USA > Wisconsin > Marathon County > History of Marathon County, Wisconsin and representative citizens > Part 18
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It was undoubtedly this liberality towards emigrants which attracted European settlers and populated the West. The sudden growth of the North and West excited the jealousy of the narrow-minded minority, which pretended to scent danger to American institutions by extending the right of suffrage in so short time, and they organized a new party, called the "American Party," whose aim was to restrict office to native born Americans, and ex-
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tend the right to vote only to such foreign born persons as resided within the United States for twenty-one years. The Democratic party at once took strong ground against the American party, called the "Know Nothing" party, while the Whig party was rather vacillating in their opposition to the de- mands of the American party, in consequence of which, the by far largest portion of the foreign born population became more closely attached to the Democratic party.
But at about the same time, the slavery problem began to cast its shadow over the Union and led to some desertions from its ranks. At about 1850, the Democratic party in Wisconsin had only a slight majority in the state, which it lost in 1851, when the Whig party elected their candidate, Farwell, by 507 votes over Upham, the Democratic candidate; but Farwell's election was the last triumph of the Whig party, which went out of existence, the bulk of that party going into the Republican party, which sprang into exist- ence a few years afterwards.
In 1853 the Democratic party elected their candidate, Barstow, by a large vote over the combined vote of the Republicans and Whigs, but it was the last Democratic victory for twenty years in Wisconsin.
At the time of the first settlement of Marathon county, or at its organ- ization, the population was nearly entirely native born, with only a sprinkling of Canadian and Irish, and the Democratic and Whig parties nearly balanced each other, the Whig party having a slight lead, unquestionably due to the influence of Walter D. McIndoe, aided by C. A. Single and his brothers.
The vote of Marathon county in early years for governor was:
1851-Upham, Democrat, received 94 votes.
1851-Farwell, Whig, received 113 votes.
1853-Barstow, Democrat, received 205 votes.
1853-Baird, Whig, received 208 votes.
1855-Barstow, Democrat, received 104 votes.
1855-Bashford. Republican, received 88 votes.
1857-Cross, Democrat, received 209 votes.
1857-Randall, Republican, received 197 votes. 1859-Hobart, Democrat, received 509 votes.
1859-Randall, Republican, received 206 votes. 1861-Ferguson, Democrat, received 403 votes.
1861-Randall, Republican, received 100 votes.
1863-Palmer, Democrat, received 403 votes.
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1863-Lewis, Republican, received 107 votes.
1865-Hobart, Democrat, received 499 votes.
1865-Fairchield, Republican, received 112 votes.
1867-Tallmadge, Democrat, received 618 votes.
1867-Fairchield, Republican, received 90 votes.
1869-Robinson, Democrat, received 594 votes.
1869-Fairchield, Republican, received 131 votes.
1871-Doolittle, Democrat, received 780 votes.
1871-Washburn, Republican. received 218 votes.
1873-Taylor, Democrat, received 779 votes.
1873-Washburn, Republican, received 317 votes.
1875-Greeley ( for President), Democrat, received 911 votes.
1875-Grant (for President), Republican, received 491 votes.
The vote of these years is interesting as showing the slow growth in population, aside from the political character, throwing a light on the condi- tion and situation of the people.
The growth of the Democratic vote from 1855 was due to the appearance of new men from the East, especially R. P. Manson, B. G. Plumer and D. L. Plumer, and the new settlements in Marathon City, and the German emigrants. The settlers who founded Marathon City came from Pennsylvania, which was then Democratic; and while residing there, had a test of intolerance of the Know Nothing party, which forced them in the Democratic ranks, where they remained; and as the influx of German and Irish settlers increased, that party grew stronger from year to year in Marathon county; but it asserted itself only in the vote for state or presidential candidates, but not in the election of county officers. County officers, in the first fifteen years, were not remunerative, and consequently excited no strife. Then the population was so small, that everybody knew everybody, and the election of county officers was simply a question of personal friendship or personal preference.
