Читать книгу Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Volume 1 - Jerome A. Watrous - Страница 12

EARLY ELECTIONS AND ISSUES PARTY DIVISIONS — CELEBRATION OF THE ELECTION OF HARRISON AND TYLER — CAMPAIGN FOR THE FIRST CONSTITUTION — ASCENDANCY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY — REPUBLICAN SINCE 1880— CAMPAIGN OF 1896 — HENRY C. PAYNE — UNITED STATES SENATORS — GOVERNORS — OTHER STATE OFFICIALS — PERSONAL MENTION.

In giving the political history of Milwaukee county, it will be necessary, although to some extent a repetition, to begin with the year of 1835, when the county first acquired an independent political organization. In that year, as the reader of these pages will recall, Albert Fowler received the appointment as county clerk from the governor of Michigan territory. The governor also commissioned for the county of Milwaukee a chief justice and two .associates, a judge of probate, seven justices of the peace, and a sheriff, the recipient of the last named commission being Benoni W. Finch. Milwaukee was the county seat, and the county clerk was ex-officio register of deeds.

The first election held in Milwaukee county took place in September, 1835. It was held in the house of Solomon Juneau, at the southeast corner of East Water and Michigan streets, where the Mitchell Building now stands. This election was held for the purpose of organizing the township of Milwaukee, in pursuance of an act passed by the Michigan territorial legislature, approved March 17, 1835. Section 12 of this act provided as follows:

"That the county of Milwawkie shall compose a township by the name of Milwawkie. and the first township meeting shall be held on the first Monday of September next, at the house of Solomon Juneaux."

During the summer of 1836 occurred the first enumeration of the inhabitants of the county to serve as a basis for the apportionment of members of the Wisconsin territorial legislature. The population of the county was found to be 2,893, of whom 1,328 were returned as living within four miles of the mouth of the Milwaukee river. The first election under the new apportionment was held on the second Monday in October, 1836, and there were seven polling places in the county, only one of which was within its present limits. There were 781 votes cast in the county, 449 of which were polled in the Milwaukee precinct. The issues on which legislative candidates appealed for votes at this election were the location of the state capital, the division of counties and the location of county seats, and — last, but by no means least, so far as Milwaukee county was concerned — the question of local improvements, including the projected Milwaukee and Rock river canal, which has been mentioned at considerable length on preceding pages.

In 1837 the Sentinel was started, in the interest of Juneau and the East Side, the Advertiser having been established on the West Side in the interest of Kilbourn. The Advertiser was stoutly Democratic. The Sentinel began as a Democratic paper, but before long passed out of Juneau's ownership and became the organ of the faction which, when the time grew propitious for the avowal of the real principles of the proprietors, declared itself upon the side of the Whigs.

At the county election held in March, 1838, county commissioners were elected for the first time. County business had previously been transacted in Milwaukee by a board of supervisors, but a legislative act passed in December, 1837, provided for the substitution of a board of three commissioners. At this election there were two county tickets in the field, and the one supported by the Sentinel was defeated. In. the political campaign of the fall of 1838, which marked the spirited contest between George W. Jones and James Duane Doty for election as delegate to Congress, and in which the latter was successful, the cry of "duelist" succeeded in turning a large number of votes in Milwaukee county against the defeated candidate, he having acted as second for Congressman Cilly in the fatal duel with Congressman Graves. At the same election Alanson Sweet, who had been active against the canal in the legislative assembly, was defeated as a candidate for a seat in the territorial council, as was also his running mate, George Reed, while Daniel Wells, Jr., and William A. Prentiss were elected. The delegates elected from Milwaukee county to the Territorial House of Representatives were Augustus Story, Ezekiel Churchill, William Shew, Lucius I. Barber, and Henry C. Skinner. The convention at which these successful candidates were nominated adopted a resolution declaring opposition to all secret societies.

The signs of a party division of the political forces in Milwaukee county were noticeable in many directions in 1838. The Sentinel, beginning in April of that year, published a series of articles under the heading "The Aristocracy of Office," which contained thinly disguised attacks upon Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, and openly and bitterly assailed the administration of Governor Dodge, asserting that he was unfit to discharge the duties of chief executive of the territory, and that he ought not to be reappointed, at the expiration of his term in 1839. A local application was given to these assaults by bringing in Byron Kilbourn and Congressman Jones as objects of censure with Jackson and Dodge. The Advertiser responded by warmly defending all the men whom the Sentinel assailed, and lauding the political principles and policies which they represented. In 1839 there were two nominating conventions held for the purpose of selecting candidates for the position of delegate in Congress from Wisconsin territory. One of these conventions placed James Duane Doty again in the field and the other nominated Byron Kilbourn. Thomas P. Burnett ran as an independent. The Sentinel supported Doty, who was elected by a majority over both Kilbourn and Burnett. In Milwaukee county the vote stood 379 for Doty, 362 for Kilbourn and 54 for Burnett. The Democratic ticket was generally defeated and the Democratic-Republicans scored a victory. Although the last named was distinctly a Whig organization, as late as September, 1840, the Sentinel raised a prudent voice against the holding of a Whig county convention. The issue which should govern the selection of county officers, it argued, was not a party issue, but a local issue— "Whether the county shall continue to be burdened with a project which is destroying her best interests, or whether the canal shall be vigorously prosecuted." But on Nov. 30 the paper came out squarely for "Harrison and reform." On Dec. 15, 1840, a committee of Milwaukee Whigs sent invitations to Whigs throughout the territory to unite at Milwaukee on Jan. 1 following, in a public celebration of the election of Harrison and Tyler. The affair attracted an attendance of fully 12,000 people, including men from all parts of the territory, and the event is thus described by another writer:

"The celebration began at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, when Jonathan E. Arnold, as the orator of the day, delivered an address at the court house. Two hours later at the Milwaukee House, the celebrants sat down to a repast, which, in the language of the invitations was to be 'a plain and substantial dinner,' an ox roasted whole, with plenty of hard cider.' Sylvester Pettibone, who had agreed to furnish the piece de resistance, had contributed, it is said, a cow instead of an ox. The carcass was cooked in barbecue style, according to the pre-arranged plan, but not a morsel of it ever reached the hungry mouths which were waiting for it. While the Whigs were sitting expectant around the board, a horde of Democrats made a successful sortie upon the 'ox,' which was suspended above a fire in the open air, near what is now the southeast corner of Broadway and Wisconsin streets. The marauders carried their plunder across the river and made a hearty meal from it in Kilbourntown. But though disappointed in this respect, the Whigs had plenty of hard cider and enthusiasm, and did not permit the loss of their roast to rob them of enjoyment. Harrison Reed presided as toastmaster, and eloquent responses to Whig sentiments were made by John H. Tweedy, Elisha Starr, John F. Potter, and others who were for many years afterward high in the councils of the Whigs and their successors, the Republicans, in Wisconsin. The president of the day was W. A. Prentiss."

