Foreword


        HE publication of the 1942 edition of the W'sconsi
        Blue Book finds this nation at war. For twenty-three
        years our country had been at peace. At the conclusion
of the world struggle in e 1918 ,ad throughout much of the next
two decades,,mostAnmericans were of the belief and hope that
war would not again be visited upon us.

  The events of the later thirties weakened this confidence.
Dictatorship and saber-rattling were on the march. The coming
events cast their shadows before them.

   In 1940 and during 1941 your state administration was appre-
hensive of the storm which seemed to be brewina. In his message
to the legislature on January 9, 1941 your Governor emphasized
that the problem which transcends all others is "the preservation
of the United States."

   Your lawmakers put through a Program of legislation to
 strengthen the defenses of Wisconsin and to (ive all-out assistance
 to the program of rearming America. Their vision was true, as
 history will record.

   The purpose of the Blue Book is to give a comprehensive
 picture of the work of the state government. The activities of
 the executive, the legislative, the judicial, and the administrative
 departtents are outlined within the pages of this boo~ko

   An intelligent cttitenship is a prerequisite to a strong system
 of democratic institutions. It is a safeguard to those liberties
 which our men and women are now so valiantly defending.

   To the extent that it shao give information tto our citizens,
 this book is worth- hile. To the degree that understanding of