Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-03-08
THE STATE CAPIIsl.


Double first class prices for second
class hotel accommodations at Madison
are bearing fruit now. People are ex-
pressing their opinions. And the senti-
ment in favor of removal of the state
capitol seems to be quite strong
We doubt, however, if the matter OF
hotel rates and accommodations fur
nishes very strong reason for remov-
ing the capitol to any city except Mil
waukee. Ordinarily the state capital
does not attract many transient hotel
| guests. Except during sessions of the
legislature the Madison hotels would
scarcely realize that the capitol was
located in their city from any difference
it makes in the number of their guests.
Once in two years a session of the legis-
lature lasting about three months
draws a big crowd of legislators and
lobbyists. Then the hotels are of me-
cessity overcrowded, because it is not to
be expected that hotels will be built to
rnn Tor three months out of twenty
four, of the time.
Ii Madison has as many and as good
hotels as place of the size ought to
have, it is all that can be expected
Oshkosh being about twice the size of
Madison, could, of course, do better
But could Oshkosh fill the bill during
sessions of the legislature We doubt
it. And if not Oshkosh, then it goes
without saying that no city in the state
could do it but Milwaukee, at the pres
ent time.
But the location of a state capitol
should be chosen not merely with an
eye to the present. 1t should be select
ed mainly with an eye to the future
And the future MEAS growth, and
immense growth of all that part of the
state which was bowling wilderness
for decades following the location of
the capitol at the Village of Madison, "
by what was in 184S ''The people of the
state of Wisconsin," namely about
250,00O people living in the extreme
southern counties of the state The
location was well enough at that time,
and it was near enough to the wilder
ness to give leeway for considerable
growth. 1t was central enough as to
population until thirty years ago. But
since then, and especially during the
last ten years, the state has been grow
ing away from it, and during the next
twenty years the growth of the North
ern half of the state will be such that
the center of population will be at
Wausau, where the geographical CEN
ter now is,-about one hundred and
thirty miles north of Madison.
There is just one tier of counties IN this
state south Of the county, IN aohich Madison
is located. just take a glance at the
map and you will surely laugh at the
absurdity of the present location of the
state capitol. The state is narrow
down there. In the latitude of Madi
son the state is one hundred and fifty
miles wide. In the latitude of Wausau
it is three hundred miles wide. From
Madison to the Illinois state line is AZ
miles. From Madison to Bayfield, is
258 miles. Figure this out, and you
will see that Madison is the geographi-
cal center of section of the state the
area Of which is only $500 square miles,
while Wausau is the geographical CEN
ter of the whole state, an area of Sc, 600
square miles.
But there is another side to this ques-
ton. Does Wausau want the capitol
What are the benefits to be derived
from the location of the state capitol in
city 1t must be considered that this
does not mean the University That
will stay where it is. The capitol would
be questionable blessing to any city
not amply provided with hotel accom-
modations. The University is a great
benefit to Madison. But the capitol has
made such impossible demands upon
that little city during sessions of the
legislature that it may well be ques-
toned if it has not, on the whole, been
more of a loss than gain. And. of
course, it would do Wausau no more
good than it has done for Madison
For one, we think, new factory rep
resenting an investment of $4,000
would do Wausau more good than the
state capitol building. Believing this,
both as to Wausau and every other city
of like size, we see no inducement for
Wausau, or any other place, outside of
Milwaukee, to make any effort or offer
any inducement to obtain the capitol
building
But with the people of the state at
large the case is different They will
never be treated sright by leaving the
state capitol in TIE extreme southern
end of the state, and they ought to de-
mand its removal to some more central
location. Either Oshkosh or Eau Claire
would be quite an Improvement over
the present site, though either of those
two cities is far from an ideal location,
as one is too far east and the other too
far west. A much better location than
either Oshkosh or Eau Claire would be
Grand Rapids which has four railroads,
and is in that respect much better
equipped than Madison which has
really only two, unless we count the
little streak of rust that the Illinois
Central ran in there which is scarcely
better than stage line. The location
of Stevens Point would be slightly bet
ter than Grand Rapids-more central
to the state, but its railroad facilities
are insufficient. Of course, Just now
Grand Rapids is rather small city to
assume the care of the extra population
that would come in with the legislative
sessions But ali indications are that
Grand Rapids is going to become city