Title: James J. McDonald Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1919-1930

Creator:

• McDonald, James J., 1886-1986

Call Number: Mss 1011; PH 6460

Quantity: 4.9 c.f. (12 archives boxes and 1 oversize folder), 10 photographs, and 16 negatives

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Legal files of James J. McDonald, a Madison, Wisconsin attorney and secretary/treasurer to two electric utilities, Badger Electric Service Company and Badger Light and Power, both of which concentrated on rural electrification in Wisconsin. The papers include materials related to the operation of both electric utilities, consisting of correspondence, legal contracts, and financial documents as well as McDonald's legal work for Gay Electric Company, Burnett County Electric, Luck Light and Power, and Polk Electric Light Company. Also included are materials related to McDonald's work with the Wisconsin Utilities Association, the Rural Lines Commission, and his work purchasing several Wisconsin telephone companies on behalf of W. N. Albertson Telephone Company of Omaha.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss01011

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

James J. McDonald was born October 22, 1886, in a log cabin in Stinnett, Wisconsin. Both of his parents, Thomas and Mehitable Mcevoy McDonald, were originally from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. He attended high school for three years at St. Croix River Falls High School, but graduated from New Richmond High School in 1907. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, in 1912, and his law degree in 1913. He entered into private practice in Portage, Wisconsin in 1913 and subsequently moved his practice to Madison in 1915, where he practiced law until his retirement in 1979. He married his wife, Grace Bogue, in 1915, and they had one son, James, Jr.

McDonald spent much of his early legal career working with several Wisconsin electric utilities in various capacities. In the late 1910s and early 1920s, he drew up contracts and helped issue bonds for Gay Electric Company, Burnett County Electric Company (sometimes referred to as “Dahlberg,” for its president), Merrimack Electric Company, Luck Light and Power, and Polk/Clam River Electric Company. He was a trustee for Luck Light and Power, in addition to his legal duties.

In 1919, McDonald helped found Badger Electric Service Company (BESCo) in DeForest, Wisconsin. The company quickly extended power lines to Poynette, Arlington, Morrisonville, Windsor, Sun Prairie, and Cottage Grove. According to a newspaper clipping, Badger Electric Service Company specialized more in bringing electrical lines to farms than any other company in the state at that time.

Initially, the company was run by William B. Bennet, president, James J. McDonald, secretary-treasurer, L. M. Libby, vice president and general manager, and B. B. Hicks, auditor. L. M. Libby fell ill in 1920, however, and was gradually replaced by E. B. Wayts, who was assistant general manager from 1920 and full general manager from 1923 onward.

Badger Electric Service Company built, ran, and serviced electric lines in rural areas in and around Dane County. It entered into contracts with its customers (both entire towns and individual farmers), and with its supply companies. It interacted with the banks that held its mortgages and its bond issues. McDonald drew up its annual reports, which were sent to the Wisconsin Railroad Commission, the Wisconsin Tax Commission, the Wisconsin Secretary of State, the Wisconsin Highway Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service. It participated in lawsuits with customers over rates and over damages. It investigated other electric companies and sometimes succeeded in buying them out. The company operated the Poynette power plant semi-independently, listing its profit and loss statements separately, and leased the plant to L. M. Libby in 1922.

In late spring, 1924, shortly after winning a messy battle to buy out the Wood Electric Company, the Badger Electric Service Company was bought out in turn by Wisconsin Power and Light, a Wisconsin division of the Middle West Utilities Company. The president of Wisconsin Power and Light was G. C. Neff, a correspondent of McDonald, while the president of the Middle West Utilities Company was Martin Insull, referred to in the collection as the “Insull interests.”

From the ashes of the Badger Electric Service Company, the same board members -– William B. Bennet as president, E. B. Wayts as vice president, James McDonald as secretary-treasurer, and B. B. Hicks as auditor and now also as general manager –- founded Badger Light and Power (BLP) in the early summer of 1924.

BLP functioned very similarly to Badger Electric Service Company, but in Wood and Portage counties instead of Dane County. The major exception is that BLP bought electricity for its customers wholesale from Wisconsin Valley Electric Company rather than operating its own plants.

In the winter of 1928, E. B. Wayts resigned as vice president and was replaced by a stockholder, B. E. Miller. In June, 1928, however, Badger Light and Power was bought by Wisconsin Power and Light, the same company that had bought Badger Electric Service Company.

Aside from Badger Electric Service Company and Badger Light and Power, McDonald was also a trustee and a paid legal advisor for Luck Light and Power. He helped with legal work for Luck Light and Power throughout the 1920s. He also did fairly extensive legal work for Polk/Clam River Electric Company from 1922 through 1930.