Not to be outdone in a social way, the Milwaukee Democrats indulged in a Democratic celebration of Washington's birthday, and the affair took the form of a dinner at the Fountain House. The members of the committee of arrangements were Horatio N. Wells, Charles J. Lynde, James Sanderson, Thomas J. Noyes and Daniel H. Richards. Daniel Wells, Jr., James H. Rogers, Samuel Brown and George H. Walker were on the list of vice-presidents, while Hans Crocker was the orator of the day, and Joshua Hathaway, Clinton Walworth, and B. H. Edgerton served as members of the committee on toasts. Among the speakers at the dinner was Fred W. Horn.

Josiah A. Noonan, who was destined to loom up on the Democratic side in the politics of Milwaukee county, became the editor and owner of the straight-out Democratic newspaper in the last week of March, 1841, superseding D. H. Richards and changing the name of the paper from the Advertiser to the Courier. It is stated of Mr. Noonan that he "was not an editor whose course could be as easily foreseen as that of his predecessor. He was a law unto himself, and never scrupled to disregard the plans of the other local leaders of his party if it suited him to do so."

The "Democratic-Whigs," at their territorial convention in 1841, nominated Jonathan E. Arnold, of Milwaukee, for delegate to Congress, while the choice of the "Democratic-Republicans" fell upon Henry Dodge, who had been superseded in the governorship through President Tyler's appointment of Governor Doty. The campaign was a spirited one throughout the territory, and nowhere more so than in Milwaukee county. It was at this time that H. N. Wells obtained possession of the Sentinel by foreclosing a chattel mortgage, and surprised its Whig subscribers by turning the support of the paper from Arnold to Dodge. From Aug. 3 to Oct. 23 the Sentinel remained in charge of the "usurpers," and when Dodge was elected, as he was by a majority of 497, the paper came out with a cut of a clipper ship, beneath which was this sarcastic invitation to its Whig friends: "All aboard for Salt River." The supporters of Arnold had helped him to the best of their ability by publishing during the campaign a Whig paper called the Journal, with Elisha Starr as editor. When Harrison Reed resigned control of the Sentinel, Starr insinuated that there existed a collusion between Reed and Wells, and there were Whigs who believed this for a time, but there was no evidence to support the charge.

In the fall election of 1842 the Democrats were successful, electing both their legislative and county tickets. It was a hot contest, and the Whigs grumbled at the lukewarmness of the support which their ticket received from Harrison Reed, who had been re-installed as editor of the Sentinel. When the legislative assembly came together in 1843, George H. Walker was elected speaker of the house. At the election for sheriff and judge of probate, which was held in May, 1843, E. D. Holton was chosen to the former office, his unsuccessful competitor being William A. Barstow, who afterword was elevated to the position of governor of the state. Barstow was the candidate of the Democracy, while Holton ran as an independent, but even at that time the latter was known as an Abolitionist. He was also a staunch teetotaler, and these advanced ideas (called "idiosyncracies" in those days) would have handicapped him politically under ordinary circumstances, but in this instance they were more than offset by an uprising of Democrats against Barstow on the ground that he had packed the convention which gave him the nomination. The election of a delegate to Congress this year was conducted on party lines, the Democrats renominating Dodge, while the nominee of the Whigs was Gen. George W. Hickcox. Milwaukee county gave 930 votes for Dodge, 351 for Hickcox and 115 for Jonathan Spooner.

At the county election in 1844 the entire Democratic ticket was again victorious, with the exception of John White, the candidate for sheriff, who was defeated by Owen Aldrich. The result was a surprise as well as a great disappointment to White, and his defeat was greatly resented by his friends, who charged it to prejudice against his nationality, he being a native of Ireland. In the following year Charles H. Larkin, the Democratic candidate for register of deeds, was the victim of a similar unpleasant surprise, his successful opponent being William A. Rice.

The Democratic nominee for delegate to Congress in 1845 was Morgan L. Martin, of Green Bay; the Whig convention nominated James Collins, of Iowa county, and the standard-bearer of the Free Soilers, who this year denominated themselves the Liberty party, was E. D. Holton, of Milwaukee. Mr. Martin was elected by a fair majority.

In the delegation from Milwaukee county to the first constitutional convention, the names of the gentlemen composing which will be found in a preceding chapter, the only Whig was John H. Tweedy. Dr. Francis Huebschmann was influential in securing the provision granting the privilege of suffrage to foreigners who had formally declared their intention to become citizens of the United States. Mr. Tweedy served on the committee on the constitution and organization of the legislature, and also took a conspicuous part in the general proceedings of the convention. The period intervening between the adjournment of the constitutional convention and the first Tuesday in April, 1847, the date of the spring election, when the constitution was to be submitted to a vote of the people for ratification or rejection, was one of great excitement in Milwaukee county. Some of the incidents of this campaign are thus related by John C. Gregory in another publication:

"On the 19th of January, 1847, friends of the constitution took part in a torchlight procession. Ten days later a meeting arranged by 120 Democrats opposed to the constitution, who had joined in signing their names to a call, was held at the council chamber on Spring street. This gathering was attended by many not in sympathy with its purpose, and its proceedings were marked by disorder. Don A. J. Upham and A. D. Smith spoke in support of the constitution. Byron Kilbourn spoke at some length, setting forth the defects of the instrument in a strong light, and a resolution offered by James Holliday, calling upon the legislature to authorize the holding of a new convention, was adopted. On the 18th of February a grand rally for the constitution was held at the court house. Marching clubs from the several wards met at the Milwaukee House, where they formed in procession and moved to the place of general assemblage, headed by torch-bearers and a military band. W. P. Lynde called the meeting to order and John P. Helfenstein was chosen as presiding officer. Speeches were made by A. D. Smith and Isaac P. Walker, and resolutions, drafted by a committee appointed for the purpose and heartily endorsing the constitution, were adopted amid great enthusiasm. The committee which drew up the resolutions was composed of A. D. Smith, Levi Hubbell, John A. Brown, M. Walsh and Moritz Schoeffler. * * *

"On the 2nd of March the court house was the place of meeting of an assemblage of anti-constitutionalists. The call for the gathering contained no fewer than 800 names. Solomon Juneau was president. The vice-presidents were George Abert, Moses Kneeland, John Furlong and S. H. Martin. Powerful addresses, advising the rejection of the constitution were delivered by Byron Kilbourn and Marshall M. Strong. An overflow meeting listened to speeches in the open air by H. N. Wells, James Holliday and others.

