/v* "^^/''fh***J^ "\.*^^V* *^^ V -^^P.- y -^ -«y#W* ,.^*' "V--!SI9?»V. • » o ^' . ^^'-^-^^ . ''Wm^' ./\. \w.- . /% . -I ,.<•' >- V THE CITY OF MADISON The Capital of Wisconsin— The Seat of the State University — , The County Seat of Dane County ] Prepared especially for use in the Citp Schools To give Information about our City; Show its Advantages and Oppor- tunities; Forecast its Growth; Point out Civic Ideals and Duties; and Awaken Civic Love and Loy- alty in our Young People. BY FRANK A. GILMORE, Minister First Unitarian Society Issued and Copyrighted bg the MADISON BOARD OF COMMERCE ■Ml (^29 MADE IN MADISON w DEC 26 1916 Blied Printing Co., Madison, Wis. CI.A453241 MADISON OUR HOME III TABLE OF CONTENTS I. HISTORICAL. a — Prehistoric Period — the Indians 1 b — Historic Period — Sketch of City's History 12 Coming of the Pioneers 13 Madison Chosen to be the Capital 15 Beginnings 16-19 Chronological Outline 19 The Civil War 28 Noteworthy Achievements Since 1900 36 II. THE PRESENT. Location and Surroundings 47 Longfellow's Poem 51 Racial Elements 53 Organization and Government 55 Political Relations. The City and Madison Township 59 The City and Dane County 59 The City and the State of Wisconsin 61 The City and the Federal Government >. 62 Chief Institutions in the City 65 Federal 66 State 67 County 73 Municipal 73 Semi-public 77 Private 79 Industry and Trade 81 Manufactures: Service Rendered to the City 83 Middlemen: Distributors 85 Retail Business 87 Taxation: Rents and Pl-ices 93 Trades Unions 96 Transportation 97 By Water 99 Street Cars 100 Bus Lines 101 IV MADISON OUR HOME Education. Public School System 101 Private Schools 103 Statistics of Education 103 Libraries 105 Art 106 Recreation 108 Indoor— Public 109 Indoor — Private Ill Outdoor— Public 113 Outdoor — Private 116 Recommendations for Improvement of Recreation 118 Religious and Moral Forces 119 The Home 120 The Church 120 School Life 123 Fraternal Orders 123 Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A 124 Associated Charities 124 Day Nursery 125 Dental Clinic 125 Woman's Club : 125 Catholic Woman's Club 125 Attic Angels 125 Juvenile Court 126 Humane Society '. 126 Business 126 The University .' 126 Civic Ideals 126 The Community Mind 127 Safety of Life and Property 127 A Healthy City 128 Law and Order 132 Transportation 134 City Ordinances on 135 Encouragement and Protection of Business 137 Cleanliness and Beauty 138 A Larger and Better City 141 How Young People Advertise Madison 144 III. THE FUTURE. Need of Taking Thought for the City's Growth 147 Extension and Development for the Next Half Century 148 Flat Showing Region of Growth 149 MADISON OUR HOME V A City Plan 151 City Plan Board 152 Scope of its Work 153 Recent Building- Ordinance 153 Building Districts 154 Future Possibilities for a More Beautiful City 155 A City Plan — General Features 156 Advantages of Such a Plan 157 Commission Form of Government 157 What This Would Mean for Madison 158 Appreciation of Our City Officials 159 The Youth of Madison to Determine Its Future 160 What Madison Do6s for Its Children and Youth 160 Value of Juvenile Element 162 Safeguarding the Home 162 What Madison Provides for the Education of Its Young People 163 Chances to Buy Things 168 Institutions Peculiar to Madison 168 Distinguished Citizens — Deceased 169 Distinguished Citizens — Living 171 Stimulating Atmosphere of Madison 171 Accessibility of County and State Officials 172 The City's Claim Upon Its Young People 178 What Some Citizens Have Done to Show Their Regrard for Madison 173 What We Can Do for Our City 176 Madison Asks Her Children to Care for Their Bodies 176 Effects of Tobacco and Alcohol 177 Politeness and Courtesy 179 Spirit of Serviceableness 179 Beautifying the City 180 City Improvement Clubs 181 Practice of Thrift 187 Honesty 188 Clean Minds in Clean Bodies 188 Taking Thought of the Future 189 Self-Support 190 Madison, the Alma Mater to Us All 192 VI MADISON OUll HOME ILLUSTRATIONS Indian Mounds 2 First Home in Madison 17 Mrs. L. M. Sawin, (nee Brayton), First School Teacher in Madison 21 Pinckney Street, 1856 — Sixth Ward and Lake Monona; in Center Distance, Home of Gov. Farwell, Later Home of Soldiers' Orphans 26' Chart of City Government 60 Federal Building 63 Forest Products Laboratory, the Only One in the U. S 66 Birds-Eye View of Campus 70 The Campus 71 From Lake Mendota .--. 71 Madison Free Library 74 Madison General Hospital 78 St. Mary's Hospital— Catholic 80 Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Depot 98 Father Pettit Parochial School 104 Office Gisholt Manufacturing Co 107 Directed Play — Burr Jones Field. 114 Children's Gardens 117 The Tank, Lathrop Hall— Univei-sity Naiads 118 Extension of City in Next Half Century 149 The Randall Public School 165 State of Lincoln by Adolph Weinmann 178 Neglected Back-yards 184 What Can be Done with Back-yard Spaces? 186 The Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial, Wellesley College, Mass 191 MADISON OUR HOME VII PREFACE In authorizing this book and paying for its writing and publication, the Madison Board of Commerce believes that it is carrying out its fundamental purpose of civic usefulness. The manuscript has been submitted to several representative people, including members of the School Board, who have given valuable suggestions and expressed approval of its aim and contents. Prepared primarily for school use, these pages contain mat- ters of interest to all our citizens. The hope is entertained that it will meet with popular favor and enjoy a somewhat large cir- culation in Madison, as also among non-residents who may desire such information as is here given. I have been obliged to abbreviate ; to condense and summar- ize. Which will explain why many things have only been men- tioned, and many others which belong in any complete account of the city, have been omitted. The space of these pages could be filled with a description of our great University; and an equal space devoted to the subject of Madison's trade and industry. The rapid growth of these recent years has made it difficult to keep even a record of new developments; references to which may be found in the City Directories. For its use in the public and parochial schools it is recom- mended that the teachers treat the book as a suggestive guide rather than as a final authority. Some of its statistics are not quite up-to-date and many of its statements will need yearly revision. The common school text book method of question and answer has been used very little; yet the general plan and outline of the subject will, we trust, be pedagogically helpful. For the Board of Commerce. Frank A. Gilmore. November, 1916. VIII MADISON OUR HOME SIX DIVISIONS OF THE BOOK 1. HISTORICAL SKETCH. ; 2. THE PRESENT: ELEIMENTS IN THE LIFE ' OF THE CITY. ; 3. THE FUTURE. ' 4. WHAT MADISON OFFERS TO ITS CHIL- \ DREN AND YOUTHS. : 5. ITS (rLAm UPON OUR LOVE AND LOY- ! ALTY. ; (;. WHAT WE CAN DO FOR OUR CITY. i Historical Sketch A. — Prehistoric Period — The Indians. Before the white men came the red men lived here. You remember how Christopher Columbus called these people Indians because he thought he had dis- covered India on the continent of Asia, in 1492. Along the shores of our live lakes the Indians built their lodges of bark and skin, planted their gardens, caught fish in the streams, and hunted in the forest. Can you imagine how Madison appeared in those far-oft: days? There was not a single house; not a road, or a horse or wagon, or machinery of any kind. All these things so familiar to us were unknoAvn to the Indians. Yet they were busy and happy in their own way. They lived in families with father, mother, and children. They called their children "papooses.'^ Eacli papoose was given a name. Some of these were very pretty and expressive. A boy would be given the name of some small bird or animal. When he grew up he was given a name which signified bravery or cunning, such as ''the bear,'' ''the black wolf," "the fox"; the Indian maidens were called "the wren" ''Avild rose," "honey suckle." Several families com- bined formed a clan. Each clan had a "totem" which distinguished it from the other clans. A totem is some object such as an arrow or spear ; or some bird, lish, or animal; or one of the elements, air or water, which each member of the clan looked upon with reli- 2 MADISON OUR HOME gious reverence. Some Indians tatooed these totems on their bodies; others painted them on their lodges. Here in the region where Madison stands the Indians built up the soil, smoothing and rounding it off to represent these clan totems. These are the effigy mounds which we have all seen on the University INDIAN MOLNDS MADISON OUR HOME 6 grounds, at the Merrill Springs, Mendota Asylum, Vilas Park, and other places. Can any of the chil- dren tell something of these mounds? They are of great interest to historical students as works of the stone age. The stone age means the time when men used no iron or other metal but made all their weap- ons, tools, and utensils out of stone or wood. The grouping of several families made an Indian clan. Several clans combined to form a tribe. Each tribe had one or more chiefs to lead in hunting or war. These chiefs were chosen for their bravery, strength, and skill in council. The Indians had no kings. A chiefs son might become a chief in his turn only by proving that he was a brave and clever man. The Indian tribes dwelling in this region were called Winnebagoes. There is a large lake of this name not far from Madison. Winnebago villages stood on the north shore of Lake Mendota, at Morris Park and Fox Bluff; on Mendota Hospital grounds; on Winnequa Heights across Monona Lake; along the northAvest shore of Lake Waubesa ; and in several other places. In Fuller's woods, on the road leading to Lake- Avood and Maple Bluff are a number of large Indian mounds. Close your eyes to the present and try to (►pen them upon a Winnebago village in Fuller's woods. A cluster of huts stands among the trees. The huts are made of bark fastened on long, slim poles, one end stuck into the ground, the other bent over into an arch ; the whole resembling the ribs of an umbrella. Covered with rushes it made a very good tent. It kept out rain and provided a home for a 4 MADISON OUR HOME family. Is it not strange to think of a family living all tiie 3' ear round in such a home? But they knew nothing about the large and convenient houses in wliicli people live now. It was a morning in spring and the Indian chil- dren saw the lake sparkling in the sun just as we do; they saw tlie same trees and wild flowers, the shooting stars and wild geraniums; they heard the same notes of robins, cat birds, blue jays, and king- tishers. The Avild pigeons were very plentiful then and came in great flocks. On this particular morning a party of boys set off in their light birch-bark canoes to cast their net for fish at the Yahara stream. A party of girls accompanied by an older squaw, each with a bark basket, walks away to the meadow to find roots. We notice their curious dresses of bark and skins, Avitli ornaments of small shells on strings, and colored porcupine quills on leggings or skirts. Two men are squatted on the ground chipping flint stones to make arroAV and spear points. On the ground a new deer skin is stretched and fastened with w^ooden pegs, while a squaw rubs and scrapes it smooth with a stone scraper. A group of several squaws is seated on a knoll beneath a very large linden tree. Some are cutting deer skins into patterns while others sew them into leggings and moccasins. They use small thorns to make holes. Their needles are of bone and the thread, the sinews of the deer. Several squaws kneel over a fire heating stones. These hot stones are dropped into a wooden dish containing water; soon the water boils and cooking commences. A shout is now heard coming from the lake. Three MADISON OUR HOME 5 canoes approaeli, bringing families from a village at Fox Bluff. Some of these belong to the Turtle Clan, some to the Panther. Among many savages the wife must have a different totem from the husband's, and this may have been true of the Wisconsin Indians. They find friends who have the same totems, and by whom they are welcomed as they reach the shore. This arrival sets the entire village in commotion. Some open a cache of corn — a pit several feet deep wherein the corn was stored and kept throughout the winter; others bring smoked venison, dried fish, acorns and wild rice. A soup is made at the fire in which all these are boiled together and set bofore the visitors. They must eat it all; to leave even a drop in one's dish was regarded as the height of discour- tesy. It would be something like a man wearing his hat in church. In eating, each Indian uses a bark bowl which he dips into the kettle, then seats himself on the ground, drinking off the liquid portion, and using his fingers to take out the meat. After the meal they all walk back among the trees where the totems have been fashioned out of the soil, and where we can still see them just as they were left by the red men so long ago. At these mounds, meetings are held with ceremony and ritual. We may think of them as something like those of modern fra- ternal and social societies, such as the Masons, Wood- men, Knights of Columbus, and the Odd Fellows; or as exhibiting the same feelings and purposes we may think of such clubs as the Elks, the Moose, and the Beaver. In their meetings the rites probably recalled their dead kindred and friends. They believed that G MADISON OUR HOME the spirits of good Indians went, at death, to the happy hunting grounds, where storms and frosts never came, and where game was plentiful. The spirits of mean and cowardly Indians would go to a dismal place where they would be condemned to beat dirt with a club and eat loathsome food. If not wicked enough for this punishment they might go to the happy hunt- ing grounds, but only to make bows and spears for the spirits of brave hunters and warriors and to carry the game which they killed. They buried their dead, especially the bodies of their chiefs and medicine men, on the high places, heaping the earth over them. Sometimes other bodies would be laid on this low mound, and more earth placed upon them. In this way several layers of bodies would be placed in one large mound, and this is the way they are found when opened today. Such a mound is called a ^'tumulus'' and looks like a large, inverted bowl. Some are eight feet high and sixty feet in diameter. One is on the crest of Eagle Heights; two in Morris Park, north shore of Lake Mendota; one on the high ground near the spot where the Yahara leaves Lake Monona. And when we look on these grassy hillocks we should remember that the people who made them felt exactly as we do when we visit the cemetery Avhere the bodies of our loved ones are at rest. With the body was placed a spear, moccasins, and food. These articles were supposed to have souls. So the soul or the spirit of the spear and moccasins would be taken by the dead Indian to the happy hunting MADISON OUR HOME 7 grounds, far to the west — the region of the setting sun. Such was the life of the Indian people who lived where Ave dwell. They had many virtues such as hos- pitality and endurance. It was unmanly to show fear or to weep. Yet they loved their wives and their children and would die to defend them against an enemy. When a hunter came home with game it was shared by the people of the whole village. The best men were chosen as chiefs. Wisdom and experience were honored; even the squaws sometimes sat at the council fires; and some tribes had squaw chiefs. Compared with civilized people the Indians lacked many things. They had no iron, though some tribes had a few implements pounded or cut from raw cop- per. They could not make good gardens without plows and hoes. They did not know how to build houses. Their weapons were bows, spears, clubs and stone axes; though with these simple and poor arms they killed buffaloes, bears, and panthers. To make fire they rubbed together dry sticks, and preserved the fire for long periods; to carry a load they put it on their backs. They had no horses, cattle, swine, sheep, or poultry; their only domestic animal was the dog. But their great deficiency was that they had no writing. This is referred to in the Song of Hiawatha by Henry W. Longfellow : "Lo! how all things fade and perish From the memory of the old men Pass away the great traditions. 8 MADISON OUR HOME The achievements of the warriors, The adventures of the hunters, All the wisdom of the Medas * * *." Great men die and are forgotten. Wise men speak, their words of wisdom Perish in the ears that hear them. Do not reach the generations That, as yet unborn, are waiting * * *." Such knowledge of history as the Indians po^ Bessed soon faded away. They reckoned time by ^^moons" and their oldest memory of events seldom cohered more than a century. They had no way of preserving such knowledge in books as we do. They did, however, make some attempt to preserve a knowl- ledge of the past by rude pictures drawn on skins and by notches cut in wood. These were made and kept by the ^^record keepers" of the tribe. We call the red men savages because they had not invented these things. They were not a progressive race; each generation lived like all the others. We call white people civilized because they know how to make houses, machinery, and ships; they print books and preserve them in libraries ; they makes discoveries and inventions such as railroads, telephones. X-rays, and aeroplanes. Civilized races are progressive; each generation possesses the knowledge of former times and adds many new inventions. Civilized people can do a thousand times more with a country than savages can. Here in Wisconsin the poor Indians could never have developed the state as the whites have. The Indians could only get a MADISON OUR HOME 'J bare living ; they roamed over the country to find their food. All this time the riches of the soil, the resources and the wealth of the forests, the mines and the wa- ters were here; but the savages did not have the key and never would have found it. If the whites had not taken possession, our state would undoubtedly be in the same undeveloped and backAvard condition that it was when the Winnebagoes built their wattled huts "in Fuller's woods. This is why we justify the white people for taking lands of the Indians. They could not use them as these lands were capable of being used. The whites could so use them as to support millions of people, to build cities and railroads, mills and factories, schools and churches. Yet we cannot help feeling sympathy for these red people, who must have felt very unhappy to see the w^hite men taking the land where they had lived so long and where their ances- tors were buried. Black HaivJc Wai\ In 1832 Black Hawk, a famous Sac chieftain, led a band of Indians across the Mississippi River to Illi- nois. They marched up the valley of Rock River fol- lowed by white troops. A battle was fought at Still- man's Run, and the whites were badly defeated. Black Hawk advanced northward; several white settlers were murdered and the whole region was alarmed. More troops were sent in pursuit. Black Hawk reached Lake Koshkonong ; but, learning that a large body of troops were after him, he began his retreat northwest towards the Wisconsin River. The white 10 MADISON OUR HOME forces soon discovered liis trail and began an eager pursuit. On the 20th of July, 1832, Black Hawk and his band — ^warriors, women and children with horses and camp baggage, passed over the present site of Madison. They crossed the Yahara River near the Williamson Street bridge, kept along the low ground in sight of Lake Monona, then bent to the north, skirting the Capitol Park about where Johnson Street now runs; then over University Hill and toward Mid- dleton. That night the white soldiers camped on the Indians' trail on the east side of the Yahara. Next morning, the 21st of July, they took up the pursuit. Near the Yahara they saw an Indian skulking in the bushes and at once shot him. Before they had gone far, another was seen. This one was not trying to escape ; he sat still and made no attempt to run away or defend himself. He was shot. Then the white men saw that the poor creature had been sitting so calmly on a new made grave — probably the grave of his wife. But the white people were so angry at the Indians because they had been killing and scalping white men and women that they were resolved to kill any one belonging to the Black Hawk band. So hotly did they follow the trail that they came to the Wisconsin River at dusk of that same day. The Indians were trying to cross the river, and a battle took place at Wisconsin Heights in the town of Rox- bury. One white man and several Indians were killed. A few days later as Black Hawk sought to cross the Mississippi River at a place called Bad Axe, the white soldiers came upon him and killed many of his peo- MADISON OUR HOME 11 pie. Black Hawk escaped, but was soon captured and kept prisoner for some time. So we see that our city — or the land where it now stands — ^was related in a very interesting way with the famous Black Hawk war of 1832. Not far from the north end of University Hall on the upper campus stands a granite boulder Avith a bronze tablet. This commemorates the march of Black Hawk's band across the grounds of the University. In the museum on the top floor of the State Historical Library Building is a large collection of Indian relics. Here we can see the stone arrow and spear points; the drills, scrapers, and axes; w^eights for the fish nets, and many other things. Most are made of stone; some of bone and copper. Every one should visit this very valuable collection where ever so many interest- ing things are to be found besides those mentioned here; and not the least of them is the portrait of the renowned chief Black Hawk. School children have all read the story of Hia- watha and Minnehaha, the scene of which is laid not so very far from Madison. At the falls of Minnehaha, between St. Paul and Minneapolis, is a statue of Hia- watha carrying his bride across the stream. Why could not the school children of Madison raise money to place a similar statue in one of our city parks? For many years the red men w^ere familiar figures in .the early days of this city, riding single file on their ponies through the streets or pitching their tepees along the shore. Gradually they have been confined to their reservations in the north parts of the state. 12 MADISON OUR HOME and are seen now only when a group is brought down to attend the United States Court. ^^Alas, for them, their day is o'er, Their lights are out from shore to shore, No more for them the wild deer bounds. The plow is on their hunting grounds." B — The Historic Period. Sketch of the city-s history. Just as we all like to read about the childhood of famous men — such as stories of Washington's or Lincoln's boyhood — so we want to learn about the beginnings of our city. The Indian name for the region of our five lakes was Taychopera. We have no record of white men in Taychopera before the year 1828, four years before the Black Hawk war. Jefferson Davis who became President of the Southern Confederacy in the Civil War was stationed at Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, as an army officer in 1828. He tells of visiting the site of Madison in that year and of seeing an Indian village on the height across one of the lakes. This was probably at Winnequa. No white people came here to remain until 1836, the year that Madison was chosen to be the capital of Wisconsin. The white troopers who had visited Taychopera in pursuit of Black Hawk were greatly pleased with the locality and told people about it when they went home. Settlers were attracted to this region for three reasons : 1. The land was unoccupied and cheap. It would make good farms and there was plenty of timber. MADISON OUR HOME 13 2. There was no further fear of the Indians. 3. Madison had been named as the Capital of the state and the seat of the University ; it was therefore certain to become an important place. Learning these things about the new city, people in Ohio, Michigan and New York sold their farms and started with their families for the "far west" as they called Wisconsin in those days. Some came on the Great Lakes to Milwaukee and rode or walked the eighty miles to Madison (when there Avas no road yet made ) . Others came all the way in covered wagons. How interesting such a journey must have been! Father, mother and little folks all living in a big wooden wagon called a "prairie schooner," covered with canvas to shade them from the sun and keep out rain. Usually several families came together. Some were drawn by horses, others by oxen, and as they wished to keep together the plodding oxen set the pace for the march. There were carts loaded with plows, harrows, hoes, axes, and grain and seeds of various sorts. They brought cattle, sheep, and poul- try. The party kept together for company and because of possible danger from wild animals or Indians ; the men and larger boys carried guns — old flint locks like those in the Historical museum. Game was not scarce, so they had wild turkeys, prairie chickens, pigeons, and deer to help out the food they carried with them. In those old days the roads were mere cart tracks, and for long distances not even these; so that they rode over the open prairie or among groves of oak, then called "oak openings."' When they came to a 14 MADISON OUR HOME difficult place where the rough track ran through a swamp, the wagons would stop; the men would take their axes and fell small trees, cutting them into pieces five or six feet long. These were laid down across the muddy track forming a "corduroy road" over which the wagons passed to dry ground. If they came to a stream which could not be forded, two large tree trunks would be laid across from bank to bank, on which another "corduroy road" was laid. What fun the children had as the big wagons bumped and jostled over the logs, the wheels creaking and the great kettle which hung from the rear axle, swaying like a pendulum! At night they w^ould camp near a creek or spring of good water. The wagons were drawn in a circle with the cattle, sheep, and poultry inside; horses tethered to the wheels and given their feed; a large fire at the center w^here each mother brought her kettle and frying pan. Soon all were seated around, eating supper. Besides such game as they could shoot, they had for food, beef, pork, pota- toes, bread, eggs, coffee, tea and sugar ; and there w^as honey, bread, and milk for the children. After sup- per would come stories, songs, and plans for the next day. During the night some of the men stood guard while the rest slept; the men on the ground, the women and children in the covered wagons. So they slowly followed the western trails till they came to Dane County. Some built homes in Madison ; others settled on the prairies not far away, getting the land from the United States government at $1.25 an acre. MADISON OUR HOME 15 While most of the first emigrants came from Ohio, Michigan, and New York, there were others who drove their lumbering prairie schooners a thousand miles, from far away New England. These pioneers were energetic, bold, self-reliant folk ; they were ambitious to better their fortunes; they had visions of the future. *^Axe in hand and gun on shoulder Through the wilderness they came: . Through the brush and over boulder To the land without a name — "For they heard a spirit call them And they might not pause to rest : Fearing naught that might befall them For they fared upon their quest." — Horatio G. Winslow. Madison Chosen To Be the State Capital. First Settlers. The year 1836 is an important one for our state and for our city. In April of that year Wisconsin, then a part of Michigan, was set apart as an indepen- dent territory with the right to choose a legislature, enact laws, and select a location for its capital city. The following October the first session of the legisla- ture of our new territory met at Belmont in La Fay- ette county. They selected the site of Madison to be the capital, giving it the name of the honored James Madison, fourth President of the United States (1809 — 1817) whose death occurred in that same year — 1836. An oil painting of the rough little building 16 MADISON OUR HOME which housed this first meeting of the legislature is to be seen on the wall of the Governor's reception room in the new state capitol. At that time there were no white people living where Madison now stands, and there were but five in all of what is now Dane County. There was a tiny- settlement at Blue Mounds w^here lived Ebenezer Brigham, the first white man to settle there, and with him lived Eben Peck and his family. When the news came that the site of Madison had been chosen for the capital, this Mr. Peck determined to remove here with the idea of opening a house of entertainment for the accommodation of visitors and workmen. He pur- chased some lots and erected three log houses all connected together. This primitive tavern was styled the "Madison House.'- It stood on what is now No. 128 S. Butler Street. It was put up in the winter of 1837, and on April 15th Mr. Peck, with his wife Rosaline, and a two-year-old boy, Victor E., arrived on the scene, the first white family in Madison. Mr. Victor E. Peck died in Madison in 1916. His father, Eben Peck, went to California in 1845, and is supposed to have been killed by Indians on the plains. His mother died in Baraboo at the advanced age of ninety- three. In this same winter, 1837, Mr. John Cat- lin, who had already been appointed postmaster of the embryo city, employed a half-breed named St. Cyr, who had a trading shanty near Livesey's Spring, to build a log house on the spot where the Post-ofi&ce now stands. This structure was put together in the month of February — the first attempt to get a per ma- MADISON OlUl HOME 17 18 MADISON OUR HOME nent building here — but it was not roofed and finished until summer, so that Mr. Peck's log hotel on S. But- ler Street was the first inhabited house in Madison. It stood from 1837 to 1857; its location ought to be plainly marked with a neat and suitable inscription. On the morning of June 10th, 1837, Building Com- missioner Bird arrived from Milwaukee with thirty-six workmen. They had been ten days on the road or rather on the journey, for there were no roads, and they had to ford or swim every creek and river. This party erected a log boarding-house on the corner of Butler and Wilson Streets not far from the Peck's Tavern. In this party came Dawin Clark, as one of the car- penters; he afterwards taught in the village school. Simeon Mills arrived at the same time having walked from Chicago via Janesville. These two men, Clark and Mills, were long prominently identified with bus- iness and educational interests in Madison. July 4th, 1837, the corner-stone of the first Capitol A\as laid. It stood on the same place — Capitol Park — where the present new Capitol has been built. Most of the stone was quarried from the north side of Maple Bluff and brought across the lake in large wooden scows to the foot of N. Hamilton Street. The inside finish of the first Capitol was sawed from tim- ber growing on the hill where the Governor's resi- dence now stands; the saw-mill was on the site of Conklin's ice-house. The place grew but slowly at first. There were no railroads and wagon roads were few and poor. For the first two years there were not over one hundred people in Madison. In 1840 there were only one hun- MADISON OUR HOME 19 dred and forty-six. Then they came more rapidly and by 1850 there were 1,672 inhabitants. The first child born here was appropriately named Wisconsiana Peck, daughter of the first family to set- tle in Madison. The first store stood on King Street, The early storekeepers had a hard time in getting their goods. These were brought by team from Milwau- kee (at that time a place of 1700 souls), or purchased from the peddler's carts. Money was scarce. In one of the early newspapers the editor wrote : "wood, prod- uce, or anything else usable about a house will be taken in payment." Social life was simple. New Year's Day 1851, the gentlemen hired a carriage and visited every family in the village. At long intervals a theatre company came, and remained for months, playing its entire repretoire, in a hall over Jehu Lewis' store on what is now 223 Wisconsin Avenue. Members of the Legislature often brought their fami- lies and remained through the session. One member from the northern settlements came all the way on snowshoes. Hotels were built and newspapers started; frame houses multiplied; stores, schools, and churches were opened ; then came the telegraph and the railroad ; the University had been opened, and by 1860 Madison was a prosperous community of 6,000 people. For convenience the principal events in our city's growth may be given in the following chronological order : 1836 — Madison chosen to be the Capital at the first 20 MADISON OUR HOME meeting of the Territorial Government, Octo- ber 25tli in the crude village of Belmont, at Platte Mound, in what is now La Fayette County. At this same session twelve counties were set off, including Dane. Several locations in the state desired to become the capital, such as Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Platteville. The choice of Madison was a compromise between the conflicting claimants and a concession to its central location. 