39th Wisconsin Legislature

The Thirty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature convened from to  in regular session.

This was the first legislative session after the redistricting of the Senate and Assembly according to an act of the previous session.

Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 6, 1888. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 2, 1886.

Major events

 * January 7, 1889: Inauguration of William D. Hoard as the 16th Governor of Wisconsin.
 * March 4, 1889: Inauguration of Benjamin Harrison as the 23rd President of the United States
 * April 2, 1889: At the state's spring general election, Wisconsin voters approved an amendment to the Constitution of Wisconsin which abolished the separate offices of "chief justice" and "associate justices" of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, converting all members to "justices" and designating that the most senior justice would serve as chief justice.
 * May 1889: First reported cases associated with the 1889–1890 pandemic.
 * November 8, 1889: Montana was admitted as the 41st U.S. state.
 * November 11, 1889: Washington was admitted as the 42nd U.S. state.
 * March 18, 1890: The Wisconsin Supreme Court published it's decision in State ex rel. Weiss v. District Board of School District No. Eight, also known as the Edgerton Bible Case. The Court ruled that the use of the bible in public school instruction was an unconstitutional merging of church and state.  This decision was later cited by the United States Supreme Court in its 1963 decision banning compulsory prayer in schools.
 * March 20, 1890: The new German Emperor Wilhelm II dismissed long-time German chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
 * May 1, 1890: Coordinated mass rallies and strikes were held in the United States to call for an eight-hour workday.
 * July 2, 1890: U.S. President Benjamin Harrison signed the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 into law.
 * July 3, 1890: Idaho was admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
 * July 10, 1890: Wyoming was admitted as the 44th U.S. state.
 * July 14, 1890: U.S. President Benjamin Harrison signed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act into law. The law increased the amount of silver the U.S. government would purchase, in order to encourage inflation.
 * October 1, 1890: U.S. President Benjamin Harrison signed the Tariff Act of 1890, raising the average tariff on imports to 50%.
 * November 4, 1890: George Wilbur Peck elected Governor of Wisconsin.
 * December 29, 1890: The 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment killed 153 Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in an incident known as the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Major legislation

 * April 18, 1889: An Act concerning the education and employment of children, 1889 Act 519. Referred to as the "Bennett Law". The main purpose of the act was to raise the minimum employment age from 12 to 13 and required parents and guardians to ensure that children between the ages of 7 and 14 were receiving at least 12 weeks of education per year.  "Section 5" of the act defined a "school" as only one which provided instructions solely in the English language.  This proved to be a highly controversial move in a state which had many German, Polish, and Scandinavian language schools.  The backlash against the law likely contributed significantly to the Democratic wave election in 1890.
 * Joint Resolution agreeing to a proposed amendment to the constitution, 1889 Joint Resolution 3. This was the required second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution to abolish the separate offices of "chief justice" and "associate justices" of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and instead define all members of the court as "justices" with the most senior justice acting as "chief justice". This amendment was ratified by voters at the 1889 spring general election.
 * Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to section 1, of article 10, of the constitution of the state of Wisconsin, relating to Education, 1889 Joint Resolution 7. This was another attempt to amend the section of the Constitution of Wisconsin dealing with the Superintendent of Public Instruction.  The previous attempt had just been defeated in an 1888 referendum.

Sessions

 * 1st Regular session: January 9, 1889 – April 19, 1889

Senate leadership

 * President of the Senate: George W. Ryland (R)
 * President pro tempore: Thomas A. Dyson (R)

Assembly leadership

 * Speaker of the Assembly: Thomas B. Mills (R)

Members of the Senate
Members of the Senate for the Thirty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:

Members of the Assembly
Members of the Assembly for the Thirty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:

