Читать книгу Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Volume 1 - Jerome A. Watrous - Страница 11

EARLY ROADS — GOVERNMENT ROAD TO MADISON — THE BRIDGE WAR — EARLY STAGE LINE — PLANK AND TURNPIKE ROADS — MILWAUKEE AND ROCK RIVER CANAL — FIRST PUBLIC BUILDINGS — PRESENT COURT-HOUSE — OTHER COUNTY BUILDINGS — FINANCES OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY

The first thought taken by early settlers, when a few homes are once established, is of facilities for communicating with a modest section of the outer world, and the realization of this desire becomes a business and social necessity. Afterward, when the limits of a village are expanded into a city, comes the thought of general means of communication and transportation, not only within the bounds of the corporation, but far beyond into the distant districts of the state and nation. The first roadways leading into and out of Milwaukee were not public highways. They were adopted by accident; belonged to nobody in particular, and extended across the country without regard to the cardinal points of the compass, but as irregular as a cow-path. When Americans first visited the present site of Milwaukee, there were four principal Indian trails centering at the trading post that was destined to become the Wisconsin metropolis of Lake Michigan. Two of these diverged from the South Side, one of which led to Chicago and the other to Fox River; another led from the West Side to Green Bay, and one proceeded up the peninsula to Port Washington. The wagons of the pioneers usually followed these trails; and as they were found to be the best routes, the principal roads to the interior were established on very nearly the same courses, and in 1835 these were all the roads that led to into Milwaukee. In 1836 Byron Kilbourn made a road across the Menomonee marsh, extending the same southward into the country, and it is still known by his name.

But these roads were mere openings through the timber, with logs laid across some of the streams — and varied occasionally by stumps and hollows. Still the tide of immigration passed through these channels with an unceasing flow, and spread out over the rich country to the west. As the population increased, however, the demand for more and better highways became constant and imperative. In response to these demands the territorial legislature at its first session authorized a road to be laid out, at the expense of the several counties through which it ran, from Milwaukee via Madison to the Blue Mounds. Madison had been selected as the seat of the territorial government, and as Milwaukee was slowly but surely becoming a place of importance it was but natural that a road connecting these two villages was the first to be suggested. As illustrating the difficulties of travel in those days, on May 31, 1837, Augustus A. Bird, one of the commissioners for the erection of public buildings at Madison, left Milwaukee with thirty-six workmen and six yoke of oxen, and all the necessary mechanical tools, provisions, cooking utensils, etc., to enable operations at the capital to be commenced immediately. The territorial road had not as yet been laid out, and the men were compelled to make a pathway for their teams and wagons as they went along. It rained incessantly, and the obstructions to their progress presented by the drenched ground, fallen trees, unbridged streams, hills, ravines and marshes, and the devious course which they necessarily pursued, so delayed them that they did not reach Madison until June 10.