1837— Log buildings put up at 128 S. Butler Street and on the post-office site. First dwellings erected in Madison. Eben Peck and family remove from Blue Mounds to Madison and open Peck's Tavern (three log cabins united) at 128 S. Butler Street. Corner stone of Capi- tol laid July 4th. The building cost |60,000, of which 140,000 was given by the United States, $16,000 by Wisconsin territory and |4,000 by Dane County. Postoffice opened and first mail delivered in one end of Peck's Tavern. 1838 — The American House, first hotel, built on the site of the First National Bank. First white child born, Wisconsiana Peck. First school opened in one end of Isaac Pal- mer's log house, south corner King and Clymer Streets. The teacher was Miss Louisa M. Bray- ton, after whom the Bray ton School (third ward) is named. Her salary for teaching the rudiments to a dozen or fifteen children was $2 per week, one-half of which she spent for board. It is a remarkable fact that the first MADISON OUR HOME 21 school teacher in Madison is still living here — Mrs. L. M. Sawin (nee Bray ton) at the ven- erable age of 100 years (1916) ; almost the sole survivor of that time. MRS. L. M. SAWIN (NEE BRAYTON), FIRST SCHOOL TEACHER IN MADISON A newspaper, "The Wisconsisn Inquirer" started. Census shows a population of sixty-two. "There were not more than a dozen houses counting every cabin and shanty within three miles of the Capitol.'' 22 MADISON OUR HOME 1839 — Dane County organized and a regular tax laid on all property for schools. First school house built on the northeast cor- ner of N. Pinckney and E. Dayton Streets; a tiny frame structure, 18x20 feet, costing $70. It soon became crowded and a wide plank was put up across one end for the smaller children who went ^^up on the shelf" by a short ladder. Benches were made of slabs from the saw mill (site of Conklin's ice houses), flat side up and supported by pegs. David A. Wright, who died in Madison in 1916 at the age of 96, taught this school in 1844. Among the big-eyed little fellows who once sat on that upper shelf w^ere several who are now grey-haired, aged citizens. First sermon preached in Madison by the Eev. Solomon Stebbins, Methodist. First Sunday School meets in the new school house; Wood's brass band practices there. Census shows a population of 146. 1840 — Miss Clarissa Pierce opened a ^'Select School for Young Ladies" in a small frame building which had been put up on Capitol Park as a tool house and ofifice for the workmen. It was merely a box 12x16 feet and stood on the park just across from the State Bank, S. Pinckney Street. Here the first village debating society held its meetings. 1841 — Madison set apart as a separate school district and called "District No. 1, Town of Madison." 1842 — Census gives 172 inhabitants, a gain of only 26 in two years. MADISON OUR HOME 23 1843 — First Catholic service conducted by Father Martin Kundig. 1844 — Census gives a population of 216. Madison Lodge F. & A. M. instituted. First German evangelical services conducted by Rev. G. W. Miller. 1845 — The "little brick" school house built on site of present third ward school; stood 1845 — 1887. 1846 — By an act of the Legislature, Madison was in- corporated as a village. The settlement was now nine years old; more people were coming in ; the census gave 626 inhabitants. The fol- lowing quotation helps us to visualize condi- tions at that time. "Three-fourths of the vil- lage site was covered with trees and hazel- brush, and everywhere w^as in a crude condi- tion. The village pigs slept at night in the cellars of the Capitol and the park itself was a mere jungle. People left their doors and win- dows unfastened, because there was little worth stealing, and thieves and tramps had not made their appearance.-' "Postage was twenty-five cents for a letter of a single sheet." "Not more than half a dozen houses had been erected north and west of Capitol Square." "The Legislature met every winter and brought people from all parts of the state. There was a deal of horse-play, hard drinking, and pro- fanity, with an occasional fight during the heat of debate. Madison was the political center of 24 MADISON OUR HOME the state and travelers often filled the crude hotels to overflowing so that beds were made up in the lofts.'' This year the first church was erected by the Congregationalists. It still stands at No. 15 S. Webster Street. First cemetery opened; three and one-half acres in sixth ward, now Orton Park. 1847 — ^First bell hung in steeple of church on S. Web- ster Street. The Female Academy building erected on site of the present High School; stood from 1847 1854. 1848— Odd Fellow-s lodge established. Wisconsin Territory becomes a state. The telegraph reaches Madison. First circus comes; "the legislature adjourns thereto without the formality of a vote.'' Beginnings of the University of Wisconsin; college preparatory courses opened in the Fe- male Academy. 1849 — Governor L. J. Farwell removes to Madison and begins to advertise the city by descriptive pamphlets and newspaper articles, calling at- tention to its attractions. State Historical Society organized. 1850 — Census reveals rapid influx of people; total population now 1672. First Catholic church erected — St. Raphael's, on site of present building. First parochial school opened by St. Raphael's parish, this year. MADISON OUR HOME 25 Market quotations in Madison from a letter written at this time: Meats — 2 to 4 cents a pound; butter — 5 to 8 cents a pound; eggs — 5 to 6 cents a dozen. 1851— Population 2,306 ; of school age 503. 1852 — First Methodist church built, corner N. Pinck- ney and E. Mifflin Streets (where Piper's store stands). State Journal begins as a daily. Population 2,975. 1853 — First bank opened ; the State Bank, on its pres- ent location. Baptist church built on the spot now occupied by the Telephone Building, N. Carroll Street. New people in great numbers arriving. Popu- lation this year 4,029. 1854 — First railroad train reaches Madison coming from Milwaukee via Milton Junction over what is now the Chicago and St. Paul line. 2,500 people came in 32 coaches; Milwaukee fire companies rode on flat cars; there was a grand procession around the Square, followed by a dinner and speeches in the Park. This was in May. St. RaphaeFs church (present edifice) built. University of Wisconsin graduates its first class of two. Population 5,126. 1855 — The newspapers report this ^^a banner year ; 350 buildings erected this season, and 1,000 since 1847." Madison village set apart from the Town and 26 MADISON OUR HOME ..J MADISON OUR HOME 27 incorporated into separate, self governed school district. Board of Education organ- ized. Horace Greeley, Bayard Taylor, and James Kussell Lowell lecture in Madison. Lake Side Water Cure built on what is now Monona Park. It was destroyed by fire in 1866. Grace church, Episcopal, erected. Population reaches 6,863, a gain of more than 1,700 in one year. Streets first lighted by gas. 1856 — Madison becomes a city with Jairus Fairchild as mayor. The city is divided into four wards, the division lines being the four main avenues. City Police Court instituted. Two voluntary fire companies organized. $6,887 voted to purchase school lots in the four wards. Total costs of schools this year, $4,334. 1857 — Holy Eedeemer church. Catholic, built. German Evangelical Lutheran Church built. First Congregational Society built brick church on W. Washington Avenue. This is now the Sunday School room and chapel. Public school houses erected in first and third wards. A financial panic is felt at this time all over the United States. Madison is affected; build- ing is put off, and the city's growth stops. 28 MADISON OUR HOME 1858 — ^Forest Hill cemetery opened. Mr. Deming Fitch (still living in 1916) was the first Su- perintendent, serving from 1858 to 1896. The city buys the Female Academy building and grounds for High School site. Grammar school opened in Greenbush. City Hall opened to the public. First militia companies organized: The "Gov- ernor's Guards/' "Madison Guards/' and the "Dane Cavalry." 1859 — A bill was introduced in the Legislature to remove the Capitol to Milwaukee. The break- ing of a tie vote alone saved Madison. The closeness of the vote had a depressing effect upon public feeling. This, together with the "hard times," effectually put a check on the city's growth. 1860 — Catholic cemetery opened. The census gives a population of 6,611, show- ing loss of 252 in the five years past. 1861— 1865— The years of the Civil War brought our city to public attention. During this period there were 91,327 total enlistments from Wis- consin; and of this number, 70,000 were in quarters at various times in Camp Randall. The first company in the state to offer its services to the governor was the "Madison Guards" — Geo. E. Bryant, captain. On April 16, two days after Fort Sumpter in the harbor of Charleston, S. C, had fallen, and the news came rushing over the land that "the flag has been fired upon," Governor Randall of Wiscon- MADISON OUR HOME 29 sin accepted the services of the Madison Guards. And two days later he accepted the services of the other militia company here, the "Governor's Guards.'' Our city was thus the first in the state to enroll her citizens for the great conflict. There were 1157 enlistments during the war from the city and township of Madison. Of these 171 died in the service. There were or- ganized and drilled in Camp Randall, twenty- seven regiments; tw^o batteries of light artil- lery; nine companies of heavy artillery; and one company of sharp-shooters. The presence of so many men enlivened the city. Almost everybody was employed in some way by rea- son of their presence; food and fuel, lumber, hardware, and grain were supplied to the sol- diers by Madison dealers. "Long files of the boys in blue often marched through the streets w^ith drums beating and colors flying. Mass meetings were held in the Capitol to bid fare- well to regiments going to the front or to welcome the home-returning veterans. The women organized relief corps and sanitary com- mittees; fairs were held to raise money for supplies and comforts to be sent to the soldiers at the front." It w^as a busy and soul-stirring time for the little city. E'very Madison boy and girl should know about the two groups of graves at Forest Hill Ceme- tery. In one rest 184 of the Union dead. Close by is another where lie the bodies of 136 Con- 30 MADISON OUR HOME federate soldiers, who died wliile prisoners of war at Camp Kandall. At the close of the w^ar Mrs. Alice W. Waterman came from the South to live here. She it was who caused the plot of Confederate graves to be ornamented and all the graves marked; and as the years went on added improvements to the ground as far as her means permitted. She died in Madison Sept. 12, 1897, and her body rests among those whom she called her ^'boys.'' The newspapers record the erection of "a large number of dwellings and business blocks and several fine residences'' in 1863. This year workmen began to tear down the first Capitol. In 1864 the record is: ^^business good and a number of desirable improvements made." One of these improvements was the arrival of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad line from Beloit, thus connecting Madison with Chicago for the first time; and the launching on Lake Monona of the first steam boat, the ^^Scutanaw- bequon." This vessel must long since have gone to "Davie Jones' locker." We know but little about her, but she could not have been much longer than her name, and we hope a great deal easier to manage. In 1865 there were "numerous and valuable improvements" ; the most notable being the remodelling of the home of Ex-Governor L. J. Farwell into a Home for Soldiers' Orphans. This institution, the first one of its kind to be established in the MADISON OUR HOME 31 United States, was founded through the ef forts of Mrs. L. J. Harvey, the wife of Gov- ernor Harvey. She received the commission for the orphans' home from President Abra- ham Lincoln. The institution accomplished a noble work in caring for and educating the children of the dead soldiers. The building stood at the lake end of S. Brearly Street. It was demolished some years ago, but its site is marked by a granite boulder bearing a bronze tablet. The cost of this tablet was met by the school children of Madison. 1865 — At the close of the war the census showed a population of 9,191; and the general prosper- ity of the city is shown by the manufacturing done in 1865. It amounted to |333,856 ; con- sisting of iron and farming tools, clothing, flour, tin ware, beer, coal gas, cabinet ware, boots and shoes. Jewish Synagogue on W. Washington Avenue built. German Evangelical Association erects its church. 1866 — The second Capitol, partly finished, is opened to the public. The Fourth of July celebration this year was a national rejoicing at the return of peace. The greatest throngs ever in the city came on that day. "Twenty thousand were on our streets; three thousand coming by train from outside cities and towns." A procession of war veterans bore the state's battle flags, followed 32 MADISON OUR HOME by the militia, soldiers' orphans, and fire com- panies. The University acquires a large tract of land for agricultural experimentation. Madison purchases its first steam fire engine. Lucius Fairchild post, Grand Army of the Re- public organized; it has the distinction of being the oldest post in the United States. 1867 — The first pipe organ; it is placed in Grace Epis- copal Church. The first steamboat to ply on Lake Mendota; the ^^City of Madison." Shipments by railroad from the city this year ; 512,071 bushels wheat: 1,035,300 pounds dressed hogs. 1870 — Another attempt in the Legislature to remove the Capitol. By the census of this year Madi- son had a jDopulation of 9,173. This is a loss of eighteen for the five years, 1865 — 1870. The after effects of the war while favorable to many cities in the North, were not so for the Capital of Wisconsin. Hundreds of her men had gone into the army; nearly two hundred died in the service, while others came home debilitated, or with amputations and wounds. The result was the breaking up of families, and the re- moval of many from the city. The movement of population set toward places like Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, w^here it was thought the opportunities for manufacturing and gen- eral business were greater than in Madison. In this year the value of Madison's real estate MADISON OUR HOME 33 was 12,500,000. Personal property, |1,260,- 000. There were eight school houses: these valued with their grounds at |84,000. Num- ber of pupils in school, 956. Park Hotel opened. This large house was built to meet the criticism that Madison could not accommodate the members of the Legislature; one of the reasons urged for removing the Cap- itol to Milwaukee. 1871 — Post-office building erected; for the post-office and for offices of United States Judge and other Federal officers. Kailroads are extended from Madison to Bar- aboo on the Chicago and Northwestern; and from Madison to Portage on the Chicago and St.' Paul. St. Regina Academy is built. Chadbourne Hall opened. 1872 — Society of the Army of Tennessee meets in Madison; 7,000 visitors in the city. General Phil Sheridan, General Pope, Secretary of War, Jeremiah Belknap, present. The proces- sion is in charge of Colonel William F. Vilas of Madison. 1873— '^Over |300,000 this year for new buildings" says a local paper. The old Female Academy used for the city High School since 1854, was demolished and a ucav High School built on the same site. 1875 — Madison Free Library opened in city hall; librarian Miss Virginia Bobbins. Madison was 34 MADISON OUR ho:me the first city in Wisconsin to open a free library. Population, 10,093. 1876 — The Centennial year. Professor John B. Par- kinson in charge of the Wisconsin exhibits at the exposition in Philadelphia. Ole Bull, the famous violinist, gave a concert for the benefit of the art gallery of the Univer- sity. 1878 — Telephones first installed here. Eutherford B. Hayes, President of the United States, with Mrs. Hayes visits Madison, and addresses a great gathering at Camp Randall. 1880 — General Assembly of the Presbyterian church brings delegates from all parts of the country. General Ulysses S. Grant visits the city. Population, 10,324. 1882 — City water works opened. Dane County Court House built. 1883 — First free delivery of mail in the city. 1884 — Opening of street car lines; cars were drawn by mules. Matthew Arnold lectures here. 1885— Population, 12,064. 1886 — Dane County buildings in Madison completed; jail and sheriff- s house. First Unitarian church erected. 1887 — Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, with Mrs. Cleveland visit William F. Vilas at his home in Madison. Col. Vilas was then Secretary of the Interior in President Cleveland's cabinet. MADISON OUR HOME 35 1888— St. Patrick's cliuixli built. 1890 — Fuller Opera House opened. Monthly liorse market begins. Population, 13,426. 1891 — Henry M. Stanley, African explorer, lectures here. Christ Presbyterian Society erect new house of worship on corner Wisconsin Avenue and W. Dayton Street. Elmside suburb opened. 1892 — Electric cars first used on our street railway. Lake Mendota Drive (the western) drive opened. 1893— Masonic Temple erected. The building was formerly the Presbyterian church. University Heights lots put on the market. Labor Day first observed here. City installs electric fire alarms. 1894 — xVrmory opened at the University. Western Canoe Assocation holds its annual meeting on Picnic Point. Cornelia Vilas Guild Hall, connected with Grace Episcopal Church, is dedicated. 1895 — National Convention of Modern Woodmen brings some 20,000 visitors. Columbian Catholic Summer School holds first session here. Population, 15,590. 1897— Farw^ell Drive opened over Maple Bluff to Mendota Hospital. Street car line extended to Wingra Park and the cemeteries. 36 MADISON OUR ho:me Dr. Nansen, arctic explorer, lectures. First use in Madison of concrete for curbing and gutters. 1898 — Schal census, total of school age, 5,388; total enrollment, 2,895; number of teachers, 61. Value of school property, |250,000. President McKinley visits the city. City sewerage disposal plant opened. Before this most of the sewerage of the city ran into the lakes. This brings our record down to the year 1900. The story of the past fifteen years is one familiar to most of us and may be summarized under the follow^- ing heads. I. Creation of Parks, Playgrounds, and Drives. Prior to 1900 w^e had but one small park, Orton Park, in sixth ward. We now have the following: Water Acres Frontage 1. Brittingham Park 27 4,370 ft. 2. Burrows Park 12 550 ft. 3. East Monona Park 6 5,000 ft. 4. E. Wash. Ave. Parkway .... 10 5. Elmside and Hudson Park. 5.1 2,000 ft. 6. Henry Vilas Park 62.6 6,000 ft. 7. Kendall Park 1.5 8. Monona Park (Assembly Grounds) 30 1,350 ft. 9. Orton Park 3.6 10. Owen Parkway 6 II. South Madison Boulevard. 5 4,800 ft. MADLSON OUR HOME 37 12. Spring- Harbor 1 270 ft. 13. Spaight Street Park 1.5 600 ft. 14. Tenney Park 44.2 3,800 ft. 15. Washington Oval .9 16. Wingra Monona Parkway . 33 6,000 ft. 17. Yahara Parkway 16.9 7,200 ft. Playgrounds. 18. Burr Jones' Field 1.5 19. Olive Jones' Field 1.5 269.3 41,945 ft To these may he added 20. Capitol Park 14 21. University Grounds 990 11,000 ft. 1,273.3 52,945 ft. Thus there are twelve hundred and seventy-three acres with a water frontage of ten miles now held open to the public of Madison for park and play- ground use. Some of this land lies beyond the city limits, but within easy reach of street cars, autos, and boats. These park lands are connected by a series of well made pleasure drives. This truly splendid work was occomplished by the Park and Pleasure Drive Association with which the city government has co-operated. More than $300,000 has been expended, and a new interest and pride has been awakened among all our people. Credit for this achievement belongs especially to Mr. John M. Olin whose enthusiasm, knowledge, and enterprise awakened an interest and gave the association its first momentum. 38 MADISON OUR HOME Valuable tracts of land to be used for parks have been given by Professor E. T. Owen and b}^ the late George Burrows. Large donations in money for pur- chasing land and for park improvements have been made by the late Col. Wm. F. Vilas, the late W. W. Warner, the late Daniel K. Tenney, and the late Halle Hteensland; also by Mrs. Anna Vilas and Mr. T. E. Brittingham. All these donors have long been Madi- son residents. 2. Street Improvements. A marked improvement in the city streets has followed the development of the parks and drives. Carroll Street, University Avenue, State Street, Lang- don Street, Fair Oaks Avenue, Sherman Avenue, and Randall Street, and the streets around tlie Capitol Square have been paved with asplmlt, the best ma- terial known for giving a smooth, hard surface. Some 12,000,000 has been expended on this Avork. 3. Increase in Building. There has been steady growth in building and an improvement in architecture. Noteworthy among tliese are public edifices, sucli as, the new Capitol, tlie His- torical Library, the City Free Library, and tlie two new railroad depots — the Chicago and Northwestern and tlie Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul R. R.'s. Many large modern Avareliouses like tlmt of tlie T. S. Morris Company, the L. L. Olds Seed Co., the Gould, Wells & Blackburn Co., the Kleuter Co. and jMadison Storage Co. New factories are represented by the Gisholt Co., Fort Wayne Electric Co.,. Badger Shoe MADISON OUR HOME 39 Co., Scanlon-Morris Co., French Battery Co., Madi- son Plow Co., and the Beet Sugar Factory. Churches and church buildings erected within the past fifteen years are St. KaphaeFs, St. Patrick's, St. Bernard's, and St. James' Catliolic Parochial Schools; Christ Presbyterian Church; Unitarian Parish House and Parsonage; Luther Memorial Chapel; St. Paul's University Chapel, Catholic; Pilgrim and Plymoutli Churches, Congregational; St. Andrew's Episcopal Chapel; Italian, Catholic; Synagogue, Jewisli, and Westminster Chapel, Presbyterian. Other new buildings are: Three printing plants — Grimm's, Cantwell's and State Journal. Three hotels — Cardinal, Washington, Park. Theatres — The Orpheum and twelve moving pic- ture houses. The Gay Building of nine stories. Many apartment houses, (some containing 35 apartments. ) Thousands of new residences. Four banks — Merchants, Commonwealth, Secur- ity State, and Randall. Enlargements and improvements of existing banks, stores, and printing liouses, and tlie addition of several new ones. These things indicate a growing spirit of civic pride and the awakening of a better taste among our people; which is further seen in tlie improved appear- ance of our private grounds, lawns, and gardens, and in the movement started by the Madison Board of 40 MADISON OUR HOME Commerce to prevent throwing paper and waste mat- ter into the streets and gutters. Noteworthy architectural improvement is evident in the character of new dwelling liouses — particularly the numerous bungalows. 4. Extension of City Limits. The city limits have been extended to include sub- urban district — such as University Heights, Win- gra Park, Highland Park and West Lawn, on the west ; Greenbush, on the south; Fair Oaks, Washington Park, and Madison Square on the east. 5. Growth in Population. The population has more than doubled. These figures give the growth of Madison since 1836 : 1855 6,863 1860 6,611 1865 9,191 1870 9,176 1875 10,003 1880 10,323 1885 12,064 1890 13,426 1895 15,590 1900 19,164 1853 4,029 1905 24,301 1854 5,126 1910 25,531 1915 32,000 This figure, 32,000, is the estimated population living witliin the city limits proper. These lines are purely artificial and cut through the center of dis- 1837.... 3 1838.... . . . . 62 1840.... . ... 146 1842.... . ... 172 1844.... .... 216 1846.... .... 283 1847.... . ... 632 1850.... . . . . 1,672 1851.... ....2,306 1852.... ....2,930 MADISON OUR HOME 41 tricts which are contiguous to the city, and which form Avith it a single community. People living in South Madison, Nakoma and Lakewood are in truth Madisonians; they number about 1,200. Then there are 7,000 students attending the University and living in Madison. These figures combined make the popu- lation over 40,000. 6. Growth of Public Schools. Comparison of the two lists given below will show this at a glance: 1900. 1915. Number of buildings 10 13 Total enrollment 3,055 5,081 Teacliers 68 188 Salaries |36,585 |156,900 Total cost of schools for the year. .|G4,500 |237,691 'New Courses — 1900. 1915. Drawing Domestic Science Music Manual Training Supervised Athletics and Physical Training Kindergartens — One in 1900 and eight in 1915. New Developments — Play Grounds Evening Schools Summer Schools Use of School Buildings for Community Meetings. 42 MADISON OUR HOME Tlie ueAV High Scliool costing |250,000 built in 1908; more than 1,000 pupils are enrolled, making it the largest High School in the state with a single ex- ception. It is worth recalling that on the proposal to bond the city to meet the expense of this new^ High School, the women of Madison exercised their right to vote on questions of education. The matter was carried to the State Supreme Court Avhich decided that the vote Avas legal and should stand. The part which Madison women took in that election gave us the new High School. Public education here has also been extended by the establishment of vocational and continuation schools under the direction of the State Board of Industrial Education. 7. Expansion of the University. From 2,170 students in 1900 to 7,727 in 1915. In this time 900 acres have been added to the lands of the University; the funds available for its use for all pur- poses have arisen from |675,700.00 to |2,758,000.00; Lathrop Hall, Barnard Hall, the Biology Building, Wisconsin High School, Forestry Building, Cliemistry Building, Heating Plant, Agricultural Hall, and Stock Pavilion have been erected. 8. City Enterprises. NeAV sewerage disposal plant built to care for a city of 50,000 population, and which can be progress- ively enlarged. The enlargement and extension of the water system. New fire engine houses; new motor fire engines and ladder trucks. Garbage incinerator plant. madison our home 43 9. Improvement in the Street Car System. More cars, running time sliortened, line extended to Fair Oaks, South Madison, Wingra Park, and tlie cemeteries; one interurban line being built. 10. Further Evidences of Madison^s Growth. Increase in post-office receipts from |88,000 to $276,000; bank deposits, |3,992,502 to $11,277,535; value of real estate from f 8,500,000 to f 52,000,000. Three new liospitals: City General, St. Mary's, and Stoeber, private. Memorial Arch erected at Camp Randall in mem- ory of tlie soldiers. It stands on the location of the old gate through which the soldiers passed when bivouaced on these grounds during tlie Civil War. New industries and lines of business in fifteen years : Union Transfer and Storage Co., Hospital Sup- plies, Electrical Apparatus, Plow Factory, Beet Su- gar Factory, Soap Factory, Seed Warehouses, Dairies, Brick Factory, Shoe Factory, Tobacco, Gasoline and Oil Engines, Machine Tools, Horse Collar Pads, Sad- dlery, Dry Batteries, Agricultural Implements, Ce- ment Stave Silos, Chemical Laboratories, Meat Pack- ing Plant. Madison is now eighty j^ears old ; sixty 3- ears have passed since she came of age and was made a city. Her story is one of rather slow but substantial gTOwth. She has never had what is called a "boom" ; neither lias she suffered a relapse or a collapse which some- times follows a "boom". No calamities have come upon her — no great fire to consume her wealth; she has never had a flood nor a cyclone. Strikes never seriously interfered Avith normal business or stopped 44 MADISON OUR HOME the city's growth. She has been proud of herself as the seat of the Legislature and of learning; of the beauty of her natural surroundings, and of her citi- zens who have brought honor to their city, and won distinction for themselves in literature, education, and in business, in state craft and in the army. She lias not been an aggressive city; making little effort to advertise herself to the Avorld, but has been rather self centered, satisfied and complacent. The consequence has been that the city as a whole is not well known or understood by the general pub- lic. Beyond the borders of Wisconsin it is known cliiefly for two things — ^the Capitol and the Univer- sity'. Her reputation rests upon what the state has done for her more than upon what she has done for lierself. The work of our Park Association has, we may believe, inaugurated a new era; an era in which the city is to become known to the American public for her varied forms of industry and trade; her many institutions private as well as public ; her steady gain in population, wealth and civic pride; the attractive- ness of her natural location and surroundings — in a word, it is to become known as a place to which people are invited to come and enter business and make their homes. In tlie eighty years of her life we may say that the city has been brought to the attention of the gen- eral public three times. When the site was chosen to be the capital the news went over the wiiole coun- try. Tlie original owners of the land advertised it by newspaper articles and notices of sale. In 1854 Gov. L. J. Farwell carried on a campaign to make MADISON OUR HOME 45 the city known. Letters were written, newspaper articles and pamphlets printed and sent to eastern cities and states. Dr. L. C. Draper, Secretary of the State Historical Society A\Tote a 50 page pamphlet on Madison. This resulted in a rapid gain in popula- tion and in general business. The Civil War again made the city's name prominent. It contained the chief military encampment in the state. 