In a bulletin published by the Wisconsin Highway Commission in
September, 1917, on the state trunk highway law, the announcement is
made that there is available from the federal government $128,361.07.
During the next four years it is estimated there will be a total of
$1,925,416.05 available for road construction in Wisconsin. The
federal law provides that a state, in order to receive this
appropriation, must set aside each year an amount at least equal to
that provided by the national government. The money thus derived may
be expended upon any public road over which the United States mails
are now or may hereafter be transported. The State Highway Commission
predicts that by the close of the year 1918 Wisconsin will have a
system of travelable roads connecting all county seats and all the
principal centers of population in the state. Wisconsin is already one
of the leading good-roads states in the country; under the operation
of the new law this position of leadership should easily be retained.
The _Biennial Report_ of the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, issued in September, 1917, indicates that the two years
just closed have been the most fruitful and active in the entire
history of public education in Wisconsin. The state educational staff
has been increased by the addition of a supervisor of manual training,
a supervisor of tests and measurements, an editorial and statistical
secretary, and an additional supervisor of city and village grades.
The report is particularly valuable in that it includes not only a
compilation of all the data dealing with the public schools, but also
a system of graphs, diagrams, and charts which set forth in striking
manner the educational facts of the state. By these illustrations the
reader is able to see on a single page all the facts relating to any
one phase of education.
A most suggestive pamphlet entitled _Illiteracy and Americanization_,
prepared by Amy Bronsky, was issued from the office of the state
superintendent of public instruction in October, 1917. The vital
importance of educating and Americanizing every person within our
borders is well set forth. According to the census of 1910, Wisconsin
had 57,769 illiterates over ten years of age, and 120,665 non-English
speaking residents over ten years of age. Miss Bronsky adds that,
notwithstanding the efforts made to reduce this number, it is probable
that it has been growing larger rather than smaller since the year
1910. Wisconsin’s percentage of illiteracy (3.2) is lower than that of
the country at large, but not so low as in two of our neighboring
states, Minnesota (3) and Iowa (1.7). By the establishment of the
continuation schools, night sessions, reading circles, and other
allied agencies, it is believed that the next decade will show a
considerable decrease in the percentage of illiteracy.
The _Proceedings_ of the Wisconsin State Conference of Charities and
Corrections for 1916 deal almost exclusively with the one problem of
feeble-mindedness. Never before has the importance of this subject
been brought so strikingly to the attention of the social workers of
Wisconsin. The first report ever submitted dealing with these
unfortunates in our midst was made at this conference. It reveals the
fact, surprising to most people, that there are over 13,000 of them in
the state. Of this number only 5,000 can be accommodated in the
institutions that are now provided. The imperative need of securing
additional facilities for their care and instruction was the chief
problem dealt with by the conference.
The 1917 _Annual Report_ of the State Horticultural Society shows that
field work is now being conducted at eleven different points
throughout the state. At Polar, Maple, Whitehall, Manitowoc, Sparta,
Baraboo, Holcombe, Pewaukee, Gays Mills, Lake Geneva, and Weston
experiments are under way. The supervision of trial orchards at the
stations constitutes the major part of the society’s activities, and
absorbs the larger portion of its funds. The trial orchard at Gays
Mills is regarded as the best of its age in the state.
That the reading-circle movement has made great progress in Wisconsin
during the last two years is shown by the report issued for 1917-1918,
which reveals an increase of over 175 per cent in the number of
persons who are doing work under the auspices of this organization. An
increase of more than 300 per cent in the number of boys and girls
reading under the direction of the Young People’s Circles is reported.
Upwards of 2,500 teachers and more than 24,000 pupils did the required
reading in their respective circles during the last school year.
Fifty-four counties took part in the Young People’s Reading Circle,
and fifty in the Teachers’ Circle. Of the cities that have taken the
lead in the number of members enrolled in the Young People’s Circle,
Janesville heads the list with 507. Marinette County leads in the
number of seals and diplomas granted to teachers with a total of 158.
That the town mutual fire insurance companies in Wisconsin experienced
their usual increase in business during the last year is seen from
their _Forty-eighth Annual Report_ issued in 1917. The insurance in
force at the close of the business year in December, 1916, was
$28,943,362 more than at the close of the preceding year. Practically
the entire agricultural interests of the state are protected by some
one of these mutual companies. The prediction is made that the
territory will remain about the same in the future as at the present.
The only change in business to be looked for will be the gradual
increase in the value of rural property and improved conditions making
for increased insurance. Only one new company has entered the
field--the North Wisconsin Finnish Farmers of Marengo.
The December (1917) number of the _Wisconsin Library Bulletin_
presents what is practically a first report of the work done in this
state in raising funds for camp libraries. Wisconsin’s contribution to
the million dollar fund was approximately $41,000. Since our quota,
according to the basis of population, was slightly over $25,000, it
will be seen that the state not only did her share but greatly
exceeded it.
The _Wisconsin State Board of Health Bulletin_ for September, 1917,
reports that during the preceding three months 6,230 deaths occurred
in the state. This corresponds to an annual death rate of 9.9 a
thousand of the population. This record shows a decline of 422 in the
total number of deaths when compared to the report for the same three
months in 1916. It is interesting to note that during the three months
covered by this report--July, August, and September--the death rate in
the northern part of the state was only 8.6 a thousand, in the central
counties, 10 a thousand, and in the southern counties, 10.4 a
thousand.
The _Proceedings_ of the Fifty-first Annual Encampment of the
Department of Wisconsin Grand Army of the Republic, 1917, shows that
at the beginning of the year there were only 4,247 surviving members
left. The highest membership ever reached by the Wisconsin
organization was in 1899 when there were 13,944 enrolled. Death
claimed 420 of the veterans during the year from December 31, 1915, to
December 31, 1916.
The _Opinions of the Attorney-General of Wisconsin_ issued for
October, 1917, shows that his advice was sought upon thirty-seven
different questions. The uncertainties attending the statutes relating
to the construction of bridges and highways brought forth the largest
number of inquiries. The duties of public officers, particularly
county officials, and the interpretation of the fish and game laws
also required a large number of opinions to be handed down at that
time of the year.
The _Consolidated Annual Reports_ of the Wisconsin Dairyman’s
Association for the annual meetings of 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916 was
issued in July, 1917. The report shows that since the organization of
the association in 1872, the dairy products of the state have
increased from $1,000,000 to over $120,000,000. Wisconsin now stands
first among the states both in the value of dairy products and in the
number of dairy cows. In July, 1917, there were 81 cow-testing
associations. The total membership was 2,417, while the number of cows
under test exceeded 38,000. The average cow in Wisconsin produces 175
pounds of fat a year, although there was one herd reported where the
average reached 564 pounds of fat.
_Fuel Conservation by the Economical Combustion of Soft Coal_ by
Gustus Ludwig Larson is the title of Bulletin No. 888 of the
University of Wisconsin issued in December, 1917. The author declares
that many plants waste through unscientific firing and inadequate
equipment as much as fifty per cent of the coal they buy. The criminal
waste in the burning of coal in which many firemen engage is regarded
as the most serious problem facing our people during the winter
season. The question of proper combustion, both in the firing power
plants and in domestic heating, and a discussion of the different
devices for burning soft coal without smoke are set forth in a
practical manner by Professor Larson. A table showing the
characteristic analyses of soft coal available to Wisconsin buyers is
included in the bulletin.