# 68th Wisconsin Legislature

The Sixty-Eighth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 8, 1947, to September 11, 1947, in regular session, and reconvened in a special session in July 1948.
Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 5, 1946. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 7, 1944.
The governor of Wisconsin at the start of this legislative term was Republican Walter Samuel Goodland, of Racine County, serving the first months of his third two-year term, having won re-election in the 1946 Wisconsin gubernatorial election. Goodland died of a heart attack on March 12, 1947. At that time, the lieutenant governor, Republican Oscar Rennebohm, of Dane County, then ascended to become governor for the remainder of this legislative term.

## Major events

* January 6, 1947: Third inauguration of Walter Samuel Goodland as Governor of Wisconsin.
* February 20, 1947: The U.S. Army Hermes program launched the Blossom I rocket into space, carrying plants and fruit flies. These were first the living things launched into space by humans.
* March 12, 1947:
** U.S. President Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine to Congress, stating that it would be U.S. policy to defend democracies against authoritarian threats.
** Wisconsin governor Walter Samuel Goodland died in office. He was immediately succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Oscar Rennebohm as the 32nd governor of Wisconsin.
* April 1, 1947: Judge Henry P. Hughes was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, defeating incumbent justice James Ward Rector.
* April 16, 1947: The first use of the term Cold War to describe the postwar tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union.
* May 22, 1947: U.S. President Harry Truman signed an act of Congress implementing his Truman doctrine and providing military and economic aide to Turkey and Greece.
* June 23, 1947: The U.S. Congress overrode President Harry Truman's veto of the Taft–Hartley Act, restricting the powers of labor unions.
* July 26, 1947: U.S. President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, creating the United States Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the United States National Security Council, and the Central Intelligence Agency.
* October 5, 1947: U.S. President Harry Truman delivered the first televised presidential address.
* October 14, 1947: U.S. Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager was the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound, piloting the Bell X-1 rocket plane.
* October 30, 1947: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was signed by 23 nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
* November 24, 1947: The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve citations of Contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten" for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
* November 29, 1947: The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was approved by the United Nations General Assembly.
* January 30, 1948: Indian anti-colonial peace activist Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi.
* March 8, 1948: In the case McCollum v. Board of Education, the United States Supreme Court ruled that religious instruction in public schools violated the U.S. Constitution.
* April 3, 1948: U.S. President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan (the European Recovery Program) into law.
* April 8, 1948: Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Chester A. Fowler died in office.
* June 1, 1948: Wisconsin Governor Oscar Rennebohm appointed John E. Martin to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to succeed the deceased justice Chester A. Fowler.
* June 24, 1948: The Soviet Union implemented a blockade of West Berlin.
* June 26, 1948: Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Elmer E. Barlow died in office.
* July 26, 1948: U.S. President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, ending racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces
* November 2, 1948: 1948 United States general election:
** Harry S. Truman (D) elected President of the United States.
** Oscar Rennebohm elected Governor of Wisconsin.
** Wisconsin voters rejected an amendment to the state constitution to repeal the section on municipal eminent domain.
* November 12, 1948: Wisconsin Governor Oscar Rennebohm appointed Grover L. Broadfoot to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to succeed the deceased justice Elmer E. Barlow.
* December 9, 1948: The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
* December 10, 1948: The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

## Major legislation

* June 26, 1947: An Act ... relating to records of state officers and making an appropriation, 1947 Act 316. Created the Committee on Public Records within the Wisconsin Historical Society.
* July 16, 1947: An Act ... providing for a commissioner of banks, a commissioner of saving and loan associations, a supervisor of credit unions, and a credit union review board, abolishing the banking commission, transferring files and personnel, making an appropriation, and providing penalties, 1947 Act 411. Reorganized the Wisconsin Department of Banking and related agencies.
* 1947 Joint Resolution 48: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to repeal the section on municipal eminent domain. This amendment was rejected by voters at the November 1948 election.