70,000 sol- diers were quartered here; officials of the United States government and officers of the army were visi- tors. This, hoAvever, brought no increase to Madison's population. From 1865 to 1870 the city made no gain but suffered a small loss in number of inhabi- tants. At the present time there are evidences of an awakening on the part of our people to the desira- bility of collecting and disseminating information about Madison. This will not be, we hope, an attempt at mere boasting and self glorification. We must not follow the examples of makers of quack medicine, or of unprincipled real estate dealers. An association, composed of more than a thousand business men and professional men, known as the Madison Board of Commerce, has taken this matter in hand and become responsible for it. They see and acknowledge the limitations of Madison. The city lacks some things which she ought to have; she is a small city, neither complete nor perfect. But, she is a growing city with ^'her future ahead of her instead of behind her,'^ as someone has expressed it. Her limitations may be removed and her faults corrected if her growth is wisely fostered and directed ; and above all if there be 46 MADISON OUR HOME harmony and good feeling on the jiart of all citizens to co-operate for a common end. That an}^ one may talk intelligently about the city, whether it be a member of the Board of Commerce or of the city government, a teacher or a pupil in the schools, he must know its history; must know it as it is today with the elements which constitute it ; and he must have some idea of the Madison of tomorrow. Possessing this knowledge and this idea one may talk truthfully and enthusiastically about his city. MADISON OUR HOME 47 THE PRESENT We have told the story of Madison ; its beginnings and chief events and undertakings down to the pres- ent time. We will now look at our city with a view to a better understanding of its present life. We will analyze it into its elements and component parts. These are (1) location and surroundings; (2) racial elements in the population; (3) organization and government; (4) political relations; (5) chief insti- tutions; (6) industry and trade; (7) education; (8) recreation; (9) religious and moral forces; (10) civic purposes and ideals. 1. Local Surroundings — General Topography. The view of Madison and its environment as seen from the Capitol dome will add much to the meaning of this little book. It is suggested that the school teachers take groups of the children to see this very impressive and beautiful view. A field glass should be used to obtain the best results. Permission may be obtained at the office of the Superintendent of Pub- lic Property, on the second floor of the Capitol. The guides of the Capitol will be pleased to accompany parties. The salient feature of Taychopera is the chain of four lakes extending from northwest to southeast, all connected by tlie Yahara stream, called locally the ^^Catfish". The early settlers called these First, Second, Third, and Fourth Lakes; naming them in the 48 MADISON OUR HOME order in which they came to them from the south. In 1854 Gov. L. J. Farwell, assisted b}^ Dr. Lyman C. Draper, secretary of the State Historical Society, gave the lakes their more euphonious names. First lake became Kegonsa or ''fish lake" ; the second, Waubesa, ''swan"; the third, Monona, "spirit" or ''beautiful";- and the fourth, Mendota, "gathering of the waters" or "great lake." Lake Wingra, "duck lake,'- belongs to the same lacustrine system, having an outlet to Lake Monona. In truth Madison is the city of ^Ye lakes rather than four lakes. Mendota, Monona, and Wingra lakes are in the township of Madison. All of WingTa, some four-fifths of Mendota, and half of Monona are within the town lines. These three lakes girdle the city of Madison. They are approximately 840 feet above sea level, and 210 feet higher than Lake Michigan. Lake Wingra has an oval outline, with a diameter of one mile, area .75 square mile, greatest depth 25 feet. Monona is three miles long and two miles Avide; its area is five square miles, greatest depth 75 feet. Mendota, the largest of the lakes, is five feet higher than Monona ; greatest length, six miles; width, four miles; area, fifteen square miles; circumference, twenty-tAvo miles; greatest depth, eighty-four feet. Many centuries ago a glacier deposited a mass of earth and gravel between Lakes Mendota and Mo- nona. This isthmus is two miles long and half a mile wide; its highest part 75 feet above the lakes, and its general direction northeast to southwest. Across its eastern end runs the Yahara, the connect- ing water link betAveen Mendota and Monona. On MADISON OUR HOME 49 this glacial isthmus the city of Madison sits like a Queen upon her throne, its base laved by the environ- ing waters, while the dome of the Capitol at the cen- ter and of University Hall on the west typify the guardian spirits^ — Legislation and Learning. Few American cities can catch this picturesque natural situation. Boston, Massachusetts, and Port- land, Maine, have fine harbors broken by headlands and islands.- Washington, D. C, is bordered by the Potomac; Philadelphia has the Schuylkill and the Delaware; Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and Mihvau- kee have extensive lake frontage. But perhaps no otlier American city has such distinctive and pleasing combination of land and water as Madison. If it lacks the cliffs and serges of the oceans, it has an almost complete setting of sparkling waters. Three lakes girdle the city with their white arms, and from the Capitol five lakes are in full view. No city of the great lakes is so uniquely placed between extensive and open bodies of water. These lakes have a beautiful shore line. In a fcAV places the land is low. Within the city limits these spots have been filled by pumping sand from the bot- tom of the lakes. In this way several small swampy sections have been reclaimed and are now covered with strets and buildings. • With these few exceptions with streets and buildings. Witli tliese few exceptions city,' are high, broken, and varied for a distance of twenty-five miles, nine miles lying within the city limits. Sandstone bluffs rise from twenty-five to one hundred and twenty-five feet, having their sides and tops covered with forests growths of oak, liickory, 50 MADISON OUR HOME maple, linden, box elder, and elm. Evergreens are not native to this portion of Wisconsin. These out- cropping ridges thrust themselves over the water at several places, as at Maple Bluff and Black Hawk Cave. Their surfaces have been eroded into long creases, pockets, and shelves, where cling tender ferns and delicate mosses ; and are flecked with the pink of wild columbine or the red of honej^suckle. Wild birds build their nests in the hollows, to flutter and scream away at the near approach of some boat. At the wa- ter's edge the cliff face is worn by the waves into great cavernous holes. When the wind is strong, huge billows roll against the wall and plunge their foamy tops into the caverns, which give forth strange, heavy cries — gurgling, groanings, and bellowings as of some disturbed and grumbling giant. People who have seen much of the world have testified to the impression which the city and its lakes makes upon them; among them Sir Edwin Arnold, Bayard Taylor, Horace Greely. The great Norwegian violinist Ole Bull had married a Madison girl — ^Miss Thorpe — in 1872. The musician and his young bride were well known to the poet Henry W. Longfellow, and often visited him and his family at their home "Cragie House" in Cambridge, Mass. In 1876 Madi- son was to be represented at the Centennial at Phila- delphia by two oil paintings — the work of the artist Thomas Moran. A group of women, one of whom was Mrs. Thorpe, mother of Mrs. Ole Bull, tiiought it would be a fine thing to have Mr. Longfellow write a poem to accompany these paintings. Through Mrs. Bull the request was made to the poet and liis consent MADISON OUR HOME 51 obtained. After being exhibited at the Centennial in 1876, these paintings were brought to Madison and placed in Science Hall until 1881, when the building and its contents were burned. Mr .Thorpe, a brother of Mrs. Ole Bull, married Miss Annie LongfelloAV, daughter of the poet. This was after the death of LongfelloAv, which happened in 1882, and many j^ears after the date of the well- know^n poem which may be found in all complete editions of his works. The Four Lakes op Madison. Four limpid lakes, four Naiades Or sylvan deities are these. In flowing robes of azure dressed ; Four lovely handmaids that uphold Their shining mirrors rimmed with gold, To the fair city of the west. By day the coursers of the sun Drink of these waters as they run Their swift diurnal round on high; By night the constellations glow Far down the hollow deeps below. And glimmer in another sky. Fair lakes serene and full of light, Fair town arrayed in robes of white. How visionary ye appear! All like a floating landscape seems In cloudland or the land of dreams. Bathed in a golden atmosphere. 52 MADISON OUR HOME The country about Madison is high and rolling. Glacial hills and moraines abound, with valley and meadows between. The great ice sheet which once stretched from Green Bay soutlnvest to Taychopera stopped a few miles west of these lakes ; the terminal ridges mark the border, on one side of which the evi- dences of glaciaiton exist; on the other no such evi- dence is seen. Forest growths abound everywhere; trees crown the hills, line the water courses, and border the roads. Farms occupy all the region. The soil is highly fer- tile, yielding good harvests of corn, oats, sugar beets and tobacco. Most of the farmers are turning to dairying, milk being their most profitable product. Nearly all derive income from hogs, beef cattle, poul- try, and horses. Besides farm products this region yields clay, sand, gravel, and sandstone for building and commercial purposes. Principal Points and Places in the Locality. From a suitable elevation, such as the top of the Gay building or the dome of the Capitol, the natural features of the region are visible. Mendota opens its full length on the north. Toward the west is Picnic Point; beyond it rises the Avooded head of Eagle Heights. Along the north shore is Fox Bluff; just east of it extends Morris Park with its interesting Indian Mounds. The Yahara River enters the north- east corner of the lake. Governor's Island is part of the Mendota Hospital grounds; the great buildings so expressive of the state's humanitarianism are in sight. Maple Bluff comes next; tlien within the city MADISON OUR HOME 53 limits \h the Yaliara stream Avitli its navigation lock. To the south is Monona Lake; a lovely, elevated, tree covered shore frames its farther side; terminating at ATinnequa (where Jefferson Davis saw the Winne- bago village in 1829). At the foot of the bay opening beyond Winnequa to the west is the outlet of this lake where the Yahara runs to Lake Waubesa, then to Lake Kegonsa, thence into Rock Eiver and the Mississippi. One may start from Madison in a canoe or small boat and go by water to the ^'Mexic gulph". AVingra Lake lies on the southwest side of the city, and directly west are the grounds and buildings of the University. Around the city and its lakes, the frame to this picture, extends the diversified country lying in the townships adjoining: Blooming Grove on the east; Fitchburg on the south; Middleton, west; with Westport and Burke on the north. 2. Racial Elements in Our Population. The first scettlers were nearly all of English stock and came from the older parts of the Union. As be- fore remarked, they were a bold and enterprising people, most of them in middle life or younger, and brought with them the habits and ideas of the Amer- ica of that day. They believed in a settled govern- ment; law and order, education, the family, church and school. Many were well educated and took prom- inent part in the affairs of the city, the county and the state. The opening of the University brought culti- vated families who placed the stamp of their ideas and character upon the community, and gave it a 54 MADISON OUR HOME certain academic tone Avliicli it has ever since re- tained. The Germans are the most numerous and influen- tial of our immigTants and they make the best of citizens. They have brought here some of the best characteristics of the Fatherland, such as the foster- ing of education and music, and a love of out-door recreations. Scandinavians provide another large strain in our population; characterized by their sturdy democracy, their tenacious enterprise, and interest in political affairs. Italians come next in point of numbers. They have been arriving quite fast during ten years past, They do much of the heavy Avork, masonry, concrete, ditching and excavating; a healthy, happy, laborious people, having large families and generally thrifty and saving. Many own their OAvn homes, and the younger folks are taking up lines of trade. Like the Italians, Hebrews have recently come in considerable numbers. They are intelligent, care- ful, and a very capable race; ambitious to become property owners; and placing the highest value upon education for themselves and children. Ireland has given us a small but valuable element; ambitious, pushing, good men in business or professions, and very keen for politics. Of negroes there are about four hundred ; a labori- ous, orderl}^, and useful people who give no trouble with the race question. MADISON OUR HOME 55 Besides these racial stocks there are Poles, Greeks, Bohemians, aDd Chinese; but so few as to add liardly a tinge to the city. All these people with tlie possible exception of the Chinese are here to remain and be- come naturalized. Here these racial elements com- bine and unite into a single body politic. From what- ever part of the earth they have emigrated, they and their children soon learn our ways, uphold our insti- tutions, and share our common life. The principal agency in tlius assimilating our immigrants is the public school. Many call the school the great Ameri- can "mixing machine." 3. Organization and Government. ]Madison became a city in 1856. It was then di- vided into five wards; the number of wards today is ten. Many cities have a double legislative body, the aldermen and the council. Madison has a single chamber — the Board of Aldermen, that is "elder- men.'' In common usage while the members are called aldermen, their meetings are spoken of as "meetings of the council," a confusion of expressions. At the liead of the city government is the mayor who presides over the meetings of the city council, ap- points many subordinate city officials, represents the city on public occasions and gives a welcome to visit- ing conventions. List of City Officials, 1. The Mayor — chosen by the people every two years at tlie election held on first Tuesday in April. Salary |1,000. 56 MADISON OUR HOME 2. T\yenty Aldermen — two from each ward. One- half chosen by the people each year. Terms of office, two years. Salary $300. 3. City Treasurer — elected l)y the people. Term of office, two years. Salary |1,200. 4. City Clerk — appointed by Mayor and Alder- men. Term of office, one year. Salary |1,800. (Mr. Ole Norsman, the present city clerk, is noAV serving his twenty- seventh year in that capacity.) 5. Assistant Clerk — appointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. Term of office, one year. Salary |1,080. 6. Auditor — appointed by the Mayor and Alder- men. Term of office, one year. Salary |1,600. 7. Attorney — appointed by the Mayor and Al- dermen. Term of office, one year. Salary |1,800. 8. Building Commissioner — appointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. Term of office, one year. Sal- ary $1,500. 9. Engineer — appointed by the Mayor and Alder- men. Term of office, one year. Salary $2,700. 10. Plumbing Inspector — appointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. Term of office, one year. Salary $1,200. 11. Sealer of Weights and Measures — appointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. Term of office, one year. Salary $1,200. 12. Superintendent of Streets — ^^appointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. Term of office, one year. Sal- ary $1,800. 13. Two Assistant Street Superintendents — ap- MADISON OUR HOME 57 pointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. Term of office, one year. Salary |1,080. 14. Assessor — appointed by the Mayor and Alder- men. Term of office, one year. Salary |1,000. 15. Electrical Inspector — appointed by the Ma} or and Aldermen. Term of office, one year. Salary $1,200. IG. Superintendent of Water Works — appointed by the Board of Water Commissioners. Term of office, one year. Salary |1,500. 17. Chief of Police — appointed by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. Salary, |1,200. 18. Chief of Fire Department — appointed by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. Salary 11,320. 19. Health Officer — ^appointed by the Board of Health. Term of office, two years. Salary |1,200. 20. Dairy and Food Inspector — appointed by the Board of Health. Term of office, one year. Salary $1,200. 21. Sanitary Inspector — appointed by the Board of Health. Term of office, one year. Salary |1,020. In addition to the officials given above, tlie mem- bers of the following' Boards have a share in the administration of cit}^ business, serving Avithout pay. 1. Board of Public Works — three members ap- pointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. This Board assists in street planning and improvement. 2. Board of Education — eight members, six cho- sen by the Aldermen, the Mayor and one Alderman. It has general charge of the public schools of the 58 MADISON OUR HOME city : all that pertains to the choice of building sites, kind and cost of school houses, use of school liouses, employment and salaries of teachers, clioice of text books, and the responsibility of preparing the finan- cial budget for each school year. 3. Board of Water Commissioners with five mem- bers — three appointed by the Aldermen, one Alder- man and the Mayor. They have charge of tlie i)ublic water supply. Jr. Board of Police and Fire Commissioners has five members — three apopinted by the Mayor and Al- dermen, one Alderman and the Mayor. All matters pertaining to the police and fire departments are in their charge. 5. Board of Health has four members consisting of three Aldermen and the city Health Officer. It is their duty to see that the state laws and city ordi- nances relating to public health and sanitation are enforced. Record of all births and deaths in Madison are kept by this Board. 6. Directors of the Park and Pleasure Drive As- sociation — seven members, five chosen b}^ the Park Association, with one Alderman and the Mayor. 7. General Hospital Association — fifteen mem- bers on the Board of Directors, twelve chosen by the Hospital Association; two Aldermen and the Mayor. 8. Cemetery Commission — seven members, ap- pointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. 9. Free Library Board — ^ten members appointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. Tlie Hospital Association and the Park Associa- MADISON OUR HOME 59 8 S< » « r E : Q J < 6 i_i W-- <^?, ^ cr -> o 5- < 2 I ^V I ^ I o= ^1 -«^ ()0 MADISON OUR HOME tion are not legall}^ aucl organically a part of the city government as the other Boards and Commissions are, but they receive financial help from the city, and this is Avhy members of the city government have places on their Boards of Directors. The above list of boards and officials will give some idea of the large and varied work which the city of Madison is carrying on. City business amounts to nearly one million dollars annually. Some of the money comes from special licenses and fees; some from water rents and garbage collection assessments; but most of it is by direct taxes upon the property and incomes of the people. 4. Political Relations. Madison is a free and self-governing city. At the same time it is a i)art of four other larger political bodies. The City of Madison and Madison Township. It is located in Madison township but has no con- trol over township affairs; nor does tlie township have control over the affairs of the city. The city does, however, have a measure of control over land adjacent to the city limits and Avhich Avill in time be added to the city. The City of Madison and Bane County. The county has a certain measure of authority and control over all towns and cities witliin its lim- its. Madison is the largest city in Dane County and the seat of the county government. It is sometimes MADISON OUR HOME 61 called the ^'sliire'' town— an old Anglo-Saxon term signifying the chief town in the shire or county. The government of Dane County is in the hands of a county Board. There are sixty-four members of whom ten are from Madison, one from each ward, elected by the people. TJie City of Madison and the State of Wisconsin. Madison is not only a part of the township of Madison and the county of Dane; it is at the same time a part of the State of Wisconsin. A city is a cliild of the state which creates it by an act of tlie Legislature. State laws are binding upon the city. No city ordinance may violate or abrogate a state law; if it does the court will set it aside. The tax money raised here is not all used for city purposes. A part — Madison's proportionate share of the county expenses — goes to Dane County; and another part goes to the state. These figures give the respective t5 sums Total city tax for 1914 |1,355,531.26 Of which Dane County's share was 94,231.14 The State's share was 131,957.00 In making. the laws of the state and in its gen- eral government the city has a part. Madison citi- zens help to elect one senator and one assemblyman for the state legislature. Madison is in the twenty- sixth senatorial district (there are thirty-three such districts in the state), which comprises Dane County. The senator from this district may be chosen from any town or city in it ; and in the legislature he rep- 62 MADISON OUR HOME resents the people of the entire district including Madison. This district has about 85,000 population. Madison is a part of the First Assembly District of Dane County. This district comprises the city of Madison, Madison township, with the towns of Bloom- ing Grove, Dunn, and Pleasant Springs. The assem- blyman may be chosen from any one of these com- munities, and is the representative of all of them in the legislature. The district numbers about 35,000 people. Citizens of Madison are very frequently elected to represent their district in the Senate and in the Assembly. Madison citizens also vote for the elective State officers including Governor, State Treasurer, Attor- ney General, Secretary of State, Superintendent or Education, Justice of the Supreme Court; for the Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, (in which Madison is situated and most of whose sittings are held here) ; for Judge of the County Court; and Judge of the Municipal Court. Three governors of the state have been residents of Madison: Leonard J. Farwell, 1852—1854. Lucius Fairchild, 1866—1872. Kobert M. La Follette, 1901—1906. Madison's Relations to the Federal Government. Madison as a political unit or legal corporate body is subordinate to the larger unit of the County, and tt) the still larger unit, the State. It is further subordi- nate to the largest unit of all in our national political system — tlie Federal Government. MADISON OUR HOME 63 FEDERAL BUILDING Our post-office, like all post-offices in the country, is the property of the United States. It is a part of the Post-office Department of the Federal Govern- ment, at whose liead is an officer called the Postmas- ter General. The work of our post-office and tlie amount of its business depends upon how mucli our people use it. The more letters we write or receive, the more we use stamps, registered letters, postal money orders, and pacrels post — tlie more business is done through our post-office. The amount of such business is always an index of a city's prosperity. As a city increases in population, trade, and wealth, its post-office re- ceipts increase. Applying this to Madison we find that its post-office receipts are very large and growing larger every year. For the year 1914 they were |251,- 575; while for 1915 they had increased to $281,296. 64 MADISON OFR HOME Only two cities in Wisconsin liave larger receipts than Madison. This money is only a part of the reyenue Ayhich the people of Madison pay to the Federal Goyernment. Eyery single person haying a net income of |3,000, aboye his exemptions pays an income tax on the excess oyer |3,000 and exemptions. A married man pays on the excess oyer $4,000 and exemptions. All corpora- tions, excepting religious, co-operatiye and beueyo- lent, pay a tax on their entire net income. The city tax budget is made up and authorized by the yote of Aldermen and Mayor. It coyers money for city purposes, for the city's share of the Dane County tax, and the State tax. The Federal income tax is laid directly by the United States Goyernment. There are located in Madison the following Fed- eral officers: A Federal Judge. Clerk of Federal Court. U. S. Marshall. Internal Reyenue Collector. Referee in Bankruptcy. U. S. District Attorney. Post-office Inspector. Pension Examiners. Our citizens help elect men to the National Con- gress. Each of the forty-eight states sends two Sena- tors to Washington for a term of six years. Madison yoters thus help to elect two men to the upper branch of Congress. They haye a still larger share in electing a mem- MADISON OUR HOME 65 ber of the lower house, or House of Representatives. United States senators are chosen from the state at large. For the selection of CongTessional Represent- atives the state is divided into eleven districts. Madi- son is the second congressional district, comprising the counties of Dane, Iowa, Green, La Fayette, Grant and Crawford. The man elected from this district is thus the representative in the lower branch of Con- gress, of some 200,000 people; and toward his election Madison casts more votes than any other single com- munity. Madison men have many times been sent to Wash- ington. U. S. Senators— Wm. F. Vilas, J. C. Spooner and R. M. La Follette. Representatives — David A. Atwood, Henry C. Adams, John M. Nelson, Burr W. Jones, and R. M. La Follette. 5. Chief Institutions in the City. By an institution we mean something made or organized for the service of the people; something which is meant to endure. An institution may be oAvned and carried on by the public, as, for example, the city, or county, the state, or national government. Or it may be owned and carried on by a private asso- ciation; as a parochial schopl, a hospital, etc. Tliere are institutions of both kinds in our city. There are many Public Institutions as the fol low- ing' list will show. 66 MADISON OUR HOME Federal Institutions. The Post Office, located on the corner of Wiscon- sin Ave. and E. Mifflin Street. The building erected in 1871 will soon be repkiced by a larger one for wliich Congress has voted more than half a million dollars. Such a building should suffice for the postal needs of Madison for many years to come. Several federal offi- cers have their headquarters here. (See list, page 64.) Another federal institution is the Forests Products FOREST i'iiODUCTS LABORATORY THE ONLY ONE IN THE U. S. Laboratory. The building is furnished by the State of Wisconsin; the work of forest investigation and products utilization is carried on by the U. S. Depart- ment of AgTiculture. The location of this plant, which forms the center of such forestry study for the entire United States, is on University Ave. at Camp Kandall. It is the only enterprise of its kind in the country. MADISON OUR HOME 07 State Institutions. The Capitol. This splendid edifice is an architec tural work of the highest order, and ranks with the great buildings of the world. It is of Avhite granite from Vermont, cruciform, with a dome rising from the center. Its total length is 434 feet; its highest point 283 feet. It will cost about eight million dol- lars; an amount which would not have paid for a single day's cost of our Civil War, and which would be a mere drop in the bucket towards the cost of the present European War. The portico pediments carry sculptures symbolizing the resources and activities of the state. Those on the north pediment are by A. Picarelli ; on the south pediment, by Adolph Wein- mann (author of the Lincoln statue in front of Main Hall) ; the east and west pediments are by Karl Bit- ter. Four massive groups at the base of the dome enhance its proportions and add to its pyramidal effect. These groups by Karl Bitter represent the basic elements in the life of all commonwealths: Strength — Abundance — Learning — Faith. The great rotunda is the most impressive interior feature. Here; are mosaics by Kenyon Cox and the painting by Ed- ward Blashfield, "Wisconsin and her resources". The Asesmbly chamber contains the painting, "Wisconsin — past, present, and future," also by Blashfield. In the Senate chamber is Kenyon Cox's painting, "The Wedding of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans." The governor's reception room is a miniature reproduc- tion of one in the Ducal Palace in Venice. On the walls are scenes from Wisconsin history and the ceil- G8 MADISON OUR HOME ings have symbolic designs, all by Hugo Ballin. The Supreme Court room contains masterpieces by Al- bert Herter. The subjects are, first — Roman cen- turian appealing for justice to the Emperor Augus- tus, second — Signing the Magna Charta, third — Signing the Constitution of the United States, fourth — Judge Doty deciding the trial of an Indian by In- dian code. The Capitol stands in the center of the city, on a piece of ground 14 acres in extent (just the space covered by the famous great pyramid in Egypt). It is an inadequate setting for so magnificent a structure which requires at least four times as much land to give the proper effect. Sometime when the public taste has become more appreciative of art, and public feeling sufiiciently aroused, the whole space, two blocks in width, between Capitol Park and Lake Mo- nona will be purchased by the state and cleared of buildings. This will provide a wide esplanade con- necting the Capitol and the lake and affording the proper approach to the building; a broad, tree bor- dered vista through which the harmonious propor- tions and fine lines of the Capitol could be seen at once. In the Capitol all the important business of the state and all the chief state officers have their head- quarters: the Governor, Secretaries of departments, State Commissions, Supreme Court, etc. Here the Legislature meets in biennial session to make our state laws. An adjunct of the Capitol is the heating plant, MADISON OUR HOME CO with its chimney 250 feet high, located at 622 E. Main St. A tunnel, eight feet by nine, running under E. Washington Ave. connects the Capitol and the Heat- ing Plant. The Governor's residence is at No. 130 E. Gilman St. It was purchased by the state in 1882.