In the early part of 1838 Congress appropriated $30,000 for the construction of roads in Wisconsin, $15,000 of which was for a road from Fort Howard, via Milwaukee and Racine to the Illinois state line, and $10,000 for the road from Milwaukee to Madison and thence westward. As a result of this appropriation the road to Madison was commenced in 1838, and by Sept. 1, 1839, the roadway had been cut and cleared as far as the capital, a distance of seventy-nine miles. Other roads were also opened and improved into the interior at about this time, among which was the one running north and south along the lake shore. At the session of the legislative assembly in the early part of 1839 acts were passed appointing commissioners to lay out territorial roads from Geneva to Milwaukee, and from Milwaukee to Watertown. These matters at that early day were regarded as of great local importance. The legislative assembly of 1840 passed an act prescribing the manner in which territorial roads should be laid out, surveyed and recorded, and one of the provisions of this act was that, "No part of the expense of laying out and establishing any Territorial road * * * shall be paid out of the territorial or county treasury." The effect of this provision was that all such expenses had to be provided for by individual personal contributions, and the only advantage of an act to provide for locating a territorial road was that if laid out according to the requirements of the law a legal highway could be established. It can easily be inferred that this gave no great impetus to the construction of new roads. The "Bridge War" in Milwaukee first assumed practical shape by the enactment at the winter session of the legislative assembly of 1840 of a law which authorized and required the county commissioners of Milwaukee county to locate and construct a drawbridge across the Milwaukee river from the foot of Chestnut street to the foot of Division street. This was the first bridge joining the East and West sides of the embryo city, and much historic interest attaches to it for the reason that it involved the pioneers in controversies assuming at times a threatening and dangerous aspect. What has passed into local history as the "bridge war" was in fact a war of contending factions, and of rival sections, each seeking to obtain a temporary advantage over the other. The first bridge built in the vicinity of Milwaukee was the one constructed by Byron Kilbourn across the Menomonee river, near its junction with the Milwaukee river. It connected the Chicago road with the road which terminated in the village on the west side of the Milwaukee river, and its tendency was to divert travel from a road which led up to a ferry at Walker's Point and terminated in Juneau's village on the east side of the river. In the legislative enactment of 1839, consolidating the two villages, provision was made for the building of a bridge at Chestnut street under the auspices of the new village government, but no action was taken under this authority, and in the face of much opposition the bridge was built -under a contract let by the county commissioners, in accordance with the legislative enactment mentioned above. A bridge was constructed at Spring street in 1843, and in 1844 another bridge was built, connecting Oneida and Wells streets, both of which were erected and kept in repair mostly at the expense of the citizens of the east ward, the west ward claiming that if the people on the east side wanted the bridges they must pay for them. In this way the matter remained until February, 1845, when, for the purpose of finally settling the vexed question, a bill was introduced into the territorial legislature, and favorably acted upon, providing that the people in the east ward "shall forever have the right and authority to maintain, repair, rebuild and keep in operation, at the sole expense of said ward, the present bridges across the Milwaukee river," naming "the bridge from the foot of Chestnut street on the west side to the foot of Division street on the east side, and the bridge from the foot of East Water on the east side, near Dousman's warehouse, to Walker's Point." It will be noticed that this bill did not include the bridge at Wisconsin and Oneida streets, nor the Spring street bridge, and hostilities were soon commenced. In the early summer of the same year the Spring street bridge was seriously damaged and the "draw" entirely torn away by a schooner, and while the residents of the east side claimed that the injury to the bridge was purely accidental, they were charged by those on the west side with having instigated an act which was deliberately and intentionally committed. Another writer thus relates the incidents in the "war"' that ensued:

"Retaliatory action followed, and one morning in the spring of 1845, the people of the east side awoke to discover that the west end of the Chestnut street bridge was being torn down, and that the west end of the Oneida street bridge had been rendered impassable. The excitement which had resulted from a long controversy as to the location of bridges was at fever heat, and the inhabitants of the west ward seem to have determined to break off communication by way of the Chestnut and Oneida street bridges, with their neighbors on the opposite bank of the river. The 'east siders' soon congregated on the river front, and so intense was their feeling of resentment that some of the more vindictive and fiery spirits brought out a small cannon with which they proposed to bombard the home of Byron Kilbourn, who was looked upon as the head and front of the movement which provoked their hostility. The field-piece was charged and brought to bear on Kilbourn's home. Tragic consequences might have followed shortly had not Daniel Wells, Jr., brought to the highly wrought-up crowd the news that the shadow of death rested upon the Kilbourn homestead, Kilbourn's daughter having died the night before. Then Jonathan E. Arnold, the silver-tongued pioneer lawyer., appealed to them not to become transgressors of the law, and others counseled calm and judicious action. The crowd dispersed for the time being, but some days later again assembled and destroyed the Spring street bridge and the bridge over the Menomonee, being willing, apparently, to suffer the inconvenience of doing without bridges entirely, rather than allow their west side neighbors to dictate where bridges should be maintained.

"For many weeks thereafter the controversy continued to be waged with much bitterness, accompanied by both serious and ludicrous incidents, and temporary expedients were resorted to in the interval which followed, until the winter of 1846, when James Kneeland, who was then a member of the territorial council, succeeded in obtaining a legislative enactment which settled the bridge question and restored peace between the sections of the village, which was then about to assume the name and dignity of a city. The law passed at that time provided for the construction of bridges connecting East Water with Ferry street, Wisconsin with spring street, and North Water street with Cherry street. The Chestnut street bridge was to be vacated as soon as the North Water street bridge was completed, and the Oneida street bridge was to be removed within five years from the date of the enactment. The cost of maintaining the bridges was apportioned among the wards, and the entire plan of settlement of this vexed question was submitted to vote of the people of the east and west wards at an election held Feb. 12, 1846. It was ratified by a decisive majority, and comparative harmony has since prevailed in locating new bridges, and in providing for the expenses of their construction and maintenance."

