September 26, 1940

Mrs. Emma Kriewaldt
Yurgo, South Australia
Australia

Dear Sister:

Fred just came in the office bringing a letter which you wrote to Dolly and Gus, accompanied with the request that they send it on to the other brothers and sisters. Lora is here and the three of us have read the letter aloud. You now have the family setting in my office. We are all here now while I am dictating this letter to you.

We received your photograph and we all have reached the conclusion that you are still a pretty good looking old girl for 68 years of age. Even though the wrinkles do not show, Emma, everything else is there.

I am enclosing in this letter one of my pictures which I used in my campaign.

I was defeated for the nomination upon the Republican ticket. There were seven candidates and Mr. Fred Clausen of Horicon, a millionaire manufacturer of farm implement, received the nomination, He will now have to run against LaFollette in the November election. I have grave doubts whether he can be elected. However that may be, I am definitely out and probably will retire from politics.

I took the position that we have no stake in the European War, and that we should mind our own business, prepare for defense and accept Washington’s advice seriously. You remember he said in his farewell address:

“Do not enter into any foreign entanglements. Cultivate the peace and friendship of the entire world.”

My entire campaign was predicated upon this theme and the fact that I lost out indicates that even Wisconsin is again war-minded as it was in 1917.

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I have not changed my ideas and will still do everything I can to fight our entry in this war. It may be that my teachers when I was a boy, told me too much history. Whether that is so or not, I have no reason to change my mind with reference to Great Britain end her Empire. If we need the protection of Great Britain’s fleet, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves.

In politics it looks to me as if Roosevelt will be re-elected. He is handing out billions of othor people’s money in the form of Relief and W.P.A. jobs. He is literally buying votes by employing millions in governmental service.  Just this morning e W.P.A. Worker came in, who said he was only getting $39.OO a month. He is down at the court house doing some sort of book work which I know he can’t do. He is about as illiterate as any man I ever met in my life. A new scheme has now been evolved whereby this same man will receive $19.00 extra per month in food stamps. That will give him $58.00 a month. I am sure he does not work over 40 hours in a month at a little clerical job as I have stated. Contrast that with men on our farms. Some of them receive only $35.00 a month and the best $50.00. Of course, this man will vote for Roosevelt as well as the other millions who are similarly situated.

We still have much unemployment but the defense program and the war orders are beginning to make profits and more money is finding its way into pay envelopes. The laboring men seem to like the present feast and I really believe this nation is ready to go into war, regardless of the sacrifice in men and property.

We have a debt of Forty-Five billion dollars and this Congress has appropriated Twenty Billion Dollars more. The people are demoralized. Nobody wants to work. The farmers are leaving their farms and applying for old age pensions. I don’t know how much longer this can go on but no nation can live without working.

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I notice that Eddie is in England. Our radio gives us probably more accurate reports than you get but I am not going into that because this letter may be censored and the whole letter may be confiscated. I hope that Eddie does not suffer any injury, and that he will come home to you.

Now, with reference to ourselves. Fred, Alvina and Frederick are upon the farm near the cemetery. They are operating the farm about the same as when you were here, except that we have gone in the fox business quite extensively and raise several hundred foxes each year. Just how this business will be affected it is hard to say. Without question there will be more free money, but our exportations may be cut off, so that we will have to use all of our silver foxes in America, and I am somewhat concerned about the price of foxes this fall. The farm is being operated about as it was before. We still have Guernsey cattle, but we have no milk route. We have quit the ginseng business. The price got altogether too low. The lumber for the sheds increased 400% and the price of ginseng decreased 75%.

Since you were here we have developed a large farm in Langlade. This farm has about 2000 acres but has 500 acres cleared. We specialize here in Hereford steers and potatoes. Just now we are digging and have a fairly good crop. The price is not good. That applies also to grain here. We had a fine summer so for as rains are concerned, but our farmers had much trouble in harvesting their grain because of wet weather. Add to that the fact that the price is very low and we have a very big surplus from other years, and that everything that we buy has gone up a good deal, and you can readily see there is nothing in farming.

Charley is working for the County and living in the same house he lived in when you were here. His youngest daughter, Edna, is married and has two children. She was here this summer. She married a Lutheran School Teacher and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. ,

Dolly and Gust were here this summer.  Gust has aged a good deal and has slowed up some more, if that were possible. Dolly is just as chic as ever , and you would hardly think

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that she is 70 years old. She still would pass for a sixteen year old. Her hair is not gray and she still seems to have all the fire of youth.

Now for our own family. Michael, our oldest son, is 26 years old today, He got his B.A, at Lawrence University in 1936 and then attended the University of Wisconsin Law school where he finished in 1959. Since then he has practiced law with me in the office. Our firm, as you will notice, is Eberlein & Eberlein.