* Wisconsin's foremost educational institution is located in Madison in accordance with the early law wdiich determined that "the University shall be situ- ated at or near the seat of government.'' This is one reason and probably the chief one, why the at- tempts to remove the capitol have failed. Both insti- tutions must be located in the same city. The University began very feebly, a mere babe in a manger. In 1849 a prei)aratory course was opened in the Female Academy building, where the Madison High School now stands. The city donated the use of this building. College courses began in 1850; North Hall was built in 1851 ; South Hall in 1855 ; and the first class of two graduated in 1851. Such was the birth of our great university which has now over 7,000 students, and whose extension courses reach seven thousand more all over the state. In 1915, 723 degrees were conferred ; 14,000 degrees have been con- ferred since 1854 ; 5,000 students are from Wisconsin. More than 2,000 students come from other states in the *Here on September 6, 1870, the famous violinist Ole Bull was married to Sarah Thorpe. The bridegroom was sixty years old, the bride twenty; a union of May and December. A large reception parlor at the east end of the building was Ole Bull's music room. MADISON OUR HOME 71 Union, and from foreign countries. University ex- penses for all purposes are over two and one-half million dollars per year; a little more than one-half raised by general state tax. University grounds total THE CAMPUS FROM LAKE MENDOTA 72 MADISON OUR HOME 1,400 acres, on wliicli are 60 buildings. The University represents an investment by the state of about $7,000,- 000, all of which adds to the wealth, culture and im- portance of our city. University government rests Avith the regents, a board of fifteen, one from each of the eleven con- gressional districts; two from the state at large; the President of the Universit^^, and the State Superin- tendent of Education. Two members of the Board must be women. Readers of this book are no doubt familiar with the University. They know the beautiful campus with its hills and slopes and groves; its shady walks and drives; its clean, long, tree lined rim upon the lake shore. Tlie}^ kn[)w Camp Randall where the Uni- versity teams compete witli those from other colleges for the honors in foot ball, base ball, and track ath- letics. The principal buildings of the University are: . Armory and Gymnasium. Historical Library. Medical School. Science Hall. Wisconsin High School. New Stadium. The Agricultural Department Buildings. Engineering Building. Law School. Chemistry Building. Physics Building. Observatorv. MADISON OUR HOMP] 73 Extension Division and Home Economics Building. University Hall. County Iiistitutioiis. Buildings belonging to Dane County are on West Main Street. The Court House Avas erected in 1882, and contains rooms for the various county officials: County Treasurer, County Surve^^or, Income Tax As- sessor, Highway Commissioner, Coroner, County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Poor Commissioner, Sheriff. Here, too, are the quaters of the Xinth Judicial Circuit Court, County Court, Juvenile Court, Munici- pal Court, County Supervisors. Adjoining the Court House are the Dane County Jail and Sheriff's residence. Care of the poor people in Madison is, by law, in the hands of the County Poor Commissioner. Consid- erable money, (f 7,000 in 1915), is spent by him every year for rent, food, and fuel for these unfortunates. Some are sent to the County Farm and Home for the Needy, located at Yerona ten miles southwest of Madison. In this way the city receives tlie benefit of some of the money Avhich it contributes to the county taxes. But the care of the poor is not left wholly to the County, much is done by local societies and people of which Ave will speak later. City Institutions. The organization of the city gOA^ernment is de- scribed on pages 55-59. The City Hall was built in 1858; here are the offices of most of the officials and city departments. 74 MADIJ^OX OUll HOME They oconpy tAVo floors. On the third fl.icr is the Armory, headquarters of the Governor's Guard, re- cruited from the city and vicinity. Besides the City Hall there are the following mu- nicipal buildings : Four Fire Stations : Central Station, 120 S. Webster St. Station No. 2, 125 State Street. Station No. 3, 1217 Williamson Street. Station No. 4, 1329 W. Dayton Street. Police Station, 14 S. Webster Street. City Pumping Station, 311 N. Hancock Street. Sewerage Disposal Plant, beyond northern limits of the city. Sewerage Pumj) Station, 1707 E. Wasliington Avenue. Madison Free Librarv, 206 N. Carroll Street. MADISUN FllEE LIBRARY MADISON OUR HOME 75 Quarantine Hospital, 1954 E. Washington Avenue. Public Market, Mifflin and Blount Streets. Sixth Ward Branch Library, Williamson Street. Forest Hill Cemetery, at the end of street car line west of the city. Contagious Hospital, E. Washington Avenue. The City Schools. Names and locations of the schools are as follows: High School, Wisconsin Avenue. The George W^ashington School, N. Broom Street. The Abraham Lincoln School, E. Gorham Street. The Louisa M. Brayton School, E. Washington Avenue. The James D. Doty School, W. Wilson Street. The Lyman C. Draper School, W. Johnson and Park Streets. The Jacques Marquette School, Williamson Street. The Governor and Mrs. Harvey School, Jenifer Street. The Increase A. Lapham School, E. Dayton Street. The Henry W. Longfellow School, Chandler Street. The Alexander W. Kandall School, Regent and Spooner Streets. Nathaniel Hawthorne School, Northeast District, Division Street. James Russell Lowell School, Fair Oaks. In naming these schools the Board of Education has wished to perpetuate the names and influence of typical Americans, some of these being persons of 76 MADISON OUR HOME national fame, while others have been of service to Wisconsin or to Madison. The names, Washington, Lincoln, Lowell, Longfellow recall our two great presidents and two of the best knoAvn and most be- loved authors. None of them lived in this city or in this state. The other names have closer connection with our own histor}'. Louisa M. Braj^ton was the first teacher of a public school in Madison (see page 21). James Douane Doty, second governor of Wis- consin Territory, 1841 — 1841, brought about the se- lection of Madison as the capital of Wisconsin. Ly- man C. Draper was the first secretary of the State Historical Society, 1854 — 1886. He gathered a large collection of letters, documents, and photogTaphs, re- lating to the history of the middle west. These are of the greatest value. Dr. Draper lived in Madison thirty-nine years; he was State Superintendent of Education, 1853 — 1859. Jacques Marquette is the name of a heroic and consecrated priest who with the French Captain Louis Joliet descended the Wisconsin Kiver from Portage to Prairie du Chien (or where these towns now stand), and discovered the Missis- sippi in the year 1671. The story of Father Marquette has been delightfully told by the late Dr. Reuben G. Thwaites who succeeded Dr. Draper as Secretary of the State Historical Society. Increase A. Lapham (portrait in governor's reception room), citizen of Wisconsin, was fatlier of the U. S. Weather Bureau. Alexander W. Randall Avas Governor of Wisconsin, 1858—1862. Camp Randall was named after him. The Harvey School was named for L. J. Harvey, gov- ernor of Wisconsin (1862), who was drowned in the MADISON OUR HOME 77 Mississippi river while on a visit to the troops at the front, and his faithful wife who after his death cared for Wisconsin's soldiers' orphans. Semi-Puhlic Institutions; i. e., institutions owned and controlled only in part by the city. The funds for their support are in part voted by the city, and in part raised by popular subscription. Examples of Semi-Piihlic Institutions. The General Hospital. The property comprises land and buildings valued at |200,000, located on Mound Street, Greenbush. All cases of accident or disease, except contagious diseases, are cared for in the General Hospital. No one is turned away ; those who are not able to pay are freely given nursing, phy- sician's care, medicine and food. It is on this ground that the city helps in the support of the hospital. 1,800 patients received treatment in 1915. Tliirty girls are being prepared to become nurses in the Nurses' Training School. The Parks and Drives. These are under the con- trol and management of the Madison Park and Pleas- ure Drive Association. The city voted a first appro- priation for the parks in 1898, and has continued this each year. The reason for this is the same as in the case of the liospital, viz., the benefit to the people which comes from the parks, and the general satis- faction with this policy. (List of parks, location, acres, see page 36.) Tlie Humane Society, thougii owning no property receives aid from the city, and belongs to this class of semi-public institutions. Its object is the protec- 78 MADISON Orii HO^klE MADISON OUR HOME 71) tion of animals and birds; and it also assists in the case of needy or neglected children. We may note how in such a case as this, an institution is a society, incorporated and so capable of receiving and holding legacies and bequests; having an organization with a constitution, by-laws, and officers, but without pos- sessing any land or building. Generally speaking an institution is associated witli some particular build- ing or buildings. This is not always the case as Ave learn from the Humane Society. Til ere are then five classes of public institutions in Madison : Tliose belonging to the United States. Those belonging to the State of Wisconsin. Those belonging to Dane County. Those belonging to the city. Those owned and controlled in part by the city. In addition to these Madison contains many P7^i- vate Institutions. These are owned and managed by private individuals or organizations; their aim is some form of usefulness or service to the people. Some are incorporated — i. e. capable of receiving be- quests — others not. Were we to give a complete list of the private institutions it would require many pages, and is not necessary for our purpose. The city directory will show all that are not here. Some of the more important private institutions are : Madison Turn-Verein. The St. Mary's Hospital. The Stoeber Hospital. The Parochial Schools^ — St. Bernard's School. 80 MADISON orii HOME MADISON OUR HOME 81 St. James School. St. Patrick's School. Father Pettit School. Holy Iledeemer School. Private Schools — Edgewood Academy. Capital City Commercial College. School of Telegraphy. Wisconsin School of Music. Wheeler School of Music. Lodges : Beavers, Foresters, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Pythias, Masons, Modern Woodmen, Moose, Eagles, Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World. Clubs : Elks, Olympic, Madison, University and Woman's. Churches. Others would be banks. Board of Commerce, Y. W. C. A. and Y. M. C. A. 6. Industry and Trade. This is one of the most important elements in the life of any community, large or small. The people who carry on trade or manufactures may be consid- ered as a separate class. Tliey are such only in so far as they serve a somewhat different purpose from that of other people, such as lawyers, teachers, and oflflce holders. They do not in truth form a separate class. They are one with all the other occupations of the city ; when they prosper the city prospers with them; when they do not prosper the whole city feels the effect. Our merchants, traders, and manufactur- ers are so bound up with all the rest of the popula- 82 MADISON OUR HOME tion, and all the population so related to tliem and dependent upon them that tlie}' cannot be divided. As the Bible says, ^'We are all members one of another. If one member suffers then all members suffer together; if one member rejoices then all rejoice together.'' The American Idea of Trade and Industry. In former times a certain degTadation was at- tached to business life. Men of force and ambition became priests or soldiers, land owners or politicians, and members of learned professions. Tradesmen were looked down upon as belonging to a lower order, even though no city could possibly live without them. It was so in ancient Greece and Rome, in the Middle Ages, in France and England, down to very recent times. And indeed today many families belonging to the Euro- pean nobility feel it a disgrace for a son or daughter of the liouse to marry into the family of a tradesman. When one of the nobility became poor and went into business he lost caste; he had demeaned liimself and his family it was said, when in truth he should have been honored for trying to support himself. It is honorable to support oneself. It is praise- worthy to produce or sell goods which people need. This is the American idea and doctrine. It should be cherished and defended, b}- all true 3^oung Ameri- cans. Wliat we call business is one of tlie greatest and best of schools. Success in business requires all the best qualities of the man, patience, hard w^ork, fore- sight, careful planning, watchfulness. It is a severe MADISON OUR HOME 83 discipline and only a few men out of all who under- take to support tliemsehes in business ever succeeded. Business is a moral training of the utmost value. In it there are many temptations to fraud, deceit, and trickery, and just as many opportunities to go straight, to speak tlie truth, to work diligently. Bus- iness life in all its phases is a place for testing char- acter ; a drill ground where some of the best and no- blest moral traits may be developed. The American doctrine of business life teaches that a. It is an honorable means of making one's liv- ing and that of one's family. b. It is a useful, a necessary service to the com- munity. c. It involves nothing of disgrace. d. It is a means of moral education and disci- pline. The Se7^vice Rendered to the City by Its Manufacturers. Madison has a hundred and twenty corporations and firms engaged in manufacturing. Some are small; a few are large enterprises. They turn out and put upon the market nearly one hundred dif- ferent articles and lines of goods. In doing this they import raw materials; give business to the railroads, truck men, and express companies; employ several thousand men and women, paying them many thou- sands of dollars in wages every week; i)urchase from Madison merchants all manner of goods and materi- als needed in the factory; swell the receipts of the 84 MADISON OUR HOME post office; increase the city's valuation; and pay large sums in taxes into the city treasury. Like those organs in the human body which, converting the food we eat into blood, send it pulsating into all members and parts of the system, so these manufacturers do more to create wealth directly by turning raw ma- terial into saleable products and putting money into circulation than any other class of people except the farmers. Necessary as the merchant is he does not directly create wealth ; he only collects and keeps the finished goods for distribution. What the manufac- turer creates, the merchant buys and holds where the individual customer may select what he Avants. It has been said by some that Madison people do not sufficiently appreciate the role which manufac- turing plays in the financial and economic life of the city. Otlier institutions are older and have engrossed our interest such as the Capitol and the University. These are great and noble institutions. They have added much to the city's prosperity and given it fame abroad. But they play a very different part and ac- complish a very different purpose from that of our manufacturers. In the new capitol building there are 625 persons employed by the state and living in Madison. They receive in wages about $60,000 per month, or |720,000 per year. It is estimated that our manufacturing establish- ments employ 3,000 persons and pay in wages |333,000 per month or f4,000,000 per year. Total product of manufacturers, |10,000,000. A list prepared for the Board of Commerce and classified : MADISON OUR HOME 85 General manufacturers, 39; 33 incorporated. Printing and publishing, 10. Beverages, 6. Dairy products, 7. Cement, 8. Laundries, 3. Dye works and cleaners, 3. Bakeries, 4. Kepair shops, 9. Book binderies, 3. Cigars, 5. Contractors and builders, 12. Miscellaneous, 9. 56 pay income taxes. Middlemen, Distributors, Jobbers. In the process of business these distributors stand between the manufacturer on the one hand and the retail storekeeper and consumer on the other. Much has been said in censure of these middlemen. If goods could be carried directly from the factory or place of production to the consumer the price would be less and so the cost of living would be lowered. But it has been found very difficult if not impossible to accomplisli this. The manufacturer does not want to add to his business the cost and trouble of selling his product directly to the people who use that prod- uct. For example, the manufacturer of stoves in Detroit does not ti'y to sell his stoves one by one here in Madison. To do that would require that his agent should canvass the city from house to house or that hundreds of letters should be written and sent to S(j MADISON OUR HOME Madison people iu order to find those who wish to purchase a stove. Instead of this the Detroit manu- facturer sells a car load of his stoves to one of our hardware merchants. The farmer is loath to take the extra labor re- quired to carry the products directly to the homes of city people. He, too, sells in wholesale lots to the middlemen and the storekeepers, his eggs, apples, or chickens. In a few cases as in the marketing of clieese and meats a scheme of co-operation has been worked out whereby the middleman is abolished. In most lines of trade the middleman has been found to be indispensable or at least most people are unwill- ing to forego his services even if they might save money. Madison contains several of these distributing liouses. It is well located for this purpose at the center of a prosperous region of toAvns, villages, and farms, with a total population of more than two hun- dred thousand. Leading Forms of Distrihutiiif/ Business. Agricultural Implements: Plows, harvesting ma- chinery, farm tractors, corn and tobacco planters, cream separators. There are 28 establishments of this kind. Wliolesale fruit liouses. Tobacco. Paper goods. Groceries. Lumber. National Biscuit Company. MADISON OUK HOME 87 Retail Merchants. The retail mercliant is the link betAveen the pro- ducer and the consumer of goods. Most of his goods are bought from middlemen who have purchased from the manufacturer in large lots. Sometimes the re- tailer purchases directly from the manufacturer or l>roducer, especially if these are located near at hand. Thus the Madison grocer buys direct from the farm, and tlie retail confectioner buys directl}^ from the manufacturers. It is the almost universal habit of people in Amer- ica to rely upon the retail merchant, the store keeper. He is ever^^where where men dwell in groups of any size. He purcliases and puts on his shelves and coun- ters goods from all parts of this country and from foreign lands. What long journeys some of these boxes and packages have taken. Teas, spices, and coffee from China and the Indian Ocean ; olives, silks, figs from the Mediterranean; toys from Germany; watches from Switzerland; cutlery from England; linen from Ireland. When a Madison boy eats his breakfast he sits down to a table made in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the cloth woven in Massachusetts, knives and forks from Connecticut, buttermilk and eggs from Dane County farms; wheat for his bread grew in North Dakota, sugar from Louisiana, canned pineapple from Honolulu, coffee from Arabia, cookies spiced from India; his clothes were made in New York, his shoes in Chicago, his hat in Danburry, Connecticut ; he carries to school a pad of paper from Oshkosh, witli pencils from Pennsylvania; he rides a 88 MADISON OUR HOME bike made in Cleveland — and all these many articles, food, wearing apparel, etc., have been bought in the retail stores in Madison. The store keeper is in touch with every household and with practically every per- son who lives in the city. Could We Get Along Without the Retail Merchant? Some families buy directly from the farmers, thus making a saving upon such articles as eggs, vegeta- bles and butter. Much was claimed for the parcels post as a convenient and economical way of direct buying Avithout using the retailer. City families, it was claimed, would become regular customers of the farmers through the parcels j)ost, but it has not been so used either in Madison or in any other city, so far as we can learn. What is the reason for this? Why do so few farmers bring their produce directly to the door of the city housewife? And why do the city families make almost no use of the parcels post for obtaining the produce of the farms? The answer is that they do not care to, and they do not care to because of the time and trouble involved. We are here speaking especially of articles for the kitchen and the table ; things to be cooked and eaten. People living in Madison and in all American cities have become accustomed to the service of the retail grocer, butcher, fish dealer, and fruit dealer. This service is satisfactory, reliable and quick; goods are clean, fresli, neatly packed, and appetizing in appearance; that is the kind of service our retail food merchants give us; and that is the kind people want and are willing to pay for even though it does cost more. MADISON OUR HOME 89 The retailer wliose service is unsatisfactory will lose his customers. They will trade with those Avho do give satisfaction. The parcels post is not so con- venient, and it can probably never be made so sat- isfactory. Whatever we want in the way of food, clothing, hardware, or anything else, Ave know that our city stores keep these things, that we can visit these stores, select Avhat we want, and have it deliv- ered for us. And a very important factor in this question is the telephone, which everyone now uses more or less in ordering from the stores. On the other hand the farmer would need to treat liis products in the same way that the retailer does. He will be obliged in order to satisfy city folk, to wrap his butter in separate pound packages, to put his eggs in paste-board cases, holding a dozen each; to dress his chickens and cure his meats as cleanly as the butcher, and to deliver them as wanted. For the same reason that the housewife w^ill not take the trouble nor spare the time involved in trading di- rectly with the farmers — ^so the farmers will not take time or trouble to market his produce in the same at- tractive and convenient way that the retailer does. The farmer would be obliged to alter his habits, to change his accustomed ways, to develop new methods, if he would sell his products directly to the con- sumer. He is not ready or not willing to do this, but prefers to sell his Avhole load of vegetables, his cases of eggs, baskets of chickens, or firkins of butter to the retailer. The latter must then prepare these and deliver them to his various customers. In some cities there are large open markets where 90 MADISON OUR HOME tlie farmers sell directly to the consumers who bring their baskets on their arms and pay cash. This has been tried in Madison but with very small results, chiefly no doubt because people do not care to go to the market wlieu tlie telephone is at their elbow. Eetail business has grown up in response to the demands of the communit}^; it meets people's wants in a way Avhich satisfies them. There are those Avho believe in a public market for Madison; that this would lower the cost of food, especially for the poorer l>eoi)le. This has been tried out in Madison, but the city market has proved a failure. We have described the very important role the retail merchants play in the city's life. Like all business men tliey have their troubles and we sliould know something about them. It is all a part of that general and comprehensive understanding of our city which is the aim of this book. These merchants are obliged to give credit; only a very fcAV attempt to do a cash business. They supply us with goods of every sort, deliver them at our doors, and trust us to pay for them sometime. These unpaid bills become a very serious matter for the dealer. He must meet his own bills and he does not like to dun his customers. We can but wonder that the re- tailer can continue to be courteous, obliging, and ready when people are owing him many thousands of dollars. Some of these bills lie can never collect; sometimes his debtors die or move aAvay without no- tice; sometimes they meet with misfortune and can- not pay; some pay in part. When at the end of the year he takes account of that year's business, a mer- MAD180N OUR HOME 91 chant may find that his losses from people who can- not or Avill not pay amount to 8 or 10 per cent of his entire sales. Suppose that this is |500.00; he has given away |500 in goods to various families and individuals in a single year, and Ave must remember that he does this every year. If he had given this amount of money to the hospital or the associated charities he would be proclaimed a public benefactor. As it is, his loss is a real hardship and sacrifice which the public never knows. Merchants are not the only class of people who suffer losses by these uncollectable bills. Our physi- cians besides doing a large amount of free work for poor families are unable to collect many of their bills; lawyers, dentists, and all who practice the professions, suffer in the same way. And there are probably few dealers of any description in Madison who would not have the same story of losses to tell. The moral training of children should include the ethics of paying one's bills. In the home, in the school and cliurch, the child should be taught the plain truth that to take goods from a dealer, use them up, and never pay for them is stealing. The essence of theft is to take goods without the owner's consent. In this case the owner consents only because he is tricked by promise to paj^; that makes sucli an act a fraud as Avell as a theft. Anotlier trouble for our retailers is that many people purchase goods from outside, especially through the mail order houses. What should be said of this? People who send orders aw^ay claim that they can purchase the same goods cheaper than they 92 MADISON OUR HOME are sold here. This claim is made for certain kinds of groceries, for hardware, furniture, and household utensils. Merchants in Madison maintain that people Avho patronize the mail order houses do not in many cases really save money thereby. It is true that often prices as listed in the mail order catalog are lower than those asked for the same goods in the retail stores of Madison. But, when all the items of cost are added, the actual cost of bringing the goods to the home of the person ordering, the difference in price disappears, and it is found that it is just as cheap and in many cases cheaper to purchase the goods over the counter of the home merchant. Thousands of dollars are sent out of Madison every year for goods which might be bought at liome. It is probably true that in a large per cent of such transactions the purchasers save no money ; they pay as much and frequently more, than they would pay in Madison for the same goods. Yet it is also true that when purchases are made in large quantities, as when several families unite to send away orders for groceries, hardware, and clothing, there is a sav- ing. The only means by which the home dealer could meet this would be by selling his goods at a lower price. He can do this upon goods sold in large quan- tities, but to reduce the price of goods sold at retail is very difficult for him to do. He must sell largely on credit, he must deliver his sales, he must pay rent, taxes, insurance, clerks, and bookkeeper ; and he must make a living for himself and his family. All these are factors which determine the price at which he MADISON OUR HOME 9^ can sell liis goods. If lie could sell for cash, if cus- tomers paid to have goods delivered, as they do when buying out of town, if rent and taxes were loAver, if he cut down the salaries of his clerks and bookkeeper, then he could sell at a lower price. It should be remembered also that lie is competing in business with other home dealers, and what is more important still, is competing with huge business corporations^ the mail order houses, which have millions of capital and can therefore buy in very large quantities. They often do buy the entire product of large mills and factories. They also buy the products of cheap prison labor and even goods made in Insane Asylums. It is not at all strange that our local dealer cannot sell some articles as low as tliey can be purchased from the great and rich mail order houses in Chicago. He can only state his case and appeal to the good sense and civic pride of Madison purchasers. It would be a sorry day for all of us if our more than 300 retail merchants were driven out of business by outside competition. We all owe these merchants a great deal; we are dependent upon them for liun- dreds of things which we need day by day. They give us credit, they accommodate us in many ways, they are the principal subscribers of our cliarities, our local concerts, lectures, and celebrations. There is hardly a business day in the year in whicli they do not give money for some public cause or private enter- prise. Taxation, Prices, Cost of Livincf. This discussion of our trade and industry would be incomplete without some reference to the matter 94 MADISON OUR HOME of taxation. It is not a very exciting subject for young folks but it is a very vital thing for all wlio desire to understand conditions in our city. Taxes on prop- erty determines the rent. Taxes and rent are the most important factors in fixing the price at which goods can be sold. Some people claim that Madison's property tax is too high. Otliers sa}^ that it is no higher than in other cities of the same size in the state, such as La Crosse and Racine. Be that as it may, the amount of taxes on a building used for pur- poses of business determines the amount of rent that must be paid. Now the tax money raised in the city of Madison is determined by these three things: 1. How much the city needs to carry on its work and pay interest on its debts. 2. How mucli the city must pay to Dane County. 