His involvement with all these companies was recognized by his repeated appointment to the Rural Lines Committee of the Wisconsin Utilities Association, a professional association of utilities operators, from at least 1922 through 1925.

In 1928 McDonald was chosen by an Omaha, Nebraska telephone company, W. N. Albertson, to represent their interests and act as liaison as they bought out six Wisconsin telephone companies.

Outside his work with the utility companies, McDonald was a charter member and president of the Madison Optimists Club, a 33rd degree Mason, a member of the board of deacons of the First Congregational Church of Madison, a member of the National Guard in the 1920s, and a member of the Madison Methodist Hospital's board of directors, 1929-1951. He retired in 1979 and died October 6, 1986.

The documents in the collection date from 1919 through 1930 and document McDonald's work with Wisconsin utilities. The papers document the business practices of two power companies, Badger Electric Service Company and Badger Light and Power, and McDonald's legal work on behalf of other companies in which he was not as fully involved. The papers consist of correspondence, legal contracts, financial documents, news clippings related to utility companies, stock and bond certificates, maps, photos, negatives, spreadsheets, and blueprints.

Each folder in the collection contains all the relevant documents which pertain to a single issue -– correspondence, invoices, contracts, and other materials are grouped together, regardless of format. McDonald arranged the folders in a roughly chronological order and numbered the folders accordingly (“File no.” given on the contents list below). The missing numbers belong to files which McDonald did not donate with the collection.

The papers have been divided into series according to company: Other Utilities, Luck Light and Power, Polk Electric Light Company, Badger Electric Service Company, Badger Light and Power, Wisconsin Utilities Association, W. N. Albertson Telephone Company, and Visual Materials.

The OTHER UTILITIES series consists of three folders, one each from Gay Electric Company, Burnett County Electric, and Merrimack Electric Company, 1919-1922. These files contain mainly correspondence with some contracts, documenting James McDonald's legal work with each company. Subjects include Gay Electric Company's contracts with utility company customers and correspondence about Burnett County Electric's bond issue and the founding of Merrimack Electric Company.

The LUCK LIGHT AND POWER series consists of three folders, 1923, 1924-1925, and 1930. The files document McDonald's legal work with the company, and contain mortgage documents, bond issue correspondence and contracts, and documents related to the sale of the utility company.

The POLK ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY series consists of nine folders, dating from 1922-1930. McDonald had a lengthy relationship with this company, as he was involved with both the company's founding and the company's sale as a legal advisor. The files mostly consist of correspondence (most of it with the president, Mads Bank, or his son Einar), deeds, and contracts. Subjects include the company's founding, the purchase of a local company, Clam River Electric Company, and the purchase of Polk Electric Light Company in its turn.

The BADGER ELECTRIC SERVICE COMPANY (BESCo) series dates from 1921 through 1924. Documents pertaining to McDonald's work as lawyer, secretary, and treasurer are all included –- including large quantities of correspondence on multiple issues and financial reports (including tax returns) with the working papers used to calculate them, as well as contracts and other legal documents. The correspondents include the other directors of the company, as well as government officials, other electric utility directors, and supply companies. The correspondence tracks the founding, business practices, problems faced, evolution, expansion, and eventual sale of the company. Several files in this series also contain data from other power utilities, gathered by McDonald because the company was considering their purchase.

The BADGER LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY (BLP) files, 1924-1929, are very similar in content and form to the files of the BADGER ELECTRIC SERVICE COMPANY as the two companies shared the same purpose and the same directors and McDonald held the same positions in each company and made and saved the same types of documents.

The WISCONSIN UTILITIES ASSOCIATION files, 1922-1925, contain incomplete documentation of McDonald's work on the Rural Lines Committee of the utilities association. The series contains notes and/or transcripts of several speeches about rural electrification, committee correspondence, the 1922 member list, and the 1925 convention program.

The W. N. ALBERTSON TELEPHONE COMPANY series, 1928, consists of correspondence and contracts relevant to the purchase of various Wisconsin telephone companies by the W. N. Albertson Telephone Company of Omaha, Nebraska. Also included are contracts and correspondence between McDonald and W. N. Albertson company, securing his legal counsel on behalf of the company's business dealings in Wisconsin.

The VISUAL MATERIALS series contains negatives and photographs of Badger Light and Power Company's buildings and other property holdings.

Acquisition Information

Presented by James J. McDonald, Madison, Wisconsin, 1979.