It seems that up to 1860 there was no election machinery ; a caucus was held, candidates nominated, but party lines were not drawn. But after 1860, with the growth of population and better pay for county officers, conven- tions for nomination of officers were held. In the first years of the existence of the county the pay for all officers, except treasurer, was $2.00 per day for actual service, the treasurer receiving fees as town treasurers do now. They were not required to keep open office at stated hours, but conducted their offices on the plan of town officers now. Up to 1854 the offices of county clerk, clerk of the circuit court and register of deeds were filled by the same
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person, and he was probably in attendance in the county house most of the time during the day. Later, in 1856, the county clerk received a salary of $300 per annum.
Party conventions were called in the early sixties by the Democrats, as that party was in an overwhelming majority, and that ticket seems to have been opposed by independents, so-called. If people were not satisfied with the candidates nominated, they would induce others to run; and sometimes one or the other of these independents would be elected, which has become an impossibility under the present "incorporated character" of parties, which is claimed a great evolution to take the power from the bosses. But with the growth of the population, with halls for public meeting, with newspapers and chances for hearing good speeches on political topics, there came a stronger organization of political parties. In the fall of 1872, there was a Democratic convention held in the courthouse for the nomination of candi- dates in accordance with a call duly issued weeks before. There was a strife for the county offices, particularly for sheriff, treasurer, and county clerk; and when the convention was called to order and the delegates took their seats, the right of one of the delegates was challenged on the ground that he was a Republican, and as a supporter of U. S. Grant could not claim a seat in that convention. The delegate admitted the fact as to his political status, but claimed that this was only a convention for nominating county officers, which had nothing to do with politics. He was told that this was a Greeley convention, called as such; that only Greeley supporters would be permitted to nominate a county ticket, and that only candidates supporting Greeley would be nominated, and he was excluded from the convention. The delegate withdrew and, upon a statement made by another delegate that any other Grant supporter, if present as a delegate, should withdraw, two other delegates left the convention, stating that they were present in accordance with the older usage and custom, but if this was a Greeley convention pure and simple, they would withdraw, too, and feel under no obligation to sup- port the ticket to be nominated by this convention.
A Republican convention was called thereupon and a Republican county ticket nominated; and from that time on political conventions were held, strict party ties were drawn more or less, and elections became more than ever before, a test of party strength.
The Democratic party was in the majority, and by organization and popular nominations, gained in numbers and strength, electing with two or three exceptions, every county officer up to 1892, its success being only slightly and temporarily interrupted by the Greenback party in 1877 and 1878.
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The Democratic vote for Grover Cleveland in 1892 was 3,791, against 1,959 for Benjamin Harrison, which was the highwater mark of Democratic ascendency, from which it steadily declined, until the county could be fairly relied upon for substantial Republican majorities. But high as Cleveland's majority was, it was comparatively less than the vote for Samuel J. Tilden in 1876, who received 1,796 votes, against 668 for R. B. Hayes.
In the election contests from 1872 on, the Democrats had a superior organization. Hon. B. Ringle, county judge; Hon. W. C. Silverthorn, John C. Clarke and August Kickbusch were a quartet of strong and popular leaders, working in complete harmony, and Greeley received 911 to 491 votes for General Grant.
In 1874, Hon. George W. Cate was nominated for congress by the Demo- crats in the eighth congressional district, theretofore strongly Republican, and Cate was elected by a slight majority over his Republican opponent, the sit- ting member of congress, Hon. Alexander McDill; and in the campaign of 1876 the Democrats gave Tilden the unprecedented majority of 1, 128, out of a total of 2,464.
C. H. Mueller was elected as district attorney in 1874, but failed of renomination in 1876, because of the active opposition to him by the gambling fraternity and their friends in high life, so-called. Rog. C. Spooner, who came to Wausau in 1875, was nominated in his place. The opposition to him centered on another young lawyer, Charles V. Bardeen, of Republican proclivities, who made a fine canvass as an independent candidate, but could not wholly overcome the tremendous Democratic majority.
R. C. Spooner was elected, took the office; but a few months afterwards his father, the venerable P. L. Spooner, insisted that he return to Madison, the father not approving of his son's surroundings. R. C. Spooner resigned, and the governor appointed C. V. Bardeen as his successor. This was the beginning of the fine professional career of C. V. Bardeen, who was, fifteen years later, elected circuit judge, then appointed as justice of the supreme court in 1898 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Alf. W. Newman, to which office he was elected, and died in Madison while a member of the supreme court, in 1908.