## Party summary
### Senate summary

| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |
| | Dem. | Prog. | Rep. | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Legislature | 6 | 5 | 21 | 32 | 1 |
| Start of Reg. Session | 5 | 1 | 27 | 33 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 18.18% | 18.18% | 81.82% | | |
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 4 | 0 | 27 | 31 | 2 |

### Assembly summary

| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |
| | Dem. | Prog. | Rep. | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Legislature | 19 | 5 | 70 | 95 | 5 |
| Start of Reg. Session | 12 | 0 | 88 | 100 | 0 |
| From Oct. 2, 1947 | 12 | 0 | 87 | 99 | 1 |
| Final voting share | 12.12% | 12.12% | 87.88% | | |
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 26 | 0 | 74 | 100 | 0 |

## Sessions

* Regular session: January 8, 1947 – September 11, 1947
* July 1948 special session: July 19, 1948 – July 20, 1948

## Leaders
### Senate leadership

* President of the Senate: Oscar Rennebohm (R) (until Mar. 12, 1947)
* President pro tempore: Frank E. Panzer (R–Oakfield)
* Majority leader: Warren P. Knowles (R–New Richmond)
* Minority leader: Robert Emmet Tehan (D–Milwaukee)

### Assembly leadership

* Speaker of the Assembly: Donald C. McDowell (R–Soldiers Grove)
* Majority leader: Vernon W. Thomson (R–Richland Center)
* Minority leader: Leland McParland (D–Milwaukee)

## Members
### Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Sixty-Eighth Wisconsin Legislature:
| Dist. | Counties | Senator | Residence | Party |
| 01 | Door, Kewaunee, & Manitowoc | Everett LaFond | Two Rivers | Rep. |
| 02 | Brown & Oconto | Harold A. Lytie | Green Bay | Dem. |
| 03 | Milwaukee (South City) | Clement J. Zablocki | Milwaukee | Dem. |
| 04 | Milwaukee (Northeast County & Northeast City) | John C. McBride | Milwaukee | Rep. |
| 05 | Milwaukee (Northwest City) | Bernhard Gettelman | Milwaukee | Rep. |
| 06 | Milwaukee (North-Central City) | Edward Reuther | Milwaukee | Dem. |
| 07 | Milwaukee (Southeast County & Southeast City) | Anthony P. Gawronski | Milwaukee | Dem. |
| 08 | Milwaukee (Western County) | Allen Busby | West Milwaukee | Rep. |
| 09 | Milwaukee (City Downtown) | Robert E. Tehan | Milwaukee | Dem. |
| 10 | Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, & St. Croix | Warren P. Knowles | New Richmond | Rep. |
| 11 | Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, & Washburn | Arthur Lenroot Jr. | Superior | Rep. |
| 12 | Ashland, Iron, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, & Vilas | Ernest A. Heden | Glidden | Rep. |
| 13 | Dodge & Washington | Frank E. Panzer | Oakfield | Rep. |
| 14 | Outagamie & Shawano | Gordon A. Bubolz | Appleton | Rep. |
| 15 | Rock | Robert P. Robinson | Beloit | Rep. |
| 16 | Crawford, Grant, & Vernon | Foster B. Porter | Bloomington | Rep. |
| 17 | Green, Iowa, & Lafayette | Melvin Olson | South Wayne | Rep. |
| 18 | Fond du Lac, Green Lake & Waushara | Louis J. Fellenz Jr. | Fond du Lac | Rep. |
| 19 | Calumet & Winnebago | Taylor G. Brown | Oshkosh | Rep. |
| 20 | Ozaukee & Sheboygan | Gustave W. Buchen | Sheboygan | Rep. |
| 21 | Racine | Edward F. Hilker | Racine | Rep. |
| 22 | Kenosha & Walworth | Conrad Shearer | Kenosha | Rep. |
| 23 | Portage & Waupaca | Oscar W. Neale | Stevens Point | Rep. |
| 24 | Clark, Taylor, & Wood | Melvin Laird Jr. | Marshfield | Rep. |
| 25 | Lincoln & Marathon | Clifford Krueger | Merrill | Rep. |
| 26 | Dane | Fred Risser | Madison | Prog. |
| 27 | Columbia, Richland, & Sauk | Jess Miller | Richland Center | Rep. |
| 28 | Chippewa & Eau Claire | George H. Hipke | Stanley | Rep. |
| 29 | Barron, Dunn, & Polk | Charles D. Madsen | Luck | Rep. |
| 30 | Florence, Forest, Langlade, Marinette, & Oneida | Philip Downing | Amberg | Rep. |
| 31 | Adams, Juneau, Monroe, & Marquette | J. Earl Leverich | Sparta | Rep. |
| 32 | Jackson, La Crosse, & Trempealeau | Rudolph Schlabach | La Crosse | Rep. |
| 33 | Jefferson & Waukesha | Chester Dempsey | Hartland | Rep. |

### Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Sixty-Eighth Wisconsin Legislature:
| Senate Dist. | County | Dist. | Representative | Party | Residence |
| 31 | Adams & Marquette | Adams & Marquette | Louis C. Romell | Rep. | Adams |
| 12 | Ashland | Ashland | Bernard J. Gehrmann | Rep. | Mellen |
| 29 | Barron | Barron | Charles H. Sykes | Rep. | Cameron |
| 11 | Bayfield | Bayfield | Samuel E. Squires | Rep. | Mason |
| 02 | Brown | 1 | Robert E. Lynch | Dem. | Green Bay |
| 02 | Brown | 2 | Harvey Larsen | Rep. | Denmark |
| 10 | Buffalo & Pepin | Buffalo & Pepin | Grover L. Broadfoot | Rep. | Mondovi |
| 11 | Burnett & Washburn | Burnett & Washburn | Guy Benson | Rep. | Spooner |
| 19 | Calumet | Calumet | Charles R. Barnard | Rep. | Brillion |
| 28 | Chippewa | Chippewa | Arthur L. Padrutt | Rep. | Chippewa Falls |
| 24 | Clark | Clark | Arthur E. Stadler | Rep. | Owen |
| 27 | Columbia | Columbia | Arnie F. Betts | Rep. | Lodi |
| 16 | Crawford | Crawford | Donald C. McDowell | Rep. | Soldiers Grove |
| 26 | Dane | 1 | Lyall T. Beggs | Rep. | Madison |
| 26 | Dane | 2 | Earl Mullen | Rep. | Blooming Grove |
| 26 | Dane | 3 | Rudy W. Roethlisberger | Rep. | Verona |
| 13 | Dodge | 1 | Elmer L. Genzmer | Rep. | Mayville |
| 13 | Dodge | 2 | Jesse A. Canniff | Rep. | Beaver Dam |
| 01 | Door | Door | Alex Meunier | Rep. | Sturgeon Bay |
| 11 | Douglas | 1 | Albert D. Whealdon | Rep. | Superior |
| 11 | Douglas | 2 | Charles E. Nelson | Rep. | Superior |
| 29 | Dunn | Dunn | Earl W. Hanson | Rep. | Elk Mound |
| 28 | Eau Claire | Eau Claire | John T. Pritchard | Rep. | Eau Claire |
| 30 | Florence, Forest, & Oneida | Florence, Forest, & Oneida | Walter S. Fisher | Rep. | Minocqua |
| 18 | Fond du Lac | 1 | Myrton H. Duel | Rep. | Fond du Lac |
| 18 | Fond du Lac | 2 | Alfred Van De Zande | Rep. | Campbellsport |
| 16 | Grant | 1 | Robert S. Travis | Rep. | Platteville |
| 16 | Grant | 2 | Hugh A. Harper | Rep. | Lancaster |
| 17 | Green | Green | Ray H. Schoonover | Rep. | Monroe |
| 18 | Green Lake & Waushara | Green Lake & Waushara | Boyd A. Clark | Rep. | Wild Rose |
| 17 | Iowa | Iowa | Robert McCutchin | Rep. | Arena |
| 12 | Iron & Vilas | Iron & Vilas | Alex J. Raineri | Rep. | Hurley |
| 32 | Jackson | Jackson | Casper D. Waller | Rep. | Black River Falls |
| 33 | Jefferson | Jefferson | Theodore S. Jones | Rep. | Lake Mills |
| 31 | Juneau | Juneau | Ben Tremain | Rep. | Hustler |
| 22 | Kenosha | 1 | Frederick Pfennig | Rep. | Kenosha |
| 22 | Kenosha | 2 | George Molinaro | Dem. | Kenosha |
| 01 | Kewaunee | Kewaunee | Joseph M. Mleziva | Rep. | Luxemburg |
| 32 | La Crosse | 1 | Raymond Bice Sr. | Rep. | La Crosse |
| 32 | La Crosse | 2 | Harry W. Schilling | Rep. | Onalaska |
| 17 | Lafayette | Lafayette | Martin O. Monson | Rep. | South Wayne |
| 30 | Langlade | Langlade | Clair Finch | Rep. | Antigo |
| 25 | Lincoln | Lincoln | Emil A. Hinz | Rep. | Merrill |
| 01 | Manitowoc | 1 | Otto A. Vogel | Rep. | Manitowoc |
| 01 | Manitowoc | 2 | Frank J. LeClair | Rep. | Two Rivers |
| 25 | Marathon | 1 | Martin C. Lueck | Rep. | Hamburg |
| 25 | Marathon | 2 | Paul A. Luedtke | Rep. | Wausau |
| 30 | Marinette | Marinette | Roy H. Sengstock | Rep. | Marinette |
| 09 | Milwaukee | 1 | John M. Cavey | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 06 | Milwaukee | 2 | Michael F. O'Connell | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 08 | Milwaukee | 3 | Louis Hicks | Rep. | West Allis |