Processing Information

Processed by Melissa Johnson (Practicum student), May 2006.

Mss 1011	Series: Other Utilities
Box/Folder   1/1 File no.   114	Gay Electric Company contracts, 1920
Box/Folder   1/2 File no.   115	Burnett County Electric correspondence, 1922
Oversize Folder   1	County map
Box/Folder   1/3 File no.   123	Merrimack Electric Company correspondence, 1919-1920
	Series: Luck Light and Power	⇧
Box/Folder   1/4 File no.   146	Mortgage documents, 1923
Box/Folder   1/5 File no.   516	Bond issue correspondence and contracts, 1924-1925
Box/Folder   1/6 File no.   539	Power sale documents, 1928
	Series: Polk Electric Light Company	⇧
Box/Folder   1/7 File no.   120a	Deeds, correspondence, 1922
Box/Folder   1/8 File no.   120b	Mads Bank (president) correspondence, 1923
Box/Folder   1/9 File no.   120c	Contracts, 1923
Box/Folder   1/10 File no.   120d	Trust deeds, 1923
Box/Folder   1/11 File no.   225	Mortgage documents, correspondence, working papers, 1924
Box/Folder   1/12 File no.   641	Correspondence and contracts, 1926-1929
Box/Folder   1/13 File no.   642	Clam River Electric Company correspondence and contracts, 1928
Box/Folder   2/1-2 File no.   650	Electric property sale contracts, 1929
Oversize Folder   1	Property map
Box/Folder   2/3 File no.   651	Electric property sale correspondence, 1929-1930
	Series: Badger Electric Service Company	⇧
Box/Folder   2/4 File no.   153	Rate case court deposition, 1921
Box/Folder   2/5 File no.   197	Bond purchases correspondence, 1924
Box/Folder   2/6 File no.   265	G. C. Neff correspondence, 1925
Box/Folder   2/7 File no.   274	Correspondence and miscellaneous, 1920-1924
Box/Folder   2/8 File no.   318	B. B. Hicks correspondence, 1921-1923
Box/Folder   3/1 File no.   319	L. M. Libby correspondence, 1921-1922
Box/Folder   3/2-3 File no.   320	William Bennett correspondence, 1919-1923
Box/Folder   3/4 File no.   321	Mr. Hayden (Railroad Commission) correspondence, 1922
Box/Folder   3/5 File no.   322	B. E. Miller correspondence, 1920-1923
Box/Folder   3/6 File no.   323	Mr. Sloan (consulting engineer) correspondence, 1922
Box/Folder   3/7 File no.   324	Wages, audits, correspondence, 1920-1923
Box/Folder   3/8 File no.   325	Correspondence, 1919-1923
Box/Folder   3/9 File no.   326	Cottage Grove power lines extension correspondence, working papers, 1922
Box/Folder   3/10 File no.   327	Bristol power lines extension documents, 1921
Box/Folder   3/11 File no.   329	Farm Line contract forms, undated
Box/Folder   3/12 File no.   330	Farm Line costs working papers, undated
Box/Folder   3/13 File no.   331	Kickapoo Valley Electric Utilities purchase documents, 1922
Box/Folder   3/14 File no.   332	Line extensions working papers, documents, 1922
Box/Folder   3/15 File no.   333	Line extensions costs working papers, undated
Box/Folder   3/16 File no.   334	Bond sales correspondence, 1922-1923
Box/Folder   3/17 File no.   335	Bond issue working papers, 1920
Box/Folder   3/18 File no.   336	Miscellaneous bonds, record book, 1920-1921
Box/Folder   3/19 File no.   337	Miscellaneous forms, undated
Box/Folder   3/20 File no.   338	Material costs -- supply company invoices and correspondence, 1919-1923
Box/Folder   4/1 File no.   339	Material contracts, 1919-1923
Box/Folder   4/2 File no.   340	Wisconsin River Power Company outages and inspector reports, 1921
Box/Folder   4/3 File no.   341	Poynette Electric Company purchase -- stock certificates and documents, 1920
Box/Folder   4/4 File no.   342	Insurance, payroll, and accident reports, 1921-1923
Box/Folder   4/5 File no.   344	Clippings, 1921-1922
Box/Folder   4/6 File no.   345	Highway Commission permits, 1920
Box/Folder   4/7 File no.   346	Secretary of State annual reports, 1920-1923
Box/Folder   4/8 File no.   347	Tax Commission correspondence, tax returns, assessments, 1921-1923
Box/Folder   4/9 File no.   348	U. S. Government tax returns, correspondence, 1922-1924