The territorial assembly of 1845 appointed commissioners to lay out roads as follows: From Milwaukee to Fort Winnebago via the county seat of Dodge county; from Milwaukee to Fox Lake, crossing Rock River near the outlet of the Winnebago marsh; from Spring street in Milwaukee to intersect the road leading from Milwaukee to Mukwonago; from Third street in Milwaukee until it intersects the United States road from Milwaukee to Green Bay, south of Mad creek, and from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac, passing near the center of Washington county. At the same time the compensation of road supervisors was fixed by law, and provision was made for the application of delinquent road taxes to the repair of highways. The board of supervisors of Milwaukee county were specially authorized to levy and collect $3,000, subject to the approval of the taxpayers at town meeting, to be expended in the construction of roads and bridges. This systematized the business of road construction to some extent and gradually the county of Milwaukee became threaded with public highways. Upon them the settlers had to depend as routes of travel into the interior, for as yet no railroads were under construction. However, by the joint enterprise of Messrs. Frink, Walker & Co., of Chicago, L. P. Sanger, of Galena, and Davis & Moore of Milwaukee, a daily line of four-horse post coaches ran from Milwaukee to Galena, through in three days. The line, which left Milwaukee on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, went via Troy, Janesville. Monroe, Wiota, Shullsburg and White Oak Springs, lodging at Janesville and Shullsburg. The line which left Milwaukee on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, went via Prairieville (Waukesha), Whitewater, Fort Atkinson, Madison, Blue Mounds, Dodgeville, Mineral Point, Platteville and Hazel Green, lodging at Madison and Mineral Point. Another tri-weekly line ran from Milwaukee to Berlin, Vernon, Mukwonago, and Troy, returning every alternate day, forming a daily line between Milwaukee and Troy. Another tri-weekly line ran from Milwaukee via Oak Creek. Racine, and Southport, to Chicago, returning alternate days.

Although the subject of railroads had begun to occupy the thoughts of the more sanguine and far-seeing, plank wagon-roads were regarded as more practicable and better adapted to the wants of the community in reaching a market for their agricultural products, of which at that time wheat was the principal. In the legislative assembly of 1846 a charter was passed incorporating a company with authority to construct a road "of timber or plank, so that the same form a hard, smooth and even surface" from the place ''where the north Madison Territorial road now crosses the range line, dividing range 19 and 20," to "within one mile of the Milwaukee river, in right direction to the westward of Milwaukee village." The company was organized, the capital subscribed and paid by citizens of Milwaukee, the road built from Milwaukee to Watertown, and was not only of great advantage to the people of the whole territory but a remunerative investment for a time to the stockholders. Following the building of this road, numerous applications were made to the legislature for charters authorizing the construction of other plank and turnpike roads. At the last session of the territorial legislative bodies sixteen acts of incorporation were passed, giving to companies authority to construct plank or turnpike roads and collect tolls. In most cases they were to be constructed of plank, but in some cases of other material, and of the sixteen proposed roads the following were on routes that touched Milwaukee county: From Milwaukee, via Big Bend on Fox river, and East Troy to Janesville; from Milwaukee, via the iron mines and Horicon, to Beaver Dam; from Milwaukee via Hustisford, to Beaver Dam; from Milwaukee, via Waukesha, Delafield, and Summit, to Watertown, and also from Waukesha to Rock River, via Genesee, Palmyra, and Whitewater, with a connecting track to Jefferson and Fort Atkinson; and from Milwaukee to the town of Muskego, thence to Fox river, thence to Waterford and to Wilmot. The growth of Milwaukee county and surrounding territory was by successive, if not rapid, steps of progress. None of these steps were of more importance than the locating and building of public roads, which were annually authorized by the legislative assembly; and it is the duty of the historian to mention these numerous steps, even though they do not possess for the present generation the interest which inspired them.