"Gen. Rufus King was among the most active opponents of the constitution, not only attacking it in his paper, but organizing the opposition throughout the eastern portion of the territory. It was for the purpose of this work that he secured the establishment of a new German newspaper, the Volksfreund, the editor of whom, Frederick Fratney, was brought on from New York by his invitation. This was a very effective piece of strategy on the part of General King, as the supporters of the constitution made most of their capital, not by defending the banking article, but by appealing to the fears of foreign-born residents and seeking to make them believe that the chief cause of the opposition to the constitution was 'nativistic' prejudice against foreigners. Among other influential opponents of the proposed constitution were John H. Tweedy and Jonathan E. Arnold.

"On the 15th of March the supporters of the constitution held two meetings— one at the court house, which was addressed in English by George H. Walker, W. K. Wilson and E. G. Ryan; and the other' at Military hall, where Dr. Huebschmann and Messrs. Haertel, Liebhaber, Hasse and Gruenhagen spoke in German. Demonstrations and counter-demonstrations followed in rapid succession till the eve of election. A torch-light procession by the 'antis' on the evening of April 3 marched to the Milwaukee House, in front of which a bon-fire was built, in whose light addresses were delivered by Governor Tallmadge and other speakers."

Milwaukee county's delegation to the second constitutional convention contained only one man who had represented the county in the former deliberations — Garrett M. Fitzgerald — and he was one of the only two men in the territory who were members of both conventions. In the second convention Byron Kilbourn was chairman of the committee on general provisions and took an influential part in the proceedings of the convention. General King was the only Whig in the Milwaukee county delegation. He was a member of the committee on executive, legislative and administrative provisions, and also served on several special committees. Moritz Schoeffler drafted the provision on the elective franchise, and Charles H. Larkin suggested the banking article, which, with some amendments, was finally adopted.

While the adoption of the second constitution was pending, and while the successful opponents of the rejected instrument were still aglow with the enthusiasm of victory, a Congressional campaign was fought. The candidate of the Democrats was Moses M. Strong, of Mineral Point, while the Whigs nominated John H. Tweedy, of Milwaukee, and the Abolitionists presented Charles Durkee, of Kenosha. Mr. Strong had been a vigorous defender of the rejected constitution and Mr. Tweedy had been conspicuous among its opponents. Tweedy beat Strong in Milwaukee county by two votes, and was elected, receiving 10,670 votes in the territory at large, against 9,648 for Strong, and 973 for Durkee. Mr. Tweedy served a short term as the last representative of the territory of Wisconsin in Congress, and he was the only citizen of Milwaukee county to go as a delegate to the national legislature during territorial days.

Wisconsin became a state at a time when public sentiment was rapidly crystallizing and the lines were being sharply drawn upon the great issue of slavery extension, and at a time coincident with the opening of the remarkable Presidential contest between Cass and Taylor, in which the Free Soil party, led by Van Buren, made it possible to defeat Cass. On May 8, 1848, the election of state officers for the new commonwealth took place. John H. Tweedy was the Whig candidate for governor, but was defeated by the Democratic nominee. Nelson Dewey. Of the two senators elected at the first meeting of the state legislature, one was a Milwaukeean, Isaac p. Walker. Dr. Huebschmann, of Milwaukee, was an elector-at-large that year on the Democratic Presidential ticket, which was successful in the state, though defeated in the nation. The Democrats elected their candidate for Congress in the Milwaukee district, William Pitt Lynde.

About 1834, all that were opposed to the Democratic party throughout the United States had formed a coalition under the party name of Whig, and under this banner fought their battles until 1854, when a fusion between the Free-Soilers and Know Nothings was made and both elements combined under the name of Republican. But the Democratic party remained constantly in the ascendency in Milwaukee county until long after the Civil war period, and what local successes the Republican party met with were due to the generosity of its individual opponents and the unpopularity of opposing candidates. In 1880, at the November election, James A. Garfield carried the county and the Republican local ticket was successful, and this was probably the first instance in the political history of Milwaukee county when the regular nominees of the Democratic party had been entirely overthrown in a strictly party contest. In 1852 Pierce carried the county by a large majority over Scott, the Whig candidate, and after that campaign the very name and machinery of the Whig party passed out of existence, and practically all elements became united in opposition to the Democracy, and in the organization of the Republican party. In 1856 Milwaukee county increased its vote for the Republican ticket, John C. Fremont being the Presidential candidate, but the majority given to the opposition ticket was greatly increased, showing that the Democratic party had received the major part of the gain by an increase in population during the preceding four years. The contest of 1860 terminated in the "irrepressible conflict" between the free and slave states, which Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward had declared several years previously was destined to come; and so far as law could make it so, placed the former master and slave upon terms of civil equality. Milwaukee county very largely increased her Republican vote at this election, but Stephen A. Douglas carried the county by a very substantial majority.

After the Civil war period, as well as before, and until the year 1880, as before stated, the county was reliably Democratic, and the only question was in regard to the size of the majority. And since 1880 the same question has been equally pertinent in regard to the Republican ascendancy. Speaking relatively, the low-water mark for the Republicans in the past forty years was reached in 1872, when Mr. Greeley received a vote of 8,512, and Mr. Grant received 5,341, a Democratic majority of 3,171. At the election of 1896 the highest vote ever recorded for Presidential candidates in Milwaukee county was given. In that campaign Mr. Bryan's wonderful personality, magnetic force and matchless oratory, contending for a platform of principles that was unequivocal in meaning and clear in expression, succeeded in arousing an interest in political affairs to an extent seldom if ever witnessed before. In Milwaukee county every public hall and district schoolhouse became a political forum, and interest in everything else waned while the "battle of the standards" was in progress. The financial panic of 1893 and the industrial depression from which the country was then suffering was a serious handicap for the Democrats in that campaign. Recognizing the effectiveness of such a contention, the Republicans charged "the party in power" with being responsible for the "hard times," and such a charge, easily made, became a conviction that was hard to remove from the mind of the average voter. The large vote given to Mr. Bryan, under the circumstances, was considered a great achievement by his followers. In 1904, however, high-water mark was reached so far as Republican majorities in presidential years are concerned, and Roosevelt received 32,587 votes, while Parker received 18,560. Those figures represent the largest vote and largest majority ever given to a political party in Milwaukee county. But. though there can be no doubt that the Republicans have a fair majority in the county, the Presidential election of 1904 is not a fair criterion by which to judge its size. It is but stating a truth in history to say that Mr. Parker was not a popular candidate with the "rank and file" of the Democratic party, and especially was this true after he expressed his views on the coinage question. With such an independent character as Mr. Roosevelt in the field, many Democrats considered it an opportune time to consign Mr. Parker, "irrevocably," to the shades of political oblivion. In 1906 the vote for governor was as follows: Davidson (Rep.), 24.521; .Aylward (Dem.)," 12,856; a Republican majority of 11,665 votes. In 1908, for President, Taft received 28,625 votes, and Bryan, 26.000 votes.