3. How much the city must pay to the state. These figures are written on page 61. All three factors are constanth- groAving larger, not only larger actually but larger relatively to the growth in i)opulation. Madison's share of the state tax is determined by the amount of state expenses, and this is beyond the control of Madison people. If state expenses vrere lower the city's share would be less. When state expenses increase, its share is more. Madison can influence this only througii lier repre- sentatives in the Legislature. City taxes proper, that is money to pay city expen- ditures depend on : 1. How much money is needed to carry on the actual business of the city. 2. How mucli must be paid upon the city debt. MADISON OUR HOME 05 For many years both these amounts have been in- creasing. The city has been doing more and more new work, employing more people, paying more in salaries. It could not raise enough money for all this and has borroAved. It has borroAved more and more; the debt is gTOAving greater and greater; the annual interest charge gets larger and larger ; it now amounts to nearly |100,000. Here is one of the most fundamen- tal questions in our city's life. It is common practice of most American cities to run into debt for such improvements as schools, sewerage, and Avater, and new streets. These debts Avith the yearly interest make it necessary to increase tlie taxes laid on all business property and all other property. This is the case with Madison. The present A^aluation of all property here is |52,000,000. By the laAV Ave can borroAV up to one-twentieth of this sum or |2,600,000. Madison's debt is at present almost |2,000,000.00. Many citizens regard the financial condition of the city as serious. Belief from high taxes, high rents, and prices might come from an increase in our popu- lation. The more there are to help pay the taxes the less Avill be the share of each one. But more people Avill mean a larger city budget, an extension of streets, servers, water; that is, it will mean more borroAving of money and an increasing debt. One might almost issue a challenge to any citizen of Madi- son to point out any AA^ay in Avhich the taxes paid by the people may be reduced. And the city might Avell offer a roAvard to the man Avho can sIioav Iioav the city's debt is ever to be paid off, or cA^en how it is ever to be made loAver. And this rcAvard should be doubled 9G MADISON OUR HOME if the deviser of the promising scheme can persuade the people to accept it. These are the facts and the conditions under which Madison's business men are living, and which prevent them from selling their goods at loAver prices. All those people who send their money out of the city instead of patronizing our oavu merchants are making it that much Imrder for them to live and face conditions for which not they but all of us are resj)on- sible. Testimony of Certain Dealers. One said, "I have been in trade for 30 years in the same building. My rent has been raised three times in the last fifteen years." Another said, ^'My rent has just been increased one-sixth because the taxes on this building have been increased." Another, ^'I will order any article that is listed in a mail order catalog and sell it for the same price." Another, 'This firm could sell goods at ten per cent less than it now asks if people would pay cash." Another, ''About three-fourths of all my sales have to be charged upon the books; only about one-fourth is for cash." Another, "We exchange goods bought here and replace unsatisfactory or damaged goods." The Trades Unions. Labor Unions are an important element in the industrial life of our city. Workmen employed in the same kind of labor have formed associations for tlieir mutual benefit. They endeavor to secure the :madij-'on our home 97 best wa^cs for tlieir iiieinliers, to imprDve the condi- tions and to sliorten the hours of hibur. An injured workman may receive help from the funds of his Union and in tlie event of his death his Union will meet the expenses of liis burial. Madison lias thirty-five of these labor unions, some of the largest and most successful are the Barbers, Carpenters, Cigar Makers, Electric Railway Em- ployees, Electrical Workers, Federation of Labor, Hod Carriers, 3Ioulders, Macliinists, Masons and Bricklayers, Painters and Decorators, Ilailway Engi- neers, Eailway Firemen, Raihvay Trainmen, Steam- fitters, Teamsters, TypogTaphers. Transportation. Facilities for moving merchandise and people within the city, and between the city and the outside world. The demand for easy and rapid transportation grows greater each year. People who use modern rapid transit are no longer content with the older and and slower arrangements. Railroads — Madison is connected with the outside world by means of three trunk lines in seven divi- sions: a. The C. & N. W. — main line from Chicago to Minneapolis. b. The C. & N. W. — Lancaster to Madison divi- sion. c. The C. & N. W. — Milwaukee to Madison divi- sion. 98 MADIl-ON OUR HOME MADISON OUR HOME 99 d. The C. M. & St. P.— main line from Chicago to St. Paul. e. The C. M. & St. P. — Milwaukee to Prairie du Chien division. f. The C. M. & St. P. — Portage to Madison divi- sion. g. The Illinois Central — Freeport to Madison division. The number of freight trains per day : Into Madi- son, 23 ; out of Madison, 21. Number of passenger trains per day : Into Madi- son, 30 ; out of Madison, 31. It has been estimated that the revenue to the Kailroads on freight received in Madison amounted to 11,000,000 for 1915, and that passenger earnings were $800,000 for the same year. Water Transportation. Regular boat lines run on the lakes during the open season (June 15 to Sept. 15). On Lake Mendota two lines : a. The Bernard Boat Co. Launches leave piers at No. 623 E. Gorham Street and the Univer- sity, touching at Black Hawk, Indianola, Mendota Hospital, and Maple Bluff. b. The City Boat Co. Launches leave piers at foot of N. Franklin Street, N. Carroll Street, and University, touching at Black Hawk, Mer- rill Springs, Mendota Beach, Westpoint and Morris Park. 100 MADISON OUR HOME The usual fare for the ride around the lake is twenty-five cents. The distance as the boats run is about fifteen miles . On Lake Monona two lines : a. Wirka's Boat Line. Launches leave foot of S. Hancock Street for points on south sliore and through the Yahara River to Lake Wau- besa. b. Askew Boat Co. Launches leave foot of S. Carroll Street for Monona Park, Esther Beach, Hoboken Heights. Round trip fares on Lake Monona are twenty cents. Thousands of iDeople employ tliese boats in the summer for riding to and from the cottages, and to bring supplies. A regular mail service is kept up on the lakes through the summer season. Street Car Lines. Fifteen miles of street car lines connect the center of the city Avith the extremeties and with some of tlie territory beyond the city limits. East from the Square : To Fair Oaks via Williamson Street and Sixth ward. To Gisholt Shops via E. Johnson Street. West from the Square : To St. P. R. R. depot via W. Main Street. To South Madison via State and Mills Streets. To Breese Terrace, WingTa Park and Ceme- teries via State Street and University Avenue. MADISON OUR HOME 101 Cars run every ten minutes on all main lines, and every five minutes in the central district. Bus Lines. At the Capitol Square busses take passengers to Middleton and points along the route, "The Madison- Middleton Line." To College Hills and Mendota Beach, "The College Hills Line." To Lakewood and intervening points, "The Lake- wood Line." To Wingra Park, Wingra Addition and Nakoma, "The Nakoma Line." Besides these there are public liack and auto liv- eries, carrying passengers to the railroad depots and about the city as needed. Freight is transported by the mam^ truck teams and package deliveries. 7. Education. Madison is justly celebrated for its many excel- lent educational institutions. As early as 1838 a school was opened in one end of a log house and from that day to the present Madison people have cheer- fully assessed themselves for the support of schools. Two kinds of schools in the city : Public Schools — ^Private Schools. The public school system is supported by general taxation. Children between the age of seven and four- teen are obliged by law to attend school. This system comprises: a. The city schools. b. Vocational schools. 102 MADISON OUR HOME c. Continuation schools. d. Evening schools. e. Deaf and dumb schools. City schools — twelve schools of the grammar grades and the High School (See names and locations on page 75). In the grammar schools there are 3,900 pupils and in the High School, 1,100 pupils; total, 5,000. There are GO teachers in the High School and 128 in the gi^ades. Total expense for 1915, $237,- 691. Vocational, continuation, and evening schools do a valuable work in giving pupils a chance to study practical things which will help them to find employ- ment. To others the chance is given to remain in school part of the day, wliile the rest of the day the pupil is at work. And for others there are the eve- ning classes in the High School, Harvey School and Longfellow School. These schools are not under the management of the City Board of Education but of the Indus- trial Education Board. Some of the work is carried on in rooms on the third floor at No. 11 S. Pinckney Street; the evening schools are also under the con- trol of tlie same board. In the year 1915 there were 1,428 pupils enrolled in these vocational courses, and thirty-one teachers. Cost to the city, |12,000 ; cost to state, |G,000. All the advantages of the University of Wiscon- sin lie at the door of Madison's citizens of all ages. No tuition is required from Wisconsin people. For courses, see page 164. MADISON OUR HOME 103 Private Schools in ]\Iadmjii. Five parochial schools ( see pages 70-81 ) attended by 1,172 pupils in 1915. These prepare for High School and University in the same way as the city grammar scliools; hut in addition provide a system of religious instruction which our Catholic citizens regard as of the highest importance. The Sacred Heart Academy (Edgewood Villa), a school for young women is con- ducted by the Dominican Sisters. To these church schools are to be added one commercial school, three music schools, a school of shorthand, school of teleg- raphy, dancing schools, select school for children, cor- respondence school. Total in attendance at these private and parochial schools, 2,000. XoUnvorthy Data on Madison Schools. Value of sites — tAvelve public schools $183,900 Value of buildings, tAvelve public scliools. . . . 612,028 Value of equipment, twelve public schools. . 16,901 Total f812,382 Number of children of school age in city ... .7,868 Number enrolled in public schools 5,081 Number enrolled in parochial and private schols. 1,900 Number enrolled in continuation schools 1,085 Number enrolled in summer vacation schools. . 215 Number enrolled in University High School. . . . 252 Total enrolled 7,221 Thus only 611 out of a total of 7,868 children and youths of school age (from four to twenty years) 104 MADISON OUR HOME L. _- MADISON OUR HOME 105 are not enrolled in our schools. This is a remarkable showing and is surpassed by very few cities in tlie United States. Number of persons engaged in the work of educa- tion here; pupils, teachers and administrators: In the city schools, public and private 7,421 In the University of Wisconsin 7,500 Giving a grand total of 15,000; a number nearly equal to the entire population of the city in 1895, and amounts to forty-two per cent of its entire population today. Other Education Agencies in the City. Besides the institutions given there are otlier means of a general educational nature. Libraries. Eight large and important libraries offer rare ad- vantages to readers and students of books. The city Free Library was the gift of Mr. AndrcAV Carnegie at a cost of |75,000. The building stands on N. Carroll Street; rooms on the second floor are occupied by the University Library School. The cit}^ library system consists of the main li- brary, the High School library, the sixth ward brancli, and the school collections — a total of 36,000 volumes. The seven other libraries are : University. State Historical. Wis. Academy of Arts, Letters and Science. Agricultural. Law School. lOG MADISON OUR HOME State Law Library. Legislative Reference. The aggregate of these eight collections is about 533,000 bound volumes and 248,000 pamphlets; all of which are open and (Avith certain restrictions) accessible to the public. Estimating the population at 40,000, this gives fifteen bound volumes and eight pamphlets to ever}^ man, woman, and child. It may not be true that Madison babies draw books from these libraries; but it seems that every one else must do so. There are more than eighteen thousand reg- istered borrow^ers of books from the city Free Library system (exact number, 18,341) ; and the total circu- lation of books has reached the enormous number of 193,000. In Art. The art collection in the State Historical Library comprising bronze and marble busts of not- able Wisconsin citizens by Trentanove of Italy, and portraits in oil, many of which are by the late James R. Stuart of this city; two large historical paintings by Demming and a battle piece by the Russian, Ver- estchargin; the Jastrow collection, 200 specimens of metal, china, and w^oodware illustrating the handi- crafts of Europe and tlie Orient; reproductions of Greek art; American and foreign coins, medals and medallions; fifty original impressions of etchings by Giovanni Pareneschi of ruins in Rome and Tivoli; and the Arundell reproductions of antique European frescoes and works by old masters. Tlie Art Work in the Capitol. Pediment sculp- tures by Adolpli Weinmann, A. Picarelli, and Karl Bitter; Kenyon Cox' mosaic figures in tlie rotunda; MADISON OUR HOME 10' oil paintings by Edward H. Blaslifleld, Hugo lUillin, Albert Herter, and Ken^'^on Cox. The Lincoln statute in front of Main Hall, by Adolpf Weinmann. '"Forward" a bronze female figure, on cai)itol grounds, by Jean P. Miner of Madison. Female with eagle, in granite in capitol rotunda, by Miss Mears. In Architecture. Public taste is ]3urified and ele- vated by such buildings as the Capitol, State Histori- cal Library, City Library, Unitarian Parish House, St. PauFs Chapel, Lathrop Hall, the Gisholt office, and many bungalows and residences which display a feeling for good architecture. In Landscape Architecture. The city parks laid 11'' •11, OFFICE GISHOLT MANUFACTURING CO. 108 MADISON OUll HOME out under direction of Mr. O. C. Simons of Chicaoo are training all people to appreciation of natural beauty. The quiet lagoon in Tenney Park where the waters mirror the overhanging shrubbery, the flower bordered walks in Rrittingham Park, the green ex- panse — like an English lawn — of Yilas Park, with the great trees and Wingra Lake, the lake sliore drives through gTOves and thickets of vines and flowering shrubs, past fields of clover or yelloAv grain; these views, accessible to everyone are common sources of inspiration not found in books. And this appeal to our sense of the beautiful is increased by tlie addition of the lovely and appealing views of the lakes, the streams, and meadows of our country side. (See page 52. ) In Music. Every form of music is taught in the University and in two large private music schools. The number of private teachers is large and increases year by year. A series of artists' recitals and open concerts by the glee clubs, the orcliestra and the bands at the University; the great choral union of several liundred voices; the Mozart club, the Maennerchor and church choirs and choruses, provide training for tlieir members and inspiration for the general public. The Chicago Symphony orchestra, the U. S. Marine Band, and renowned artists like Schumann-Heinck, Melba, Evan Williams, Ellnian and Kubelik are fre- quently heard here. 8. Recreation. What means does the city afford for amusement, for having some fun and a good time? The subject MADISON OUR HOME 109 falls iiit!) two divisious: indoor recreation and out- door recreation. Indoor Recreation. There are two forms — public indoor recreation and private indoor recreation. Indoor Recreations — Public. 1. Theatres. We have one opera house, one vau- deville theatre and tAvelve moving picture shows in ]Madison. Five of these ''movies" are down town and seven are community places located at some distance from the Capitol Square. All these places of amuse- ment and recreation are popular and well patronized. A recent survey of the city's means of recreation made under the auspices of the Board of Commerce shoAvs that tlie average attendance at the moving pic- ture places is 4,000 persons on each week day and 7,000 on Sundays; a weekly average of 31,000. This means that almost as many people as the entire pop- ulation of Madison attend the movies in a single week. It was found that the attendance of children was larger in the community places than in the doAvn town places and that the prices are as a rule loAver. Says the survey : ''The appeal of the moving picture is broad, it is patronized by all classes, it is a sub- stitute for less desirable things, offering recreation of a wholesome nature to men and boys in the eve- nings. Very often family groups attend and the children are under parental influence. Our moving- picture houses are to be congratulated on the number of educational and inspirational features exhibited. Yet an analysis made of 110 film stories showed some objectionable and a few decidedly bad features. 110 MADIf'ON OLlt HOME Scenes laid in saloons or wliicli show murder, drink- ing, brawling, and vulgar flirtation are sometimes shown here. Whether good or bad pictures are pre- sented is largel}^ determined by whether good or bad are demanded by tlie public. The public must see to it that the best are supported." Of the theatres the same report says : ''Good dra- ma and music is Avell attended ; an audience of 1,800 persons is not unknoAvn. Madison can congratulate itself on the support given to the best of each. No improper performances are tolerated in this city. The mayor in person, supported by public sentiment sees to it that objectionable features are eliminated where possible. Madison is fortunate in having one vaude- ville house and in having a large vaudeville attend- ance. These conditions make possible a higli class of performance. The weekly attendance is estimated at 10,000. Occasionally in spite of care on the part of the management certain objectionable features are seen in Madison vaudeville. And we believe that the best people in the city who love to attend the vaude- ville now and then will corroborate this remark of the survey. It would be a gain to have a more rigid censorship and elimination of all shady and too vul- gar acts. 2. Dance Halls. One public dancing academy and several public dance halls. 4. Pool and billiards, fifteen. 5. Bowling alleys, four. 6. Gymnasium. There is no wliolly public gym- nasium in Madison, but the gvm in the High School MADISON OUR HOME 111 and those in Longfellow and Randall Schools nmj be called semi-public as their use is not confined to those connected with the schools. 7. Concerts, lectures, and entertainments. Hun- dreds of these are given each season by churches, lodges, clubs, and the University. Many are free and practically all are open to everybody. When fees are asked they are generally small, from ten to tAventy- five cents. When artists of note visit the city the price of admission is, of course, higher; but we are glad to pay for this privilege. Indoor Recreations — Private. There are nearly two hundred private philan- thropic, social, and religious organizations here offer- ing recreational features. These privileges are lim- ited to the members, their families and friends. The following are some of the representative organiza- tions of this kind. Gisholt Club offers recreation to employees of the Gisholt Machine Co. ; membership, 450. Madison Turnverein, 150 members — employs a paid gymnasium director. Madison and University Clubs, membership com- bined, 747; composed of business and professional men. Olympic Club, 82 members. Churches — twenty-three societies with total mem- bership of 15,454, reported to the Recreation Survey that they had held 1,398 social activities of all kinds during the year. Eighteen churches had basket ball teams ; six, base ball teams ; and two, bowling teams. 112 MADISON OUR HOME Fraternal and Insurance Societies. Madison is the home of forty-six organizations of this character, (examples, Masons, Odd Fellows, Foresters, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Knights of Wisconsin). They report a total member- ship of 8,611, and held 677 social activities of all kinds during the year. Labor Unions : Of the thirty-five unions in the city nineteen reported a total membership of 1,586, of whom 1,352 attended social functions given by the unions in the course of the year. Patriotic, Musical and Literary Societies: (exam- ples. National Guard, Gudrid Reading Circle, Choral Union, Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Wo- man's Clubs, etc.) Thirty-three of these organiza- tions in Madison report a total membership of 2,612, Avitli 434 entertainments for the year. Organizations purely philanthropic. The folloAV- ing seven, Bnia Brith, King David Chapter, Consum- ers' League, Humane Society, Hospital Association, Volunteers of America, City Y. W. C. A., and Queen Estlier Circle having a combined membership of 5,773, report fifty-one social activities of various kinds for the year. The recreation offered by the large number of so- cieties in the above list consists of all the popular forms, such as dancing, card parties, socials, concerts, suppers, smokers, literary programs. Several have gymnasiums and billiard tables. One has a shooting gallery, one a bowling alley, and one a moving pic- ture outfit. MADISON OUR HOME 113 Outdoor' RecreaV'ion — Pu h lie. Pratically all forms of outdoor recreation in Mad- ison are public. 1. Parks. Nineteen parks and park areas con- taining over twelve hundred acres and having a total lake frontage of ten miles are open to our people, see list, page 36). 2. Playgrounds. The Burr Jones Field, near City Market, and the Olive Jones Field at the Randall School, tenth ward. Play spaces are also provided in Tenney, Brittingham and Vilas Parks. 3. Pleasure Drives. Thirty-three miles connect- ing the parks and winding through the suburbs, along the lake shores and out into the country side. 4. School Grounds. Twelve. Play leaders are provided for several of these during vacations. 5. Bath Houses. Two, one at Brittingham Park and one at Tenney Park, and a swimming instructor is on duty at the latter park during the bathing sea- son. 6. Boat Houses and Boats. There are the follow- ing public boat houses in Madison : On Lake Monona — 1. Brittingham Park. 2. End of S. Blair Street. 3. End of S. Hancock Street. On Lake Mendota — 4. At No. 623 E. Gorham Street— Bernard's. 5. End of N. Franklin Street— City Boat Co. 6. End of N. Carroll Street-^City Boat Co. 7. University. 114 MADISON OUR HOME MADISON OUR HOME 115 7. Regular Launch Lines. Two on Lake Men- dota and two on Lake Monona. ( See page 99. ) ]v^ote. — The Weather Bureau shows flags to indi- cate wind or storm. There is a life saving launch on Lake Mendota. City regulations are that there must be inspection of boats, life preservers, and lights. Sail boats have the right of Avay. 8. Ice Boating. This is a highly popular sport. Any pleasant day in winter scores of ice boats may be seen skimming along with the swiftness and grace of swallows. Madison designed ice boats are the fastest in this part of the world, winning in 1914 seven cups at Lake Winnebago regatta; and the |500 Hearst cup at Gull Lake, Michigan. The Northwestern Ice Yachting regatta was held in Madison in 1915. 9. Skating. Thousands of Madisonians and oth- ers enjoy this invigorating sport. 10. Fishing. Though not certain as in former years fishing is a recreation for hundreds of our peo- ple. Pickerel are caught up to twenty pounds in weight; black, yellow and white bass are fairly plen- tiful; and when these will not bite the fishermen can always fill their baskets with the humble perch. Fishing tackle can be hired at the various boat liv- eries. The Madison Gun Club has undertaken to stock the lakes. 11. Tennis Courts. Four in Tenney Park and four in Brittingham Park. 12. Baseball Diamonds. Two in Tenney Park, one in Brittingham Park and one in Henry Vilas Park; the city baseball park, E. Washington Avenue. 116 MADISON OUR HOME 13. Football Fields. One in Brittingliam Park used by the High School teams. 14. Camping. Hundred of camps and cottages have been built along the lake shores ; many of these are let by their owners in the summer. Camping out in tents is popular with many people. Permission to erect tents should be secured from the land owners. 15. Winter Coasting. Tlie rights of the young people to this exhilarating sport are safeguarded by the city which permits certain streets to be used and where policemen are placed to prevent accidents. 16. Toboggan slide on Observatory hill. . 17. School Gardens. These gardens provide in- struction and healthful work as well as recreation. In 1914, one hundred and sixty-five school cliildren had gardens. Prepared land, seeds, and expert direc- tion w^ere provided by the City Garden Association. Application blanks are given out in the schools. In 1915 the School Board gave 1638.00 for this work. Out-door Recreation — Private. As before stated most of the means for outdoor recreation in our city are of a public nature. A few are to be classed as private. 1. Boats owned by individuals such as canoes, launches, sail and ice boats. 2. Bicylcles and motorcycles. 3. Automobiles. There are probably 750 of these owned in Madison, all used more or less for enjoying "God's great out-of-doors." 2,500 people per day tlirough the season of pleasant weather ride for rec- reation in autos about Madison. In the abave summary of recreation no account is MADISON OUR HOME 117 r L_ 118 MADISON OUR HOME made of the numerous facilities afforded by the Univer- sity. Yet as so many Madison people are connected in one way or another with the University and have the privileges of its means of recreation, these must be included in the sum total of our recreational life. The great gymnasium, the natatorium, tlie foot ball and base ball fields, tennis courts, the toboggan slide as Avell as the social amenities and pleasures of the clubs, sororities and fraternities are all enjoyed by Madison students and others who are entitled to them. THE TANK — LATHROP HALL UNIVERSITY NAIADS Remarks upon the recreational situation in Madi- son. Suggestions made by the Recreational Survey. Public recreation in Madison would be greatly improved b}^, — — opening a new park at the foot of N. Hamil- ton Street on Lake Mendota ; parking the shore of Lake Monona behind ^'machinery row''; and securing land for a park near Nelson's Corners (intersection of E. Washington Avenue, North, Winnebago and Milwaukee Streets). — providing a public golf course; a public gymna- sium and natatorium for use in winter; and more public places for foot ball, base ball, and tennis. MADISON OUR HOME 119 — placing an instructor in each public boat house to teach siwmming and how to use canoes and small boats. — having more open air concerts in the parks. — more extended use of the scliool grounds for summer play under paid director. — enlarging, graveling and grading school grounds. — more careful safeguarding of children while at play. — equipping more of the city schools with means of recreation; and opening them to the 2,000 young people in the city who do not attend school. — opening all public schools for evening use and employing a competent person to organize and supervise evening activities. — building more wharves and platforms and plac- ing anchors and buoys for use of small boats. — erecting three more bath houses — one at north end of Franklin Street, one in Henry Vilas Park, and one near the University. — increasing the means for preventing accidents on the lakes and the more prompt rescue of of those whose lives are imperiled. — opening ice fields for skating in the parks and other level places. — introducing the winter sport of ^^curling" and erecting a public toboggan slide. 9. Religious and Moral Forces. In every city inhabited by men there are certain societies and institutions devoted wholly or in part 120 MADISON OUR HOME to moral training and religious instruction. They aim to teach men their duties toAvard themselves, their neighbors, their city, their country, and their God; and to inspire them with that good will which makes them want to fulfill these duties. Such societies and institutions we call moral and religious forces. The list Ave give, though a long one, is not complete, for there are many others in INIadison. Homes. There are six thousand homes in Madi- son. The home is the greatest factor in the upbring- ing of children. With a good father and mother the child grows up to shun evil ways and bad habits and to love ^'whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsover things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, and of good report.'' Parents are proud of their children. They are their dearest possessions and for them the father toils at his daily task and the mother, whose work is never done, gives of her love without limit. Nothing so pleases and gratifies parents as to see their own sons and daughters growing up clean, strong, honorable, reliable, and winsome. This rewards them for all the money they have spent and all the sacrifices they have made for their little ones. And we may be sure that in our thousands of homes children are being taught the abiding truths and principles of manly living. Their feet are led into that path which leads to a ^^life of a large usefulness crowned with an hon- orable name." The Church. If the home is the primary moral and religious force in the city, the church holds the place next to it. MADISON OUR HOME 121 i List of Churches. ; First Baptist. Holy Redeemer, Catholic. St. Bernard, Catholic. St. James, Catholic. ; St. Patrick, Catholic. ; St. Raphael, Catholic. St. Paul's, University Chapel, Catholic. i First Congregational. Pilgrim Congregational. Plymouth Congregational. Grace Episcopal. j St. Andrew's Episcopal. j Synagogue, Jewish. j Immanuel, Lutheran. Bethel, Norwegian Lutheran. j Bethel Chapel, Lutheran. | English, University Chapel, Lutheran. 1 Zion, German, Lutheran. \ Our Savior's, Lutheran. ! St. John's, Lutheran. ' Swedish Lutheran. Trinity, Lutheran. j Evangelical Association. | African, Methodist. First Methodist. ; Trousdale Methodist. I People's Church, South Madison. | University Methodist. j Christ Church, Presbyterian. St. Paul's Presbyterian. Westminster Chapel, Presbyterian. 122 MADISON OUR HOME First Church of Christ, Christian Science. Seventh Day Adventist. First Unitarian. St. Joseph, Italian, Catholic. The churches of these eight denominations, while they differ on some matters of credal belief and church polity are all at one in their efforts to train people in the way of right living. No city could pros- per if it were made up of bad people. Every city prospers in spite of bad people by the lives and actions of the good people. The enterprise, honesty, right- eousness, kindliness and purity of its citizens meas- ures the real prosperity of any city. These funda- mental moral qualities are developed and strength- ened by the churches in our city. The primary work of the home is followed up and reinforced by the Sun- day School and church. It is wrong to take the prop- erty of others without their knowledge; it is wrong to tell lies ; AA^rong to be unclean in mind or in body ; wrong to treat other people unkindly; wrong to be lazy, selfish, complaining ; wrong to use bad language and to curse. Sunday schools and churches teach these essential things. They teach them as a part of religion which is one of the greatest, and for very many men and wo- men, the greatest power in human life. A life free from sin and evil: a life well pleasing to God — such a life the church declares to be the only happy and satisfactory life. By means of Bible reading and study, by hymns, prayers and masses, and by sermons the church seeks to make such a life attractive and compelling. MADISON OUR HOME 123 ScJiool life trains children in the right way and instructs them in many practical duties. Children should be prompt: they should come to school with clean hands, faces and clothes: they should be quiet and attentive, studious, kind and honorable in dealing with school mates. They should feel pride in the school building and school grounds and help to keep them clean and attractive. They should use the school books, maps, etc., the gym or the playgrounds as though these things belonged to them. Day by day through the long school year the teachers drill and train their pupils to these habits. And we ought all of us to feel how much we owe to them — these faith- ful, hard working teachers — in the right training of our future citizens. Fraternal Orders and Lodges. There are forty-six lodges in our city, and they have 8,614 members. In some membership is limited to men over 21 years of age. Others are composed of women only; still others take in both men and wo- men. (Few admit men under 21 or women under 18.) Most are therefore confined to adults. Their moral instruction and religious training supplements in part work of schools, churches and homes. We have spoken before of the social and recreational features of the fraternal societies. (See page 112.) Many of them provide insurance against accident and sick- ness. The great purpose of them all is fraternity. With this idea as a foundation, groups of men or wo- men are gathered together into one place, in a lodge or hall. They have a ceremony and ritual with badges. 