WISCONSIN 



6334 



WISCONSIN 



ter of the Northwest md factor 



scattered throughout the state. Second 

 in importance to lumber are foundry and ma- 

 chine-shop products. Foundries and shops are 

 found in every large city throughout the south- 

 ern and eastern section, and Milwaukee has 

 one of the largest machine construction plants 

 in the world. Racine is one of the leading 



in the United States in the manufacture 



of agricultural implements, and it is also the 



seat of large foundries ami wagon, carriage and 



automobile factories. 



The making of butter, cheese and condensed 



:id the tanning and curing of leather are 

 the next industries in importance. The Wis- 

 consin and Rock River valley towns are noted 

 for their dairies, and Milwaukee, Sheboygan 

 and many other cities have large tanneries. 

 Malt liquors constitute another of Wisconsin's 

 chief products, Milwaukee being almost world- 

 famous for its breweries. The milling of flour 

 and grist centers at La Crosse, and it is an i ra- 

 il industry throughout the southern and 

 middle sections. Slaughtering and meat pack- 



another of the principal industries, and 

 manufactories of paper, wood pulp, furniture, 

 refrigerators and cars are found in almost every 

 large city. Sheboygan is noted as the home of 

 one of the largest pea canneries in the country. 

 At Sturgeon Bay and Superior there are large 

 shipyards and dry docks, where many of the 

 lake freighters are built. The leading manu- 

 facturing cities are Milwaukee, Racine, Keno- 

 sha, Sheboygan, La Crosse, Appleton and Supe- 

 rior. The industrial commission enforces strict 

 factory regulations and laws regarding child la- 

 bor, workmen's compensation, employers' lia- 

 bility, the minimum wage, apprenticeship and 

 indu>tnal accidents. In progressive labor laws 

 Wisconsin takes high rank. 



Transportation and Commerce. Along its 

 western boundary the state has 200 miles of 

 navigable waterway in the greatest highway for 

 river traffic in the United States. The north- 

 ern part of the state has an outlet for trade 

 through Lake Superior, and on Lake Michigan, 

 forming the entire eastern border, there is a 

 harbor at the mouth of every large stream. The 

 canal between the Wisconsin and Fox rivers 

 at Portage opens a water highway from the 

 Mississippi to the Great Lakes, and another at 

 Sturgeon Bay connects Green Bay and Lake 

 Michigan. 



Besides the water Iran-port at ion, there are 

 over 7,500 miles of railroad in the state. The 

 most important lines are the Chicago, Milwau- 

 kee & Saint Paul ; the Chicago & North West- 

 ern; the Minneapolis, Saint Paul & Sault Sainte 

 Marie; the Wisconsin Central; the Green Bay 

 & Western ; the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy ; 

 and the Northern Pacific. 



Milwaukee is the chief commercial port on 

 Lake Michigan, and from this harbor and those 

 of Racine, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Sturgeon 

 Bay and Marinette millions of tons of freight, 

 chiefly lumber and timber products, iron, dairy 

 products, flour and vegetables are sent to east- 

 ern markets. Superior is the chief Wisconsin 

 port on Lake Superior, and has one of the fin- 

 est natural harbors in the country. It consists 

 of two bays protected by sand bars and gives 

 forty-nine miles of protected coast line. Includ- 

 ing the commerce of Duluth, just across the 

 border in Minnesota, more freight is handled 

 in the Duluth-Superior harbor than in any 

 other inland port in the United States, and it 

 claims to rank third among the commercial 

 ports of America in the amount of water 

 traffic. Ashland is another large port on Lake 

 Superior for the shipment of iron and lumber. 



Government and History 



Government. The first constitution, adopted 

 in 1847, still remains in force. The executive 

 department consists of the governor, lieutenant- 

 governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, 

 attorney-general and insurance commissioner, 

 all elected for two years, and a state superin- 

 tendent of public instruction, elected for four 

 years. 



The legislative body is composed of the 

 senate and house of representatives, and it 

 meets biennially. There are thirty-three sena- 

 tors, elected for four years, and 100 representa- 

 tives, elected for two years. 



The judiciary consists of a supreme court of 

 seven judges and a circuit court in each of the 

 seventeen judicial districts. The supreme court 

 judges are elected for ten years by the people 

 at large, and the circuit judges are elected by 

 the voters in each district. A probate judge 

 and justices of the peace are elected by the 

 voters in each county. Local administration is 

 by counties. 



Settlement. No state in the Union is richer 

 in historic remains of its Indian occupants than 

 Wisconsin. The region was probably first vis- 

 ited by a white man in 1634, when Jean Nicolet, 