In local affairs, however, an independent spirit has been manifested more or less throughout the political history of the county. The voters have been generally given to "scratching" their tickets, and it has been difficult to estimate results, particularly as regards candidates for county officers; and members of the minority party have frequently been the incumbents of official positions.

In the chapters immediately preceding this one mention has been made of the early elections and the men who filled official positions in the county during territorial days. While securing this data an attempt was also made to perfect an official list of Milwaukee county from its organization to 1908, and it has also been deemed worthwhile to devote a few paragraphs of a biographical nature to some of the men who have been signally conspicuous in the political life of the county. In many instances the favored ones have passed away, leaving neither "kith nor kin" to preserve their record; but notwithstanding difficulties, considerable information is here presented concerning residents of Milwaukee county who have borne official honors. For court judges and officers, see the department devoted to the 'Bench and Bar," and the biographical volume of this work also contains additional information.

Postmaster-General of the United States. — From 1901 to 1904, Henry C. Payne.

The above named gentleman acquired national prominence by reason of his influence and activity in politics and through his identification with vast corporate interests, and he was a typical representative of the able and accomplished class of business men which shouldered the burdens laid down by the pioneers of Milwaukee county. A native of Franklin county, Mass., Mr. Payne was born in Ashfield, Nov. 23, 1843. Brought up in a village, in a modest country homestead, his chief inheritance was a vigorous intellect and a capacity for hard work. In his early boyhood he attended the common schools and was graduated at Shelbourne Falls academy in 1859. At the beginning of the Civil war he enlisted in Company H, of the Tenth regiment Massachusetts infantry, but his youthfulness and somewhat diminutive stature combined to thwart his ambition to become a soldier, and he turned his attention to commercial pursuits. In 1863 he arrived in Milwaukee with fifty dollars in his pocket, and found employment soon after his arrival as clerk in a dry-goods store. To this business he gave his attention for the next four years, becoming recognized by his employers as a most capable and efficient salesman, and by that portion of the general public with which he came in contact as a young man of more than ordinary ability and enterprise. An early member, if not one of the organizers of the Young Men's Library Association of Milwaukee, he soon became its president, and contributed largely toward making it one of the leading social and intellectual organizations of the state. Having a natural liking for politics, and being an earnest and enthusiastic Republican, he took an active interest in the Presidential campaign of 1872, devoting his energies to the organization of the Young Men's Republican Club of Milwaukee, which at a later date became the Republican Central Committee of Milwaukee county. He served at different times both as secretary and chairman of the city and county organizations, his zeal and ability commanding the enthusiastic admiration and endorsement of his political associates, not only of Milwaukee county, but of the entire state. The result was that he was elected to the chairmanship of the Republican State Central Committee and entered the broader field of state politics. Designated by the Republicans of Wisconsin to act as their representative on the national committee, he was called into that inner circle of campaign managers known as the National Executive Committee, and had much to do with formulating the policies and directing the course of the party. In 1880 he sat as a delegate in the National Republican Convention at Chicago and was one of the men through whose efforts the nomination of Gen. James A. Garfield was brought about. In 1888 he was a delegate-at-large to the convention which nominated Benjamin Harrison and also headed the Wisconsin delegates to the national convention of 1892 at Minneapolis. In 1876 he was appointed postmaster at Milwaukee by President Grant and was reappointed to successive terms by Presidents Hayes and Arthur, serving in all ten years in this important official capacity. Retiring from this office in 1886, Mr. Payne held no other public political positions, other than those connected with the campaign work and conventions of the party, until 1901, when he was appointed Postmaster-General of the United States.

In the conduct of the various business enterprises with which Mr. Payne was identified he showed executive ability of such high order as to bring him constantly increasing responsibilities. The Wisconsin Telephone Company recognized his ability as an organizer and director of affairs by making his president of that corporation in 1885, and he was also for some years a director of the First National Bank of Milwaukee, and president of the Milwaukee & Northern Railroad Company. Becoming interested in the street railway system of Milwaukee, he was elected vice-president of the Milwaukee City and Cream City Street Railroad companies, and when these lines were transferred to the syndicate which obtained control of all the street railway property of the city he was made vice-president and general manager of the new corporation. At the meeting of the American Street Railway Association held in Milwaukee in 1893. he was elected president of that organization, and his ability as a railway manager was recognized in various ways.

In August of 1893, when the affairs of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company became involved to such an extent as to necessitate placing it in the hands of receivers, Mr. Payne was appointed by the United States courts one of the conservators of this vast interest, amounting in the aggregate to hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition to his interests in the corporations already alluded to, he was associated with other gentlemen in founding the town of Tomahawk, Wis., which in three years developed into a city of 7,000 inhabitants. He was also interested to a considerable extent in building up the towns of Minocqua and Babcock, both flourishing towns in the timber belt of the state. Mr. Payne died in the city of Washington on Oct. 4, 1904.

United States Senators. — From 1848 to 1855, Isaac P. Walker; 1869 to 1875, and 1879 to 1881, Matthew H. Carpenter; 1893 to 1899, John L. Mitchell; 1899 to 1905, Joseph V. Quarles.

Isaac P. Walker, a native of Virginia, was born in 1813. Coming West when quite young, he first settled in Illinois, but in 1841 removed to Wisconsin. Mr. Walker held several prominent political positions, and in 1848 was sent to the United States Senate with Henry Dodge. After the expiration of the short term which had fallen to him by lot, he was re-elected for the full term. He retired in 1855, and settled on his farm near Eagle, Waukesha county, where he remained a few years, and then returned to Milwaukee to resume the practice of law. He died on March 29, 1872.