124 MADISON OUR HOME collars, and costumes for the officers. In this ritual and in the instructions given in the several degrees stress is laid upon the duties pertaining to brother- hood and sisterhood. In this way a high, fine spirit is evoked, which is an essential part of all true reli- gion. So it comes to pass that through this spirit of brotherly and sisterly good will these thousands of lodge members are helped to become better men and women, better fathers and mothers, better citizens of the community. They have a real place and a large one among the moral and religious forces of our city. The Young Woman's Christian Association carries on a varied work among the girls and young women of the city. It owns valuable property on State Street, running through to N. Carroll Street. Oppor- tunities are offered for improvement along four lines : physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual. Classes in cooking, music, dressmaking, basketry, and many other lines are open. The Association owns a country home two miles west of the city ; the property consist- ing of an eleven room house and four acres of land, affords room and means for summer outings. As tliis book goes to press the sum of |156,000 has just been pledged by Madison citizens for the erection of a Y. M. C. A. The Associated Charities has headquarters at No. 10 S. Webster Street in rooms furnished by the city. Almost every church and philanthropic organization in the city helps maintain the Associated Charities, which is a central bureau and clearing house for them all. A great many people, such as tramps and beg- gars are unworthy of the money for which they so- MADISON OUR HOME 125 licit; they are professional paupers, and all persons to whom they apply should refer them to the Asso- ciated Charities. Besides the help provided by the County Commissioner of the Poor to destitute fami- lies in Madison, the Charities gives further care ; such as delicacies for the sick, hospital treatment, friendly visits, and when justifiable, money is given. To give cheer and comfort is the essential thing about such work. In one of its rooms the Charities has opened a Day Nursery where Avorking mothers may leave their children to be cared for. A successful sewing class of nearly one hundred girls, conducted by ladies of the Charities, meets in the city library. A dental clinic for free examination and treatment of children is located in the Steensland block, Mifflin Street. Madison dentists generously give their time to this work, whose beginning, equipment and management, are to be credited to the Associated Charities. Woman's Club. Owns its own building at No. 232 W. Oilman Stret. A varied and important work is carried on, covering such fields as education, history, home economics, literature, music and social service. With a membership of five hundred, the club has a large influence and has initiated several reforms in the city. Catholic Woman's Club. Has 517 members, en- gaged in religious, educational and civic work for the benefit of the community. Attic Angels, an association of young women ; its principal work is the providing of a visiting nurse for the care of the sick among the poor. 12G MADISON OUR HOME JuYenile Court. This court was instituted in 1913. When boys or girls are arrested they are not brought into the common criminal court, but into this ^^juvenile court." The aim is to do all that is possible to prevent them from becoming habitual offenders. They do not come into contact with older criminals in the jail; they are put on probation (that is, given another chance), or paroled (that is, allowed to go upon their own promise of good conduct) ; but they must report themselves to the ^Trobation officer". The Humane Society whose motto is "Be kind to dumb creatures." Business and Industry. Success in business re- quires the best qualities in any man ; it demands that men shall be obliging, courteous, reliable and honest. The business men of Madison have won and hold an excellent reputation, and they are always looking for boys of good character and promise. The University is one of the great forces making for righteousness. The many scholarly christian men and women upon its faculty are constantly stimulat- ing and enkindling the minds of youth and "shaping their lives to finer issues." In civic affairs these same faculty members have co-operated in efforts for the moral improvement of Madison. 10. Civic Purposes and Ideals. Recall how the city looks from the Capitol dome. A compact region of buildings, houses, streets, and parks, all forming a single community — ^your city of Madison. You must have received a new impression : you saw as you probably never did before how all the MADISON OUR HOME 127 different parts and elements are bound and held to- gether into a civic whole. As we look down upon the city and see it in its unity, we ask '4ias the city a single mind, — a community mind?" That is ^'are there thoughts, beliefs, purposes, which all the people share?" If there are then we say Madison has a com- munity mind. Let the children think of their own school. Every one in your school agTees to certain things and is willing to help do them. All— pupils and teachers together — unite to keep good order in the building and on the play ground; to respond quickly to the fire drill. This is the school purpose, its common mind. And just so in the city. It is larger than the school; it has many more people but they all want certain things and try to get them done. What are some of these things? 1. Safety for life and property. 2. Health. 3. Law and order. 4. Transportation. 5. Business success and growth. 6. Cleanliness and beauty. 7. A larger and better city. 8. Education and training for life. THE COMMUNITY MIND. 1. Life and Property Shall Be Safe. When a school boy sees some little fellow threat- ened by a dog it is natural for him to seize a stone or stick and drive the barking creature away. This is an assertion of the school boy's citizenship ; he is help- 128 MADISON OUR HOME ing make the streets and sidewalks safe for the smaller children. We may say that the community speaks in this school boy's act. Just so it is with all the people in Madison, — with a few exceptions. All the men and women, working men, merchants, bank- ers, lawyers, professors, priests, and ministers have the same purpose to make life and property safe. If this were not so people would not come here to live, to enter business, build homes, and educate their children. People move away from an unsafe town. Criminals imperil the safety of a town. They do harm to people; they injure or steal their property. A criminal cannot be a true citizen, for a citizen is one who shares the common purpose to make and keep a city safe. Provisions for Safety of Life and Property, State laws and the ordinances passed by the city council are largely made for the purpose of protect- ing life and property. State laws are enforced by the District Attorney. City ordinances are enforced by the mayor, the police, the firemen, health officer and building commissioner. These laws forbid people to injure one another; they forbid fighting, duelling, drunkenness, kidnapping. They forbid the erection of inflammable buildings; of unsafe or unhealthy houses ; of any but fire proof structures in the central parts of the city. They forbid breaking into houses or other buildings; setting fire to them or injuring them in any way ; and the taking of another's goods or possessions by fraud or theft. They forbid fast driving in the streets, carrying fire arms, and use of explosives. MADISON OUR HOME 129 When anybody does any of these prohibited things he is punished by a fine of money or by imprisonment. The punishment of a man for law breaking means really this: it is the community turning upon the man who has hurt it. The city says to a criminal: "You shall not be permitted to harm us all by making life, or property unsafe. If you are not punished others will be emboldened to follow your example. Therefore you shall be punished.'' The criminal thus rouses the entire community against himself; a foolish thing to do. But lawbreak- ers are always fools. We have a good example of the determination on the part of our people to make life and property safe in the Fourth of July celebrations of the past few years. Ordinances were passed forbidding the sale or use of large fire crackers and dangerous kinds of fire works. A voluntary committee of citizens has organ- ized and carried out each year a fine program of a popular and patriotic nature in Avhich many elements of Madisons life have taken part. As a result the number of fires has been reduced and we have no more deaths or dreadful accidents. 2. The City Shall Be Healthful. This is the second common purpose in the com- munity mind. Life is not only to be protected from robbers, incendiaries, and auto speeders; it is also to be protected from disease. A city full of sick folks and invalids would not be a very attractive place. Provisions for healthf ulness : 130 MADISON OUR HOME a. Pure and Sufficient Water Supply. Water constitutes a large part of all that we eat and drink ks well as of our blood, our tissues and bodily parts. Without good water no city can be healthy. Many diseases^ — especially typhoid fever — come from drinking impure water. Our city water is draAvn from artesian wells which tap the water of a subterranean lake lying beneath the limestone for- mation on which the city stands. The water system is being enlarged and improved at a cost of $270,000. When completed it will have a capacity of 9,000,000 gallons per day, enough for a population of 50,000. b. Food Must Be Pure and Wholesome. Impure and decayed meats, fish, fruits, bad mill^, canned goods, and candies, cause sickness. The laws of Wisconsin are strict upon this subject. Various agencies in our city co-operate with the officers of the law in keeping those elemental necessities, water and food wholesome. Our physicians report all cases of diseased or spoilt foods offered for sale; and the Woman's Club with a membership of 500 has been vigilant and active in this matter. c. Control of Epidemics. Whenever measles or small pox break out any- where in the city the cases are at once quarantined at home or in the contagious hospital. The homes are disinfected and each case is watched and controlled by a physician till all danger is passed. Disease germs often infect used clothing. When churches and other societies sell second hand clothes MADISON OUR HOME 131 at "rummage sales", all articles are disinfected by an officer from the Board of Health. d. Prevention of SicJcness. Important as it is to control disease it is much more important and more wise to prevent it. This is done by studying the causes of disease. One learns that flies carry disease ; so our city orders all garbage covered in air tight cans or boxes. Mosquitos carry disease. The tiny '^pests" spread one of the most fatal of all diseases — the yellow fever. So our health offi- cer and our doctors urge us to fill up wet, marshy places ; to remove buckets, tin cans and anything where rain water may collect as breeding j)laces for mosquitoes. We hardly need urging to put screens upon our doors and windows, and a little kerosene in a Avater hole will kill the mosquitoes breeding in it. While no law compels us to do so, all the people living in tliis city are fast learning to follow the advice of physicians; to protect and preserve their teeth, eyes, ears, and throats; to have diseased adenoids, tonsils and other parts treated or removed by the surgeon; to eat more rationally and take proper exercise ; and to use the hospitals with their facilities and equip- ments all directed to the saving of people's lives and health. e. Medical Inspection in the Schools. This work is under the direction of a trained phy- sician and school nurse. All cases of contagious dis- ease are removed from the school. The children's eyes are examined, also their noses, ears and throats. 132 MADISON OUR HOME Any child in need of treatment may be cared for without cost if the parents wish it so. Open air rooms are provided for weak and anaemic children, and a free dental clinic is maintained by the Associated Charities. 3. Law and Order. The people of Madison agree that the laws shall be enforced. No person, nor any grouj) or class of per- sons shall be a law unto themselves. Whether a man is rich or poor, a layman or a professional makes no difference. Suppose a man neglects to cut the Aveeds growing on his vacant lot. • Then these weeds will spread into the lawns and yards of the whole neighborhood. The city ordinances forbid this; the lot owner is warned by the street superintendent; if he does nothing the city sends men to cut the weeds and compels the owner to pay the cost. In tliis way the city makes known its purpose to enforce the laws and compels all men to obey them. We can see that this must be so ; there would be no law and no order if each man were al- lowed to do as he pleased. People sometimes become excited and gather in the streets; speeches are made to inflame them. This has happened during a political campaign. In Madi- son students have occasionally shown their indigna- tion, or merely vented their excitement by removing small buildings, carrying away ladders, gates or boxes and burning them. It is out of such things that the most serious riots grow; riots that cause the looting and destruction of houses, and the maiming — often MADISON OUR HOME 133 the killing — of human beings. No city will allow things contrary to the community purpose. Men are arrested for speeding their autos; for re- sisting an officer of the law in the performance of liis duty; for obstructing streets or sidewalks; for peddling goods without a license. These may seem rather trivial offenses, but are not really so. For if one person may do these things then all persons may do them. Law and order would then be at an end. It is well for us to think of this when we are tempted to do something contrary to the law. We do not want to bother about the weeds on a vacant lot or to clean the snow from the sidewalk or put the garbage in airtight cans. When snow is soft boys like to make snow balls and with them bombard passing teams and people. Boys and girls love to slide down the smooth, steep streets; an apple tree tempts with its ripening treas- ures; a flower bed with its bright tulips, asters, and roses. A neighbor has left his new rake or hoe out over night; and bicycles are often left by some care- less boy or girl to stand all night against the curbing. What would result if we all permitted ourselves to do these acts and to take these things? Burdock, dandelions, pig weed, and quack grass would mul- tiply and spread; lawns and gardens would become infestetd; and all who tried to have good gardens or lawns would be put to much trouble, labor, and cost. Snow left on the sidewalk would make walking difficult, and after a heavy storm quite im- passable; people would have to go in the streets, run- ning the danger of accidents from cars or vehicles. 134 MADISON OUR HOME Garbage tlirown out in the yard or carelessly buried, would cause vile stenches, swarms of flies, and an increase of sickness. If young people may claim the streets for coasting, traffic must cease on these streets, or else there will be many accidents. Promiscuous snow balling would frighten horses, anger pedestri- ans and often cause serious injury to their eyes and heads. Should boys take apples or flowers when they feel like it, they would later become criminals; very soon no one w^ould plant another fruit tree or make a flower garden. When things are stolen if left out overnight the neighborliood gets a bad reputation; people move out and others will not come in. If stealing should become general the entire city is tainted; it has a bad name. Suppose for a moment that such things were being done here in Madison. Suppose that everybody felt himself privileged to do these injurious things against the peace and good or- der of the place. Hundreds and hundreds of people have been coming here to enter business, to buy homes, and to educate their children. But they would come no more to a city with such a bad name. And when people cease coming to a city for such a reason, it means the decline and ruin of that city. Only a city of fools and lunatics would allow this to happen. Right minded and sensible people, such as dwell in Madison insist on the maintenance of law and order. 4. Quick and Easy Transportation. A fourth common purpose ; there shall be suitable means for transportation of goods and traffic of vehi- cles and passengers. In a city this corresponds to MADISON OUR HOME • 135 the circulation of the blood in the human body. Peo- ple need to get about and to pass freely to all parts of the city. Food and goods of every kind must be reg- ularly distributed. Provisions for transportation. These are given on page 99. In general summary — streets, sidewalks, street cars, motor vehicles and horse vehicles and bicycles. Rules are made by the city for all these. Foot pas- sengers must not fill up the streets but keep to the sidewalks. Street cars must run on a certain sched- ule and must stop at street crossings. Truck teams may not stand anywhere the owners please, but on the space provided at the east side of the city hall. Autos must approach and stop at curbings on their right; they may not remain longer than fifteen min- utes in the congested districts. In the central portion of the city they must be parked only on the four avenues, viz : Wisconsin Ave- nue, Monona Avenue, E. Washington Avenue and W. Washington Avenue. We have had some collisions and some deaths upon our streets. We must try, all of us must try, to pre- vent such accidents. We must learn the "rules of the road," and obey them with true public spirit. These are some things to be known and remembered by all who walk or drive in our streets. They are taken from the city traffic ordinances : "Moving vehicles shall keep to the right; in pass- ing other vehicles keep to the left, but do not pass at street intersections. When stopping, signal to those behind you. Speed limit, fifteen miles per hour ; in 136 MADISON OUR HOME passing sckool grounds, and in the parks and ceme- teries the limit is eight miles per hour. Tliese speed regulations do not apply to fire engines, police patrol, ambulances, and U. S. mail wagons. Vehicles upon electric car tracks shall turn out upon signal from the car. No one under sixteen years of age is permitted to drive a motor vehicle within city limits, unless accompanied by an adult. No intoxicated person is permitted to drive a motor vehicle. All such vehicles shall not back unless absolutely necessary. All such vehicles shall be equipped with horn or bell, to be sounded when backing or when crossing any sidewalk. Before crossing any sidewalk leading into an alley or building, motors are to come to a full stop. Motors not to be driven without mufflers or with mufflers open. All motors to have proper brakes. When horses are frightened motors are to stop. Motors not to pass street cars when taking on or discharging passengers. No vehicle shall stop with left side to the curb; none shall stop on sidewalks or within space of street intersections; none to be left within fifteen feet of a fire hydrant. Vehicles shall not be left unattended more than fifteen minutes on the west side of Carroll Street, the south side of Main Street, the east side of Pinckney Street, or the north side of Mifflin Street, where these streets border the Capitol park ; nor on either side of E. Main Street between Pinckney Street and S. Web- ster Street; nor on either side of State Street, between Carroll ajad Frances Streets. MADISON OUR HOME 137 Vehicles shall not stand unattended in front of buildings where signs have been posted forbidding them. Every motor to have suitable lights which shall be lighted during the period from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise. Lights not to be more than sixteen candle power. Heavy freight vehicles to have tires three inches wide. Police have control in congested traffic districts. Articles injurious to tires, such as glass, nails, or wire, shall not be thrown upon the streets. Kubbish, garbage, sand, ashes when drawn through streets shall be enclosed in well made boxes. 5. Eight Conditions for Carrying on Trade and Industry (or Business). Madison people are unanimous in their determi- nation that business shall have such helps and safe- guards as it needs. Anything that seriously inter- feres with business will not be allowed. Any person who should try to drive people out of business would not be tolerated. When a heavy fall of snow blocks the streets, the city puts men to work at once clearing the lines of traffic. Property owners must clear their own sidewalks. The cost of this Avork caused by a heavy snow fall often amounts to thousands of dol- lars, which is willingly paid that trade and transpor- tation may not stop. If a building burns and its walls fall into the street, the city causes the obstruc- tion to be taken away immediately as it would inter- fere with business. For the same reason if a man steals goods from a 138 MADISON OUR HOME merchant, or breaks his windows, or removes his sign, or sets fire to his store he would be arrested and pun- ished. Business is dependent on transportation. Great sums — hundreds of thousands of dollars — have been paid out for street improvement and extension. Roads and streets are laid out in the new sections even before any houses are built. 6. Cleanliness and Beauty. The purpose to have a clean and beautiful city is not as prominent and strong an element in the com- munity mind as the five other purposes we have just been mentioning. This is matter of good taste, of education and training in appreciation of beautiful things and beau- tiful places. From the first establishment of the city there have not been wanting some who were thus trained and appreciative. These people kept their yards in order; planted trees and shrubbery; made beds and gardens of flowers; and kept their houses, sheds and fences painted. They even cleaned the streets in front of their homes and protested when their neighbors threw ashes and rubbish in the gutter. But the greater number of Madison dAvellers were, in former years, not deeply concerned with such things. A city clean and beautiful was not then a part of the public concern; not a conspicuous part at least. Most people came here to get a foothold; to open a store, rent or build a house; and many came who had little or no property, seeking work to do. It was believed Madison would grow rapidly and become a MADISON OUR HOME 139 large cit}^ Perhaps people thought they could postpone beautifying the town till more came, when there would be more money for improvements. Meanwhile they had themselves to make a living in this new location. So they used to keep horses, cows, pigs, and poultry in the most central parts of the city. These animals were at home in Capitol park; the hens roosting and pigs sleeping in the base- ment of the State House. They had freedom of the streets, making things lively and interesting with their grunting and cackling. It was many years after the first settling of Madison that the plant- ing of shade trees was undertaken by the city. Little thought was given to the attractiveness of school grounds; sheds, cheap boat houses, and fishing shacks w^ere built upon the lake shore; and all manner of rubbish was thrown there. Several of the street ends opening upon the lakes, affording lovely vistas across the water, were carelessly allowed to be blocked up with buildings — the lake end of King Street is an example. Until the past few years the city's principal streets were rougher and poorer than the country roads. With a very few exceptions the older houses were built with little attention to beauty of lines or harmony of parts. At the present day all this is changed or is rapidly changing. Every one who remembers Madison as it was fifteen years ago is conscious of the gain in its general appearance and in the impressions made upon visitors. In the first years of this century tlie visitor coming from Chicago first saw our city across Monona bay — a most favorable impression. Approaching 140 MADISON OUR HOME nearer, lie looked out on a low wide marsh, covered with ^'cat tails,'' ashes, broken iron, and waste of every form, size and hue. (Where Brittingham park now is.). As his train slowed down for the station he saw a high bank lined with the backs of houses; with sheds, privies, and general rubbish filling the yards. Arriving in town he saw the old Capitol half ruined by the fire; rode over muddy, rough streets to a hotel which he might well call ^'the worst in the state." On Capitol square there was not a single modern business block; nor a single modern store front; nor an elevator in the whole city except in the State Capitol. These facts make plain the improvements of the last fifteen or even the last ten years. Civic taste has been developed ; civic pride aroused. Besides the new and beautiful public buildings, new business houses and modern store fronts, this increase of good taste is seen in the many miles of fine smooth streets, in the ornamental street lights, the improved architecture of dwellings, and the attention given to lawns and gardens. Among the agencies which have helped to bring about this sentiment favorable to civic beauty are: The University Faculty. The Capitol Building Commission. Park Association. Woman's Club. Art Association. Board of Commerce and City Council. There remains yet much to be accomplished. Good MADISON OUR HOME 141 taste is a plant of slow growth. It may, however, be truthfully claimed that civic beauty is now^ a clear and conscious purpose. 7. A Larger and Better City. How far is this a conscious civic purpose? A lar- ger city; this certainly has been the general idea. But more a hope than a conviction; a sort of vague trust rather than a resolute purpose. The city would grow as the trees do ; inevitably and by nature. True enough trees do grow by nature ; they grow much bet- ter when helped by the art and skill of man. So if a city groAvs, or means to grow in size, the citizens must co-operate. What causes the growth of a city? What brings people into it as settlers? Wliy, the very things we have been talking of; the common mind of the city. But first they would need to know something about the city; where it is situated, its surroundings, its people and institutions, its tax rate, death rate, amount of rainfall, water supply, its general reputa- tion; and what chances it offers for employment and trade. Agencies giving information about Madison. Her public institutions — notably the Capitol and the University. The newspapers and periodicals published here. Railroad folders, time tables, and circulars, giv- ing general information about all towns and cities on their several lines. Goods manufactured here and sold outside. 142 MADISON OUR HOME Six lumdred traveling men avIio live here, and who travel all over Wisconsin and the Mississippi valley states. Conventions, bringing visitors from all parts of the United States. The Board of Commerce through its folders, pamphlets, maps, and books giving information about all that goes on. Information more complete, reliable and convenient than from any other source. Through these agencies, for the first time in its life Madison is now being advertised to the world. This advertisement is not exaggerated and over-col- ored and boastful; but accurate and reliable. It is true that not much is said about the city's faults, and this is only natural. For when people are proud of their city and love it they do not tell its faults to strangers. We know, of course, that ours is not a perfect city. Bad people are to be found here; some of these are Madison people; some are only visitors and new- comers. These people who lack the spirit and pur- pose of true citizenship sometimes commit crimes. Newspapers sometimes write up tliese in the most startling and sensational ways. They print pictures of the place where the crime was done and of the person who did it. They denounce the police and the mayor; they scold and scream at the city as a Avhole as though it were guilty — and indifferent. These lurid stories go all over Wisconsin and all over the United States. They hurt the city by giving it a bad reputation before the world. We may ask ; what is the use of such newspaper exploitation of crime? What MADISON OUR HOME 143 good does it do? Who is helped by it or made better? Every good citizen regrets the commission of crime. But ours is not a criminal city. The court records show there is less crime here than in most cities of the same size in the country. These court records also show another important thing: that a large part, —indeed the larger part of the persons brought to trial are not Madison people at all but come from out- side. In view of these facts do we not agree that it is wrong to the city to print sensational stories of crimes and send them all over the land? There is no lack of good and true tilings to say about Madison. It holds out very solid advantages and offers rare and exceptional privileges to people who wish to come here and live. The faults of Madison are such as will be found in all cities to a greater or a lesser de- gree. Agencies are already at Avork here; movements are already on foot which will do away with these faults and make our beloved city more clean, healthy, beautiful and desirable. Let us remember and tell to each other and to all the world, that our city will not tolerate crimes or criminals ; that her educational advantages take rank with those of any other city on the American conti- nent; that all who come here admire her location and natural surroundings; that she has expended over 1300,000.00 for the development of 282 acres of parks and 30 miles of driveways ; that she is bonding herself for half a million dollars for sewerage and wa- ter enlargement; that she has eight libraries with more than 400,000 volumes and 250,000 pamphlets; that there are 1,100 pupils in her High School and 144 MADISON OUR HOME more than 7,000 in the University; her death rate is only 7 per thousand; that her physicians, lawyers, ministers and teachers are unsurpassed in training, in skill and efficiency by those of any other city ; that she has a Commercial Board of more than 1,000 men united in the common purpose of promoting the city's prosperity and growth ; that more than 300 new build- ings valued at one and one-half millions were erected here in 1915 and that the valuation of all property increased by more than a million dollars. These are some of the true, good things to say about Madison ; good and true things that reveal the city's vitality and prophesy her future enlargement, prosperity and power. We are not so narrow and so small as to want these things only for ourselves and to prevent others from sharing them with us. We would not put up signs warning people away as signs are posted on private grounds telling us to keep off. We want rather to open all avenues, all lines and ways Avhich shall bring ncAV people here. This we can all help to do. School children may do much to make Madison attractive. They can co-operate by — 1. Making the grounds about their own homes neat and clean ; cut- ting the laAvn, making flower beds and gardens, gath- ering up and destroying all Avaste, painting, and training vines to gTow over porches and fences ; 2 — By helping to keep the school buildings and yards clean and free from waste and rubbish : 3 — By their con- duct on the playgrounds, in tlie parks and along the lake shore; by not throAving doAvn papers and shells, to be tramped in the grass or bloAvn about and into MADISON OUR HOME 145 the shrubbery and flower beds; by not taking flowers or breaking down the rose and other flower bushes; by always appearing at school and on the streets with neat clothes, clean hands, nails and faces; by always being polite, courteous and obliging to everyone and especially to strangers inquiring their way about the city. Politeness thus shoAvn to a stranger may be the very thing that determines him to remove his family to Madison. He will tell them, ''Why the children are so neat, and bright and obliging! That must be a good place for our children ; we Avant them to know such gentlemanly boys and ladylike girls; we will go there to live.'' Young folks can advertise the city in another way. Information about Madison in the form of pamphlets and folders can be had for the asking at the Board of Commerce. These may be inclosed in letters or sent separately to relatives and friends who live in other places. Several times each year groups of Madison young folks make trips to other towns and cities in the state. They go to play football, baseball, and basketball; or to give concerts; or to compete in debates. When they are away at such times our boys and girls are advertising Madison. They may not realizee it; but their deportment on the train, on the ball field, or the public platform is marked by everyone who sees or hears them. ''That's a Madison team," they say. And if they can add, "What a fine looking, well set up lot of youngsters the}^ are ! And so Avell mannered ; why I rode with them all the way and not a vulgar word did I hear. They sang some fine songs too; 'twas 146 MADISON OUR HOME good to hear them/' — if, we sa}^, people can say such things of our young people, they are receiving the very best impression possible. Few things will serve our city better than this manly and womanly conduct on tlie part of our young people at such times. In these ways our younger citizens may co-operate with the older ones in the common purpose to make the city known abroad and so to promote its growth. 