Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-01-31
The Legislative Gallery


Jacob ID Harring is the member
from Juneau county In which j.
| W. Babcock had his political kinder
| gardening and in which his son yet
| operates a bank. Mr. Harring's home
| IL at Armenia, a few miles north OF
Necedah, whence the congressman
came Not far away on one side is
| the Wisconsin river and on the other
the yellow, adown each of which has
| lloated untold fortunes In splendid
pine. Babcock founded his fortune i'm
the logs that drfted with the current
of the Yellow TO his mill at Necedah,
and many another big estate had It's
incipioncy there.
juneau county has had some strong
| Legislators. Babcock conspcuously
was one He was plain business
man when he dawned upon the as
scmbly in 1899, but he had had to do
with affairs Of no mean importance
In Il lumburing way and he never was
at a loss to know what he was about
No orator was Bah, but he never
failed to make the house understand
exactly the information he desired to
convey. He was direct and forceful
IN language and Immediately became
one of the really influential members.
In his second term he headed the
railroad committee position Of
great power in those days. and thence
he graduated into congress John r.
kingston the elder was also Iegis-
latOr from Juneau He was "A lum-
herman at Nocedah even before Bah
cock young lowan, was brought
there by George y. Burch, a Dubuque
capitalist Burch owned little mill
lat Nocedah and gave young Bobcocll
a foothOld In It, A few years ago
Burch died worth 100000 and now
BahcoCk, may be, Is worth as much
or more, Kingston too might have
died rich but he was ruined by poll
tics, selling his mill interests for a
paltry $40, 600 when he became alb
sorhod in public affairs, and passing
the way of all things earthly after
Two score years or more utterly poor
His last summers were occupied in
raising garden truck which. IN bas.
kcts on his arms, he carried down
town to the village stores 10 peddlo
out And he was really noble. high
minded, christian man gentle. ten.
der, kind, intellectual Long years
after a son came to the senate from
the Ashland district and died in Porto
Rico during the Spanish war Now
father and son sleep side by side In
the little cemetery on the Necedah
sands. Kingston, senior, was a sena-
tor first In lS57.--nearly half a cen
fury ago His last term was in 1888;
and thrice he served as an assembly
man. He was man of stalwart in
terty, who rejoced In polite lltera.
ture and, paradoXically in an ever
lasting Quid of tobacco OF proportions
natural to "A lumhoriack r. X Dunn.
then Wonowoc editor now of Elroy,
became the juneau assemblyman
along IN the SOS; and vet farther
back George p Kenyon was the mem
| b"r He had previously been school
superintendent of the county and.
/ knowing everybody, was elected hand
| lily even though a democrat He lost
his wife in Minneapolis three OF four
ears ago married again in dre time
and for many years was successful
farm implement dealer in the flour
| city
But to come back to MIR. Harrlng
That gentleman is n farmer. Now,
Juneau county is not the ideal of fer
tility. In truth, jack pines flourish
there, and that fact approXimates
reflection upon the productivity of the
| soil; yet for 81 years Mr. Harrlng has
made farming pay,-has brought
forth from the soil clover four feet
high, rye as fine MS any. potatoes of
the best He admits that when he
purchased land next his fathers place
two decades ago the land seemed
worn out and sterile; and this com
forting neighhors declared II actually
to be, But Nj. Harring had the in.
stincts and training of farmer
First he sowed rye, but in blowing he
carried an axe and chopped of every