The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1897-01-28
CHAT FROM MADISON
GOSSIP AND COMMENT FROM
UNDER THE WHITE DOME.
ANTI-PAss CRUSADE BEGUN.
Assemblyman Hall Says the People Want
Reform An Historic Executive Man
sion Peril for Collegians in
Madison's Lakes.
Special to the TELEGRAPH COURIER.

executive mansion on Lake Mendoza,
where the Scofields live, rent free. at
| the expense of the state, is quite like
| the homes of the average business man
on, say, $500 a year. There are but
| two indoor servants, the cook and the
| maid. Both these were imported from
Oconto and have readily adjusted them
selves to their new work. The family
! proper is made up of the governor and
his wife and young Paul. the son. %
years old, slender fellow with a prom
Using black mustache, who has been in
stalled at one of the desks in the gov
ernor's office. Young Scofeld is free
| from the least suggestion of the big
head" and is in general favor about
the building.
Treat for Young People.
There are many visitors at the eXecu-
tive mansion these days, especially from
the north, relatives and others, and no
doubt for the young people especially,
week at the capital city is great
treat. Then, too, Governor Scofield
takes friends home to lunch or to the
evening dinner frequently. thus making
the old mansion, big as it is, a scene
of activity most of the time. Mrs. SEQ
field is a fine horse woman, and rust
ling pair of steeds are on their way to
Madison with the governors old coach
man This officials wages the gov
ernor pays. The state allows him man
to care for the place, but apart from
this there is no army of caretakers such
as are attached to the executive man
sion in Albany, n. Y. Maine is one of
the states that has worried along thus
far without any state-owned home. The
common people have regarded the in
novation as undemocratic. But the
Blaine home is in the market, the next
door to the Capitol, and it is now pro-
posed to purchase it, and fix it over for
successive governors to live in: This
will probably be done. 1t is sensible
thing to do. Some of our governors
cannot afford, out of the $4,000 salary
they receive, to make a creditable So
ciaI showing, and with such nice
home as Wisconsin provides, the task
is greatly simplified. The building. car
ries a piano, furniture, ETC., including
the famous Ole Bull bedstead, ire
rnendous great piece, that requires four
men to move it, The great Violinist
had this built for him and it was his
pride There is a tradition that. guests
who sleep in it can hear Wierd har-
monies, presumably derived from an
unhinged blind ratified by the wind that
sweeps up from the lake.
Speaking of the lake, another student
has met his death in it. With two
mates he was cavorting over it's great
surface at night-it is six miles long
by three wide-when the ice boat slid
into open water. The lake is fed by
warm springs at this point and the
freshmen say never freezes over. Two
of the lads swan to the ice in the bit
ter cold water but the third, Dakota
German boy, who could not swim.
drifted off into the darkness before the
wind. The opening was half mile
long and though men searched for hours
no trace of the submerged and inverted
craft could be found till next day Then
Kuehn was found dead under the sail,
twisted up in the ropes. 1t was ter
rible death and more tragic because
his two mates had to leave him in that
lonely place. but they were freezing
and one of them had tried the impos-
sible when he jumped back into the lake
in a frantic effort to reach the reced-
ing ice boat.
The Stree Pass" Evil
Of course one of the interesting top
les at the Capitol is Mr.. Halls efforts
to stop the free pass evil. Mr.. Halls
plan of putting the task in the hands
of a joint committee was adopted on
the advice of friends. They told him
that if he attempted to push it through
to a vote single-handed the railroads
and his enemies would raise the cry
that he was free pass crank" and
oppose it irrespective of the merits of
the measure So he has left the franz
ing of the measure in the hands of
commission: If, however. they are dis
posed to slur the matter he will put in
a minority report. The railroads. no
doubt. oppose it. In the election Clown
meetings) April 2, 1895. the vote was
SO, 900 against 700 in favor OF abolish"
ing passes, sleeping car permits. ex-
press and telegraph franks. County
boards have taken like action and es-
peciaIly has the Republican state con-
vention declared against 1t. but the
"eviI' is a delightful one for its bene-
ficiaries. The members Of the legislat-
ure not only have pasteboards them
selves, but can get passes for their
constituents to visit Madison-that is.
il the old policy is to be resumed this
winter. 1t is no exaggeration to say
that thousands of such slip passes were
issued in the old days; whole families
made journeys TO the capital city from
remote points. Our Madison merchants
and hotel men will be sorry to see the
pass abolished.
Sensible Thing TO Do.
Two years ago the railroad compa-
MES, especially the ST. Paul and North
western companies tired of subter-
ranean lobby methods. They gave their
entatives-Wiswell and Ring re-
spectively-a title, Legislative attor-
ney:" they secured headquarters in the
Park hotel and now they work in the
open. hoping for fair treatment from
| the people. IT was sensible thing to
! do. Ring is a former member hand
! some. silent man of the black-haired
| family Wiswell also conveys the i'm
| preston of being a Discreet man, not