Margaret is working for the State of Wisconsin at Taycheedah in the capacity of a private secretary. She finished the University of Wisconsin in 1950, taught school at Sheboygan in the high school for 5 years and then went East and took a Secretarial course and has now worked for the State three years. She is unmarried and I had hoped that she might find some worthy young man and settle down. Her single blessedness seems to bother me more than it does her mother.

William is now attending Harvard and he hopes to get his PhD, majoring in Mathematics, next June. He got his B.A. at Harvard in 1938. He then came to Wisconsin and got his Master’s Degree in 1939. He then went back to Harvard last year and the present year will be his last. He is a very good student and has had a scholarship continuously at Harvard. He seems to be gifted in Mathematics and hopes to get a teaching job in some University,

Fritz is really our most gifted son of all. He is 21, He is indolent and a little foxy, a good deal like his father was when he was young. He has no vices and doesn’t drink. Unlike his father he is mentally lazy and tries to live by his wits. He finished St. Norbert’s College at DePere last June and is now at Wisconsin University Law School. He is exceptionally talented and I think he will find himself in law. Of all the boys, he alone could take my place here in every field of endeavor in which I am engaged, if he would just settle down and study. I feel confident now that he will find himself and get down to business. .

The youngest is Walter, who is 19. He is our pride and joy. Wally was the Valedictorian of his class, containing about 185 students. He went to Harvard as a Freshman last year.

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He got straight A’s and is one of 16 of the upper 16 in a class of 957 Freshman, He got a mid-semester scholarship at Harvnrd and another one this year, indicating that they appreciate him.

Wally has just about everything by way of character, intelligence, personality end industry. He will make a great man some day. We are trying to bend him into the physician’s path, hoping that we can make a doctor out of him. So far he has shown no inclination.

We live at Shawano where we lived when Martin stayed with us. We just finished painting the house for the second time since we live there and things really look pretty fine around the place. With the boys all gone, except Michael, it is kind of quiet around the place. We have a maid and so Mother can take things somewhat easier.

We had our first killing frost last night and we are very busy getting in our corn for silage and getting out our crops.

Fred suggested that I tell you about Reka, to make this letter complete. She still lives upon the farm near Embarass. She occupies a part of the farm house and Eddie and his wife occupy the other. I think Reka is having quite a time because Eddie’s wife seems to be pretty hard-boiled. Reka is getting very old and apparently is still in good health. Things look pretty tough around there. The house hasn’t been painted since you last saw it and I doubt if any repairs have been made, so it is just a shack. Her daughter, Adelaide, teaches school and is still unmarried and lives with Reka. Apparently they get along very well. I don’t know what Reka would do without Adelaide. The rest of her family have flown to all corners of the United States. Dwight is in California. Katherine married a fine young farmer living in Langlade County. Arthur is in Milwaukee. You will remember him as her youngest son. I think he is some foreman on a W.P.A. job and is classified pretty near a “Red” from every report I get. I don’t know where the rest are, because they shift around. Not any of them have done very well so far as I can see. Fred is running a garage in Embarass and has just about

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lost it, because of the inherited Breed indolence.

Uncle Fred is 65 years of age and still seems to trot along as fast as ever. He is apparently enjoying pretty good health, as is Alvina.

I have had more or less sick spells for the last three years but am also hanging on. When one gets to the age of 60 you must expect ailments.

I don’t know if you know that our office is in the old Odd Fellow’s Building. You will remember the building on the corner directly across the road and south from Yung’s Furniture Store. It is kitty corner from Upham’s store. I just completed some interior work, making the offices very fine. I have a tenant in the north end of my building operating a furnishing store. The Journal Printing Office is in the south end of our building. I occupy what used to be the hall of the old Odd Fellov’s Building on the second floor and Doctor Stubenvoll occupies the north part which used to be the kitchen and sitting room of the Qdd Fellows. I built a barber shop immediately east of the end of this building about 12 years ago. It is of brick and that is rented.

Now, this is a very long letter, Emma, but I must say that we now have over 5000 inhabitants and the town has changed a good deal since you left. Practically every store is a chain store. Even Uphams had to go out of business. Montgomery Wards are occupying the store building. We have miles of paved streets and, of course, side walks and sewers. The paper mill is still as it was when you were here. Of course the river and the pond are here as is the lake. The court house is exactly as it was. Fred says to tell you that there are now over 500 summer cottages around Shawano Lake. Fred is Chairman of the Town of Wescott, that being the town in which the lake is located.

We have about 26 lawyers here now, all trying to make a living. So far I have been very busy but can notice a falling off because of the time I took out campaigning.

Of course, this will come back when I get started again.

Under separate cover I am sending you several copies of the

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Shawano County Journal and some campaign material. I am also enclosing a vote that I got in Shawano County, showing the regard in which I am held here. I will put that in the package containing the papers and campaign material and, therefore, will not enclose it in this letter.

When you write us, please write us a long letter telling us about your children and Martin and his family and his work

We all send our love.

[Signed MGE]