The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1899-03-17

him and the last time over $3.50. He
was lifelong friend of Cadwallader
Washburn; was with him in Arkansas
when he died, and like all those who
knew that great son of Maine, thinks
he was the biggest man on whom the
sun of Wisconsin ever shone.
Senator Withee has q rough exterior
and he votes wrong on some questions,
but if you want to see the light blue
eyes kinGle under the shaggy gray
lashes and the mouth lines soften like
Woman's, you get the old man talk
ms about when he was i boy beside
the gentle Kennebec or his early hard
ships in the virgin forests of the wild
I erness which he has done so much to
subdue.
Teuth Week of Session.
This is the beginning Of the tenth
week Of the legislature. Things are
moving slowly Of the SIS bills intro
duced in the assembly, sixty-five have
passed that body and eighty have been
officially killed Only eleven of the
sixtyfive have gone to the governor.
It looks very slow on the face of it,
burthe important biIIs are pretty wen
understood by this time, and when both
branches get .tired of reference to COM
mittee to be courteous to somebody, the
slaughter will be by the score Of bills
per day.
Parceling Out Pie by the Map.
The biggest thing that happened to US
last week was the passage by the SEN
ate of McGillivray's bill to parcel out
the patronage of the state by counties.
10 Nv
people breathed a long breath when,
at the last moment, it was decided to
omit the faculty from the grabbag.
Otherwise, if President Adams needed a
teacher of bacteriology and it was
Forrest county's turn to reach for pie,
Forrest county would fill the chair. So,
too, if the agricultural school needed a
man to tie up COWS and sow sugar beet
seed, the classic purlieus Of the Pollock
ward of Milwaukee might be called
upon to surrender it's choicest son.
It is difficult to discuss this patron
age scheme seriously. When there is
so much talk Of civil service reform in
the air, the proposition is a wrench Of
the hand of progress backward on the
dial Of destiny.
LaFo1lette's Editor Tells a Story.
The best story told here at the meet
ing of the State Press association was
not by Ex-Governor Hoard, or ex-Gov-
ernOr Peck-bOth of whom were much
in evidence-but by Roger M. Andrews,
the editor of the LaFollette paper, The
State. The debate was on the free-pass.
Mr.. Rock Flint made brilliant re-
view Of the history of the giving of
pass favors not only to lawmakers, but
to preachers, etc, and traced the growth
of the curious custom, and others had
discussed it when Andrews unloaded
the following:
He said an impecunious newspaper
man was cumming his y from Chi
cagO to Louisville, where he had heard
there was a vacancy on Henry Waiter
sons Courier Journal He had not q
cent on rs person, but when the con-
ductor touched him on the shoulder the
traveller made as if to present pass.
THAT'S strange" the cheeky newspa-
per man said, feeling in his pockets.
I'm city editor of The Courier Journal
and have lost my transportation"
Don't be Worried" replied the con-
ductor, politely. Mr.. Watterson is in
the Pullman just ahead and if he'll
Identify you, it will be all right"
The penniless traveller was nearly
dead with fright, but a few moments Ia
ter the conductor led him into the next
car.
"Mr. Watterson," said he, this young
man says he is your city editor. You
identify him?''
Certainly" replied the great man.
"He has been with us fourteen years"
The scribe went back to his car. Fear
had given way to wonder Finally, his
curiosity could stand it not longer. He
walked back into the Pullman.
Excuse me- Colonel Watterson, but
[ would like to know why you made it
so easy for me tonight. I was never in
Louisville. I never saw you before in
my life.
"Hush," replied the great man, look
ing round, fearfully. Don't say one
word. My name amt Watterson. I'm
travelling on his pass"
The story didn't have any particular
point, but it broke us all up for
number of minutes.
Losing Ground in Clay Products.
The geographical survey people want
$500 for their work. 1t may be inter
esting to know that Wisconsin is fiji
Of her granite products; ninth in the
value of her sandstone products, and
eighth in the value Of her limestone
products. The total value Of the gran
ite quarried in the United States for
1896 was 1884, 1894. Wisconsin's share
of this total was only $126,6 $50. Out of
total output of $4,023199 of sandstone,
Wisconsin exploited $65O17 worth The
Of I;r,,o CIR
of which Wisconsin quarried $685.
worth. In the stone industry, as a
whole, Wisconsin at present ranks
thirteenth, but with a better apprecia-
ton of the value of Wisconsin stone and
a knowledge that it is not surpassed
by imported stone, there seems to be
little question but that Wisconsin's rank
will be far above that which it at pres
ont hal6S