George S. Wehrwein, who was born in the town of Newton, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin in 1883, combined his two principal interests of agriculture and education when he became a professor of agricultural economics. Since this collection represents Wehrwein's preoccupation with agricultural and educational matters, his career may be described in five phases.
Educational Training: Wehrwein satisfied the academic requirements for four degrees awarded by educational institutions including: a teaching certificate from Oshkosh State Teachers college (1908) and his Bachelor's Degree (1913), his Master's Degree (1920), and his Ph.D. (1922) from the University of Wisconsin.
Teaching Assignments: During his teaching career, Wehrwein was employed as: an instructor in the Wisconsin public school system (1908-1913); an extension lecturer in agricultural marketing and co-operation at the University of Texas (1913-1917); an extension specialist in the Office of Farm Markets in the state of Washington (1917-1918); and a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Pennsylvania (1918-1919), at Northwestern University (1925-1928), and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1928-1944).
Research Projects: Wehrwein organized and participated in many research projects concerning land and agricultural problems. In 1912 he examined the marketing procedures involving the distribution of Wisconsin cheese. During his Texas residency, 1913-1917, Wehrwein investigated the social and economic factors causing farm tenancy in Travis County, Texas. For ten years, 1928-1938, he was affiliated with the Institute for Research and Land Economics and Public Utilities as a research associate investigating the character of agricultural and forest land, with special emphasis on land income, valuation and tenure. During his professorship at the University of Wisconsin, Wehrwein explored the following subjects: the resettlement of people in Langlade County, Wisconsin; village government in Wisconsin; the private sale of land before 1860; the relationship between farm population and national agricultural policies; the consolidation of Oconto County towns; the administration of rural zoning; and tax delinquency in relation to land use planning and the appraisal of special forest crop taxation in Wisconsin.
Publications: Besides these special research projects, Wehrwein authored books, wrote articles, published book reviews, and broadcast radio speeches concerning agricultural and land economics. In collaboration with Professor Richard T. Ely, he wrote Outlines of Land Economics, 1940; and Land Economics, 1941. Wehrwein published many articles in periodicals including:
|
Article
|
Magazine
|
Date
|
| Farmer's Organizations in the Past |
Wisconsin County Magazine
|
1912 |
| The Decline in Rural Population |
American Home Journal
|
1915? |
| What are the Facts about Arable Land |
National Real Estate Journal
|
1923 |
| Farm Tenancy in the United States |
Public Affairs
|
1924 |
| Tenancy versus Ownership as a Problem in Urban Land Utilization |
American Academy of Political and Social Sciences
|
1930 March |
| County Boards Not Representative |
Wisconsin Taxpayer
|
1934 March 15 |
| Town Government in Wisconsin |
The Blue Book
|
1935 |
| Rural Zoning and Highway Planning |
Better Roads
|
1936 January |
| The Rural-Urban Fringe |
Economic Geography
|
1942 July |
Wehrwein reviewed many books, including:
|
Book
|
Magazine
|
Date
|
| The Tragedy of Waste by Stuart Chase |
Journal of Land Economics
|
1927 August |
| Success on Irrigation Projects by J.A. Widtsoe
|
American Economic Review
|
1929 June |
| Agriculture in the Chicago Region by Edward A. Duddy |
Journal of Farm Economics
|
1929 December |
| Economic and Social Aspects of Federal Reclamation by D. Lampen |
American Economic Review
|
1930 December |
During his radio broadcasts for the University of Wisconsin's College of Agriculture (primarily over Madison's WHA station), Wehrwein discussed the following topics:
|
Subject
|
Date
|
Station
|
| Does marginal land affect the prosperity of the farmer? |
1930 January 8 |
WHA (Madison) |
| What shall we do with Wisconsin's marginal farm land? |
1930 January 15 |
WHA |
| What is the farmer's interest in recreational land? |
1930 January 22 |
WHA |
| What is the trend in farm land values? |
1930 February 21 |
WHA |
| What is the trend in farm mortgages? |
1930 February 28 |
WHA |
| How Wisconsin farmers became farm owners |
1930 May 13 |
WHA |
| What use is Wisconsin making of its recreational land? |
1930 September 23 |
WHA |
| Let tourists and vacationists “farm” our land |
1935 March 25 |
WHA |
| The uniformity clause and county government |
1943 January 26 |
WHA |
Professional Affiliations: Throughout his academic career, Wehrwein was affiliated with many professional organizations and governmental agencies, including: the presidency of the American Economic Association, 1941; memberships with the American Association of University Professors; the American Farm Economic Association, the Agricultural History Society, the Wisconsin State Planning Board, the Land Committee of the National Resources Committee; the vice-presidency of the American Society of Planning Officials; the chairmanship of the Midwest Land Tenure; and the editorship of the Journal of Land Economics and Public Utility. Wehrwein was affiliated with the Journal of Farm Economics after 1925 and directed the campaign to transfer the headquarters of this publication from Northwestern University to the University of Wisconsin, 1928.
