The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-28
SKETCH OF VIM. GREEN.
Boyhood Friend Writes of His Career
and Daily Life.

| stopped, staring at each other in Il
puzzled way. and one of them said to to-
| the other: What is your name?''
The man thus accosted said: will
| liam Green" And his interlocutor re-
| piled: well. 1 thought so, though I
have not seen you seen we charged
| over the breastw at Petersburg
THAT may be-" said Mr.. Green. but
l can't tell your name, for all that
Then the stranger said, why, I'm
| Captain Belden of Company c, Thirty
| seventh Wisconsin. and it is over forty
years since that bloody day." The
| the hands of two old comrades met,
| and two pleased men walked down to
| the store and recounted the times and
| incidents of the great war. in which
| they were associated as comrades and
| terminates, and 1t may be taken for
granted that the captain who led the
company in that bloody charge is
| welcome guest in the home of William
| Green tonight.
And that incident leads me to offer
| you the story of William Green's life
| as 1 know it. And I know it probably
| better than any man in Kansas; bet
| ter even than Captain Belden.
Mr.. Green was born in England IN
November, 1914, and came to Amer
| lea in 1850 with his parents, who set
tied in Rock county, Wisconsin. In
1853 Deacon Green with his family
moved to Dayton. Green county, where
| he esta bIshed a flour mill. and took
| the subject of this sketch into the mill
as his assistant.
In that same year my father with
| his family settled in Green county,.
| few miles from Dayton where we did
much of our trading, and all of our
milling, at the Green mill. In those
early days we took our own wheat and
corn to the mill and had It ground INTO
flour and meal for us. giving the mil
Ter share of the grain for grinding IT,
During those years, If we had any
wheat to sell, we hitched W the old
OK team and drove to Milwaukee. 100
miles away. and sold it for 25 cents
bushel, taking two weeks to make the
round trip.
When the war broke out in 1861,
William Green was II years old-too
young to go into the service-but at
the age of 19 he enlisted in company
c, Thirty-seventh Wisconsin infantry
as private soldier. and when he was
mustered out in August, 1865. he was
first lieutenant of his company, having
taken part in the battles of Norfolk
Road Horseshoe. Mine Fort. Pegran
Farm, Weldon Road, Ream's Station,
yellow Tavern, Fort Steadman, Hutch-
ems Run. Richmond and Petersourg,
In 1866 Mr.. Green went into the
grocery business with his father. in
Dayton, and remained there until
1882 and then moved to Albany in
the same county and established
grocery of his own. He remained
there until 1855. when he came to
Kansas, and opened a grocery store in
North Topeka, with Mr. w. {. Norris
one CT his Dayton chums. In 1883 Mr.
Norris sold his interest in the business
to Mr. Kale. and the firm of Green &
Kale continued until 1893 when Mr..
Green bought out the business ana
took his two sons into partnership, un-
der the name of William Green &
Sons Five years ago the North To-
peka stand was sold out. and the pres
ent store enlarged.
Mr.. Green was brought UP IN the
Methodist church and the Republican
,rfx n d
member of the North Topeka Copgre-
gational church and when he moved
to the South side. he Joined the First
Congregational church. where ne Is
still q member.
When Horace Greeley broke away
from the Republican party and ran Tor
president on an independent ticket,
Mr.. Green made similar break ana
voted for the then greatest editor In
America. For several years he was
not a strict party man. put Voteo
sometimes with one party and some
times with the other and was derisively
called a mugwump by some who
thought party more important than
public veal. But Mr.. Green mas Tar
more often voted the Republican than
any other ticket. and believes most
sincerely in most of it's tenets and
doctrines today, though he is not hide
bound in his beliefs or affiliations. He
believes more in good men and GOOD
government than that foolish dogma
of party, right or wrong.
When General Grant was made
president he appointed Governor Alex
ander Randall, Wisconsin's great war
governor" as his postmaster general,
and General Randall appointed Will
liam Green postmaster of Dayton,
Wis, which position he held Tor ten
years.
heen a strong temperance man. But
that does not mean that he is a fanat-
ic. He has always been opposed TO
saloons wherever he has lived. and II
there is anything that he thinks Is
more corrupting and debasing than
saloon. it is the modern Joint. which
he believes to be about the limit of
infamy in our social system. AND
know he believes in wfping 1t out en-
tirelv and radically. He believes, Win
many other good men, that If the city
and county officials could be lnduceo
to work in harmony in the matter. me
Joints could and would De WhoAy
abolished in Topeka.
Mr. Green is a very sincere advocate
of the commission system OF munlcl-
nal government, believing that a city
should be managed in It's business az
fairs the same as any great business
CORPORATION, by a few first class bust
ness men who should devote their en-
tire time and talent to that, the same
as the heads of a great railway sys-
tenn or commercial house do. And he
advocates civil service in municipal
affairs in which politics should be 1g-
nored for integrity and high qualifica-
tions for the special service, the same
as employees of business houses are.
The more competent and faithful
they are, the longer they should be
retained in the service. for the public
good. He also believes in paying
good wages to good men, who render
good service, for that is a great essen
tial in all large business enterprises.
In the matter of public improve
ments Mr.. Green Is neither a pinch
fist nor a spendthrift. He believes in
getting a full dollars worth of service
and material for every dollar a city
pays out for improvements, for there