922 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
ed in 1892, but resigned to accept the seat in the senate of the 
United States for the term beginning on the 4th of March 
1893, and ending in 1899. He was a member of the demo¬ 
cratic state central committee for several years, represented 
Wisconsin on the democratic national committee from 1888 to 
1892, and in the latter yeai* was chairman of the democratic 
national congressional committee. 
As a legislator, Mr. Mitchell was useful and conscientious 
rather than showy. He made no' pretense to the gift of ora¬ 
tory, but when he spoke he commanded attention by reason of 
his mastery of facts and his candid and practical methods in 
dealing with public problems. His theory of government in¬ 
clined him to be a strict party man. Where party issues were 
not involved, he was conservatively progressive. He enjoyed 
the confidence and esteem of his fellow senators of all shades 
of political opinion. 
In 1886, he was appointed a member of the board of mana¬ 
gers of the national homes for disabled volunteer soldiers, and 
was elected president of the board in 1895. In his capacity of 
resident manager of the home at Milwaukee, he endeared him¬ 
self to the inmates of that institution by his constant and vigi¬ 
lant solicitude for their welfare. A touching spectacle at his 
funeral was the presence of a body of seven hundred veterans 
from the home, who had assembled to pay the final tribute of 
respect to their dead friend. 
His interest in public education was manifested in many 
ways. In 1884-5, he was president of the Milwaukee board of 
school commissioners. In 1887, he placed with the superin¬ 
tendent of schools an order to supply at his expense free text¬ 
books to the children of parents too poor to purchase them, thus 
originating a worthy charity which he and others following 
him maintained until the expense was assumed by the city. 
He was conspicuous in bringing about the establishment of 
the short course in agriculture at the University of Wiscon¬ 
sin, and instituted at a considerable outlay twenty scholarships 
for poor boys. 
Shortly after his retirement from the United States senate 
in 1899, Mr. Mitchell went to Europe accompanied by his 