The Milwaukee and Rock River Canal was a proposed means of communication and transportation that for more than ten years cut a commanding figure in the politics of Milwaukee county and the territory of Wisconsin. During the summer of 1836 public attention was directed to the importance of uniting the waters of Lake Michigan with those of Rock river by means of a canal; and, although the country was then but little known, some general examinations were made by Byron Kilbourn, who had not only devoted much time to the surveys of the public lands in Wisconsin, but had been in charge as civil engineer of the canal in Ohio, connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio river. The object of the proposed canal was to connect the navigable waters of the Milwaukee and Rock rivers, thus providing the beginning of a commercial highway from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. The estimated cost of the improvement was originally $750,000, but this estimate was afterward cut down to the neighborhood of $600,000. The canal was to be built by a private corporation, aided with the proceeds of a federal land grant held in trust by the territory of Wisconsin; and after assuming statehood, Wisconsin was to have the option of acquiring ownership of the canal upon reimbursing the corporation to the extent of its actual expenditures together with legal interest. The matter came before the Territorial legislature at its first session, at Belmont, in 1836, and was discussed in some of its phases at every session of that body until Wisconsin became a state, in 1848. The congressional grant was secured in June, 1838, the bill making the appropriation having been introduced by Col. George W. Jones, the Territorial delegate.

Byron Kilbourn was president of the canal company and L A. Lapham was chief engineer, while among the members of the board of directors were Solomon Juneau, James H. Rogers, and Samuel Brown. All that was ever built of the canal was a section about a mile long, extending from a point north of Humboldt avenue to a point south of Cherry street, near the west bank of the Milwaukee river. This afforded a water power which materially stimulated the establishment of manufactures in Milwaukee, but was unavailable for purposes of transportation. The stockholders of the canal company expended about $25,000, and out of the moneys derived from the sale of the canal lands the state expended on account of the improvement about $31,000. But by far the greater part of the proceeds of the land grant was diverted from the purpose for which it was made, and although the enterprise started with glowing promise it was never carried to completion. The political history of the canal was thus related in a former publication by John H. Gregory:

"The bare fact of the land grant would have been sufficient to bring the canal company under the criticism of people whose political principles were opposed to government subsidies. It was only natural that the company should go into politics to protect its interests. It needed friends in Congress and in the legislative assembly. It was not less natural that the people whose interests were not bound up with those of the company should regard with strong distrust the political candidates suspected of being put forward as its especial representatives. Moreover, as time wore on, a belief grew up in Milwaukee and Jefferson counties that the enhancement of the price of lands in the canal grant retarded the settlement of the country. The canal grant embraced the alternate sections in a strip ten miles wide, extending from Milwaukee to the Rock river. The intervening sections, which were retained by the government, were withheld from pre-emption and by a provision of the law could not be sold for less than $2.50 per acre, although the usual price of government land was $1.25. Settlers looked at these lands as longingly as in our day other settlers have looked at lands in the Cherokee strip. Popular meetings were held, at which the policy of withholding the lands from actual settlers anxious to take them and pay the usual minimum price of government lands was loudly denounced. In Milwaukee there were East-siders who regarded the canal with jealousy, simply because it was an enterprise likely to help Kilbourntown. Such sectional feeling was not creditable, but it is to be remembered that it was by no means confined to one side of the river. Did not the Kilbourntown people oppose the building of bridges, because they did not want communication with the East side of the town? Did they not refuse to land passengers on the East side? Did not Kilbourn lay out his streets so that they would be difficult of connection with the streets laid out by Juneau? Old Milwaukeeans now living say they have no recollection of friends of the Fox and Wisconsin Improvement exerting themselves to foment opposition to the Milwaukee and the Rock river canal project. Yet it is worthy of note that the government survey for the Fox and Wisconsin Improvement was made in 1839.