Senate committees

 * Senate Committee on Agriculture – S. B. Stanchfield, chair
 * Senate Committee on Assessment and Collection of Taxes – J. E. Leahy, chair
 * Senate Committee on Education – C. Widule, chair
 * Senate Committee on Enrolled Bills – J. W. DeGroff, chair
 * Senate Committee on Engrossed Bills – P. J. Clawson, chair
 * Senate Committee on Federal Relations – H. A. Cooper, chair
 * Senate Committee on Finance, Banks, and Insurance – G. H. Buckstaff, chair
 * Senate Committee on Incorporations – W. A. Rust, chair
 * Senate Committee on the Judiciary – George F. Merrill, chair
 * Senate Committee on Legislative Expenditures – W. S. Main, chair
 * Senate Committee on Manufacturing and Commerce – H. A. Taylor, chair
 * Senate Committee on Military Affairs – E. Scofield, chair
 * Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections – E. Scofield, chair
 * Senate Committee on Public Lands – R. E. Joiner, chair
 * Senate Committee on Railroads – George Fitch, chair
 * Senate Committee on Roads and Bridges – Frank Avery, chair
 * Senate Committee on State Affairs – A. P. Lovejoy, chair
 * Senate Committee on Town and County Organizations – J. C. Reynolds, chair

Assembly committees

 * Assembly Committee on Agriculture – E. Beaumont, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Assessment and Collection of Taxes – J. W. Whelan, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Bills on their Third Reading – Hugh Porter, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Cities – H. E. Legler, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Education – M. J. Bennett, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Engrossed Bills – H. G. Klinefelter, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Enrolled Bills – C. F. Simmons, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Federal Relations – James W. Freeman, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Incorporations – J. W. Babcock, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Insurance, Banks, and Banking – W. H. Blyton, chair
 * Assembly Committee on the Judiciary – W. J. McElroy, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Legislative Expenditures – Dwight S. Allen, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Labor and Manufactures – V. W. Dorwin, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Lumber and Mining – J. H. McCourt, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Medical Societies – R. H. Delap, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Militia – J. B. McCoy, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Privileges and Elections – W. B. La Selle, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Public Improvements – K. K. Hagestad, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Public Lands – C. F. Mohr, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Railroads – R. W. Jackson, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Roads and Bridges – John Stevenson, chair
 * Assembly Committee on State Affairs – H. M. Stocking, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Town and County Organization – Charles Hall, chair
 * Assembly Committee on Ways and Means – E. C. Oliver, chair
 * Assembly Special Committee on Labor and Industries – Henry Siebers, chair

Joint committees

 * Joint Committee on Charitable and Penal Institutions – L. E. Pond (Sen.) & R. B. Showalter (Asm.), co-chairs
 * Joint Committee on Claims – E. I. Kidd (Sen.) & Evan Coolidge (Asm.), co-chairs
 * Joint Committee on Printing – C. A. Pettibone (Sen.) & E. McGlachlin (Asm.), co-chairs

Changes from the 38th Legislature
New districts for the 39th Legislature were defined in 1887 Wisconsin Act 461, passed into law in the 38th Wisconsin Legislature.

Summary of changes

 * 11 Senate districts were left unchanged (or were only renumbered).
 * Milwaukee County went from having 3 districts to 4 (4, 5, 6, 7).
 * Waukesha County was divided between two multi-county districts with Jefferson (23) and with Washington and Ozaukee (33).
 * Marathon County was divided between two multi-county districts with Green Lake, Portage, and Waushara (9) and with Shawano and Waupaca (21).
 * Eau Claire and Jackson became a shared district (25) after having been in separate multi-county districts.
 * Pierce and St. Croix became a shared district (10) after having been in separate multi-county districts.
 * Crawford, Grant, La Crosse, and Vernon went from sharing 3 districts to 2 (16, 31).
 * Manitowoc County went from having its own district to sharing a district with Kewaunee County (15).
 * Brown County went from having its own district to sharing a district with Calumet County (2).

Partisan implications

 * Republicans had 13 safe seats, down from 18.
 * Democrats had 5 safe seats, down from 6.
 * 15 seats were competitive, up from 9.

Summary of changes

 * 42 districts were left unchanged (or were only renumbered).
 * Barron County became its own district after previously having been in a shared district with Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, and Washburn counties.
 * Dane County went from having 5 districts to 4.
 * Dodge County went from having 4 districts to 3.
 * Eau Claire County went from having 1 district to 2.
 * La Crosse County went from having 1 district to 2.
 * Marathon County went from having 1 district to 2.
 * Oconto County became its own district after previously having been in a shared district with Forest and Langlade counties
 * Racine County went from having 2 districts to 1.
 * Washington County went from having 2 districts to 1.
 * Waukesha County went from having 1 district to 2.

