits of the pension laws so as to include all possible claimants. Within ten years, over 261,000 Civil War pensioners had been added to the rolls, and the Government had already paid out more than $152,000,000 for their benefit.” The enactment of many contradictory laws led to the codification act of 1873. This act is described in the second chapter of the book, together with attempts at reforming the pension system. A third chapter discusses the act passed January 25, 1879, providing for the payment of arrears——“the most significant and far-reaching piece of pension legislation enacted during the period covered” in the study. The effects of this act may be seen in the increase, during the first six years after its passage, of the number of pensioners from 223,998 to 345,125, and in the amount expended annually from $27,000,000 to $68,000,000. The last chapter of the bulletin deals with the relation of pensions and politics, which assumed considerable importance in the years following the Arrears Act. At the conclusion of the thesis, development to 1885 is summarized. A later monograph is promised, to treat of the new epoch which the pension system then entered.

The biennial report of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin for the years 1914-15 and 1915-16 consists largely of the

report of the President, followed by reports of deans, directors, business manager, and other officers. The President’s report contains two main divisions: “The Progress of the University,” and “The Needs of the University.” The faculty numbered 389 in 1913-14. The number increased to 437 in 1915-16. In the year preceding the biennium the total number of students, including the short course and summer sessions, was 6,765. The number increased to 7,596 in 1914-15, and to 7,624 in 1915-16. Though the survey conducted by the Board of Public Affairs resulted in controversy, and led to no direct results, yet in consequence of a spirit of self-inquiry at the University a large committee was appointed by the faculty in the autumn of 1915, which was divided into a number of special committees to consider means of improving the University in undergraduate instruction, research, graduate, and field work, foreign language requirements, faculty organization, faculty records, and University physical plant. As a result of this inquiry, new legislation to be put in effect during the next biennium is expected materially to improve the efficiency of the University. These subjects are considered in some detail in the report. The needs of the University are discussed under the heads of salaries, and constructional needs. The varied activities of the University may be comprehended by a study of the many departmental and other statements included in the report.

The first annual report of the state chief engineer of Wisconsin issued in March, 1917, reveals the enormous work that has been taken over by that department. Five separate divisions known respectively as the railroad and utility, the highway, the architectural, the power plant, and the sanitary divisions have been established, and special experts placed in charge of each. The railroad and utility division was faced with duties greater than those of any other department. In making a physical valuation of all the steam railroads in Wisconsin it was found that there are over 11,000 miles of track in the state. The cost of the rolling stock, terminals, stores, and other equipment exceeds $385,000,000. The twenty-eight electric railways of the state have over 400 miles of track, with properties valued at $57,000,000. The state highway division reported that over $3,600,000 had been expended for state aid construction of roads in 1916. Over a half million dollars was spent in state aid bridge construction and 352 bridges of all types were built. The architectural division has formulated a standard for contracts, plans and specifications for labor and material to be used by the different institutions of the state. The power plant division supervises the operation of the various state plants, the purchase of fuel, specifies the plans for construction work and examines all bids. The sanitary

division, aside from conducting the investigation of different water supplies, drainage, and sewage systems, is also vitally interested in enlightening the public upon the importance of sanitation.

According to the Twentieth Annual Report of the Building and Loan Association there are seventy-seven such organizations in Wisconsin. The past two years have been unusually profitable for them. Their total assets amount to $16,873,000 which was an increase of $2,500,000 over the previous year. Their membership now numbers 45,891, showing a 21 per cent increase over the preceding year. Although their business showed a considerable increase, yet the report states in some cases money was so plentiful that it could not always be loaned with profit.

That there exists among the farmers of this state an unusually strong system of coöperation is proved by a bulletin issued by the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin in July, 1917. The industries that are managed on a coöperative basis in this state do an annual business amounting to more than $62,000,000. The creamery industry leads all the others, and in 1916 those plants that were run on a coöperative plan did business amounting to over $19,000,000. The two organizations that are most instrumental in promoting this spirit of coöperation are the American Society of Equity and the Grange. The former has a membership in Wisconsin now in excess of 12,000, while the Grange societies have over 2,200 names on their rolls. In addition to these two organizations there are sixteen others listed that tend to promote unity among the farmers of the state. The most important ones mentioned are the National Agricultural Organization, the farmers’ mutual insurance companies, the community breeders’ associations, feed and elevator companies, coöperative creameries, packing plants and others. The coöperative organizations are so numerous throughout the state that but few farmers can be found who are not identified with one or more of the agencies. The day of individualism among Wisconsin farmers is fast disappearing.