"The crisis of the Milwaukee and Rock river canal company's fate was reached in a clash between the president of the corporation and John H. Tweedy. Mr. Tweedy held the office of receiver, acting on behalf of the territory as custodian of money which came by reason of its trusteeship. He was appointed by the legislature. To hasten the settlement of the lands along the route of the canal, the territory had adopted the policy of selling them on long credit. The cash payments not producing as much money as the canal company needed for immediate use, the legislature authorized pledging the credit of the territory for a loan not to exceed $100,000, based on the unsold lands. Mr. Kilbourn, who was appointed by Governor Dodge to act as the agent of the territory for the negotiation of the bonds, made arrangements in Cincinnati and elsewhere for the disposal of several blocks of them, aggregating $56,000. But his arrangements were broken in upon by Mr. Tweedy, who warned the Cincinnati people that Mr. Kilbourn had gone beyond his authority in modifying the conditions upon which the bonds were to be sold, and that all who purchased from him under the circumstances would do so at their peril. It was not competent, Mr. Tweedy argued, for the bonds to be sold for anything but specie, yet Mr. Kilbourn's Cincinnati arrangement contemplated their sale for bills or certificates not legal tender and not convertible into money at the place of deposit without serious loss. Furthermore, Mr. Kilbourn's arrangement comprehended the deposit of the price of the bonds subject to other control than that of receiver of the canal fund. The agent had no more authority by the law and the instructions under which he had acted to take, keep and expend any of the funds for which the bonds might be negotiated than he had to take, keep or expend any other funds of the territory without leave or license. Kilbourn's contention was that the consideration for which he had undertaken to part with the bonds was currency, the same in character as the currency in which they would be paid, and that as it would not be practicable to sell them for anything else, Mr. Tweedy's insistence upon specie was a technicality, obviously resorted to in a spirit of hostility to the completion of the canal. Mr. Kilbourn added that he would sooner have assumed the loan himself on behalf of the company than have permitted it to go in the receiver's hands, and that he held himself ready to account for the faithful expenditure of every dollar for the purpose for which the bonds were sold.

"The clash between Mr. Tweedy and Mr. Kilbourn occurred in 1841. The loan had been authorized by a legislative assembly favorable to the canal. A new legislature, in the council of which Mr. Tweedy was a member, had since came into office. Moreover, Governor Dodge, who had favored the canal, and who had appointed Mr. Kilbourn as loan agent, had been superseded by Governor Doty. The new governor revoked the commission of Mr. Kilbourn as loan agent, and published a notification that Mr. Kilbourn was not authorized to sell or otherwise dispose of the canal bonds. He also sent a message to the legislative assembly declaring that, in his opinion, it was impracticable to build the canal on the route surveyed, and that the work ought not to be continued. The council referred .this portion of the message to a select committee of which Mr. Tweedy was a member. Don A. J. Upham, of Milwaukee, Morgan L. Martin, of Green Bay, and Moses M. Strong, of Mineral Point, were also members of the committee. It reported — Mr. Strong, however, not concurring — that the fifty-five $1,000 bonds said to have been negotiated by Mr. Kilbourn, had been 'illegally' disposed of, that the territory was not Hable for their redemption, and that a similar objection would be valid as to a bond for $1,000 which had been issued by Mr. Kilbourn to himself, but 'inasmuch as a part at least of its par value has been received by the proper officer of the territory,' his act in issuing it might be considered to have been virtually ratified, and its redemption ought to be provided for. The committee reported resolutions declaring the bonds, with the exception noted, to be null and void. These resolutions, afterward known as the 'repudiating resolutions,' were adopted in the council by a vote of ten to one, and in the house by a vote of fourteen to eleven, and approved by Governor Doty. They sounded the knell of the canal project.

"After having stood for more than six years, during which time one of the bonds had been paid and the others surrendered and canceled, except ten, for $1,000 each, which remained unpaid and were held as a debt against the territory, the repudiating resolutions were rescinded by a vote of eleven to two in the council and a unanimous vote in the house. This action was taken in 1848, at the instance of Governor Dodge, who had again been raised to the post of chief executive of the territory, and who in his communication to the legislative assembly expressed the opinion that the resolutions did great injustice 'not only to the creditors, but to the good reputation for honor and integrity of the territory.' At the same session, joint resolutions were adopted declaring that all connection of the territory of Wisconsin with the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal Company, ought to be dissolved. By the act of Congress providing for the admission of Wisconsin as a state of the Union, the provisions of the act of June 18, 1838, making the canal grant were altered. Subsequently the unsold lands were appropriated to the endowment of the school fund."

