Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-10-22

Hon. j w. Babcock, our present
representative in Congress, will sue
coed himself on November Sd. To
doubt this would be to doubt the
sound sense of the voters of Grant.
Iowa, Crawford, Richland, Sank, .Iu-
neau, Vernon and Adams counties,
and we believe no more intelligent
constituency can be found in the state
of Wisconsin,; to doubt his reelection
would be TO doubs that efficient ser
vice is, in the minds of honest men.
entitled to reward; to doubt it would
be to doubt that these counties are
overwhelmingly in favor of sound
money and unalterablv opposed to
fifty-cent dollars and the Popocratic
population.
Joseph Weeks Babcock was born in
Swanton, Vermont, March 6, 1850,
and with his parents removed to Iowa
in 1855. He received a common
school education at Mount Vernon and
Cedar Falls. He removed from Iowa
in 1881 and settled at Necedah, Wis
cousin, where he has since resided
By occupation Mr.. Babcock is lum-
herman. He has swung an ak in his
day and has worked his way up from
the bottom of the ladder Prior to
his election TO Congress in 1892 Mr..
Babcock had served two terms in our
state legislature as member of the
Assembly.
I Congressman Babcock is business
man, a whole-souled, genial man, who
attracts his fellow men by force of his
sturdy nature, by his self-reliance and
positive convictions, by his absolute
sincerity and hatred of sham and pre-
tense, and above all by the solid char
acter of his requirements, In Con-
gress he has never attempted to cap
ture the galleries with infammatorv
eloquence. He makes no pretense of
being a rhetorician. He realizes that
words are cheap and that there are
stronger appeals than those that seek
the ear and forget the mind. On the
floor of the house he is absolutely fair.
invariably courteous and dispassion-
ate, he presents business clearly and
logically and enjoys the confidence of
his associate members of all parties
to remarkable degree. Mr.. Babcock
is leader of the House, and he has
achieved his enviable reputation in a
very short time. The good offices of
no member are more in demand, be-
cause when Mr.. Babcock endorses a
measure he is credited with honest
convictions in its favor and because
with him conviction is born of careful
consideration by a clear head and log
ical mind.
Mr.. Babcock is at present serving
his second term and is chairman of
the committee on the District of Co
lumbia, one of the most important
committees in Congress. He served
on this committee during the SD. Con-
gress and rendered such valuable SER
vice to the committee and the Distric
that when the 54th. Congress came in
it was the unanimous desire of the
people of the District of Columbia that
Speaker Reed should appoint him to
the place he was pre-eminently quail
fed to fill, at the head of the COM
mittee. This wish of the people. evil
denced by petitions signed by thou
sands, was acceded to, and the resi-
dents of Washington and the outly-
ing territory have never had occasion
to regret their action.
Mr.. Babcock has been successful at
theqhead of the District committee
for the same reasons that have made
him successful elsewhere. He is an
everlasting worker, who permits
nothing to interfere with the perform
ance of duty. No member of Con-
gress can entertain a higher realiza-
ton of obligation to his constituents
than does Mr.. Babcock He never
forgets (as some representative are
inclined to do) that Re is in Washing
ton not for pleasure but in the inter
est of the citizens of southwest Wis
consin first. and Of all the people see
ond. Rich and poor apply to him
alike and receive the same treatment.
the same willing assistance. Every
minute of the day. with the exception
Of an hour or two for meals he spends
at work on the floor of the House. in