The sixteenth edition of the Manual for Elementary Course of Study in the schools of Wisconsin was issued in July, 1917. The state superintendent of public instruction has rendered a valuable service by discussing many pedagogical questions and in making concrete suggestions to the teachers. The object of the department was to place in the hands of each teacher a brief pedagogical treatise in connection with the subject matter to be taught. This report combines what may rightly be called a textbook on pedagogy with a state manual. More than ever the department of education is emphasizing the importance of bringing about a closer relationship between teacher and pupil, and some very practical and simple suggestions

are laid down for promoting this relationship. The method for teaching children how to study properly, the importance of careful assignments of lessons, and the manner in which recitations can be made interesting and spicy are all discussed in a practical way. The policy of reducing the number of daily recitations is suggested, and the combining of classes most closely related is advised, especially in rooms where the work is crowded.

In a leaflet issued by the State Council of Defense, July, 1917, announcement is made of a course of instruction to be given for health aides in several of the larger hospitals of the state. The plan is to offer six months of intensive training to young women in order to prepare them to care for the civilian sick when the regular registered nurses are drawn into military hospitals. The cost of training, board, lodging, and laundry bills will all be paid by the State Council of Defense. In return for this instruction each of the successful candidates is required to sign an agreement to attend the sick in the state of Wisconsin for a period of two years after completing the six months’ course. The first training school was opened at the Milwaukee County Hospital, Wauwatosa, July 1, 1917.

SOME PUBLICATIONS

Merk, Frederick. Economic History of Wisconsin During the Civil War Decade. Publications of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Studies, Vol. I. Published by the Society, Madison, 1916. Pp. 414.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has inaugurated its series of Studies by the most elaborate work of constructive history it has published, which is also the most comprehensive treatment of the economic history of any state during the constitutional period, taking rank with Bruce’s Virginia and Weeden’s New England. The author has produced a book which is of interest not only to the state with which it deals, but to every student of American history.

The American state, at least today and in the West, is an artificial unit, whose political separateness barely justifies that exclusive devotion of the historical student which the vastness of the United States seems to render necessary if the roots of our life are to be discovered. To recognize the influence of national conditions, without making the treatment national, to individualize the community without making it appear a detached entity, requires a variety of skill which can not be produced by scientific study alone, but demands also real literary ability. This skill Merk clearly possesses, and he has created an impression of an economic life, distinctly confined to the area of the state, yet part of that of the Union, and in

touch with that outside the national limits. He is fully conscious of the importance of Wisconsin wheat in our relations with Great Britain, and of the interstate functions of a medium of exchange, but he is not betrayed into a discussion of diplomacy or of national banking.

A similar difficulty is always presented when one attempts a cross-section of any history, for periods are even more artificial than state lines. Economically the “Decade” of the Civil War does not have those distinguishing features which are generally used to mark off, for convenience of study, one set of years from another. Doubtless the consideration which determined the selection was again artificial, the United States system of decennial censuses. Mr. Merk, however, allows himself more latitude in this case, and his work actually covers the real economic period, 1857 to 1873.

The chronological difficulty is intensified by the rapid changes of a new community. Wheat growing reaches its apex and declines, lumbering waxes, but neither begins nor culminates, movements feebly originate that are later of absorbing interest. The adjustment of proportions between these conflicting interests is delicately handled. The picture is that of the time, but the stage in the development of each industry is clearly indicated, and the origins of later movements given in some detail. The volume will afford a base for histories of the earlier and later periods, but has not skimmed their cream.

The technical character of the work is high. Newspapers and statistics were not only used, but are analyzed. The great resources of the State Historical Society were supplemented by personal interviews. The volume contains ample footnotes, illustrations, a map, index, but no bibliography. Its make-up is in the new, and more satisfactory, form recently adopted by the Society.

The title indicates that the center of interest is the effect of war on the Wisconsin community. This problem runs throughout, and is of especial interest today. Mr. Merk emphasizes the relative facility of adjustment in an agricultural community. Another general feature is the tendency toward coöperation in industry, particularly agriculture, for the purposes of education and general improvement, which later became so characteristic of Wisconsin.

Agriculture properly opens the volume with its vital but somewhat monotonous progress enlivened by the lively episode of hops. Lumbering receives fewer pages, but two chapters; the first, on the industry, the second, on the lumber wars. Railroads receive five chapters and almost as many pages as both, including two picturesque fights, which formed, in large measure, the basis of state politics during the period. Banking and trade about equal agriculture, and reveal a

state youthful but less reckless than many others. A chapter on labor is chiefly concerned with the beginnings of the labor movement, labor in industry being largely discussed in connection with the various fields. There are other chapters on mining, manufacturing, the commerce of the Upper Mississippi, and the commerce of the Great Lakes. No one reading of the lumber wars or the Anti-Monopoly Revolt can complain that economic history is dry.

