Finance.— The framers of the State con stitution were concerned above all things lest the State be plunged into debt. Stringent safe guards were, therefore, devised to prevent this, and prior to 1918 there was no formal State debt. However, what in effect amounted to one of slightly over $2,000.000 existed, being the obligation of the State toward its own several educational funds, the principal of which had been devoted to the extraordinary expendi tures of the Civil War. In 1915 a was made of paying off this debt at the rate of $100,000 a year. In March 191R, a law passed authorizing the issuance of $1,000,000 in State bonds to defray expenses incurred in equipping Wisconsin soldiers for service in the Great War. The chief sources of revenue are taxes on corporations, inheritances and incomes. With respect to the latter form of taxation, Wisconsin is a pioneer among the States of the Union. For the year ending 30 June 1916, the total income tax assessed was $3,837,370.04. Personal property tax offsets were allowed to the amount of $1,825.641.62, and the amount of cash actually collected was $1.906,441.69. Ten per cent of the income tax goes to the State government, the remaining 90 per cent to local governmental units. During the same year the general property tax levy amounted to $43,365.000, the corporation tax to IZ6,517,000, and the inheritance tax to $502,000, the total taxes paid for all governmental purposes be ing in excess of $52,000,000. Of the general property tax, 10 per cent went to the State government. 20 per cent to the counties, 4154 per cent to local governments, and per cent to schools.
Charitable and Correctional Institutions.— The charitable and correctional institutions are administered by the State Board of Control. It has supervision, among other things, over the insane, whether in State or county hospitals, over the county tuberculosis sanitaria, poor houses, police stations and jails; and, subject to the governor's approval, acts as a board of parole. There are two State insane hospitals (at Oshkosh and Mendota) and 35 county hos pitals. There is one State tuberculosis sani tarium at Wales and nine county sanataria. At the State sanitarium were 187 patients in 1916, maintained at a weekly cost of $11.42 for each. The two State insane hospitals together had 1,262 inmates in 1916 supported at a weekly per capita cost of about $5. The Wisconsin State Prison at Waupun had 906 inmates whose weekly support cost $3.80 each Other State institutions include a home for feeble-minded at Chippewa Falls, a school for the blind at Janesville, school for the deaf at Delavan, a State reformatory at Green Bay, an industrial school for boys at Waukesha, and an indus trial home for women at Taycheedah. At the State prison a binder plant is maintained, and convicts are employed in road building. The cost of maintaining the several charitable and correctional institutions of the State for the year ending 30 June 1916 was $1,294,449. Their total number of inmates at the dose of that year was 4,824.
For a rural State the popula tion of Wisconsin represents a high degree of racial intermixture. In 1850, two-thirds of all the Norwegians of the country lived in Wis consin. They are still one of the most im portant elements of the population, although Wisconsin is no longer the leading Scandinavian State. From the beginning the German ele ment has been strongly represented, and at the present time after the native Americans, it constitutes the chief racial element of the State. The German element is stronger in Wisconsin than in any other State of the Union, and Milwaukee is probably more strongly Teutonic than any other important American city. There are important Slavonic settlements in Milwaukee and in central Wis consin, Dutch settlements in Brown, Sheboygan and other counties, and Swiss settlements in Green and adjoining counties. In the latter section dairying has become the dominant in dustry, and more Swiss cheese is manufactured here than anywhere else in the United States. In 1840 Wisconsin had a population of 30,945. From 1840 to 1850 the population increased 10 fold, and from 1850 to IMO, two and one half fold (77501 in 1860). In the 50 years from 1860 to 1910 there was a fairly regular increase of slightly over 300,000 per decade, the population in 1910 being 2,333,869. This abso
lute rate of increase is supposed to have held tor the five-year period ending 1913, the esti mated increase during this time being 140,000.
hus, the absolute increase in population per rbcade has remained practically constant for sears (1840-1915). while the ratio of in co-:kw to total population has constantly de r !cased. In 1910 the State had eight cities of 2'.isio or over. and 10 more with population in excess of 11 ) Of the total population 7S per tent were natise born and 51300 or 22 per cent were foreign born.
last census reported 1,000,000 church members in Wisconsin divided among 38 denominational bodies and 4.902 churches. Slightly over half of the total church member ship is Roman Catholic. More than one-fourth is Lutheran. Next in numerical order are the Methodists with about 6 per cent, and the Con gregationalists with 2t/3 per cent of the total church membership. No one of the remaining 34 denominations possesses as many as 25,000 members.
Notwithstanding the diverse racial elements and the predominantly rural type of population, the school system of Vs is consis is the chief glory of the State. At its apex stanus tne university of vs ssconsin as Madison, superbly located on Lake Mendota, with grounds stretching for several miles along the shore. It is housed in some 40 main buildings valued at several million dollars. In the year 1916-17 there was a faculty enrol ment of 600 and the student enrolment was close to 8,000. With our entrance into the Great War in 1917, however, came a heavy decrease in numbers, both of faculty and students. The university is built around the College of Le. ters and Science, and includes a graduate sax. '., law, engineering, medical, music, agricultural, library, pharmaceutical and extension divisicrs and schools. To a greater extent, probably, than any other Amencan university, the L'rt versity of Wisconsin has made its interests identical with those of the people composing the commonwealth. There are nine State nor mal schools, located at Milwaukee, River Falls, Stevens Point, Whitewater, Platteville Eau Claire, La Crosse, Superior and Oshkosh. Their administration is entrusted to a single Board of Normal School Regents, correspond ing to the Board of Regents of the University; while the State Board of Education correlates, on the business side, the higher educational interests of the State. The more important privately-supported colleges of the State are Lawrence, at Appleton; Ripon, at Ripon ; at Beloit; Carroll, at Nl'aukesha; Campion, at Prairie du Chien and Milwaukee-Downer (for women) and Marquette University at Mil waukee. There is an excellent system of pub lic, high and graded schools, with suitable pro vision for State aid and State supervision. In 1915-16 there were 47.030 pupils enrolled in the 353 public high schools, an increase of 74 per cent in 10 years. Since the Catholic popu lation of the State outnumbers that of all other religious denominations combined, there is a large enrolment of pupils in the ntmierous church schools who would otherwise go to the public schools. The number of ungraded rural schools is decreasing slowly, while the propor tion of total school population in attendance upon graded schools is steadily and rapidly in creasing. In 1915-16 continuation schools in 29 cities enrolled 36,700 pupils at a per capita cost of $1245. In 1915-16, with a total popula tion of school age of 801.995 in the State. 516.990 were enrolled in the several classes of free public schools and about 70,000 (tis esti mation) in private and parochial schools For nearly a quarter of a century the State has had an admiral's organized of library ieni,ion and (ridership, with the truth that the people of Wisconsin probably enjoy more adequate llrary service than do those of s-Ty state. The traveling libraries sent out by the Free Library Commission penetrate to every corner of the State; while the resources of the State Historical Library with its more than 400.000 titles and the University Library with :75.000 more are at the disposal, under reason able administrative regulations, of every resident of the State.