| 09 | Milwaukee | 4 | Frank E. Schaeffer Jr. | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 03 | Milwaukee | 5 | Casimir Kendziorski | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 09 | Milwaukee | 6 | Le Roy Simmons | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 06 | Milwaukee | 7 | Clyde Follansbee | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 08 | Milwaukee | 8 | John E. Finnegan | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 05 | Milwaukee | 9 | Edward L. Graf | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 07 | Milwaukee | 10 | Leland McParland | Dem. | Cudahy |
| 03 | Milwaukee | 11 | Ervin J. Ryczek | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 07 | Milwaukee | 12 | William Banach | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 04 | Milwaukee | 13 | William Nawrocki | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 04 | Milwaukee | 14 | John D. Heimick | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 05 | Milwaukee | 15 | Charles E. Collar | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 06 | Milwaukee | 16 | Ernest L. Riebau (died Oct. 2, 1947) | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 07 | Milwaukee | 17 | Martin F. Howard | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 06 | Milwaukee | 18 | Paul Jaeger | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 05 | Milwaukee | 19 | Charles F. Westfahl | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 08 | Milwaukee | 20 | Milton F. Burmaster | Rep. | Wauwatosa |
| 31 | Monroe | Monroe | Alex L. Nicol | Rep. | Sparta |
| 02 | Oconto | Oconto | John E. Youngs | Rep. | Oconto |
| 14 | Outagamie | 1 | Fred H. Frank | Rep. | Appleton |
| 14 | Outagamie | 2 | William M. Rohan | Rep. | Kaukauna |
| 20 | Ozaukee | Ozaukee | Ralph Zaun | Rep. | Grafton |
| 10 | Pierce | Pierce | Selmer W. Gunderson | Rep. | Spring Valley |
| 29 | Polk | Polk | Raymond A. Peabody | Rep. | Milltown |
| 23 | Portage | Portage | John Kostuck | Dem. | Stevens Point |
| 12 | Price | Price | Mike Cummings | Rep. | Fifield |
| 21 | Racine | 1 | Carl C. Christensen | Rep. | Racine |
| 21 | Racine | 2 | Wallace E. Nield | Rep. | Racine |
| 21 | Racine | 3 | Randolph H. Runden | Rep. | Union Grove |
| 27 | Richland | Richland | Vernon W. Thomson | Rep. | Richland Center |
| 15 | Rock | 1 | Edward Grassman | Rep. | Edgerton |
| 15 | Rock | 2 | Burger M. Engebretson | Rep. | Beloit |
| 12 | Rusk & Sawyer | Rusk & Sawyer | Herman Clausen | Rep. | Bruce |
| 27 | Sauk | Sauk | George J. Woerth | Rep. | Prairie du Sac |
| 14 | Shawano | Shawano | Charles Ebert | Rep. | Gresham |
| 20 | Sheboygan | 1 | John Schneider Jr. | Dem. | Sheboygan |
| 20 | Sheboygan | 2 | Henry W. Timmer | Rep. | Waldo |
| 10 | St. Croix | St. Croix | Elmer L. Rundell | Rep. | Roberts |
| 24 | Taylor | Taylor | Nels Andersen | Rep. | Gilman |
| 32 | Trempealeau | Trempealeau | Guilford M. Wiley | Rep. | Galesville |
| 16 | Vernon | Vernon | Arthur O. Mockrud | Rep. | Westby |
| 22 | Walworth | Walworth | Ora R. Rice | Rep. | Delavan |
| 13 | Washington | Washington | Theodore Holtebeck | Rep. | West Bend |
| 33 | Waukesha | 1 | David L. Dancey | Rep. | Waukesha |
| 33 | Waukesha | 2 | Alfred R. Ludvigsen | Rep. | Hartland |
| 23 | Waupaca | Waupaca | Julius Spearbraker | Rep. | Clintonville |
| 19 | Winnebago | 1 | Harvey R. Abraham | Rep. | Oshkosh |
| 19 | Winnebago | 2 | Richard J. Steffens | Rep. | Menasha |
| 24 | Wood | Wood | William W. Clark | Rep. | Vesper |