The most unique contribution is doubtless that on the history of lumbering. Nevertheless the study of railroading reveals the advantages in taking up so vast a subject by localities. Generalizations become vivid by the detail that is given them. One sees how the railroads were unscrupulous, how the voters were unreasonable. The handling of such questions on a scale that involves personalities is a searching test of historical poise, and Mr. Merk shows a candor and a fair-mindedness that are impeccable; he sometimes criticizes action, but never impugns the motive.

The reviewer hesitates to close without adverse criticism, for fear that the review may be considered perfunctory. He could not, with honesty, do otherwise than express his conviction that the work is unusual in the degree and the well-rounded proportion of its excellence. If anything more could be desired, it seems to be a concluding chapter, not to add new facts, but to give a greater sense of development. Each chapter moves, but the topical method brings its inevitable result; one cannot entirely escape the impression of a street corner rather than a river bank.

Carl Russell Fish.

Two of the four leading articles in the October number of the American Historical Review are by Wisconsin men. Prof. Herbert E. Bolton, now of California, discusses “The Mission as a Frontier Institution in the Spanish-American Colonies.” Prof. W. T. Root, of the University of Wisconsin, writes of “The Lords of Trade and Plantations.” Other leading articles in the magazine are “A Case of Witchcraft” by George L. Kittredge, and “The History of German Socialism Reconsidered” by Prof. C. J. H. Hayes.

The September number of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review contains three articles of special interest to Wisconsin readers. The first, “The Rise of Sports,” by Prof. Frederic Logan Paxson, curator of the Society, was delivered as the recent annual presidential address before the Mississippi Valley Historical Association. It traces in interesting fashion the development in America between 1876 and 1893 of a widespread interest in out-of-door exercise. B. H. Schockel writes on the “Settlement and Development of the Lead and Zinc Mining Region with Special Emphasis on Jo Daviess County, Illinois.” The district treated of consisted of Grant, Iowa, and

Lafayette Counties in Wisconsin, and of Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Although the latter county affords the particular locus for the study, it applies with almost equal force to the three counties of southwestern Wisconsin included in the lead mining district. Finally, Prof. James A. James, of Northwestern University, writes on “Spanish Influence in the West during the American Revolution.”

The Wisconsin Archeological Society has recently issued two reports, one describing the antiquities of Green Lake, the other describing the early Indian remains of Shawano County. The latter report is based upon the recent surveys made of the Shawano Lake and Wolf River Region by George R. Fox, a former resident of Wisconsin, but now a curator of the Chamberlain Museum in Three Oaks, Michigan. The Society is now making an earnest effort to preserve a fine Indian mound on the shore of Lake Anderson, in Forest County. This mound, 10 feet high and 45 feet in diameter, stands at the edge of an old Indian village site and is the only one in that part of the country. Relic hunters have already begun to dig into it, and the state Archeological Society, realizing its historic value, is urging the owner to preserve it permanently and mark it with a descriptive tablet.

The first issue of the Michigan History Magazine published by the Michigan Historical Commission appeared in July, 1917. Like similar magazines, its chief purpose is that of serving as an historical news bulletin, and as a medium of publication for papers of historical interest. The first number contains five contributed articles, with sections devoted to historical news, notes, and comments. One of the features to be mentioned is that of securing reports from all the county and local historical societies regarding their activities. Since the local societies cannot support a joint publication, this method offers a good substitute. By this exchange of news, each society is kept in touch with the proceedings of the other. A contributed article of more than ordinary merit appears in the first issue by Rev. F. X. Barth on “The Field for the Historian in the Upper Peninsula.” Aside from indicating the numerous points of historical interest found in the Upper Peninsula, many of which are shared jointly by Wisconsin, the paper presents one of the strongest appeals for the value of local history study that can be found anywhere. It is recommended to every reader of our Society.

Dr. George N. Fuller, Secretary of the Michigan Historical Commission, is the author of a new book entitled the Economic and Social Beginnings of Michigan. The study deals with the settlement of the Lower Peninsula during the territorial period from 1805 to 1837. Doctor Fuller has given special attention to the purely economic

conditions that existed in the Michigan Territory until her admission into the Union. It is by far the most interesting and authentic volume on the early history of Michigan that has appeared. The work is richly illustrated and is printed in large, readable type.

