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.