Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-01-17
existing may continue uninterrupted for years
AIR LINE LABORERS.

! may have incurred Ill feeding the 1aborers then
| thrown out of employment by the failure of
| the Chicago, Portage and Superior Railroad
| company. Ihere have been paid to the la
| borers direct S36, 429.9 5; TO the purchasers of
| time checks $5, 1890, and there was prO-rated
| to the subcontractors, material and supply men
! the sum of 1888, 087.07. The work of finding
the amounts due and disbursing the sums has
| been very large; numerous claims have been
| dlsall0Wed and many have been cut down. The
| claims of the officers and engineer corps have
| been dlsalloWed, and the question ltigated in
tne supreme court, and the rejection of such
| claims fully sustained by the court. The Sc
curlty eXacted from the company to which the
grant was made by chapter 10 has been found
ample to protect the state against all liability
incurred in feeding labOrers and otherwise.
FISHERIES. f..
+ The commissioners of fisheries working
I without pay, have mGrited appreciation for the
| success of their work. They have distributed
! during the year nearly million of trout fry
and are preparing to add, during the coming
! year, whitetsh and wall eyed pike. 1t is sug-
| gested that III many of the counties in the state
1t would be very profitable, and is almost ne
cessary, that there be fish warden. whose duty
1t shall be to see that the laws for the preserva-
| ton and protection of fish are duly executed
! The expenditures madesby the fish commission
for the last fiscal year were ST. 49, 6, and they
| estimate that their expenditures for the next
! two years will be IS, 600 q year. This enter
|
every state in the Union, and Wisconsin is not
behind IN the progress made.
IMMIGRATION.
BY reference to the tables of the report of
| the Board of immigration, it Will be seen that
OF the %, 952 immigrants arriving in Mllwau-
kee during the calendar year. 81 1853 have
found homes in our state and it is safe to say
that fully 10000 more have gone into Wiscon-
sin direct from Chicago without passing
through Milwaukee. The great majority of
these new corners have settled in the northern
parts OF the state. They were chiefly small
farmers and farm laborers from Germany and
Norway and Sweden, and will become impOI-
tant factors IN developing the agricultural and
other natural resources Of northern Wisconsin
The disbursements of the commission have
been 85,147.88
ILLUMINATING OILS.
The State Supervisor Of Inspectors of Hum
mating Oils reports the workings of the inspec-
tors Of oils throughout the State and the
names o. the various inspectors appointed by
him. He reports that there have been ONLY
two accidents reported to him that proved to
be lamp EXPLOSIONS" and he suggests some
amendments to the law relating to illuminat-
ing oils, and l commend bis report to your
careful consideration.
LEWISTON LEvEE.
The Lewiston levee, provided for by chapter
| l3S, laws of 1881, has been completed IN a
very satisfactory manner, and the commission
| ers have drawn the amount appropriated by
| the state therefor. The entire cost of the
word was $4,000, and the general government
has assumed the payment OF SO, 900, and the
town of Lewiston has agreed, by it's board of
supervisors, to keep the levee in good condi-
ton and repair for twenty years
OVERFLOW OF FOX RIVER.
In conformity to the request contained IN
joint resolution No. 81, senate, the attorney
general and myself visited Washington to con.
fer with the proper officers of the government
as to the action which might and should be
taken to abate the overflow in the Fox River
and Lake WlnnebagO, and to prevent future
injury to property around said lake and along
said river. By agreement with the government
officers, and through the efforts Of our deega-
ton in the senate and house, the following pro
viso upon the subject was inserted in the clause
of the river and harbor bill, mading appropri-
alton for the Improvement of the Fox and
Wisconsin Rivers:
a" Provided, That the secretary of war shall
without delay, cause the channel of the Low
er Fox River, between Lake WinnebagO and
the upper government dam at Appleton, to be
restored to its natural width and capacity and
shall cause such changes and alterations to be
made IN the dams at Menasha and Appleton.
not inconsistent with security to navigation, as
may be necessary to reduce to and maintain
the waters of Lake WinnebagO and Little
Buttes des MOrtes, respectively, at their natural
helght; and sufficient amount OF said sum
appropriated is made immediately available"
1t only remains now for the secretary of war,
| through the engineer department. to carry out
the plan agreed upon and authorized by law.
1t is hoped that action will not longer be de-
layed, and that the plan adopted will afford adj
equate protection against injury from overflow,
and that, too, without detriment to any other
locality or property.
CAPITOL EXTENSION
Under the provisions of law enacted by the
asst legislature, the supreme court named Hon.
N. B. Van Slyke and Hon. John Winans, and
the State Historical Society named Hon. E. w.
Reyes, as commissioners, with certain of the
state officers named therein. to contract for
the construction of a capitol extension. The
board has performed this duty with much care,
and the extensions are being erected in
thorough and substantial manner and will be
ready for occupancy within the present year.
There has been expended of the appropriation
thus far the sum of $49, 217.89 for work al
ready completed, the state retaining as guar
antee for the fulfllment of the contract. Is
per cent. of the estimated cost of the work
done.
AGRICULTURE.
This is the foremost interest in our state and
merits your most consderate attention. The
societies which have been organized for the
advancement Of the various branches of agri-
culture should be literally sustained. The
time has arrived when means should be pro-
Vided for gathering accurate monthly crop and
live stock reports during the growing season,
and complete labor statistics and their prompt
circulation among the people. For this pur-
pose would recommend that you provide for
state bureau Of agricultural and labor stat
istics.
THE STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
has been of material value to the farmers of
the state, yet its influence for good could be
largely increased if il received that encourage
ment which its Importance demands. The So
ciety is. now embarrassed by indebtedness
amounting to some "a, 900, caused in meas
ure by clause in the act of last winter, appro-
priating two thousand dollars upon certain
conditions which the society failed to comply
with. | recommend that the conditions i'm
posed by the acts apprcpriating aid to the state
and Northern agricultural societies be re-
moved, and sufficient amount appropriated
to pay the Indebtedness of the former
DAIRYING.
The dairy interest of our state has grown
with such wonderful rapidity that it stands to-
day second to lone in the Union. Our dairy |
products have now national reputation and |
are eagerly sought in the markets. The Wis |
consin Dairymens Association is accomplish |
i