Matthew H. Carpenter was born on Dec. 22, 1824, at Moretown, Washington county, Vermont, the son of an eminent lawyer and citizen of prominence; and the parents, as if the spirit of prophecy were upon them — says a biographer who has written of him in "The Bench and Bar of Wisconsin" — named the child after the great English jurist, Matthew Hale Carpenter. When he reached the age of eleven years his mother died, and Paul Dillingham, afterward governor of the state, having charged himself with the boy's education, Matthew became a member of his family at Waterbury. In 1843 John Mattocks, being then the representative in Congress from that district, procured for young Carpenter an appointment as cadet in the military academy at West Point, and he there was a classmate of Gen. Fitz John Porter and others who attained prominence in the Civil war. The weakness of his eyes made it necessary for him to resign his cadetship at the expiration of his second year, and returning to Waterbury in the summer of 1845. he entered upon the study of the law in the office of Mr. Dillingham. Two years later he was admitted to the bar at Montpelier. and soon afterward removed to Boston and finished his studies in the office of Rufus Choate. In the spring of 1848 he was admitted to practice by the supreme court of Massachusetts, and the same year removed to Beloit, Wis., where he opened an office. In 1852 he was a candidate for district attorney of Rock county. The election was contested, and the case was taken to the supreme court, where it was decided in his favor. He removed to Milwaukee in 1856, and was for a number of years engaged in the intricate and embarrassing litigation arising out of the construction and consolidation of certain railroads in Wisconsin, and maintained the rights of his clients with great ability and persistency. When a case arose that involved the determination by the Supreme Court of the United States of the constitutionality of the Reconstruction Acts, Secretary Stanton retained him as one of the counsel for the government In 1876, when W. W. Belknap, secretary of war, was impeached before the Senate of the United States for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, the respondent retained for his defense Jeremiah S. Black, ex-Attorney-General; Montgomery M. Blair, ex-Postmaster-General, and Mr. Carpenter. The latter was also retained by Mr. Tilden to submit an argument in favor of counting the votes of the Democratic candidates for electors in Louisiana, in the trial of the title to the presidency in 1876, and he performed the duty with the ability that he never failed to bring to bear upon questions of this important and delicate character. He had been a Democrat from the time that he attained his majority, and in the election of 1860 supported Douglas for the presidency. Upon the attempt of the South to dissolve the Union, without formally dissociating himself from that party, he gave his support to the war policy of the administration, and delivered a series of addresses in that behalf that were characterized by great eloquence and patriotic fervor. Subsequently he publicly affiliated with the Republican party, and in 1869 was chosen to succeed James R. Doolittle in the Senate of the United States. At the expiration of his term he was nominated by the caucus of Republican members of the legislature for re-election, but was defeated by a combination of certain Republican members with the Democrats. In 1879 he was chosen to succeed Timothy O. Howe in the Ignited States Senate, and took his seat again in that body, after an interval of four years. In June, 1880, Senator Carpenter attended the Republican national convention at Chicago, though not as a delegate, and addressed an open-air mass meeting that was called to promote the nomination of Gen. Grant. This was his last public appearance, and after a lingering illness his death occurred at Washington, D. C, on Feb. 24, 1881. Among the distinguished members of the committee of the Senate who escorted the body to Wisconsin was Roscoe Conkling, and upon that occasion the New York senator made use of the following beautiful sentiment, addressing Gov. William E. Smith: "Deputed by the Senate of the United States, we bring back the ashes of Wisconsin's illustrious son, and tenderly return them to the great commonwealth he served so faithfully and loved so well. To Wisconsin this pale and sacred clay belongs, but the memory, the services, and the fame of Matthew Hale Carpenter are the nation's treasures, and long will the sister states mourn the bereavement which bows, all hearts to-day."

John Landrum Mitchell was born in the city of Milwaukee, Oct. 19, 1842, the son of Hon. Alexander and Martha (Reed) Mitchell. He received careful educational training in early youth and was then sent abroad, spending six years in England, Germany and Switzerland. Returning at the end of that time to his home, he was preparing to enter upon a full collegiate course when the Civil war began and materially changed his plans. He assisted in recruiting a company, of which he became second lieutenant when it was mustered into the service. He was soon promoted to a first lieutenancy and was then assigned to duty on the staff of General Sill, later being made chief of the ordnance department. After serving some time in this capacity the failure of his eyesight necessitated his retirement from the service and he resigned his commission. When he returned to Wisconsin health considerations and a natural fondness for the country caused him to become a farmer by occupation, and, purchasing a tract of 400 acres of land in the town of Greenfield, he turned his time and attention to its cultivation and improvement and speedily developed a tract of wild land into one of the finest farms in the state. He became prominently connected with different stock-breeders' associations, served as president of the Northwestern Horse Trotting and Breeders' Association, president of the Wisconsin Horse Breeders' Association and member of the Board of Appeals of the National Trotting Association. He was also appointed chairman of the Live Stock Committee of the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, but on account of a pressure of other business was compelled to decline the appointment. Senator Mitchell's public life began when he was about thirty years of age, when he was elected a member of the state senate. He was again elected four years later without opposition, and was tendered a third nomination, which he declined. Fully endorsing the principles of the Democratic party, he was at all times active in promoting its interests in state and national campaigns, and soon became one of the leaders of the party in Wisconsin. Nominated for Congress in what had previously been a Republican district, he carried it by a large majority, thus evidencing his personal popularity and his ability as a campaigner. In 1888 he was a member of the National Democratic Campaign Committee, and became a conspicuous figure in national politics. As a member of Congress he strengthened his hold upon the public in Wisconsin, and when the Democratic party obtained full and complete control of the state, everyone at all conversant with political affairs recognized the fact that this result was largely due to his efforts, and many of the leaders in the party favored his promotion to the Senate. A somewhat spirited contest was waged when the legislature met at Madison, but it was settled in favor of Mr. Mitchell and he became a member of the upper branch of the national legislature in March of 1893, serving until 1899. Mr. Mitchell died on June 29, 1904.

Governors. — From March 21, 1856, to March 25, 1856, Arthur McArthur; April 19, 1862, to 1864, Edward Salomon; 1876 to 1878, Harrison Ludington; 1878 to 1882, William E. Smith; 1891 to 1895, George W. Peck.