The decision of the electoral commission, by which R. B. Hayes was given the presidency, had a depressing effect upon many Democrats; they began to despair of future national success. The hard times caused by the money stringency following the contraction of the currency, preparatory to the resumption of specie payment, opened a fruitful field of agitation for the Greenback party. Business was depressed. Lumber had reached bottom
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prices. Fleets of lumber, mill run; that is, lumber as it was sawed from the log, including the best grades of lumber, and no poor lumber at all, were sold in St. Louis from $10 to $15; some for even less, which was less than the original costs.
This condition of business continued until 1880, and the effect was that every small lumberman, who had run out a fleet of lumber in former years, or cut logs and had it sawed at the mill, expecting to sell the lumber at Wau- sau or other river points, was forced out of business, only a few of the larger manufacturers being able to stand up under the heavy losses. Of course the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad had come to Wausau in the fall of 1874, but the lumbermen had not yet found a market in the state west of the Mississippi, and were still more or less controlled by the market on the Missis- sippi river. Commercial houses in Wausau were forced into bankruptcy, and only a few of the strongest, and they only by stretching their credit to the utmost, survived the business crash which, beginning with the failure of Jay Cook in 1873, swept over the whole country.
This was the situation in 1877. when Samuel F. Carey came to Wausau in the summer and delivered an address in opposition to the resumption of specie payment, which he claimed was the cause of the financial disturbance and commercial depression. Carey was an orator; he was an actor, an artist, not a barn-stormer; he understood human nature; he could play upon the sentiments of his listeners, painting word pictures of the universal distress so vividly that his hearers could see the distress of others as they felt their own, and he completely captured the immense audience which had come to listen to him. The effect of his speech was instantaneous. A Greenback club was formed at once, which drew its members from all existing parties, includ- ing the few Prohibitionists, but most of the club members had formerly acted with the Democratic party.
The newly formed Greenback party in Wausau assisted M. H. Barnum in establishing a weekly paper devoted to their principles, the Torch of Liberty, and during the summer of 1878, M. H. Barnum founded also a German news- paper devoted to the same cause, the Watchman on the Wisconsin, which was edited by Henry Miller. The German paper ceased to be published soon after the election of 1878, but the material was purchased by Republican poli- ticians in 1881, and the paper reissued under the name of Deutscher Pioneer, ably edited by one Koslowski, and still exists, being now owned by Paul Stolze.
The Torch, after a few years, became attached to the principles of the Republican party, and was later purchased by the Daily Record, a daily Re- publican sheet.
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In the fall election for state officers, there were three tickets in the field. W. E. Smith, at the head of the Republican ticket; Judge Mallory, at the head of the Democratic, and E. P. Allis, at the head of the Greenback ticket, and, as usual, the Republican ticket in the state was elected. In Marathon county the Greenback party elected their candidate for assembly, F. W. Kickbusch, by a small majority, more on his own popularity, however, than on his party strength, Mallory receiving 755 votes to 746 for Allis and 301 for W. E. Smith.
This success encouraged the Greenback party to renewed exertions, and although an attempt was made by the leaders of the Democratic and Green- back parties in the congressional district to coalesce on member of congress and candidates for the legislature, the feeling between the old and new par- ties and some of its leaders, and the rank and file had become so bitter, as to make a coalition impossible. The Greenback party was led by men who stood well in the business community as, for instance, D. L. Plumer, August Kick- busch and his brother, F. W. Kickbusch, former Democrats; R. E. Parcher, James McCrosen and Conrad Althen, former Republicans, with M. H. Bar- num, a fluent and ready speaker, as the orator, and they were greatly aided by Robert Schilling of Milwaukee, a very able and eloquent debator.
