WISCONSIN. 



B87 



WISCONSIN, a Western State, admitted to the 

 Union May 29, 1848; area, 56,040 square miles. 

 The population, according to each decennial cen- 

 sus since admission, was 305,391 in 1850 ; 775,881 in 

 1860; 1,054,670 in 1870; 1,315,497 in 1880; and 

 1,688,880 in 1890. By the State census of 1895 it 

 was 1,937,915. Capital, Madison. 



Government. The following were the officers of 

 the State in 1898: Governor, Edward Scofield; 

 Lieutenant Governor, Emil Baensch ; Secretary of 

 State, Henry Casson ; Treasurer, Sewell A. Peter- 

 son ; Attorney-General, William H. Mylrea; Sup'-r- 

 intendent of Public Instruction, John Q. Emery ; 

 Railroad Commissioner, Duncan J. McKenzie ; In- 

 surance Commissioner, William A. Fricke, resigned, 

 and succeeded in October by Emil Giljohann all 

 Republicans; Adjutant General, C. R. Boardman; 

 Clerk of the Land Commission, E. Wyman ; Labor 

 Commissioner, H. Erickson; Factory Inspector, II. 

 P. Fischer; Dairy and Food Commissioner, 11. ('. 

 Adams ; Bank Examiner, E. I. Kidd ; Fish and 

 Game Warden, J. T. Ellarson ; Board of Arbitra- 

 tion, R. 0. Jeardeau, R. H. Edwards, Thomas Wad- 

 dell ; Board of Control, James E. Heg, succeeded 

 in April by N. B. Treat, Richard Guenther, William 

 P. Lyoii, E. R. Petherick, Clarence Snyder ; Chief 

 Justice of the Supreme Court, J. B. Cassoday. Re- 

 publican ; Associate Justices, Silas U. Pinney, Dem- 

 ocrat, who resigned in November, and was succeeded 

 by Joshua E. Dodge, Democrat, John B. Winslow, 

 Democrat, Alfred W. Newman, Republican, who 

 died Jan. 12, and was succeeded by Charles V. Bar- 

 deen, Republican ; Clerk, Clarence Kellogg. 



Finances. The total receipts of the treasury 

 during the year ending Sept. 30 were $5,274,121.18, 

 and the disbursements $4,525,160.39. The receipts 

 of the general fund were $2,971,140.72, and of these 

 the largest item was license fees from railway com- 

 panies, $1,247,357. The balance remaining Sept. 

 30 was $201,042.86. 



The bonded debt of the State, created in 1861-'65 

 for war purposes, has all been paid or converted 

 into certificates of indebtedness to the trust funds, 

 except $1,000, which was paid from the general 

 fund Aug. 13, 1888. The distribution of the debt 

 among the funds is : School fund, $1,563,700 ; Nor- 

 mal School fund, $515.700; University fund, $111,- 

 000; Agricultural College fund, $60.600 ; total, $2,- 

 251,000. 



The valuation of taxable property by the State 

 board gave a total of $600,000,000. The State tax 

 was $1,492,570, the total of special charges for 

 State and county institutions was $216,628.37, spe- 

 cial loans amounted to $108,828.03, and school dis- 

 trict loans to $100,753.29, making a total of $1,918,- 

 779.69. The total of town, city, village, and county 

 taxes was $14,818,899.23. 



Education. The school population in 189 

 708,535; the enrollment in public schools, 430,827; 

 the number of schoolhouses, 6,940 ; teachers, 12,465. 

 There were 152 free high schools with courses of 

 four vears and 57 with courses of three years. I la- 

 receipts for the year were $6,747,316.64, including 

 $1,437,372.86 on hand at the beginning of the year. 

 and the disbursements $5,290,506.40. 



The enrollment of normal pupils in the < normal 

 schools was 2,797. These schools have graduated 

 in all in the advanced course, 2,180, and in the ele- 

 mentary 1,208. The receipts were $351,449.20, and 

 the disbursements $340,623.31. 