Arthur McArthur was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1815. His father died when the son was an infant, and he was brought to America when a mere child. He was educated in Amherst, Mass., and at the Wesleyan university, at Middletown, Conn. He studied law in New York, being admitted to the bar in 1840, and he practiced in that city and in Springfield, Mass., for some years with marked success. While residing in Springfield he occupied the position of judge advocate of the Western military district of Massachusetts. In 1849 he removed to Milwaukee, where he at once became prominent, and two years afterward he was elected city attorney. In 1855 he was elected lieutenant-governor of Wisconsin on the ticket with Governor Barstow. The title of Barstow was disputed on the ground that he was not elected, but McArthur ran ahead of his ticket and his election was not questioned. Bashford, Barstow's contestant, had a quo warranto issued against Barstow, and the latter resigned when the matter was decided. At this stage a very important point arose. The constitution of Wisconsin provides that in case of the death, resignation or inability to serve on the part of the governor, then the duties of the office shall devolve on the lieutenant-governor. McArthur took the ground that he was entitled to the vacant office, holding that the question was a political one— not a judicial one; that the board of electors had declared Barstow elected governor and that was a finality, the courts having no jurisdiction. Thus Barstow having been declared by competent authority elected, his resignation left the office vacant to be filled according to the provisions of the constitution, McArthur being undeniably the lieutenant-governor. During the hiatus McArthur held his position as governor and administered the duties of the office until after the courts had decided in favor of Bashford, when he gave up the office and resumed his duties as lieutenant-governor and president of the senate. Before his term was out, however, he was elected judge of the Second judicial circuit — the most important in the state at that time — and in that position he became one of the most popular men in Wisconsin. His course was so upright, his decisions so just and courageous, and his bearing so blameless, that he was re-elected at the expiration of his first term of six years with great unanimity. In 1870 he was appointed by President Grant an associate justice of the supreme court of the District of Columbia, which position he filled until 1888, when he resigned under the act of Congress which permits federal judges to retire upon full pay after having reached the age of seventy years, and after having served at least ten years. While on the bench Judge McArthur undertook the task of reporting the decisions of the court in banc, beginning in 1873, and he published four volumes of these decisions. In 1886 he published a book entitled "Education and Its Relation to Manual Industry," which received a decidedly widespread and favorable recognition among eminent educators and others, and was noticed extensively by the press in terms of high appreciation. He was also the author of a book of great learning and research called "The Biography of the English Language, with Notices of Authors, Ancient and Modern." He also published a volume of "Essays and Papers on Miscellaneous Topics;" also a volume on the subject of "Law as Applied in a Business Education." In history he was particularly intelligent, and frequently lectured on historical subjects. He was for a time the chancellor of the National university, an institution of great promise in Washington City, and he always took a leading part m movements for social advancement. Judge McArthur died in 1896. Edward Salomon was governor of Wisconsin for the greater portion of the term of 1862-63. He was born in Germany and came to this country when quite young. Pie studied law and was admitted to the bar in Milwaukee. In 1861 he was elected lieutenant-governor on the Republican ticket headed by Louis P. Harvey.

When in 1862 (April 17) Governor Harvey met his tragic death at Pittsburg Landing, Salomon became governor. At the end of his term he returned to his law practice in Milwaukee and later removed to New York, where he died.

Harrison Ludington was born at Ludingtonville, Putnam county, N. Y., July 30, 1812, one of fifteen children born to Frederick and Susan (Griffith) Ludington. He received a good academic education in his native village and in 1838, at the age of twenty-six, settled in Milwaukee and engaged in business as successor to Solomon Juneau, the first of the founders of the city. Soon thereafter he laid the foundations of a business which he continued forty years, passing through financial depressions, war panics and various commercial revulsions with credit unimpaired, and becoming a leader among the lumbermen of the Northwest. He was also, at one time, largely interested in the Ludington mine at Iron Mountain, named after him; besides, he owned large real estate interests in Milwaukee, including the corner of East Water and Wisconsin streets, afterward leased by Captain Pabst for ninety-nine years, at an annual rental of $10,000. He was a lover of blooded stock, devoted much time to his farm at Wauwatosa, and was one of the leading promoters of the "Wisconsin Agricultural Society," serving as its efficient treasurer many years. He served three years as president of the "Pioneer Association," of which he was an honored member, and was present at its reunion held at the Plankinton House,. Feb. 22, 1891. He was originally a Whig, but became affiliated with the Republican party on its organization in 1856 and always stood true to its principles, though he was a patriot rather than a partisan. He served as a member of Milwaukee's Common Council in 1861 and again in 1862. In 1871 he was elected mayor, re-elected in 1873, and held the office till January, 1876, when he resigned to assume the duties of the governorship of Wisconsin, to which he was elected the preceding November, receiving 85,164 votes, as against 84,374 cast for William R. Taylor, the Democratic candidate.' He was the only Republican nominated for a state office elected at that time, a fact which was in a measure due to his popularity among the German workingmen of Milwaukee, as well as with the strong Irish element. He was a man of independent action, able to think for himself, and, by reason of his fidelity to his own convictions of duty, he incurred the opposition of some of the old-time leaders of his party, who prevented his nomination for a second term — an honor, however, which he himself did not seek, having the assurance of a good conscience and knowing that he had discharged his duty faithfully and well. His political career terminated with the close of his service as governor, and he at once resumed the duties of his private business, which thereafter engaged his attention. As a pioneer citizen of Milwaukee he brought thither the first seed wheat from the East, and bought the first load of grain brought to that market. His last illness dated from the winter of 1885, when he was injured by a fall on an icy sidewalk. On June 17, 1891, he suffered a stroke of paralysis and passed away.

William E. Smith began life as a merchant, and during his long residence in Wisconsin was actively engaged nearly all the time in mercantile pursuits. A native of Scotland, he was born June 18, 1824, and when eleven years of age came with his father's family to this country. A quarter section of land was secured in Michigan, near Detroit, on which a rude log cabin was soon erected, and in the spring of 1836 the family took possession of it and commenced the labor of making a new farm. Hard work was a matter of course, and the young son who was destined to become the chief executive of a great state performed with willing hands his full share of the toil; nor did this break the fiber of even one of so fine a nature, but his courage met hardships bravely and surmounted all difficulties. For several years he thus worked, attending school a portion of the time and taking a deep interest in a village debating club. In 1841 he was offered a clerkship in a small store and entered upon the duties of the position with a fixed determination to do his full share of work. During his term of service in this capacity he availed himself of a town library and read extensively works of history, travel, science, etc., and also kept a close watch of the newspapers. He remained in this clerkship about five years and, being frugal in his habits, saved a large portion of his small salary, which was voluntarily handed over to his father. In 1846 Mr. Smith was tendered a position in the well-known dry-goods house of Lord & Taylor, in New York, where he spent one year, and then accepted an important position in the wholesale house of Ira Smith & Company of that city. In the fall of 1849 he started a general store at Fox Lake, Wis., and from that time made this state his home, and the record of his life is a part of its history. In the fall of 1850 he was elected a member of the assembly, and during the session of 1851 took an active part in shaping its legislation. He was a. member of the state senate in 1858 and 1859. and again in 1864 and 1865. He took a deep interest in the cause of education and was chairman of the committee on that subject. In the fall of 1865 he was elected state treasurer and was re-elected in 1867, thus serving four years in that important position. In the Republican state convention of 1869 he was a prominent candidate for governor, but was not successful in securing the nomination. At the expiration of his term as treasurer he returned to Fox Lake, and in the fall of 1870 was again elected to the assembly, and on the meeting of that body in January, 1871, was made speaker. He went to Europe in 1871 and on his return his friends urged his nomination for governor, but without success. In 1877 he received that nomination without opposition and was elected by a handsome majority, and re-elected in 1879. In addition to those already named Governor Smith filled many other places of public trust of importance to the state. He was twenty-one years a regent of normal schools and four years a director of the state prison. He also served as trustee of the Wisconsin Female College at Fox Lake for twenty-six years; of the Wayland University at Beaver Dam; of the Milwaukee Female College, and of the Chicago University. For many years he was a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company; was at one time vice-president of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce; was one of the vice-presidents of the National Board of Trade, and was long a member and once president of St. Andrew's Society. After successful business operations at Fox Lake for over twenty years, as merchant and banker, in 1872 he removed to Milwaukee and established himself in this city as a wholesale grocer. On being elected governor of the state he sold out his interest in that business and devoted himself wholly to state affairs. On retiring from official position he again engaged in mercantile pursuits, formed a co-partnership with H. M. Mendell and his son, Ira Smith, in the wholesale grocery trade, and continued in business up to the time of his death. In politics he was in early life an ardent Whig, and upon the formation of the Republican party became a zealous and influential member of that organization. He died on Feb. 13, 1883, and not only the entire state of Wisconsin but the country at large mourned his loss.