The Michigan Historical Commission proposes to reproduce by photostatic process the rare files of the Kentucky Gazette, 1787-1800, and the Detroit Gazette, 1817-1830. Of the former, but one file is known to exist, that in the Lexington Public Library. Of the latter file, the Wisconsin Historical Library possesses six bound volumes, covering over one-half of the total period. It is proposed to issue ten sets of each paper for as many subscribing libraries.

The Filson Club of Louisville has issued as number twenty-eight of its publications The Kentucky River by Mary Verhoeff. In this and other similar studies supported by the Filson Club, Kentucky is accumulating a valuable history of her state development. River navigation played a larger part in the early history of Kentucky than in almost any other of the western states. Miss Verhoeff’s chapter on the “Beginnings of River Commerce” contains one of the most interesting discussions of trade in the early Ohio Valley that has recently appeared. The study is profusely illustrated, consisting of six chapters and 257 pages. In marked contrast with the expensive volumes that thus far have been issued by the Filson Club, the present one appears in a most simple dress with covers of heavy paper.

Mr. A. C. Quisenberry has an interesting article in the September number of the Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society on the “History of Morgan’s Men.” There are few chapters in the military history of the Confederacy that compare in interest with the swift, dashing raids of Generals Morgan and Forrest. There are many historical readers who do not know that the southern forces ever came north of the Ohio during the conflict between the states. But during the summer of 1863 the citizens of Indiana and Ohio were given the greatest scare they ever experienced when General Morgan led 2,000 men in a mad dash across these two states and reached Columbia County, Ohio, where surrounded by over 80,000 regulars, volunteers, and home guards, he surrendered. Mr. Quisenberry’s article gives us a praiseworthy review of this brilliant raid.

One of the most important publications of original documents that has recently appeared relating to the southwestern portion of the United States and Louisiana Territory is the collection of the official letter books of Gov. William C. C. Claiborne, edited by Dr. Dunbar Rowland of the Mississippi Historical Society. Governor

Claiborne was perhaps the most important man in the entire Southwest from 1803 to 1817. He touched American life at many vital points, and his correspondence during the years in which he served as Governor of that vast territory is filled with observations and suggestions that relate to every important activity of the Southwest. The letters now made available for the first time comprise the chief source material from which the history of that significant section of American history must be written. The letters fill six octavo volumes, personally edited by Dr. Dunbar Rowland.

With the passing of the American frontier and the rapid settlement of every habitable portion of the western states, the present generation of readers welcomes with interest the personal reminiscences of those who figured in such epoch-making events. The death of Col. William F. Cody, more widely known as Buffalo Bill, marks the passing of the most famous and picturesque character of his time. In his autobiography entitled Buffalo Bill’s Own Story published by John R. Stanton, 1917, we have a vivid and in many respects an historical work of no slight importance. Mr. William Lightfoot Visscher who for two score years was a boon companion of Colonel Cody adds a chapter dealing with the incidents attending the last days of the noted pioneer, and an account of his death and burial. No man in all America could approach Colonel Cody in popularizing the events that played so prominent a part in the passing of the Indian and the westward migration of the whites. As scout, Pony express rider, Indian fighter, law maker, and showman he became an international character, and the dramatic events that marked such a career have passed from the active stage of western history.

The September, 1917 issue of the Georgia Historical Quarterly has as its leading article a biographical sketch of Mrs. Eleanor Kinzie Gordon, of Savannah, recently deceased, granddaughter of John Kinzie, the well-known Indian trader of early Chicago. Mrs. Gordon’s father, John Harris Kinzie, was sub-Indian agent for the Winnebago, stationed at Fort Winnebago for several years prior to 1834. To this frontier fort her mother, a cultivated New England girl, was brought as a bride in the year 1830. She is best known to later times by her charming book Wau Bun, a semi-historical narrative of family traditions and personal experiences in the early northwest. Its contents deal for the most part with the author’s life at Fort Winnebago and the book may fairly be regarded as a classic of early Wisconsin literature. Mrs. Gordon, the daughter, was born in Chicago in 1835. In early womanhood she married a citizen of Georgia and so for upwards of sixty years her home has been in that state.

Within the last few years Henry Ford has won for himself a place in the heart of the American public fairly comparable to that achieved long since by Thomas A. Edison, who, like Ford, was a Michigan boy. A good biography of Ford would be welcomed, we believe by thousands of Americans, not including those who own Ford cars. “Henry Ford’s Own Story” as told to Rose Wilder Lane (New York, 1917) is a hastily constructed narrative put together in characteristic reportorial fashion and frankly laudatory in character. Nevertheless it presents the essential facts about the noted manufacturer’s career, reads interestingly, and should at least serve to whet the appetite of the reading public for a biography which should be really worthy of its unique subject.