The first public buildings in Milwaukee county, as may readily be inferred, were simple and in keeping with their surroundings. The courthouse was built in 1836. It was a frame structure, two stories high, having a frontage of about forty-two feet and a depth of about fifty-one feet. The court room was on the upper floor, and the first floor was divided into four jury rooms. It was a commodious and airy building, a model one for its size, well-built and nicely finished both within and without, and it presented a very good appearance, having a pediment front extending nine feet from the wall of the building, supported by four Tuscan columns. This pioneer temple of justice was built' by Solomon Juneau and Morgan L. Martin, at an expense of $5,000. and with the jail was presented to the county as a free gift from these generous hearted men, together with the square and lots on which it stood. As will be seen the court house was arranged to be used only for court purposes, the county officers' apartments being in separate buildings erected in 1843 and enlarged in 1846, on land adjoining the court house. The jail was also built in 1836. It was an unpretentious, though substantial wooden building, one story in height. It has been described as "a loathsome place in its palmiest days, and those who had endured its horrors once, even for a brief period, were not apt to scare much when the pains and penalties of Tartarus were set before them in Moody's best style." Nevertheless, many an unfortunate criminal made a transitory stay within its walls while waiting for the slow-moving wheel of justice to bring him liberty or condign punishment. This jail stood till 1847 when it was replaced by a new one, which, with the old court house and other county buildings, answered the needs of the county until 1870, when they were all torn down to make a place for the present more pretentious buildings.

The present courthouse stands on the northern portion of the square and faces south on the park. It extends from Jackson street on the west to Jefferson street on the east, a distance of 210 feet, and its greatest width from north to south is 130 feet. It is constructed of Milwaukee brick, veneered with Bass Island sandstone, and on its several sides rise massive Corinthian columns which give to it a beautiful and classic appearance. It was built under the supervision of L. A. Schmidtner, architect, and was completed in the spring of 1873. The wings are two stories, and the central portion three stories high. From the center of the roof rises a lofty dome which is surmounted by a gilded figure of "Justice," whose head towers two hundred and eight and a half feet above the ground. This gilded figure suggested the title, "The Golden Justice," for a novel by William Henry Bishop. This building cost $650,000. The county jail was long ago removed from the courthouse square. The present structure, which contains also commodious offices for the sheriff and his deputies, is situated at the corner of Broadway and Oneida streets. It was built in 1886, and is one of the handsomest buildings in the city.

Other county buildings are the Milwaukee County Hospital for the Insane, the Milwaukee County Hospital for the Chronic Insane, the Milwaukee County Hospital, and the Milwaukee County Almshouse. All of these institutions are situated in the town of Wauwatosa, west of the village of that name. They are supplied with water from artesian wells, and get a portion of their other needed supplies from the county farm in the same locality. The County Insane Asylum was established under an act of the legislature, passed in 1878. Included in this act was the provision that the state should pay half the cost of suitable buildings, and the county one-half, while the state also agreed to pay eighty per cent, per capita of the cost for maintaining the inmates from state institutions. The act relating to the Milwaukee County Insane Asylum was originated and introduced into the state senate by George H. Paul, and the first board of trustees was organized on Feb. 21, 1880. The board of trustees consists of five persons, three of whom are appointed by the governor of the state and two are elected by the board of supervisors, each member serving five years without compensation. The inmates include the quota of Milwaukee county in the state institutions, the surplus number from the county hospital, and the surplus insane of eight other counties in the state. The first inmates were admitted on March 26, 1880. The buildings were constructed upon the most improved of modern plans, at a cost of $150,000. The almshouse consists of a number of buildings, in which are sheltered the poor and superannuated, who have thrown themselves upon the charity of the county. Besides cultivating" and improving the land, the male inmates who are able to work have the care of quite a respectable quantity of live .stock. The women do the indoor work, and the kitchen and laundry, where they perform most of their labor, are patterns of order and cleanliness. Good, wholesome and substantial food is provided in abundance, as is also comfortable and seasonable clothing, and occasional religious services supply the spiritual needs.