Lieutenant-Governors. — From 1856 to 1858, Arthur Mc Arthur; Jan. 6, 1862. to April 19, 1862. Edward Salomon.

State Treasurers. — From 1874 to 1878, Ferdinand Kuehn; Jan. 5, 1903, to July 30, 1904, and 1905 to 1907, John J. Kempf.

Ferdinand Kuehn was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, on Jan. 22, 1821. He received a liberal education in the public schools and colleges of that place, and became an apprentice in a banking house at the age of fifteen years. He subsequently served four years in a banking house in Switzerland; then came to America in 1844. He first settled in Washington county, a few miles north of Cedarburg, Wis., where he engaged in farming two years, and then came to Milwaukee in the summer of 1846. He had little means and depended on his exertions for his support. He at first served as a clerk for a few months, but subsequently learned the trade of a cigarmaker and followed that vocation four years, earning an independent, though by no means sumptuous, living. He added what he could to his income by desultory work at bookkeeping, often assisting friends in Kenosha and Racine, and making the trips to and from Milwaukee on foot. In 1849 Charles Geisberg, then city treasurer and a friend of Mr. Kuehn, gave him a permanent position at a moderate salary in his office. He remained in this position, under Mr. Geisberg and his successors, Lucas Seaver and Alex. H. Johnson, five years. At the expiration of Mr. Johnson's term of office, in 1854, Mr. Kuehn was elected city treasurer by a large majority, and in 1855 was re-elected without opposition. He declined a reelection in 1856 and entered into business relations with the late Charles Quentin, which continued up to the time of Mr. Quentin's death, which occurred in May, 1862. During the four years succeeding his retirement from the office of city treasurer he was a member of the city council in 1857-58, and school commissioner of the Sixth ward. In 1860 he was elected city comptroller, and was re-elected as often as his term expired till 1866, at which time he retired from official life, having been seventeen years in the municipal service. At this time he entered into a co-partnership with Christian Ott and engaged in the real estate business, in which he continued till 1874, at which time he again entered the public service, having been elected state treasurer in the fall of 1873. He held this important office of trust four years. On retiring from the office he visited' Europe, after an absence of thirty-five years. Upon his return he became interested in banking and engaged in the fiduciary business of managing the property and estates of non-residents. Mr. Kuehn died on Jan. 31. 1901.

Attorneys-General.— From 1848 to 1850, James S. Brown; 1850 to 1852. S. Park Coon; Oct. 7, 1862. to 1866, Winfield Smith.

James S. Brown was born in Hampden, Maine, Feb. 12, 1823. He was a precocious boy, and under careful private tutelage was fitted for college before he had reached the age necessary to matriculation. Continuing his studies under the private tutorship of Prof. Worcester, brother of the noted author of Worcester's Dictionary, he finished the entire course prescribed in the college curriculum before he was sixteen years old. When he reached that age the death of his father threw him upon his own resources and for a year he engaged in school teaching. At the end of that time he came West as far as Cincinnati, Ohio, and took up the study of law in the office of an elder brother, who was practicing in that city. At the end of a two years' course of study he was admitted to the bar in the state of Kentucky, where the fact that he lacked two years of attaining his majority did not operate as a bar to his admission to practice, as it did in Ohio. He remained in Cincinnati until 1844, and while there formed the acquaintance of Father Henni — afterward Archbishop of Wisconsin — who induced him to come to Milwaukee. He was then but twenty-one years of age, but he at once began the practice of his profession and very soon achieved distinction as a member of the pioneer bar. In 1845, the year after he began practicing in this city, he was elected district attorney for Milwaukee county and discharged his official duties with a zeal and ability which commended him both to the bar and the general public. In 1848 he was elected first attorney-general of Wisconsin, being at that time but twenty-five years of age, and one of the youngest men who have been called upon to fill a state office in this state. In 1861 Mr. Brown was elected mayor of Milwaukee on the Democratic ticket, and became the chief executive officer of the city at a critical period in its history. Not only was he called upon to deal with matters to which the exigencies of war gave rise, but he found a readjustment of the financial affairs of the city imperatively necessary. So distrustful was everybody of the city's ability to meet its obligations that when the first steam fire engine was purchased for the use of the city Mr. Brown found it necessary to make a personal guarantee of payment. Co-operating with the commission appointed under an enactment of the state legislature, empowered to refund and readjust the obligations of the city, he averted what seemed like impending bankruptcy and restored the credit of the municipality, which has never since been impaired. The bank riots, famous in the history of the city, occurred during Mr. Brown's administration, and it became his duty to read the "riot act" from the steps of the old "Mitchell Bank" to the excited and turbulent mob gathered in front of it. He performed this duty unflinchingly while a shower of missiles was falling around him, and afterward charged the mob at the head of the militia which had been called upon to quell the riotous uprising. His political affiliations were always with the Democratic party, but during the Civil War he favored the suppression of the Southern uprising and a vigorous war policy. In 1862 he was elected to Congress as a war Democrat, and sat in the national legislature during the closing years, of the great conflict. While not of the same political faith as President Lincoln, he was an admirer of the great commoner, and on the occasion of his death delivered an eloquent and touching funeral address in old St. Paul's church. After serving one term in Congress he resumed the practice of law in Milwaukee, but failing health compelled him to retire from active professional work after a few years, and he died while still a comparatively young man, April 16, 1878.