The election of 1878, when there was a member of congress to be elected, also a state senator for the 21st district, including Marathon county, and one member of the assembly, besides a county ticket, was the most bitter and heated contest ever carried on in Marathon county. Men who had been friends for years refused to speak or recognize each other on the street, be- cause of having changed party affiliations ; charges and counter charges with- out justifications were hurled at each other, and left sores which never healed. The Republicans put no county ticket in the field; they centered their energies upon the election of their candidate, T. C. Pound, for congress, and J. A. Kellogg for senator, and were successful in both instances, although the Democratic and Greenback conventions had combined on A. R. Barrows, of Chippewa Falls, for congress, and M. H. Wadleigh, of Stevens Point, for the senate. The candidates of the coalition would have been elected if the votes of the two parties could have been combined. But the bitter personal feeling of the rank and file and some of their leaders, and some fine political maneu- vers of E. W. Keyes of Madison, who was a candidate for a seat in the United States senate, prevented a hearty combination. In that memorable campaign the bulk of the work on the part of the Democratic party fell upon younger men, Mr. John Ringle and Louis Marchetti, supported by J. C. Clarke and C. F. Eldred, an able and eloquent attorney of Wausau. The
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Republican candidate for congress, T. C. Pound, was elected, and also Gen. J. A. Kellogg,' as senator for 21st district of Wisconsin, the Greenback party electing George W. Ghoca, their candidate for sheriff; Henry Miller, county clerk, and A. W. Schmidt, for register of deeds; while the Democrats elected J. R. Bruneau for county treasurer; Hugo Peters, clerk of circuit court; William N. Allen, for county surveyor, and their candidate for mem- ber of assembly, John Ringle, against whom the Greenback party made a very strong fight.
By the virtual repeal of the resumption act in reissuing the redeemed greenbacks after the amount of the same had been contracted to 346 million dollars, by destroying 54 millions redeemed, and by the coinage of two million silver dollars per month under the Bland-Allison act of 1878, contraction of the currency ceased; it rather expanded slowly. Business began to revive in 1879, and much of the bitterness which had characterized political differ- ences vanished.
1880.
The presidential election of 1880 was not exciting, but nevertheless the parties entered into the canvass with a vigor and determination to win. The Democrats nominated Hon. W. C. Silverthorn for member of congress of the eigth congressional district, which was overwhelmingly Republican. That party at that time had a good organization in Marathon county. They arranged for a mass meeting and barbecue to be held at the courthouse square in September. An immense concourse of people gathered in the after- noon, listening to the speeches of Gen. E. S. Bragg and Col. E. Juessen, a brother-in-law of Carl Schurz, who spoke in German. After the conclusion of the speeches, a wagon having a wide platform was being driven upon the square, gaily decorated, on which there was in sitting posture a roasted ox, with a number of trenchermen, who began cutting after the square was reached. The roasted animal was a heavy young steer, roasted in the whole in the foundry of the Murrey Manufacturing Company, under the care of Christ Oswald, who did the work as a labor of love. Other wagons came with bread and apples and there was a gay Democratic time.
In the evening Music Hall was crowded to its full capacity, where the same speakers addressed the meeting. During the speech of General Bragg at the courthouse, a telegram was received by him and read, saying that the state of Maine had gone Democratic, and there was unbounded enthusiasm, which never flagged during the campaign. The Republicans were not back- wards. Soon after the Democratic barbecue they held one of their own on the
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courthouse square, too, putting up a number of tents in which they served chicken and geese, and urged their farmer friends to partake of their hos- pitality. In the afternoon T. C. Pound made a speech, and a German speaker by the name of Koslowski entertained the audience. That was the opening of the Republican campaign, which was kept up by local speakers until the day before election; but there was shown more respect for the opinion of opponents than had been before. The Greenback party tried to keep up an organization through a club working for their presidential ticket, but aside from that they gave their strength to the Democratic ticket, which was made up of all the county officers elected two years ago, except sheriff, whose term is limited to two years and one term, and for which place the Democrats had nominated R. P. Manson, and old standby Democrat. General Hancock received 1,977 votes; Gen. J. A. Garfield received 1,025 votes; \V. C. Silver- thorn, for congress, received 2,198 votes; T. C. Pound, for congress, received 1,069 votes, and he was elected by the heavy Republican majorities in other counties. John Ringle was reelected member of assembly, and the whole Democratic county ticket was elected by substantially the same vote that Hancock received, and even higher; but the vote for General Weaver, the Greenback party candidate, was largely reduced from the vote of 1878.
