supervisor of each ward of a city and the supervisor of each village in the county, constitute the county board of supervisors, and each county elects biennially, at the general election in November, a clerk, a treasurer, a sheriff, a coroner, a clerk of the circuit court, a district-attorney, a register of deeds and a surveyor. The county board represents the county, is entrusted with the care of the county property and the management of the county business, appoints a supervisor of assessments and levies the taxes necessary to defray the county expenses. The county board also elects a county highway commissioner for a term of three years, is required to designate a system of prospective county highways, and may levy a special tax and borrow money for the development of the system. Cities are chartered according to population,[1] with a mayor, a single legislative chamber known as the board of aldermen or city council and the usual administrative officers and boards. The mayor, aldermen, treasurer, comptroller, justices of the peace and supervisors must be elected by the people, but the other offices are filled as the council of each city directs. An act of 1909 provides for the adoption of government by commission in any city of the second, third or fourth class which votes for this form of government at an election called by a petition signed by 25% of the voters at the preceding election for mayor.
Miscellaneous Laws.—A married woman may manage her separate property as if she were single. A widow is entitled to a dower in one-third of her husband's real estate, and a widower is life tenant by courtesy of all the real estate of which his wife died seized and not disposed of by her last will, unless she leaves issue by a former husband, to whom the estate might descend, in which case her estate passes immediately to such issue. If either husband or wife dies intestate and leaves no issue the surviving spouse is entitled to the entire estate of the deceased, both real and personal. The causes for an absolute divorce are adultery, impotency, sentence to imprisonment for a term of three years or more, wilful desertion for one year, cruel or inhuman treatment, habitual drunkenness and voluntary separation for five years. For any other cause than adultery an action for a divorce cannot be brought unless one of the parties has been a resident of the state for two years immediately preceding the suit. Neither party is permitted to marry a third party until one year after the divorce has been obtained. Adultery is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years nor less than one year, or by a fine not exceeding $1000 nor less than $200. A husband who wilfully abandons his wife, leaving her destitute, or who refuses to support her when he is able to do so, may be punished by imprisonment in the state prison not exceeding one year or in the county jail or workhouse not more than six months nor less than fifteen days, and for ten days, in the discretion of the judge, he may be kept on a bread and water diet. A homestead owned and occupied by any resident of the state and consisting of not more than 40 acres of agricultural land outside the limits of a city or village, or one-fourth of an acre within a city or village, together with the dwelling-house and other appurtenances, is exempt from liability for debts other than labourers', mechanics' and purchase-money liens, mortgages and taxes. If the homestead is sold the proceeds from the sale, to an amount not exceeding $5000, are likewise exempt for a period of two years, provided they are held for the purpose of procuring another homestead. If the owner is a married man his homestead cannot be sold or mortgaged without his wife's consent. The employment of children under fourteen years of age in any factory, workshop, mine, bowling alley or beer garden is forbidden, and their employment at any gainful occupation is permitted only during the vacation of the public school. A child between fourteen and sixteen years of age may be employed at a gainful occupation only upon the recommendation of the school principal or clerk of the board of education. No child under sixteen years of age may be employed longer than fifty-five hours in any one week, more than ten hours in any one day, more than six days in any one week, or between 6.0 p.m. and 7.0 a.m.
Other radical legislation, especially in regard to railways, has included: the Porter Law, regulating rates, which was enacted in 1874 during the “Granger Movement,” was modified from time to time, and was displaced by a law of 1905 (in 1908 declared constitutional so long as stockholders receive a “reasonable compensation” on investments) creating a state railway commission, and providing for the physical valuation of railways on an ad valorem basis for taxation; a law (1907) making 2 cents a mile the maximum fare; an anti-tipping law (1905); a law forbidding the sale of cigarettes; an act (1907) forbidding insurance companies to do both participating and non-participating business; and an eight-hour labour law in effect on the 1st of January 1908.