8. Education and Training for Life. This has ahvays been a conspicuous civic iDurpose and is today clearer and stronger than ever. Tlie school budget of |237,000 for the past year is proof that Madison means to give the best and most thor- ougii training to all her children. The varied forms of culture which are offered to all aud tlie adantages tliey confer upon our citizens are presented on pages 101 and 163. MADISON OUR HOME 14 < The Future ^^Wlio knows the future? Who can read its i)a.i»es, Turning them over with divining power? We can look backward thro' the lapse of ages : We can look forward not a single hour.'' What the poet says in these lines is true of some things, but not quite true of others. We cannot tell beforehand just the names of the people who will be killed by accidents which could have been prevented; nor the exact place nor the days when such death will happen. But we can say that the danger of such accidents multiplies with the growth of a city. Just as good parents look ahead and make plans for th^ future of their children so should we today take thought of the city of tomorrow. Sometimes a father makes the mistake of treating a grown-up boy as though he were still a child. Such fathers seem un- able to realize that a child will grow up, and that when he is eighteen years old and six feet high he will need more freedom and room than he had when he wore knickerbockers. Madison is passing out of its boyhood period into man's estate. It has been wearing knickerbockers ; it must now provide for itself the attire of a full grown man. In the years that are gone our city council and our citizens generally did not realize as perhaps they should have done, the need of providing for the cer- tain growth of the city. They provided for its imme- 148 MADISON OUR HOME diate needs but not for its future needs. For in- stance, when the water pipes to supply the western end of the city were laid they w^ere only four inches in size; the}^ are too small for tlie present demand. Pipes recently laid are fourteen inches in diameter. We will consider the growth of Madison and what should be done to provide for it. Let us try to imag- ine its expansion for the next half century. This seems like a long look aliead. It is a long look ahead — ^^^et many readers of this book Avill then be here to see for themselves what changes the fifty years have made in the city. Once more taking our stand in the dome of the Capitol look at the city as it lies there beneath us today. It covers the glacial isthmus betAveen Monona and Mendota. We can see the city limits : on the east they reach over into the town of Blooming Grove; to the w^est they extend to the farther end of the Lake Wingra. Where will the city grow? In what direc- tion will its limits be extended? There can be no doubt that Madison will keep on growing at its two extremities, because it can't grow wider at all. The lakes shut it in on both sides. And as it grows east- ward and westward these tAvo ends will spread out wider and wider like two great fans. Tlie lake shore will be more and more built up; the city extending northeast toward Lakew^ood and Maple Bluff; on the east around the end of Lake Monona; on the south- west toward Turville's point and Esther Beach. On the west the extensive grounds of the University will keep several miles of the lake shore open to the pub- lic ; but in the region of Black Hawk's Cave and be- MADISON OUR HOME 149 3^ond the time is coming when houses will line all the shore to Mendota Beach. Town c f'TCHBufo EXTENSION OF THE CITY IN NEXT HALP-CENTURY Here is a map of Madison showing its present limits. The dark line indicates the general direction of its gTowth. You will note that the line extends from Mendota Beach in a town of Middleton, swing- ing around and including all of Lake Wingra and all the land around Lake Monona to the State Hospital grounds in the town of Westport. The logical growth of our city will take place within the curved line and there is no good reason to suppose this growth will be much more rapid in one direction tlian in another ; but will be a proportionate and balanced increase. All of the territory as indicated by the dark line will be platted and more or less built up when our popu- 150 MADISON OUR HOME lace reaches one hundred thousand. This is likely U^ be at the end of fifty years — the year 1965 ; one hun- dred years after the death of Abraham Lincoln and the end of the Civil War. What can we say of that greater city? There wiH certainly be great changes. Will everything be changed or will some things remain about as they are now? The Capitol: will that be changed? The Post Office: is it likely to remain in the same place? The Capitol Square: will it continue to be the heart of the city — where the crowds will gather, and where the largest banks, hotels, and business houses will be found? Every city has certain fundamental needs. In the city of the future will they be the same as noAV? Such necessary things as street cars, water, electricity, sewerage and garbage disposal, telephones — will the future city require all these or will it have outgrown them? What is your view of this? We can imagine great improvements in all these services, but we can hardly imagine that the services themselves will be no longer necessar3\ It is said that a man once lived on the land Avhich noAv is covered by the city of Boston, Mass., and that the principal streets of the city follow the paths made by the cows of that first settler. We have perhaps visited some small city or town that has grown up in such a haphazard way. The streets might have been laid out by a blind man; the post office and library are not at the center where they belong but away off at opposite ends of the place and the city park is a MADISON OUR HOME 151 mile or two aAvay. The trouble in such cases is that the people have no clear idea of what their toAvn ix to be ; they lack an intelligent plan. A CITY PLAN. Now Madison must not grow in any such slip-shod and haphazard way. This ought to be one of the clear purposes of the community mind. We need a city plan to provide in the best way for the expansion of the city and to meet the needs of the future. Let us think of a man who buys a small farm somewhere near Madison. On this farm are house, barns, sheds, and a well of water. He doesn't intend to become a farmer; he has another purpose in view. He has a vision of the future for himself and his fam- ily. He means to make extensive improvements and additions to the place he has purchased. He cannot do this all at once but will do it a little at a time as his means permit. But he puts his whole idea down on paper. He gets the help of architects and land- scape gardeners. The first year he will put some new floors in the house and pipe the water from the well into the kitchen; then he will remove his family from the city to live on the farm. The second year he will buy more live stock, cultivate more of the land and build a new barn. The third year he will enlarge the house, putting on new rooms, with modern plumbing. The fourth year he means to lay out the grounds around the home in an artistic way, with a broad drive, walks, flower beds and shrubbery. The fifth year he will plant 152 MADISON OUR HOME many kinds of new trees and build a garage. So he will plan the various improvements to be made year by year for ten years. At the end of this time he will have a beautiful country estate. And he puts all these things or at least the more important ones down pn the original plan. We see how simple and sensible sucli a plan is. His plan covers a period of ten years but is not to be carried out all at once, only a part of it each year. It is just so with a city plan. It is a comprehensive yet reasonable scheme to foresee and provide for the city's future. Who shall make this plan? Obviously it should be done by the most competent people to be found in the city. In Chicago and many other cities a city planning board is appointed; and this is fjrobably the Avisest method to be followed here. W^e should have a small board of about five persons, one of whom is the Commissioner of Buildings and one a woman. General Idea of the City Planuing Board. Relations of the Board to the Cotnnion Council. The Board will work in harmony with the city Council; for the Council creates it and any power it may have will be delegated by the Council. The deci- sions of the Planning Board Avould not be carried out until ratified by the Council. (It may be worth not- ing here that the Police Commission of Madison is not created by the Council, but by an act of the State Legislature. ) MADISON OUR HOME 153 Scope of Work of Planning Board. There are two things for such a board to consider and provide for. First, the growth within the present city limits; especially the increase of buildings in the tract lying between the lakes. Here there is already much congestion; business buildings are increasing and encroaching upon the residential streets; single houses are giving place to apartments; land is in- creasing in value and lots are being subdivided so that there are two buildings now on a lot, where but one Avould have been erected a few years ago; alleys are laid out through many blocks and built up witli houses; dwellings have been put up directly in the rear of others, cutting off the light and air spaces, and increasing the danger of disease. It will not be many years before all the land about the Capitol square and between the lakes will be solid blocks of buildings. SomeAvhere within the central portions of the city land ought to be secured for play space; and this should be undertaken at once as the rising values will make it more diflflcult and costly each year. In some residence blocks the rear ends of lots might be thrown together, forming an open court or lawn behind the houses. In 1916 the Common Council passed an ordinance relating to construction within the fire limits. It requires "new buildings to have the walls and roofs covered with non-inflammable material ; that all plans for new structures must be approved by the CommiKS- sioner of Buildings; additions to old buildings shall 154 MADISON OUR HOME not extend nearer than six feet from any lot line, and the total cost of such addition shall not exceed five hundred dollars; when old roofs are to be recovered, shingles of wood must be replaced with fire-proof ma- terial; buildings which have been damaged or have deteriorated to the extent of one-half of their original value, may not be repaired but must be demolished on the order of the Commissioner of Buildings; no frame, veneered, or metal covered building shall be moved on to any lot within the fire limits; all chimneys here- after erected shall have flue lining or other construc- tion approved by the Commissioner." The rate of Madison's growth Avill necessitate fur- ther regulations ; such as limiting the height of build- ings and the division of the city into ''building dis- tricts." The idea of such districts is this; in a section now mainly or entirely occupied by residences, busi- ness houses and factories would not be alloAved ; in a section where there are both dwellings and business buildings these are to be regulated in such a way as to discourage the erection of houses near to factories or stores, or the placing of these latter among the res- idences; in a section where factories, stores, ware- houses and the like are now established the erection of residences will be discouraged or prohibited. This plan would divide the city into three kinds of districts, for building purposes : 1. Residential. 2. Mixed. 3. Business. To keep pace with the growth provision would have to be made by the Planning Board for the in- MADISON OUR HOME 155 creased use of present public utilities in the city, such as: more street cars and shorter running time; in- creased use of gas and electricity^, telephones, water, sewerage, and garbage collection; greater use of means of recreation — lake shores, parks, boating, and bathing and the like. These are some of the problems relative to the central sections of the city which a Planning Board would try to solve. Second, such a Board Avould also provide for the future extensions of the city. New plats and addi- tions would be subject to their approval; and they could require that land should be set aside within these for small parks and play spaces; and the loca- tion of school houses, library, public garages would be chosen with reference to tlie best interest of all. New streets would be laid out to tlie best advantage for traffic by connecting with older streets; and the most suitable places for pipes and wires of the vari- ous public utilities like water and gas, Avould be deter- mined. In these new additions man^- things might be done which are now impossible or very difficult to do in the older parts of the city. Thus streets may be laid out in graceful curves instead of the common straight lines, giving a pleasing variety ; at the ends of streets small oval spaces can be left for flowers, a fountain, and statuary ; in the center of wide streets space for boulevards Avith shrubbery, trees, and flow- ers. In some of these coming suburban sections the Board may specify the style of buildings to be erected, so that the whole streets and sections would have harmonious architectural eifects. In these and other 156 MADISON OUR HOME ways a city Planning Board could produce results which have never been accomplished here. Many of us do not realize yet how ugly and unattractive the city is in many ways, such as the '^shanty towm" effect of the unpainted boat houses sprawling along the lake shore; the crowding together of all sorts of build- ings in a single block, without a thought of the gen- eral impression of haphazard raggedness; the great number of houses lacking grace or distinction and too frequently wearing a neglected and slovenly air; the failure, except in a very few locations, to combine tlie land and the buildings in one harmonious archi- tectural plan. Many cities in Europe and in America have surpassed Madison in this respect. In the west- ern parts the newer edifices shoAv something of the effects Avhich might be produced; but even there we see no general and co-ordinated plan for a whole dis- trict. GENEKAL FEATURES OF A CITY PLAN. 1. Division of present city into building districts. 2. General improvements to be made in the city as it is now\ 3. Public utilities to be strengthened and en- larged to provide for future needs. 4. Sketch of the new growth of the city provid- ing for : — Extension of streets, circles, and squares. Street cars and other necessities, such as Avater, sewerage and electricity. Schools, garages, and community halls. MADISON OUR HOME 157 Play grounds, parks, and fountains. Lake shores made available. All these results would then be brought together in one general plan to cover the groAvth of Madison for half a centur}^ Such a plan would be made known to all people in the city. It would be printed in the newspapers and in pamphlets for general distribution. It Avould be explained at meetings, held in schools and churches. So it would become the property of all the people and everybody would understand it. BENEFITS OF FOLLOWING A CITY PLAN. 1. Gives us an idea of the city of the future as a whole, with all its parts organically organized and built up : a bigger, better, and more beautiful city. 2. Prevents haphazard growth — overcrowding — spoiling of residence districts — erecting of unsafe, un- sanitary and ugl}' structures. 3. Shows how the needs of the future can be met as they arise. 4. Does not require to be carried out now but shows how improvements may best be made progress- ively for fifty years to come. A COMMISSION FORM OF CITY GOVERNMENT FOR MADISON. A new plan for the government of cities has been adopted b}^ some two hundred municipalities in the United States, among them being Des Moines, loAva; Galveston, Texas ; Haverhill, Mass. ; and Superior, Wis. Thirteen Wisconsin cities are now trying out this plan. 158 MADISON OUR HOME What Commission Government Would 2Iean Foi^ Madison. Tlie present city government is described on page 55. The new plan would mean the doing away with the tAventy aldermen, two from each ward ; their place would be taken by a commission of three or possibly five men, elected by the people from the city at large. One of these would act as the head of the Commission and be called the mayor. All city business would be organized into as many departments as there were members of the commission, each commissioner to be placed at the head of a department and made respon- sible for its successful management. Those who believe in this plan claim that by it the affairs of a city can be more efficiently and eco- nomically conducted. Members of the commission would devote all their time to the city's affairs and be paid an adequate salary. They would be on duty and accessible to the people every day. In city government by a Board of Aldermen, the members must give most of their time to their own work and can devote only a small part of it to city business. It is also claimed that under the present government, it is often very hard and even impossible to fix the responsibility — to say who is to blame for poor streets, defective sidewalks, and unsanitary buildings; or for failure to carry out the new meas- ures voted by the city council; but that it Avould not be so with commission government. Regarding this subject it is the part of wisdom to ^'make haste slow- l}^-' Too much may be claimed for the new plan. It certainly would not do all that its advocates promise; MADISON OUR HOME 159 and in some cities which have tried it the people have voted to go back to the old plan. Also we are all too ready to criticize the present city organization and to blame the men who carry on the municipal affairs. It would be a good thing for the teachers of civics to take their groups of pupils upon visits of inspec- tion to the various city departments, learn something of their work and come in personal contact with the men. No one will deny that most of our city officials are poorly paid for the Avork they do; they do give us much good and faithful service. They frame our ordinances, build, repair and clean our streets, guard our health, protect us from criminals and from fire, manage the public schools, water works, sewerage, and garbage disposal, and in many other ways are constantly and successfully administering our public affairs. And there is no good reason for saying that they do this alone for the salary they receive. We believe that these public officers regard themselves as the people's servants; that they are sincerely try- ing to serve the city's interests because it is their home and they have a true love for it. It has become all too prevalent a practice in American cities to criti- cize, abuse and defame public officials. No sooner is a man elected to a responsible city position than he is thought to be transformed into a semi-criminal. In private life he might be known, respected and trusted as a man of good intentions and character; in public office he is treated like a conspirator and traitor who needs to be Avatched. It is not only a very difficult task for an Alder- IGO MADISON OUR HOME man or Mayor or Superintendent of a city department to satisfy all citizens; it is an absolutely impossible one. The greatest and wisest and most unselfish men in our country have failed in this. Even Washington and Lincoln were unmercifully abused in their life- time and charged witli things which sound very strange to our ears. And there is no reason whatever for believing that a smaller number of men chosen to make up a city commission would be one particle less free from abuse and blame than has been the case under the old plan and the proof is found in every city which has made the change. The real strength we think of the argument for a commission form of gov- ernment for our cit}^ is that a feAV men chosen at large, well paid and devoting their whole time to the work, would or should do that work somewhat more expedi- tiously^ and better and at a saving of money to the taxpayers. That they would be any more devoted or patriotic cannot be honestly claimed. The Youth of Madison To Determine Its Future. If the Madison of the future is to be such a city as Ave have described, it will be so because its children and young people have a vision of the city beautiful and resolve to fulfill it. We have all read the propliet's words : ''Your young men shall see visions And your old men shall dream dreams.'^ It is natural for older folks to look backAvard and dream of by-gone days and times. They knoAV that the future belongs to the young people. So it does; and young people naturally see visions of tlie coming MADISON OUR HOME 161 days. It is as natural for the boy to let his mind dwell on the work he means to do and the kind of a man he means to become as it is for him to breathe. Boys are interestetd in Madison's past, but more keenly interested in its future, for it is in the city of tomorrow that they are to live and make a career for themselves. The young people now in school will very largely determine Madison's future; they will have to vote upon the plans for its enlargement and betterment; they will approve or disapprove of the taxes and bond issues needed to make these improve- ments. They will decide whether or not there shall j be overcroAvded and dark districts or whether all dis- ] tricts shall have space and air and light; whether ] there shall be slum sections with dirty houses and fil- \ thy yards breeding disease or whether every street | shall be beautiful and every yard and every house ; attractive and sanitary. 1G2 MADISON OUE HOME What the City Does for its Children and Youth The juvenile element — the children of a city, are the most valuable thing in it. In tlie schools of today are the citizens, the men and women of tomorrow. Madison, like every other city, has made great efforts and spent large sums to safeguard its young life; to educate and to train its boys and girls so that they shall grow up, into useful, noble, and beautiful man- hood and Avomanhood. A child belongs, primarily to its parents; but not entirely. If parents fail to take iiroper care of their children or to send them to school the law steps in. What's the reason of this? Why should anyone come between the parents and the child? The first need of a child is a good home. Who pro- vides this? Suppose some one complains that a cer- tain home is not a good one and not a proper place for children to live, to whom would the complaint be made? Who would decide the question? By what authority? Ways in Which the City Safeguards Children in the Home. It requires that homes shall be: 1. Sanitary. 2. Properly warmed. 3. Providing sufficient food and clothing. 4. Morally safe. MADISON OUR HOME 163 5. It protects the home; others shall not inter- fere, so long as parents provide and do their duty. No one shall injure the home, break windows or set fii'e. G. The city i^unishes anyone who wilfully injures a child in body or in mind, or who kidnaps a child. The city desires but does not oblige that homes shall be clean, orderly, attractive within and without, with flowers, shrubs, and vines ; exposed surfaces kept painted, and lawn cut so that the i3lace shall be a pleasure to the eye. WJiat the City Offers in a ^Yay of Education and Training. We may bring together in this place the many and various forms of education to be found here. We shall thus gain a better idea of the comprehensive- ness of these forms and have a greater appreciation of what it means to be born and to grow^ up in such a city as Madison. At the age of four years a boy or girl may enter the public kindergarten and pursue courses of study and instruction through the eight grades, the High School and the University until they attain the age of twenty-four years. Thus twenty years of life may be employed in a progressive series of studies in the public educational institutions of Madison. Besides the fundamental things such as reading, writing, spelling, geography, literature, mathematics and his- tory our children and young people may learn chem- istry, physics, physiology, botany and zoology, foreign languages, music, art, bookkeeping and business 164 MADISON OUR HOME forms, shorthand and typewriting, civics, work in Avood and iron, dress making and domestic science. At the University training is offered in astronomy, advanced science, history, language, music and liter- ature; in sociology and political economy, journalism, laAV, education, manual arts, medicine, pharmacology, philosophy, physical education, in chemical, electri- cal, hydraulic, railway, structural, and typographic engineering; in mining and machine designing; in agriculture, dairying, agronomy, animal and poultry liusbandry, horticulture, soils and veterinary science; and in home economics, and landscape gardening. No Madison boy needs to leave his own city to learn any of the modern trades such as that of car- penter, mason, bricklayer, tinsmith, blacksmith, i^a- per lianger, painter, plumber, steam fitter, cigar maker, railway trainman, locomotive fireman, locomo- tive engineer, motor truck driver, chauffeur, street car conductor or motor man, electrical worker, team- ster, typesetter, barber. Madison business and professional men are always looking for the right sort of young people — those who are steady and reliable. Hundreds of boys and girls each year are taken into stores, factories, and offices where they receive valuable information and a form of discipline which will help them to promotions and furnish the ground work for their future success in business. If architecture interests you there are the Capitol, the Historical Library building, Latlirop Hall, the Forest Products Laboratory, St. Paul's Chapel, Unitarian church, the Chicago and North- western Railroad Depot, Randall School, tlie Keeley MADISON OUR HOME 165 166 MADISON OUR HOME & Neckerman store, the T. S. Morris Co. warehouse and other public edifices besides a large number of private houses, which present many forms of archi- tecture, color schemes and ornamentation. The art of landscape gardening has now been developed largely, and in the treatment of Capitol park, Tenney, Brittingham and Vilas Parks, portions of the Univer- sity Campus, as well as private lawns and estates we see how the skill of man may work upon nature to produce new and beautiful combinations. And all these may be studied and enjoyed by our young folks. Painting, portraiture and sculpture are repre- sented her by many valuable pieces, (See page 106) some of them by artists of national and international reputation. The Madison Art Association provides several exhibitions yearly. These are explained by experts, and open to young as well as old. Of books it may be truthfully said that our young people may have the use of books upon any subject whatever in which they may be interested. Madison is a city of libraries. ( See page 105. ) You may learn how to raise vegetables and flow- ers by joining the city Garden Association. If you wish to skate, to swim, handle a canoe, row boat, sail or motor boat, you could not find better opportuni- ties elsewhere in the world. Every form of music is taught from the simplest elements up to composition, symphonies, and orchestration. Artists of high merit are located here, and the most famous of musicians are heard here yearly. The drama, vaudeville and moving pictures are MADISON OUR HOME 167 abundantly represented, and we have so many con- certs, lectures and entertainments that we could not take advantage of them all even if the week had ten evenings instead of seven. Recreation. (This is is described on page 109.) Will the children please tell wiiat are the means of recreation to be found in the city? Can you think how recreation in Madison might be improved? Do we need more play space? Have the boys a chance to play baseball and football? Where? Do you think that you are fairly treated when the city obliges you to slide only on certain streets? Would you enjoy swimming as much in winter as in the summer time? Are there any places in Madison for indoor swim- ming? Have you ever had a swim there? Would it be a good thing if we had some public swimming pool where all could go who wish during the winter? A public gym? A golf course? Charitable Services. See page 124. ) If a boy has appendicitis an operation is necessary at once; the boy's father is dead and the mother can- not pay for this service. What shall be done? Is there any way by which this boy may receive the ser- vice needed to save his life? When a family has had illness or lost their means and needs fuel, clothes, food, medicine, to whom may they go in Madison to receive these things? How many institutions do we have for giving such help? A man is out of work; is there any society or institution in our city that will help him to find a job? 168 MADISON OUR HOME Chances to Buy Things. One cannot buy a locomotive or an elephant in Madison. Can you name other things not on sale here? The thousand things which we need day by day may all be found in Madison stores. Let the chil- dren name 25 of these. What are some of the things manufactured in Madison and on sale here? What are called utilities may be purchased here in many forms. Such tilings as rides on street cars, trips on lakes, the services of physicians, dentists, oculists, laA\yers, barbers. In these instances we do not purchase things but pay for services performed. Let the children name others of the same kind. .Institutions in Madison not found elsewhere in Dane County. What are these? (See page 73.) Institutions in Madison not found elsewhere in the State of Wisconsin. (For answer see page 67.) Institutions in Madison not found elsewhere in the United States. Are there any such? (For an- swer see page 66.) Distincju ish ed Citizens. In the earlier pages Ave have given a brief account of our city's past. Whatever has been accomplished is never wholly lost; it is still a real part of the pres- ent, and this is particularly true of outstanding per- sonages. Though ''now we see them no more" they abide with us as spiritual influences. The foUoAving names of former Madisonians are deserving of mention : David A. Atwood liA^^ed in this city