In 1881, arrangements had been made by the people of Wausau for a more than usual solemn celebration of the Fourth of July. A speakers' tribune had been erected from out of the courthouse porch, speakers were appointed in time to prepare themselves for the occasion, and when the sun rose over the east hills everybody was ready to celebrate the day of our inde- pendence ; to feel as one people, as members of one great family, and nourish the fire of patriotism; the sun rose clear, no threatening cloud could be seen on the horizon. Hundreds of farmers came to Wausau with their families to take part in the celebration. The courthouse square was crowded at about ten o'clock, when the exercises were to begin in the forenoon with music, and sports on the fairgrounds in the afternoon.
Just before the assemblage was to be called to order, Mr. M. A. Hurley approached the speakers' stand with a worn look in his face, holding a yellow telegram paper in his hand and waving for silence. The whole audience instinctively felt that some extraordinary announcement was about to be made, and a hush fell over the immense assemblage. With a few words of preparation, Mr. Hurley, his body shaking with emotion, then read the tele- gram just received, of the terrible shooting of the president, James A. Gar- field, at the Washington railroad depot, following up the reading with a statement that from the nature of the wound there was little hope of recovery.
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Judge Louis Marchetti made the same announcement in the German lan- guage. The effect produced was indescribable. Men's faces blanched, women cried, and the people who had come together in anticipation of a patriotic festival and frolic, quietly and mournfully wended their way home, with a heavy heart. The telegraph office was besieged in the afternoon for more dispatches, in the hope of getting news holding out hope for the president's life, and every ray, slight though, was gladly welcomed.
James A. Garfield's body was borne to the grave on the 26th day of September, 1881, and at the same time a solemn public service was held at the courthouse square, made more impressive by the part therein taken by the Hon. G. L. Park, circuit judge, who was visiting in Wausau at that time.
The year 1881 closed fairly prosperous to all classes of people in Marathon county. The best of feeling prevailed, which was shown when the flood of 1881 threatened to sweep away the guardlock, to the certain destruction of the three mills below, with all the many millions of feet of lumber in the yards, when hundreds of people volunteered their help in strengthening the same and erecting a levee or dam on its east side to prevent a break. Every- body then felt that the wiping out of these mills would be a calamity to everybody else, not only to the owners.
In the election for state officers in 1881, the Democratic candidate, N. D. Fratt. received 1.305; his opponent, Jer. Rusk, 690 votes, and Rusk was elected by a greatly reduced majority for governor of the state.
1882.
When the next election came around, the dissension in the Repub- lican party forebode Democratic success. In that year the Democrats nominated Judge G. L. Park, of Portage county, for congress; John Ringle for senator of the 21st senatorial district of Wisconsin, and J. E. Leahy for member of assembly. These were exceptional strong nominations.
The Republican congressional convention was held at Wausau, and after a stormy session, and after charges of bribery of delegates were openly made, Isaac Stevenson received his first nomination for congress, against E. L. Brown, of Waupacca, and Charles M. Webb, of Wood county. Stevenson was little known outside of Marinette, Oconto and Shawano counties; his nomination left a bitter taste in the mouths of the supporters of Brown and Webb, while on the other hand the nomination of G. L. Park was hailed with acclamation by the Democrats.
By the census of 1880, Wisconsin had gained one member of congress,
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and Marathon county was in the new ninth congressional district, which included sixteen counties, or nearly one-third of the entire state. It was organized as an absolute certain Republican district, but in the election G. L. Park received 12,518 votes, and Isaac Stevenson received 12,774 votes. Judge Park contested the election of Stevenson on the ground of fraud and corruption, especially for the casting of hundreds of illegal votes in Marinette county by men claimed to have come across the state line from Menominee, Michigan, on election day to cast their vote for Stevenson. There were many facts and circumstances to substantiate the claim. But Judge Park was a very sick man at the time of his nomination, more seriously sick than he himself suspected. The slight attempt of speaking during the canvass, which he made against the advise of his physicians and friends, had a bad effect on his health, and he was forced to suspend the canvass.
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