WILHELM II. 



WISCONSIN. 



845 



on a firm foundation, Prince Bismarck engaged 

 his master in a conflict with the Catholic 

 Church, considering the lately promulgated 

 doctrine of papal infallibility a menace to the 

 state, and the attitude of the clericals in the 

 Reichstag an obstacle to the amalgamation of 

 the various elements composing the Empire. 

 "When the era of the Kulturkampf was ended, 

 and the force of Separatist resistance had spent 

 itself, the republican and socialistic ideas that 

 were an important element in the revolution- 

 ary movement of 1848 asserted themselves in 

 the Social-Democratic agitation. A desperado 

 named Hodel. inflamed with revolutionary pas- 

 sion and desire for notoriety, fired at the Em- 

 peror as he was passing along the avenue Un- 

 ter den Linden, on May 11, 1878. The minis- 

 try presented a bill to suppress the Socialist 

 movement, which the Reichstag rejected by a 

 majority of nearly 200 votes. Dr. Nobiling, 

 an educated Socialist, moved by the same im- 

 pulses that actuated Hodel's attempt, fired 

 with buckshot at the Emperor in his carriage 

 on June 2, and wounded him severely. The 

 Reichstag was at once dissolved, and a new 

 one passed Prince Bismarck's anti-Socialist 

 bill. The law expired in 1881, and has been 

 repeatedly renewed and strengthened. The 

 Social- Democratic party, by the unsparing use 

 of repressive powers, was disorganized, but 

 not destroyed. At length the Emperor and 

 his Chancellor turned to constructive legisla- 

 tion, in order to promote contentment and 

 avert the danger of revolution, devising a 

 scheme of social reform that is intended to 

 make the lot of the laboring-man easier and 

 to secure him against want. The military sys- 

 tem has been developed and extended on the 

 lines approved by Wilhelm I. The creation of 

 the Prussian army he considered the chief task 

 of his life. His foreign policy was shaped so 

 as to retain the acquisitions of the French war, 

 and, to guard against a combined attack from 

 France and Russia, a military alliance was en- 

 tered into with Austria-Hungary and Italy. 



The Emperor Wilhelm was a soldier in all 

 his habits. He slept on a hard couch, ate 

 simple food, drank sparingly of wine, and used 

 no tobacco. He was pious and orthodox in 

 his religious faith. 



WILHELM II, Emperor of Germany, born in 

 Berlin, Jan. 27, 1859. He is the eldest son of 

 Frederich III of Prussia, the second Emperor 

 of Germany, and of his wife Victoria, the 

 Princess Royal of England. He early devel- 

 oped a liking for military affairs, and was en- 

 couraged in such tastes by his grandfather, 

 learning many details of tactics, drill, and dis- 

 cipline before he could read. He imbibed also 

 the old Emperor's monarchical ideas of gov- 

 ernment and his dislike for popular represen- 

 tative government. His earliest teacher was 

 an English governess. He was sent to Bonn 

 to study political science, jurisprudence, and 

 mathematics, and in 18--2. by his grandfather's 

 directions, was placed with Dr. Aschenbusch, 



president of the province of Brandenb; 

 learn the practical details ;md the adini; 

 tive routine of the civil service. He aU 

 instruction from Prince Bismarck, whom In- 

 visited once a fortnight. In military matt<T> 

 he became as proficient as his grandfather. 

 Prince Wilhelm (whose full name i> Fried rich 

 "Wilhelrn Victor Albrecht), married the Prin- 

 \ugu>ta Victoria, daughter of Friedrich, 

 Duke of Schlesu ig-Holstein. on Feb. 27. 1881. 

 The family consists of five sons, of whom the 

 eldest, the Crown-Prince Friedrich Wilhelm 

 Victor August Ern.-t. was born on May 6, 

 1882. For portraits of the Emperor Wilhelm 

 II and the Crown-Prince, see the "Annual 

 Cyclopedia" for 1887, page 321. 



WISCOIISIK, State Government The follow- 

 ing were the State officers during the year: 

 Governor, Jeremiah M. Rusk. Republican ; 

 Lieutenant-Governor, George W. Ryland ; Sec- 

 retary of State, Ernst G. Timme ; Treasurer, 

 Henry B. Harshaw; Attorney-General, Charles 

 E. Estabrook; Superintendentof Public Schools, 

 Jesse B. Thayer ; Insurance Commissioner, 

 Philip Cheek ; Railroad Commissioner. Atley 

 Peterson ; Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, 

 Orsamus Cole; Associate Justices. William P. 

 Lyon. David Taylor, John B. Cassoday, and 

 Harlow S. Orton. 



Finances. On Oct. 1, 1886. the balance in 

 the treasury aggregated $736,720.24 : the total 

 receipts for the succeeding biennial period were 

 $5.469,996.10, and the disbursements s.j.447.- 

 072.82. leaving a balance in the treasury on 

 Sept. 30, 1888, of $750.702.44. Of this' bal- 

 ance, there was in the general fund $304.139.- 

 09 and in the school fund 8151.241.85. The 

 receipts of the general fund for the fiscal year 

 1886- ? 87 were $1,805,122.76 : and thedishurse- 

 ments $2.171,201.79 ; for the year 1887-'88 

 the receipts were $2,284,513.26, and the dis- 

 bursements $2.099,984.99. The receipts from 

 the State tax for the former year were > 

 484.88; for the latter year, $996,504.41. The 

 tax on railroads yielded in the former year 

 $763,994.56; in the latter, $1,068,632.96. The 

 State debt on September 30 amounted to 

 *2.2.-)l,000, all of which is held by State funds. 



Statistics. The assessed valuation for 1888 is 

 as follows: Personal property, $125.922.683; 

 city and village lots. $152.545. 964: other real es- 

 tate. $302,996.102 ; total. $581.264.749. There 

 were assessed 404.0.j6 ho:-- . 4-52 cattle, 



723.639 sheep and lambs, and 54o.2ol swine. 



Education. The whole number of persons en- 

 rolled between the ages of four and twenty 

 years, June 30. 1888, was 507. 7n2. and of this 

 number only 265,477 were reported as attend- 

 ing the public schools. The following amounts 

 were paid by the State for educational pur- 

 poses in 1888 : Support of university. $-2 i - 

 .71: normal schools. *'.">'.'. 22'.'.. ~>8; common and 

 Li iih :. 



In 18S5 the Legislature passed an act giving 

 . women the right of suffrage in munici- 

 pal elections, on all matters relating to schools. 