## Committees
### Senate committees

* Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Conservation – M. Olson, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on Committees – J. Miller, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on Contingent Expenditures – E. F. Hilker, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on Education and Public Welfare – R. P. Robinson, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on Highways – J. Miller, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on the Judiciary – G. W. Buchen, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on Labor and Management – L. J. Fellenz, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on Legislative Procedure – F. E. Panzer, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on State and Local Government – R. Schlabach, chair
* Senate Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs – F. B. Porter, chair

### Assembly committees

* Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture – O. R. Rice, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce and Manufacturing – C. R. Barnard, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Conservation – J. E. Youngs, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Contingent Expenditures – J. M. Mleziva, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Education – W. W. Clark, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Elections – C. E. Collar, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Engrossed Bills – C. Ebert, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Enrolled Bills – E. L. Rundell, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Excise and Fees – W. S. Fisher, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Highways – H. A. Harper, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance and Banking – B. M. Engebretson, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on the Judiciary – V. W. Thomson, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Labor – E. L. Genzmer, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Municipalities – P. A. Luedtke, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Printing – G. J. Woerth, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Public Welfare – E. W. Hanson, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Revision – T. Holtebeck, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Rules – F. Pfennig, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on State Affairs – R. H. Runden, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Taxation – J. A. Canniff, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Third Reading – F. H. Frank, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Transportation – A. Van De Zande, chair
* Assembly Standing Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs – C. C. Christensen, chair

### Joint committees

* Joint Standing Committee on Finance – G. H. Hipke (Sen.) & J. Spearbraker (Asm.), co-chairs
* Joint Standing Committee on Revisions, Repeals, and Uniform Laws – J. C. McBride (Sen.) & M. F. Burmaster (Asm.), co-chairs
* Joint Legislative Council – W. P. Knowles (Sen.), chair

## Employees
### Senate employees

* Chief Clerk: Thomas M. Donahue
** Assistant Chief Clerk: W. Wrenn O'Connell
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Harold Damon
** Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Edward R. Stoker

### Assembly employees

* Chief Clerk: Arthur L. May
** Assistant Chief Clerk: Robert H. Boyson
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Norris J. Kellman