Finance.—Revenue for state purposes is derived principally from taxes on corporations, from an inheritance tax and from departmental and institutional fees and charges; that for counties, towns, villages and cities from a general property tax. The general property tax has long been employed almost wholly for educational purposes only. The state tax on railways and other public service corporations is levied on an ad valorem basis; but telephone companies are taxed by collecting a percentage of the gross receipts. Insurance companies are taxed on premiums and income. In 1908 the constitution was amended to permit a graduated tax on incomes, privileges and occupations. A poll tax is levied for highway purposes in towns and villages, but the general charter law does not provide for the collection of poll taxes in cities. The proceeds from corporation taxes increased from $1,711,387 in 1899 to $3,969,771 in 1908. The state receipts from all sources increased from $4,070,316 for the year ending September 30, 1899, to $8,299,982 for the year ending June 30, 1908; the disbursements in the latter year were $7,762,771 or $537,211 less than the receipts.
As a result of the failure of “wildcat” banks during the Territorial period, a clause was inserted in the state constitution forbidding the legislature to charter a bank or pass a general banking law until the people had voted in favour of banks, and providing further that no bank charter or general banking law should be of any force until a majority of the voters at a general election had approved of it. The people gave their approval to a general banking law in 1852, and state banks were incorporated under it. Private banks and one savings bank were also chartered. In 1903 a state banking department was created under the management of a commissioner of banking appointed by the governor with the concurrence of the Senate for a term of five years. Under this law private banks became state banks, and all except national banks are examined by the commissioner, his deputy or some person appointed by the commissioner, at least once a year. When satisfied that a bank has become insolvent, the commissioner may take possession of it and wind up its affairs. In 1909 there were 470 state banks and 3 savings banks with total resources amounting to $140,155,455.
To prevent such extravagant expenditures for internal improvements as had brought disaster to Michigan and other states, the framers of the constitution of Wisconsin inserted a clause limiting its aggregate indebtedness to $100,000 for all purposes other than to repel an invasion, to suppress an insurrection or for defence in time of war, and the state is free from debt with the exception of that contracted on account of the Civil War. This war debt, although amounting to $2,251,000, is held by four state educational funds. A constitutional amendment, adopted in 1874, limits the indebtedness of each county, city, town, village and school district to 5% of the value of its taxable property.
Education.—Wisconsin has an excellent free public school system, which was established in 1848 and which provides a graded system of instruction in country district and city schools, high schools and normal schools and the University of Wisconsin (incorporated 1848; see Wisconsin, University of). By a law of 1907 school attendance (24 weeks per annum in the country—a law of 1903 had required only 20 weeks—32 weeks in cities) was made compulsory for children between seven and fourteen years of age who do not live more than 2 m. from school by the nearest travelled public highway. In 1907-1908 27.2% of those between seven and fourteen years of age in the state attended no school. The total public school enrolment in 1909 1910 was 466,554. In 1901 a law was enacted providing for state graded schools of two classes, which must be opened for at least nine months each year; graded schools of the first class (of three or more departments) receive $300 a year each from the state, and graded schools of the second class (of two departments only) receive $200 a year each from the state. About 1906 rural graded schools, outside of villages, were first organized. There are twenty-two day schools for the deaf. There are a few township high schools (28 out of 285 in 1909), and these receive from the state one-half of the total annually paid for teachers' salaries; for free high schools the first state provision was made in 1875. There are special kindergarten training departments in the Milwaukee and Superior schools, departments for manual training at Oshkosh and Platteville, and a training department in domestic science at the Stevens Point school. The first kindergarten officially connected with any American state normal school was opened at Oshkosh in 1880. The state normal schools are supported largely from the interest ($89,137 in 1908) of a fund ($1,957,230 in 1908) created in 1865 from the sale of swamp and overflowed lands, and from an annual state tax ($230,000 in 1908). In addition to the state university the state maintains at Platteville a school of mines, opened in 1908. Under state control there is a system of teachers' and farmers' institutes. A Free Library Commission of five members created in 1895 maintains about 650 circulating free public hbraries comprising more than 40,000 volumes. In 1907 there were about 960,000 volumes in public township
- ↑ The first class comprises cities having a population of 150,000 or more (Milwaukee); the second class those having a population between 40,000 and 150,000; the third class those having a population between 10,000 and 40,000; the fourth class those having a population less than 10,000.