To give a complete statement of the finances of Milwaukee county during its nearly three-quarters of a century of existence would of course not be within the scope of this work. But as the increase in wealth and population is unmistakably indicated by a corresponding increase in the amount collected by taxation and expended in satisfying governmental demands, it is thought that the subjoined statistical review will be of interest to the reader. The earliest report made of taxes collected in the county was that made by the three county commissioners in 1839 in regard to the first three years of the county's independent existence — 1836, 1837, 1838, and up to and including Jan. 12, 1839. This report shows that the amount of orders drawn on the treasurer by the board of supervisors, previous to the first Monday in April, 1838, when the board of county commissioners was organized, was $5,359.32. and the amount of demands against the county which accrued previous to the organization of the board of commissioners and was allowed by the board was $1,782.13, making the expenses of the county from its organization to April, 1838, $7,141.45. The expenses of the county from April, 1838, to Jan. 12, 1839, for the support of the poor, elections, district court, commissioners' and clerk's services, assessment of property, collection of taxes, services of the treasurer, district attorney, and sheriff, and for books and stationery for the offices of the commissioners, treasurer and register, was $2,215.54, making the total expenditures of the county from the time of its organization to Jan. 12, 1839, $9,356.99. To offset these expenses there were orders drawn by the board of supervisors and cancelled in the settlement with the county treasurer, in April, 1838, amounting to $2,939.84, the amount received for licenses during the year 1838 was $435; fines, $27.50; jury fees in district court, $24; amount received from A. J. Vieau on tax of 1837, $82.19; amount received on delinquent returns of the tax of 1837, $157.67; and the amount received on the tax list of 1838 was $4,234.23. These several sums amounted to $7,900.43, which left outstanding against the county, orders to the amount of $1,456.56. There was cash in the hands of the treasurer, however, at the time of the making of this report, to the amount of $221.76, which made the county debt on Jan. 12, 1839, $1,234.80.

The above figures are of interest in showing the financial condition of the county in its days of infancy, and also for the purpose of comparison with the figures of the present decade. This report was made in 1839, and a third of a century later, in 1872, the tax of the county was $1,087,192, divided as follows: Total county tax, $215,341; total of town, city and village tax, $769,614; state tax, $102,237. During a more recent period, in the years given below, the state and local taxes in Milwaukee county were as follows:

A statement of the items of all county taxes, exclusive of town, city and village taxes, shows that in 1903 the total was $1,065,971.76, of which $801,275.31 was for county purposes, $262,696.45 for the county school tax, and $2,000 for the salary of the superintendent of schools. In 1905, $990,631.93 was for county purposes, $238,533.96 for the county school tax, and $2,600 for the salary of the superintendent of schools. Of the town, city and village taxes, in 1903, $15,000 was for loans or interest, $89,056.31 for school district tax, $36,610.04 for highway tax, $1,478.50 for poll tax, $39,042.14 for all other purposes, and $486.39 overrun of tax roll. In 1905, $3,650 was for loans or interest, $124,739.28 for school district tax, $78,189.94 for highway tax, $1,585.50 for poll tax, $23,182.25 for all other purposes, and $532.28 overrun of the tax roll.

In 1904 there were special levies as follows: For special charges, $10,646.97; for special loans, $420; for school district loans, $5,791.80; for the mill tax, $229,348.48; a total of $246,207.25; while the reapportionment of the mill tax was $219,680.

The following statement will show the purposes for which the county tax was expended in the years given:

The total state taxes received from the county in 1902 was $372,030.09, the items of which were as follows: Mill tax, $351,795.13; charitable tax, $10,279.38; tax for losses, $5,658.69; accruing taxes, $4,296.89. In 1904 the total state taxes were $248,478.51, divided as follows: Mill tax, $229,348.48; charitable tax, $10,646.97; tax for losses, $6,211.80; accruing taxes, $2,271.26.

Special levies have been made at different times for the repayment of interest and loans of state funds to school districts, etc. In 1901 the total amount thus levied was $5,658.69, of which $5,208.65 was for school district loans and $450 for special loans; in 1903 the total amount was $6,211.80, of which $5,791.80 was for school district loans and $420 for special loans; and in 1906 the amount was $7,925.26, of which $7,535.26 was for school district loans and $390 for special loans.

In 1901 taxes to the amount of $4,296.89 were collected in Milwaukee county and accrued by law to the state, the sources from which they were obtained being as follows: Suit tax, $934; legacy tax, $2,666.48; vessel tonnage tax, $696.41. In 1903 the amount collected by suit tax was $1,145, and from vessel tonnage tax $1,126.26, making a total of $2,271.26. In 1905 the amounts were: From suit tax, $1,262; from inheritance tax, $34,041.95; from vessel tonnage tax, $169.17; making a total of $35,473.12, all of which accrued by law to the state.