Bulletin of Information No. 87 of the Society, which has recently come from the press, is an account of “The Public Document Division of the Wisconsin Historical Library.” The immediate purpose of the bulletin is to serve as a guide to our own public document division. The full treatment which the author (Mrs. Anna W. Evans, chief of the document division of the library) has given the subject of the bulletin, however, should render it a valuable bibliographic aid to any library or student who has occasion to deal with American or British public documents. Members and friends of the Society will be pleased to know that our collection of public documents is believed to be the best west of the Alleghanies and to take high rank among the leading collections of the entire country. In the treatise under discussion the author has especially sought to emphasize the friendly, human qualities of the contents of the documents entrusted to her care. She has fully succeeded in realizing her aim.

A history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, it is understood, is shortly to be issued by the Lewis Publishing Company of Chicago.

A Son of the Middle Border, by Hamlin Garland, published by the Macmillan Company of New York, is a narrative of unusual interest to Wisconsin readers. In it the author tells the story of his early life, first on a “coulee” farm in western Wisconsin, later as an emigrant (with his parents) successively to northern Iowa and the Dakotas. Many of those of maturer years who read the book will find depicted in it with extraordinary clearness scenes and conditions of a life, now largely vanished, which they themselves have shared in earlier years.

A survey made by the United States Department of Agriculture in December, 1916, on the number of silos in this country shows that Wisconsin leads all other states in the Union. Out of a grand total of 333,160, Wisconsin had 55,992. New York was second with

42,846. The past year saw several thousand more silos constructed in Wisconsin, and the Agricultural Department of the State Council of Defense estimates the number will now reach 60,000. The average capacity of Wisconsin silos is 120 tons, while those of New York average but 62 tons.

The State Historical Society of Iowa has begun the publication of a series of pamphlets issued under the general caption Iowa and War. The object of the Society is “to present in attractive form a series of small pamphlets dealing with a variety of subjects relating to interesting matters connected with the history of Iowa.” Volume I, number 1, published in July is devoted to an account of “Old Fort Snelling” by Marcus L. Hansen. Old Fort Snelling belongs to the Upper Mississippi Valley in general and Mr. Hansen’s account of it should possess as much interest for citizens of Wisconsin as for those of Iowa. “Enlistments from Iowa during the Civil War,” by John E. Biggs is published in No. 2 for August. No. 3, for September, contains an account of “The Iowa Civil War Loan,” written by Ivan L. Pollock.

Since the declaration of war by the United States upon Germany, the study of military history in this country has practically monopolized the attention of historical investigators. The leading article in the Iowa Journal of History and Politics for July, 1917, deals with “Enlistments during the Civil War.” Like Wisconsin and other northern states, Iowa found herself utterly unprepared for a war. The writer states that at the beginning of the conflict in 1861, there was not a single unit of the regular army in Iowa, nor were there any forts or garrisons. There was not a military post in the state and the nearest arsenal was in St. Louis. A discussion of the draft and its administration in Iowa forms a valuable part of the study.

C. W. Johnston, a Des Moines lawyer of thirty years standing, “concluded to discontinue and enter upon a period of travel.” Along the Pacific by Land and Sea (Chicago, 1916) contains a series of breezy letters which he wrote back to the Des Moines Register and Leader. They contain the reactions of this son of the Middle West toward the new environment afforded by a visit, apparently his first, to various cities on the Pacific coast. Through dint of reiterated remarks on the subject the reader leaves the book with the not entirely valid conviction that one of the “certainties” for which Des Moines bears the palm among her sister cities is that of being the dirtiest place in the United States.

The importance of religious denominations in the growth of our State and national history is being recognized more and more

by historical students. In the Indiana Magazine of History, June, 1917, appears an interesting article by Rev. Elmo A. Robinson entitled “Universalism in Indiana.” While the writer deals primarily with the growth of that denomination in Indiana, yet mention is also made of the influences of Universalism in the other states of the Old Northwest. A review of the proceedings of the Northwest Conference of Universalists shows that the Wisconsin delegates figured prominently in the activities of this denomination.

CORDELIA A. P. HARVEY
From a photograph in the Wisconsin Historical Library

VOL. I, NO. 3 MARCH, 1918

THE
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE
OF HISTORY

PUBLICATIONS OF THE
STATE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN.

Edited by

MILO M. QUAIFE,

Superintendent