S. Park Coon was for many years one of Milwaukee county's most prominent lawyers and politicians, and he was the second man to fill the office of attorney-general of Wisconsin. He was a leading Democrat, but like too many others who have entered the political arena, he fell a victim to dissipation and became a beggar. He was supported by the charity of his brother lawyers for several years before his death, which occurred at the Passavant hospital on Oct. 12, 1883. He was a genial, whole-souled fellow in his palmy days, and but for the fatal cup would no doubt have reached high positions of trust and influence.

Winfield Smith was for many years one of the leading citizens of the city of Milwaukee and state of Wisconsin, and he was born at Fort Howard, Wis., Aug. 16, 1827. He received a careful educational training in early youth, and in his seventeenth year entered an advanced class in the Michigan University, at which institution he graduated in the class of 1846. Immediately after his graduation he took charge of a private school at Monroe, Mich., which had been his home since 1833. A year later he began the study of law while acting as private tutor to a few advanced scholars, and in 1848 he entered the law office of Judge Isaac P. Christiancy to complete his preparation for admission to the bar. He remained in Judge Christiancy's office until 1849, when he removed to Milwaukee and entered the office of Messrs. Emmons & Van Dyke, then among the leaders of the bar of the city. In 1850 he was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Wisconsin, and in 1851 opened an office in Milwaukee, practicing alone until 1855. In that year he formed a partnership with Edward Salomon — afterward governor of Wisconsin — which continued fifteen years, and until Governor Salomon's removal to New York city. In 1862 Mr. Smith was appointed by Governor Salomon attorney-general of the state to fill out the unexpired term of James H. Howe — afterwards a judge of the United States court — who had resigned that office to enter the military service. In 1863 Mr. Smith was elected attorney-general for a full term, which expired in 1866. As the law officer of the state he discharged his duties with zeal, care and ability, rendering to the public services of special value in the investigation of the claim of the Rock River Canal Company against the state. For over ten years he served as United States Commissioner and Master in Chancery in Milwaukee, and during this period occurred the fugitive slave riots and the prosecutions growing out of what has been known as the "Glover Rescue." In 1872 he was elected to the assembly of Wisconsin, served as chairman of the judiciary committee during the ensuing session and was recognized as one of the ablest debaters on the floor of the house. In 1876 he was tendered an appointment as United States district attorney to succeed Judge Levi Hubbell, but declined the appointment. After the dissolution of his partnership with Governor Salomon he practiced law in partnership with Joshua Stark from 1869 to 1875. In the year last named he became associated in practice with Matthew H. Carpenter and A. A. L. Smith, and the firm thus constituted was one of the most widely known in the Northwest. With some changes of associations he continued the practice as one of the recognized leaders of the bar of the state until his retirement a few years before his death to the enjoyment of a comfortable fortune and well-earned rest from professional labors. Of Democratic antecedents, Mr. Smith affiliated with that party up to the time the Republican party came into existence, and then transferred his allegiance to the new party. He had, however, apparently no ambition for official position, and declined a United States judgeship when offered him; and he also refused to become a candidate for member of the supreme court of Wisconsin and for local judicial positions when solicited to do so by many friends and members of the bar. In later years he resided a portion of the time in New England and traveled abroad extensively.

State Superintendents. — From July 6, 1870, to 1874, Samuel Fallows; 1899 to 1903, Lorenzo D. Harvey.

State Prison Commissioner. — From 1856 to 1858, Edward McGarry.

Railroad Commissioner. — From 1874 to 1876, George H. Paul; 1907. John Henry Roemer, present incumbent.

George H. Paul was born at Danville, Vermont, March 14, 1826, and at eleven years of age began in the office of the North Star a connection with the printing business, which he continued during the greater portion of his life. In 1840 he entered Phillips Academy, where he spent three years preparing for college. He received the degree of A. M. from the University of Vermont and spent a year in the study of law at Harvard, being admitted to the bar in 1848. During all the time while he was securing his education he supported himself by teaching and. working at the printing business. In 1848 he became editor and proprietor of the Burlington (Vermont) Sentinel, and transformed that paper into a daily — the first daily newspaper regularly published in Vermont. In the same year President Polk appointed him postmaster at Burlington. In 1851 he sold the Sentinel and removed to Kenosha, Wis., where he began the publication of the Kenosha Democrat. In 1853 President Pierce appointed him postmaster at Kenosha, and he was reappointed to the office by President Buchanan, holding the position till the expiration of his commission in 1861. He was mayor of Kenosha and held other local offices of trust and honor, and in the spring of 1861 he went to New York, where he did editorial work for several months. Returning to Wisconsin, he became interested with J. M. Lyon in the proprietorship of the Daily News at Milwaukee, and was the leading spirit in the management of that paper until May, 1874. In 1867 he was a member of the Milwaukee Charter Commission, and in 1870 a member of the board of school commissioners. He resigned from the board to accept the position of superintendent of the public schools, which he held until May, 1871. In February, 1874, he was appointed a member of the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin, a position which he held until his death in 1890, and during most of the time he was president of the board. He was a member of the Wisconsin Board of Railway Commissioners during the administration of Governor Taylor from 1874 to 1876, and served two terms in the state senate from 1877 to 1881, representing what was at that time the Sixth senatorial district, comprising the portion of Milwaukee city and county lying south of the Menominee river. As a member of the senate Mr. Paul was the author of numerous measures of importance, among them being the bills for creating the Milwaukee County Insane Asylum and the State Industrial School for Girls; also the bills creating the office of health commissioner in the city of Milwaukee, and promoting the public health by a system of intercepting sewers for the protection of the rivers of the city. He .was one of the trustees of the Milwaukee County Insane Asylum for a number of years. In 1885 President Cleveland appointed Mr. Paul postmaster at Milwaukee and he served in that capacity till the appointment of his successor by President Harrison in 1889. He was a delegate to four Democratic national conventions, and he was a member for Wisconsin of the Democratic national committee from 1864 to 1868, and from 1872 to 1876. In 1872-3 he was chairman of the Democratic state central committee of Wisconsin, and planned and conducted the campaign which brought the Democrats into power after an exile of fifteen years. Mr. Paul was one of the organizers of the Milwaukee Cement Company and for many years held the secretaryship of that corporation.

Insurance Commissioners. — From 1895 to Oct. 15, 1898,. William A. Fricke; Oct. 15, 1898, to 1903, Emil Giljohann; 1903 to 1907, Zeno M. Host.