The students in the several colleges and schools 

 of the State University numbered 1,767, ol Whom 

 947 were in the College of Letters and Science, 

 which includes the School of Economics. 1 olltical 

 Science and History, and the School of Education. 

 There were 227 in the College of Mechanics and 

 Engineering, 277 in that of Agriculture, 182 in the 



College of Law, fil in the School of Pharmacy, and 

 141 in the School of Music. The attendance has 

 increased very nearly 500 in four years. The re- 

 ceipts for the year, including the balance on hand 

 Sept. 30, 1897, of $ai.:;7'.'.":!. were * 17 -706.69, and 

 the expenditure x H!>.:;:;0.16. 



Charities and Corrections* Then are 309 

 men and 157 women ;it t lie Soldier-' Horn*-, at Wau- 

 paca, which is operated at a cost of about $40,000 

 a year. 



At the Delavan School for Dcaf-Mutes 104 boys 

 and 97 girls are taught. The cost averages about 

 $200 a year for each. 



The Institution for Imbeciles, near Chippewa 

 Falls, has 347 inmates. 



The insane are cared for at two hospitals; 922 

 were under treatment Oct. 1, 1896. The current 

 net expenses for both institutions amount to about 

 $213,000. 



The School for the Blind, at Janesville, had an en- 

 rollment of 103 Oct. 1, 1896. The net expenses 

 amounted to $35,956.42. 



The School for Dependent Children, at Sparta, 

 had 237 in attendance Sept. 80, 1896. The current 

 expenses were $46,759. 



There were 582 inmates in the State Prison at 

 the same date. The cost of maintenance per capita 

 is about 32^ cents a day. 



There were 328 boys at the Industrial School, at 

 Waukesha, at that time, and the expenses amounted 

 to $61,192.83. 



A new reformatory-, intended for first offenders, 

 has been established" at Green Bay. for which the 

 Legislature of 1897 appropriated $75,000. 



Military. The number of men furnished by 

 the State for the Spanish war was 5.469 four regi- 

 ments of infantry and a battery. The number of 

 deaths among them is unofficially -riven as 131. 

 The expenses for their pay. etc.. amounted to 

 $88,191.90. 



The expenses of the militia were le>s this year 

 than usual, as there was no encampment : they 

 amounted to $43,354.87. 



During the past biennial term 1,204 new claims 

 for civil-war pensions have been entered ; 554 hare 

 been settled, of which 311 were allowed and 243 

 rejected ; 125 of those rejected were for increase. 



Insurance. The report of the Insurance Com- 

 missioner, rendered in March, covers the business 

 of 1897. It shows 153 fire and marine companies 

 operating in the State, an increase of 33 since Jan. 

 7, 1895. 



During this period (1895-'98) 10 companies ap- 

 plying have been refused license, of which 5 have 

 since failed, 3 reorganized, and 2 refused on purely 

 legal ground are Still in Im-in. . N" company 

 has failed during this time while licensed by the 

 present Commissioner. 



Tin amount written in Wisconsin by stork and 

 mutual fire companies during the year 1897 was 

 s-)-,'.s95,816.46. for which $4,218,523.83 were re- 

 ceivcd as premiums and upon which $1,600.544 

 were paid for tire losses, making the ratio of losses 

 to premiums received -T.'.M per cent. 



An insurance suit of great importance to th< 

 State and the companies was decided March 1. 

 Commissioner threatened to revoke the license of 

 ilie Travelers', of Hart ford, unless back taxes which 

 he claimed were duo from it should bo paid, and 

 the company brought suit for an injunction to re- 

 strain him from so doing. The company had a 

 liceitse for life business, but the irtvater part of 

 transactions were in accident insurance: and for 

 this the company procured no license, claiming 

 that the whole business was covered by the license 

 it had. The Supreme Court decided against the 

 com pan \ on this question and on the further claim 