from 1847 to his death in 1889. In 1852 he founded the Wisconsin MADISON OUR HOME 1G9 State Journal. As an editor, politician, mayor of the city, member of the state legislature and of congress he exerted a wide influence. The Republican party was first organized in Wisconsin at a public meeting held on the east steps of the first capitol, July 14, 1854. General Atwood w^as one of the committee to draft and present the party platform in that historic day. General Lucius A. Fairchild was for many years a resident of Madison. He was a ^'forty niner" mak- ing the journey overland to California with ox teams; a soldier in nine great battles of the civil war, losing an arm at Gettysburg; three times elected Governor of Wisconsin ; United States consul at Liverpool, Eng- land, and Paris, France; United States minister to Spain ; Commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic; he rounded out his brilliant career in the quiet, unselfish service of a private citizen. He died in 1896. Senator Wililam F. Vilas was one of the state's ablest and most distinguished lawyers. He went to the front in the Civil War and was prominent at the capture of Vicksburg. President Grover Cleveland took him into his cabinet where he held the position of Secretary of the Interior and later that of Post- master-General. His prominence as a democrat led to his election to the LTnited States Senate. He served several years as Regent of the L^niversity and at the time of his deatli, in 1906, was chairman of the build- ing commission for the new Capitol. By his will his large property will go to the state university. Henry Vilas park is named after Senator Vilas' only son; a 170 MADISON OUR HOME generous gift of money from Senator and Mrs. Vilas making possible the erection of this park. David A. Wright came to Madison in 1844 and taught school in the first public school house erected here. He took up the trade of carpenter and helped to build many of the older structures still left in the city. He attained prominence throughout the state as a devoted and influential member of the Masonic order. When more than ninety years of age Uncle David, as everybody called him, often conducted the public Masonic burial service; his venerable aspect, tall figure and remarkable memory creating a deep impression upon all who heard him. Ninety-six years old at his death in 1916, Mr. Wright had seen Madi- son grow from a tiny village to its present size. We can only mention the name of Professor Wil- liam F. Allen who is to be rememberd alike as scholar, teacher and citizen; of Henry M. Lewis, Avell known member of the bar, who gave himself most generously to the service of the city, in the council. Boards of Education, of the Hospital and the Free Library; Keferee in Bankruptcy for the Federal Court at his death in 1915; of Judge Anthony Donovan of the Municipal Court who while earning his living as a blacksmith resolved to study for the bar, and in due time exchanged his leathern apron for a lawyer's license ; of James R. Stnart, portrait painter ; and of Reuben Gold Thwaites, author, and Secretary of the State Historical Society over a quarter of a century. Did not lack of space forbid, this list could be made much longer. MADISON OUR HOME 171 Distinguished Living Citizens. The well-knoAvn work of reference ^'Who's Who in America," published in Chicago, prints in the edi- tion for 1916 the names of one hundred and forty-two men and women, all residents of Madison. These have won a national, and some an international repu- tation in science, journalism, law, medicine, author- ship, music, politics, education and other fields. These advantages are further increased by the numerous opportunities of seeing and hearing famous people who come to Madison. Men and women from all portions of the United States and from almost every county on earth. Well known people with es- tablished reputations give addresses, lectures, con- certs or recitals here each year. And in addition to these we may name the many large conventions of bankers, dairymen, sheep raisers, real estate men, in- surance agents, automobile dealers, teachers, librari- ans and others. Tavo thousand students at the Uni- versity come from outside the state; many from for- eign lands. The result of all this influx of people is to enrich the life of our city, imparting an atmosphere of stimulation and novelty, and adding much of edu- cational value for the young folks who live here. It gives them the benefits of travel without the expense and trouble of going away from home. Shakespeare said that ^4iome keeping youths have ever homely wits." But ^^lome keeping youths" in our good city have no excuse for having ^^lomely wits" if they are at all observant, ambitious, and eager to learn. People who live in Wisconsin are interested in 172 MADISON OUR HOME the state government and the numerous state insti- tutions. There are many reasons why people need exact information about these, since their business depends upon and is guided by such information. Thousands of men and women leave their homes and come here to confer with the Governor or with some of the state boards and commissions ; or to transact bus- iness with the county officials; or secure information at the University. Hundreds of thousands of letters come to Madison from every city and village and town- ship in Wisconsin. They are written by people who want information which can only be gained liere, or who have business to transact with the institutions located in the Capital City. But for us fortunate ones who dwell Avhere the figure of Forward greets, from her lofty pedestal, the rising sun, there is no need for letters or journeys, of trouble, expense or delay. The capital city is the heart of the state. Whoever in Madison desires any- thing in the Avay of information or help from the Uni- versity may have it in a quater of an hour. Whoever has dealings with Dane county may enter the court house any day. Wlioever has need of the Industrial Commission, the Utilities Commission, the state Refer- ence Library, or of any department or official has only to walk to the Capitol. The special state license for hunting, fishing and for automobiles are all issued here from the office of the Secretarv of State. MADISON OUR HOME 173 The City's Claim Upon The Love and Loyalty of its Young People We have seen how much is done by the city for its juvenile life, as their fostering mother. May she not expect them to repay her in devoted and loyal ser- vice? Just as a right minded boy means to repay his mother for all she has done for him so he will mean to repay the city by becoming a strong, reliable, self- supporting man and useful citizen. A boy's love for his mother gTOAvs as he gets older. Every year he becomes a little more thoughtful, ma- ture, and appreciative. Each year he understands a little better what his mother is doing for him. This little book is prepared to aid the young people of Mad- ison in understanding their city; what great hopes and expectations she has of them ; and to thus to call out their loyalty to her. Not once but many times have Madison boys gone away to seek their fortunes elseAvhere and to see some- thing of the great Avorld. But they have come back again; the cords which attach them to Madison are very strong and draw them back to the city of tlieir birth. For them no other sky is quite so fair, no other water so beautiful, no hills so gTeen, or meadows so vocal as those of Taychopera. They have seen much of cities, of business, of human life— but this goodly city where they first saw the light has the oreatest 174 MADISON OUR HOME attraction for them, the most poAverful grip upon their hearts; and so they have returned to live out their days and to be buried here. How much Madison means to some of her citizens is shown by their gifts — sometimes made while they are yet living, sometimes in the form of bequests available after the death of the giver. Worthy of mention and of remembrance is the Steensland bridge, given by the late Halle Steensland; Tenney Park, for which the late Daniel K. Tenney gave generously; Brittingham Park, named for Mr. Thomas Britting- ham in recognition of his generosity toward the park work; and the statue of Abraham Lincoln on the Upper Campus, presented to the University by Mr. Brittingham. Mr. and Mrs. William F. Vilas have given the greater part of the money for the creation and improvement of Vilas Park. Professor Edward T. Owen has given land to the Park Association. The late George W. Burrows and the late W. W. Warner each left provision by will for the enlargement of the city's parks. Dr. Charles H. Vilas has built a Parish House and parsonage for the First Unitarian Society. Bequests to the Madison General Hospital have been made by the late Halle Steensland and the late W. W. Warner; and by the Trustees of the old Synagogue. Among those Avho have left gifts for the churches and charitable institutions are the late Sarah Rieb- sam and the late Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Hollister, and there are other names which migiit be mentioned of those who have given substantial amounts to the churches, hospitals, and other institutions. These gifts shoAV how some of the grown-up people MADISON OUR HOME 175 care for the city. In this way they will be able to benefit Madison long after they are gone. But love and loyalty may be shown in many other ways, and when a man cleans up his own door yard and puts boxes of flowers on his porch he is showing the same sentiment. Very common things, ordinary, little things, may show civic loyalty and be of real help to the community. A boy discovers a hole in the road leading past his house. To whom should he give in- formation? What migiit happen if the hole were left open, especially during the night? 176 MADISON OUR HOME What We can do for Our City 1. Madison asks her young people to be alAvays presentable in person, with clean hands, clean nails and ears; with clothes and shoes Avell brushed and free from dirt stains. 2. She wants them to be healthy and strong. By an intelligent care of the body, the instrument with which the work of life must be done. If the teeth decay, go to the dentist ; if the eyes give trouble, con- sut an oculist; if there are pains and other symp- toms of disease, consult the family doctor ; avoid eat- ing too much candy and pickles; do not smoke cigar- ettes — the effect of smoking upon the undeveloped nervous system of a boy is bad ; it makes him dull and stupid; he cannot get his lessons and falls behind the others in his class. It is no good excuse for a boy to say that his father smokes — for his is the nervous system and constitution of a mature man. It is not riglit for boys to do some things which groAvn men do. A grown man may haA^e a family ; a boA^ may not. He must wait until he is a man and can fill a man's place and do a man's Avork. Therefore the loyal boy Avill not be seen sneaking back of the school to smoke. If he means to smoke as his father does he will wait until he is a man. Then if he controls himself and AAaits he may ncA^r form the habit at all. ]\[ore important than the use of tobacco is the use of alcoliolic liquor. The after ef- fects and final results of alcohol upon the cells of the MADISON OUR HOME 177 brain and tissues of the body are disastrous. Alcohol is a poison and wrecks its thousands who are not strong enough to let it alone. The victims of alcohol become weak, diseased, and broken men and women. Many of them are today in the county jail at Madison, in the County Farm at Verona and in the Hospital for Insane at Mendota. Alcoholic liquors weaken the system and lessen its power to resist disease. All physicians agree to this, and all saj that the chance for a man who does not use liquors is vastly better than for a man wiio does. Like the use of tobacco, drinking becomes a fixed habit. The drinker says he must have his stimulant. This is alwa3^s the effect of alcoholic poison upon the tissues of the body. It creates an artificial thirst, and such an artificial thirst is not quenched by any natural beverages, nor by any that do not contain alcohol. What a pity, oh what a pity to see a young man who has enjoyed all the blessong of a good home and the instruction of the church ; who has graduated from the schools and made perhaps a brilliant record as a student, whose life opens auspiciously and hap- pily with promise of a useful and honorable service — then to wreck everything because he cannot let liquor alone ! He loses his position because employers will not pay a man with befuddled brain and tremb- ling hands to do work which requires a steady hand and level head. His sweetheart breaks off the en- gagement because she is too wise to marry a man whose children may be weaklings and degenerates. His friends do all they can, but will not give or lend him money because they know too well that he will 178 MADISON OUR HOME spend it for drink. And tlie once clear eyed and promising boy of whom great things were expected, becomes a mere shadow of a man ; a human scrap and good for nothing. Of what nse is such a man to his city? He cannot be trusted; lie cannot liold an office; he cannot earn his OAvn living. Instead of paying back in some form of service for those benefits re- ceived from the city, lie is only adding to the city's burdens. Worse than that he is adding to her shame, her humiliation and defeat. Such is the love and loyalty to his city shown by the weak willed slave of drink ! STATUE OF LINCOLN BY ADOLPH WEINMANN MADISON OUR HOME ITU We hope that every boy and girl who may see tliis book will remember and resolve to follow the examph' of that great and noble American, Abraham Lincoln — his strong face looks down upon you from your school room wall — who signed the total abstinence pledge in his early life and kept that pledge to the end. 3. She wants young people to be polite and cour- teous. Politeness, courtesy — this is a form of unself- ishness; it is the attitude we take tow^ard other peo- ple. Every one is glad to see a polite boy or girl ; and everyone is displeased when young people are ill- mannered, saucy and unobliging. Madison has thou- sands of visitors and strangers every year. Many of these inspect the schools and playgrounds, they meet the young folks at the theatres, in the stores, the streets and cars. The young people are by their be- havior advertising the city to these visitors. By their conversation and deportment strangers will form a judgment about the homes, schools and cliurches of ^ladison. A favorable impression may cause them to select this city as their home. Politeness is shown in replying to people who ask us questions; or who w^ant to find some building or person in the city; in touching the cap or hat to la- dies; in rising to give our seat to a lady in the street car; in refraining from unkind comment and mean hints about one's companions and mates; in keeping one's appointments promptly, such as apopintments with the teacher, the dentist, the doctor. 4. The city looks for a spirit of serviceableness — doing helpful and kind things. The teacher needs the help of one or several pupils in carrying mes- 180 MADISON OUR HOME sages, i^iitting the room in order, or clearing up the desks. A sick neighbor wants a prescription filled at the drug store. Two old ladies living alone need to have the snow cleared from their walks. The cor- ner gTocery is looking for a boy to help deliver goods on Saturdays. A young mother wants a girl to care for her baby two hours every w^eek. A blind child would be very happy to have some one read to her. A deaf and dumb child needs some one to go with her to the school ; it is not safe for her to cross the streets alone. A stranger asks to be shoAvn the way to the Board of Commerce. An old man's hat is blown off and goes rolling down the street. A child carry- ing a bundle containing the meat for supper is crying for fear of a barking dog. Mother is out; how nice to find that the children have prepared supper I These are some of the things which may present opportunities for a kind hearted boy or girl. They will fulfill them gladly because they love to be of service to others. This adds to the general sum of the city's serviceableness — increases the general spirit of kindliness — one of the valuable assets of the city. 5. Madison asks that your people have a care for the beautifying of the city — lessening its ugliness and adding to its attractiveness. When our friends or relations from out of town come to visit us we take pride in showing them all the interesting places. We take them to see the Capitol and the University, the parks and the lakes. We are very enthusiastic about these and tell our guests that they ought to live in Madison. But all the while we know that MADISON OUR HOME 181 there are some things not so attractive — things of which we could not boast. Those ugly and squalid little buildings, some mere wooden shacks standing on the square — we did not feel like praising such a setting to our splendid Capitol. As we led the way to the parks we passed many unsightly house fronts and yards. Many houses, sheds, and fences were without paint, and there were no trees, grass or flow- ers. Like a scar on a human face such places disfig- ure our city and we can only feel shame when stran- gers see them. Civic Improvement Clubs. In the city schools the young folk can form them- selves into improvement clubs. All who live in a certain district or a certain block will constitute the membership of such a club. It will have as president some popular and energetic boy or girl, and three others as his helpers — the executive committee of the club. They will go over their district and see what its condition is. Then they will visit about the city to see how things look in the more attractive sections. They may enter the library and see the pictures of beautiful houses, lawns, yards and streets. At the next meeting of the club they will make their report and recommendations. Perhaps the first thing will be this: "Resolved, that each member of the club begin with his own home.'' At the following meeting- each tells what he has done. This is a highly interest- ing and exciting meeting. Jacob Doe is the first called on to report. "I took down a dead tree in our yard and cut it up to use in 182 MADISON OUR HOME the fire place. Then I found about a cord of old rubbish in the corner of the yard; we had the habit of throwing things out there, old shoes, newspapers, tin cans, old iron. I cleaned these up and put them in barrels to be hauled away — the stuff filled three barrels." The meeting applauds the report and the President calls upon Mary Jones. "I got father to mend the front porch. It looked very badly but we were all so busy we didn't think much about it till our club was formed ; then I made up my mind to have it fixed. The porch rail posts had decayed and several had fallen out — it made me think of a person who has lost some of his front teeth. Father got some new posts and put them in place after supper and next Saturday he is going to paint the entire porch." And so the reports came one after another. One boy had taken his own money to buy a galvanized iron garbage can. Another had bought grass seed and sown it. Another had carried earth in a bucket from the back of the house to fill in the holes in the front. Another had seen the alderman from his ward and asked to have the trees in his block trimmed by the city trimmer. At is annual meeting the club held a supper in one of the churches ; the school principal, the minister and the aldermen of the ward were present. Some fine things had been done. The movement started by the club had stirred up the whole neighborhood. The mothers talked about it at their serving club and the fatliers when the}^ met made plans to help on the good MADISON OUR HOME 183 cause. One man began by painting his porch ; others painted their fences, and a sort of paint fever broke out until there was not a single house or shed or fence left in the old ugly, bare condition. Every surface Avas bright and fresh and clean. At the neighborhood sewing club the mothers took up the matter of flow- ers, shrubs and vines and decided on a plan which showed their good sense and at the same time showed how they had caught the spirit of civic improvement from the young people. Instead of each woman plant- ing such things as she liked it was decided to plant Avith reference to the district as a whole. Each home was to have its own favorite flowers but each was also to specialize and to make a display of some one thing. The result was most surprising and successful. The rather monotonous and dull aspect of things was completely changed; the district was transformed, presenting a variety of effects most pleasing to look upon. One home had specialized in nasturtiums — another in climbing roses — another in honeysuckle. Then came geraniums, native wild flowers and ferns, holly hocks, etc. Here and there small evergreen trees had been set out under the older maples and elms. One yard had a rustic seat, another a ham- mock, another a grape arbor. One boy whose father was a mason contractor had built a large concrete basin in the yard, covered it with white enamel paint and laid an iron pipe to fill it with water. Here were rushes and pond lillies growing while among their stalks could be seen turtles and minnows which the lad had captured from the lake with a small net he had made for the purpose. The shining gold fish 184 MADISON OUR HOME he had bought at the store. This fine fish pond was the talk of the Avhole neighborhood. Every one came to see it and praised the boy's ingenuity and perse- verenee. Several members of the civic improvement club had learned how to make gardens; they had worked with the city Garden Association. So they spaded up the soil and made some excellent gardens where they could pick radishes, tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers at their own doors. One boy sold enough from his garden to buy a second hand bicycle, and a girl whose flower bed bore splendid asters sold enough to buy her baby sister a fine doll. The great- est change of all was made when the back fences were all moved in twenty feet near the houses. The lots were deep and this left plenty of room for gardens?. This gave a space forty feet wide and nearly one block long where the babies and smaller children could play -■■TTI NEGLECTED BACK-YARDS MADISON OUR HOME 185 to their hearts' content. There had been one or two accidents because the children played in the streets, and this new little play ground was greatly appre- ciated by all. After this transformation had taken place in the district one of the houses was sold and a new family moved in. These people must have come from some place where very poor ideas of civic cleanliness and beauty prevailed, for they let the grass go uncut, the children tore down the vines and cut the trees with knives and hatchets; papers and w^aste were thrown into the street or left blowing about the lawn. This troubled the neighbors and hurt their pride. One early morning a paj)er bag full of garbage Avas found in the gutter in front of one of the best houses in the street. The man who found it knew^ it could not have come from that house and carried it away to put into his own family garbage pail. Not long after a second bag of garbage Avas found in front of another house, and later a third in still another part of the street. One of the older boys, a member of the im- provement club, became suspicious. He rose next morning very early to watch the house where the new people had moved in. He was rcAvarded for his vigilance b}^ seeing the man carry a bag filled with garbage up the street and fling it down into the gut- ter. This explained the mystery. That evening three men called on the family and had a talk with the head of the house. It must have been an instructive and convincing interview, for the next day the hardware delivery brought a new galvanized iron garbage pail to that house. Furthermore, evidence was shown that 186 MADISON OUR HOME MADISON OUR HOME 187 the new family was responding to the neighborhood spirit. 6. Madison asks her young people to practice thrift. Every boy and girl has some money to spend ; it may be an allowance given by their parents, or it may be their own earnings. It is so easy to spend money nowadays, and so hard to keep any ! There are so many things to buy, so many shows to attend, so many costly parties and banquets to which we are invited, and they all take money. Older people feel this even more keenly than the young, and have the same trouble to live within their incomes. But for any one to spend all his money as fast as he gets it is evidence of weakness; he lacks decision and good judgment. The time comes when he will be greatly in need of some money; it may be to pay the doctor, to go on a journey, or to get a start in business. The thrifty man lives within his incomes; he does not spend all he earns but lays by some part of it. This habit of saving something — no matter how small the sum — ought to be formed in early life. Let the chil- dren start an account in the savings bank — school savings club — let them deny themselves some of the tempting things they would like to do or have and add this money to their account. In a short time there will be a substantial amount in the bank. With this a boy can buy a suit of clothes at the opening of school, when his father has been ill or out of work all summer. A girl's savings may enable her to take music lessons or buy good books for her library. When one has something saved up it gives a sense of 188 MADISON OUR HOME strength; ''lie stands higher in his boots''; it is one element in character and good citizenship. 7. Madison asks her children to be honest. Speak and act the truth. Be reliable ; let people know that your word is good, your promise is sacred and will be kept. Pay your bills. If a store keeper is good enough to trust you for something you want, pay him at the time agreed upon. If a playmate sells you a knife or a bicycle on trust — ''do unto him as you would that he should do unto you.'' Kever have candy or ice cream charged to your father or mother at the stores without first obtaining their full consent. You know the proverb, ''The boy is father to the man.'' What does it mean? A dishonest boy — tricky and unreli- able, Avhat kind of a man Avill he be? Will he be serv- ing the city in the right way? 8. Madison wants her children to be pure and clean, in mind and body. In all their relations with one another boj'S and girls are to be as little gentle- men and little ladies. Just as they treat their own mothers and sisters, in the same way boys are to treat all girls and women. Eules of conduct at school, on the street and in all other places are really not needed. For every child knows by instinct what is required of him, and this natural goodness and sense of right is re-inforced by his mother, by his teacher, and by the teachings of his church. The child whose thought and words are pure will be pure and clean and whole in body too. "Blessed are the pure in lieart for they shall see God" ; and it is tlie pure in heart who know that the body is to be MADISON OUR HOME 189 kept as a liol}^ thing — a temple wherein the spirit of God may dwell. Slim Up What Madison Asks of Its Young People. Madison asks its young people to have a vision of their own future and of the future of the city. You are to grow up. Then you will be men and Avomen. What Avill you do? What work will you choose? What career will you follow? In any school room today are gathered the future business men, mer- chants, and manufacturers; the future professional people, doctors, lawyers, clergyanen, teachers, and priests; the future politicians, statesmen, mayors, al- dermen, governors, and congressmen ; the future par- ents, fathers and mothers with their own houses and children. Have you thought of this? What sort of persons do you mean to be? What character, w^hat intelligence, w^hat force do you mean to bring to that future? Do you mean to be one who earns his own living? Who stands on his own feet? Who makes his own way in the world? There are persons who seem never to be willing to play the part of a man in life's great game. They are moral invalids depending upon others to guide them. Sometimes they have to be carried as we see the weak borne about in chairs by the strong. You may have seen a large building propped up by timbers on the outside. One end of these beams rests upon the ground; the other pushes against the side of the building. These supports reinforce the walls and give them strength. But looking more closely at the matter we discover that some of these 190 MADISON OUR HOME beams are bearing no weight at all; they do not even support their own weight. They are just leaning against the wall and adding to the weight which it carries. So in every community there are props and lean- ers. There are men and women of independence and force, upholding the weight of the community's enter- prises and business. And there are men and women who just lean against others, rest their weight upon the community. Instead of upholding society they expect society to uphold them. It would not be possible to say how many people there are of this kind in our community. But the Charities Association, the courts, the churches and the merchants know that we have our share of these weak, flabby folks, who lean against the wall so often as they can get one to lean on. The city of Maidson asks of its youths and maid- ens that they resolve to carry their own weight; and not only to carry their own weight but to add their strength and intelligence to the common stock; up- liolding and supoprting the city's life as true butresses support a wall. By such lives and such service will they requite the city for what it has done for them and answer the demands which she makes upon them. By such lives and such service will they best show their love and loyalty to the city. To thee our city. Here with loyal and heroic hearts Bind we our lives — —Copyright 1911, G. L. Abell. THE ALICE FREEMAN PALMER MEMORIAL. WELLESLEY COLLEGE, MASS. 192 MADISON OUR HOME This lovely picture is a memorial to Mrs. Alice Freeman Palmer at Welleslev College, Mass. It sym- bolizes the relation between the pupil and her Alma Mater. The older woman is guarding, guiding and inspiring the ^^ounger. We may adopt this picture for our own and draw its appealing lesson to ourselves. Let the larger figure stand for our city and the smaller for its chil- dren and youths. The city is indeed the Alma Mater, a true ^'fostering mother'' to all her children. She loves them all; she cares for them; she is proud of them; she protects them with her strong arm; she pro- vides for them; she guides and inspires them. Your city is something more than a piece of ground; more than a net-work of streets and a mass of buildings. It is, as we have before said, a community with a mind and a purpose of its own. Your city is a greater thing than any man or woman who lives in it ; yes, a greater thing — more glorious and inspiring than all the people now living in it. For you knoAV that one day all the people now dwelling here will die or move away and their places will be filled by others. Years and generations will pass bringing ever new lives to replace the dead. But the city Avill survive; her span of life embraces all who have ever lived within her limits, from the earliest pioneer to the babe born yesterday. It readies out and stretches away into the future to embrace all those who shall come after us for a thousand years.. The city is a larger, more complete, more enduring individual within whose ample arms we all, as separate individuals, find our- selves at liome. ^j n 10? ft ,0^ >v^ • > -J? kPVj .• o^'^V •. %, '. 8?"n^ .HO, iP-r p^..' v" •- ^Ao< %.^^ >^^'- A' . %..^'' ■\./ 68 AON '^^' mom * 0^ ^2>