The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1899-11-17
HARRISON LUDDINGTON
Who Succeeded Pioneer Juneau
i'm Business.
BEAT TAYLOR BY ONLY 700 VOTES.

Her-Christian Socialists in Barron
County-Noxious Weeds That Might
Have Been Vegetables.
Madison, Wis. Nov. 14.-It appears
that the litigation over the estate Of
the late Governor LuddingtOn has
abated. This big lumberman (the
Michigan city was named for the fam
lily and he was born in Luddington-
vile, Putnam county, n. W was a
typical Milwaukee product. He died
in 1891, at the age of n, after ten
days of paralysis.
A cousin of his, James Luddington,
also a notable man of affairs, curious
ly escaped the Newhall hotel horror.
His friend, Elisha Starr, had faithful
ly cared for him for years. James
LuddingtOn was an invalid and lived in
the hotel for years, his disease Undue
ing at times the enormous weight of
$50 pounds. Starr had arranged for a
possible fire for his sick friend for
long time. He had a perfect system.
He practiced strapping Luddington in
a wheel chair-fOr he was paralyzed-
and throwing his possessions into a
trunk for rapid escape. Sure enough,
the expected fire alarm came. In ten
minutes Starr had his friend on the
sidewalk with all his valuable papers
and belongings, while scores of those
unprepared met their death.
Carried First Wheat on His Back.
But to revert to Governor Ludding-
ton. He reached Milwaukee early in
1888, with an uncle, and succeeded to
the mercantile business of Solomon
Juneau.
Luddington brought the first seed
wheat from the east and bought the
first load of wheat in Milwaukee. His
business friends used to call him ''the
first elevator in the state" for the
young merchant carried it upstairs on
his back. In 1851 he went into lum-
bering with his relatives. and for fifty.
three years the big, burly old fellow
was proud Of his unimpaired credit.
When he died his money was found in
vested in Menominee sawmills, pine
lands in Michigan, and southern states.
and business blocks in Milwaukee. The
fortune reached the million mark.
Like other governors, the mayoral
ty of Milwaukee led to the position.
He was three times mayor and left
that position to succeed Governor Tay-
lor, who was what now would be called
Of the populist order. Luddington at
tracted attention by his ability to be
elected alderman and mayor in city
where everything was supposed to be
Democratic. He could get close to the
"boys" and they knew no politics
when he wanted honors. Taylor was
nominated for a second term Tin 1879,
but Luddington beat him by a narrow
margin. LuddingtOn had S5, 1854 votes
and Taylor S4,374. All of Luddington's
associates on the ticket, however, were
defeated
The Battleship Wisconsin.
We have heard much about the bat
tleship Wisconsin, which the Steven
son party went to San Francisco to
Christen. From all accounts it will be
a powerful craft, indeed. The formal
trial of speed was to have been this
month, but delay in making armOr
plate at Bethlehem, Pa, made this i'm
possible. Six hundred men are at work
in completing the naval giant which
will cost Uncle Sam about $5,OOO,OOO.
There have been several ''dock trials"
that is, her great engines have been
set in motion and the steel prOpellers
have swiftly churned up the muddy
water of the slip, just to see that ev-
erything was in running order The
trials have been highly satisfactory.
1000 Tons Heavier Than the Oregon.
The Oregon and Olympia were built
in this yard. The Wisconsin will be
greater than the admiral's boat in
many ways, and will be 1000 tons
10 %boy
the navy. Only the Ohio of all the
ships built here will surpass her in
size. The latter will be twenty feet
longer, and larger by 1000 TONS
One who has inspected the Wiscon-
sin says the striking thing about a
modern war vessel is the economical
use Of space. A rod is bent here, a
pipe there, or a whole piece of ma
chinery is of a peculiar pattern to fit
it's environment and permit of the op-
GRAFTON of other intricate parts. Not
an inch of space is WaSted-not a
pound of extra weight is carried; from
keel to coming tower the ship is a
marvel of harmonious utilization of
matter and energy manifested in steel
and steam-11, 525 tons must be driven
sixteen knots an hour and it takes
lZ,0OO morse power to dO lt-nO more
or less-and the shock and rebound of
the 13-inch guns above the heavy
frame of steel to be reckoned with
too!
Panthers at Thirty Miles an Hour.
OF course there are faster boats. In
the yard are three torpedo boat de-
strOyers, the Paul Jones, the Preble,
and the Perry, long, graceful beauties,
fragile as eggshells and swift and
cruel as panthers. They weigh 42O
tons each and will make thirty knots
an hour with their relentless rapid
fire guns and torpedoes. But the
Wisconsin is massive and substantial,
like the state she is named for. Around
the sides of the engine rooms and ex-
tending forward over the vitals of the
ship is the heaviest armor-sixteen
inches of steel extending four feet un-
der water. All this is lined with Gel
lulose packing simply compressed
cornstalk pith-that is to close over
any aperture forced in their plates by
solid shot OF rock, and by it's swell