Senate employees

 * Chief Clerk: Charles E. Bross
 * 1st Assistant Clerk: J. O. Warriner
 * 2nd Assistant Clerk: J. S. Parkinson
 * Bookkeeper: J. T. Huntington
 * Engrossing Clerk: J. C. Bishop
 * Enrolling Clerk: C. A. Christiansen
 * Transcribing Clerk: F. W. Sacket
 * Proofreader: J. J. Esch
 * Index Clerk: Grace Winfield Bross
 * Clerk for the Judiciary Committee: Linton McNeel
 * Clerk for the Committee on Incorporations: Levi Earle Pond
 * Clerk for the Committee on Claims: L. B. Noyes
 * Clerk for the Committee on Engrossed Bills: Charles H. Barnett
 * Clerk for the Committee on Enrolled Bills: Tobias Voegeli
 * Clerk for the Committee on Railroads: J. T. Ellerson
 * Document Clerk: K. W. Jensen
 * Sergeant-at-Arms: T. J. George
 * Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: A. Townsend
 * Postmaster: H. Stone Richardson
 * Assistant Postmaster: J. O. Newgard
 * Gallery Attendant: A. W. Wineberg
 * Document Room Attendant: Jesse Kevill
 * Committee Room Attendants:
 * Fred O. De Groff
 * L. Blackstone
 * Comparing Clerks:
 * Mrs. M. M. Fowler
 * R. W. Cheever
 * John Ashton
 * Doorkeepers:
 * E. W. Cole
 * H. C. Folz
 * J. M. Schweern
 * J. F. Nelson
 * Porter: John Malone
 * Night Watch: B. H. Bronson
 * Janitor: M. Thronson
 * Messengers:
 * Clarence Taylor
 * Willie Leahy
 * George Lund
 * L. Spaulding
 * Albert Bellows
 * Prentice Flint
 * Carroll Davis
 * A. McDougal
 * F. G. Seymore
 * A. W. Paine

Assembly employees

 * Chief Clerk: Edwin Coe
 * 1st Assistant Clerk: Walter L. Houser
 * 2nd Assistant Clerk: Oliver G. Munson
 * Bookkeeper: Walter W. Pollock
 * Engrossing Clerk: F. Z. Alexander
 * Assistant Engrossing Clerks:
 * E. P. Bryant
 * Frances M. Hall
 * Enrolling Clerk: Charles M. Durkee
 * Assistant Enrolling Clerk: Sarah North
 * Transcribing Clerk: Robert Hastreiter
 * Assistant Transcribing Clerks:
 * Joseph Albrecht
 * William Evans
 * Index Clerk: James Scott
 * Comparing Clerks:
 * W. F. Tenney
 * William Irvine
 * H. T. Ames
 * Clerk for the Judiciary Committee: William M. Foster
 * Clerk for the Committee on Enrolled Bills: G. H. Downey
 * Clerk for the Committee on Engrossed Bills: C. D. Fish
 * Clerk for the Committee on State Affairs: Andrew Rohnscheib
 * Clerk for the Committee on Third Reading: J. M. Craigo
 * Document Clerk: H. J. Ormsby
 * Custodian of the Engrossing and Enrolling Rooms: Richard O'Donnell
 * Sergeant-at-Arms: F. E. Parsons
 * Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: H. N. Davis
 * Postmaster: William T. Pugh
 * Assistant Postmaster: John B. Nugent
 * Doorkeepers:
 * W. J. Zettler
 * Sure Johnson
 * J. K. Fisher
 * C. W. Blay
 * Gallery Attendants:
 * Ira S. Vaughn
 * H. H. Lampman
 * Committee Room Attendants:
 * T. B. Rowlands
 * Theodore Stenehjen
 * Document Room Attendant: George L. Jones
 * Gallery Attendants:
 * George Hanover
 * Hans C. Haller
 * Porter: A. B. Lynn
 * Police: F. O. Janzen
 * Flagman: John Olson
 * Night Watch: R. W. Jones
 * Wash Room Attendant: W. B. Patterson
 * Messengers:
 * Lewis Olson
 * Charles H. McCourt
 * Lewis Skinner
 * Louis Kreuger
 * Willie Berg
 * Robert Bissert
 * George Dean
 * Lewis Gregorson
 * Clyde L. Kimball
 * Frank Kelley
 * Eddie Dittmar
 * John Bucy