Box/Folder   4/10 File no.   349	Railroad Commission correspondence, 1920-1923
Box/Folder   4/11 File no.   350	James McDonald services data, undated
Box/Folder   4/12 File no.   351	L. M. Libby services correspondence, contracts, 1922
Box/Folder   4/13 File no.   352	E. B. Wayts services contracts, 1920
Box/Folder   4/14 File no.   353	James McDonald services, expense accounts and salary, 1922
Box/Folder   4/15 File no.   355	Railroad Commission Annual Reports, clippings, 1922
Box/Folder   4/16 File no.   356	B. B. Hicks services working papers, 1920
Box/Folder   4/17 File no.   357	September balance working papers, 1921
Box/Folder   4/18 File no.   358	Working papers, December 31, 1920
Box/Folder   4/19 File no.   359	Working papers, 1922-1923
Box/Folder   5/1 File no.   360	B. B. Hicks reports, 1923
Box/Folder   5/2 File no.   361	Rural charges data, 1922
Box/Folder   5/3 File no.   362	Rural charges working papers, 1922
Box/Folder   5/4 File no.   363	Lawsuits correspondence, 1919-1920
Box/Folder   5/5 File no.   364	Buy out agreements, safety rules, documents, 1919-1923
Box/Folder   5/6 File no.   365	Balance sheets, 1922-1923
Box/Folder   5/7 File no.   391	Audit report, 1923
Box/Folder   5/8 File no.   392	Mortgage and trust certificates, 1921
Box/Folder   5/9 File no.   450a	Cambridge-Albion Electric Company reports and correspondence, 1922
Box/Folder   5/10 File no.   450b	Middleton Electric Light and Water company reports and correspondence, 1922-1923
Box/Folder   5/11 File no.   450c	Rio Electric Company statements, 1919-1922
Box/Folder   5/12 File no.   450d	Oregon Electric Company statements, 1923
Box/Folder   5/13-14 File no.   571	Company sale correspondence and documents, 1923
Box/Folder   5/15 File no.   575	Mortgage, 1919-1920
Box/Folder   5/16 File no.   576	Founding documents and contracts, 1919-1927
	Series: Badger Light and Power Company	⇧
Box/Folder   6/1 File no.   367	B. B. Hicks correspondence, 1924
Box/Folder   6/2 File no.   369	William Bennett correspondence, 1924
Box/Folder   6/3 File no.   370	William Bennett correspondence, 1925
Box/Folder   6/4 File no.   371	Julius Andrae Company correspondence and invoices, 1925
Box/Folder   6/5 File no.   372	Julius Andrae Company correspondence and invoices, 1924
Box/Folder   6/6 File no.   373	Bell Lumber Company correspondence and invoices, 1925
Box/Folder   6/7 File no.   374	Bell Lumber Company correspondence and invoices, 1924
Box/Folder   6/8 File no.   375	Duncan Electric Manufacturing Company correspondence and invoices, 1925
Box/Folder   6/9 File no.   376	Duncan Electric Manufacturing Company correspondence and invoices, 1924
Box/Folder   6/10 File no.   380	Western Electric Company correspondence and invoices, 1924
Box/Folder   6/11 File no.   381	Farmer's lawsuit transcripts and correspondence, 1925
Box/Folder   6/12 File no.   382	Lynn Chili Electric Company buy out documents, 1925
Box/Folder   6/13 File no.   383	Bethel Academy extension, 1924-1925
Box/Folder   6/14 File no.   384	Tree branch removal lawsuit correspondence, 1924
Box/Folder   6/15 File no.   385	Wood County extension estimates working papers, undated
Box/Folder   6/16 File no.   386	Shawano County extension estimates working papers, undated
Oversize Folder   1	County road map
Box/Folder   7/1 File no.   390	B. B. Hicks correspondence, 1925
Box/Folder   7/2 File no.   396	B. B. Hicks correspondence, 1926
Box/Folder   7/3 File no.   397	William Bennett correspondence, 1926
Box/Folder   7/4 File no.   398	Julius Andrae Company correspondence, 1926
Box/Folder   7/5 File no.   399	Duncan Electric Manufacturing Company correspondence, 1926
Box/Folder   7/6 File no.   400	Bell Lumber Company correspondence, 1926
Box/Folder   7/7 File no.   401	Pittsburgh Transmission Company correspondence and statements, 1924-1926
Box/Folder   7/8 File no.   401a	Bell Telephone Company lawsuit correspondence, 1924-1925
Box/Folder   7/9 File no.   402	E. B. Wayts correspondence, 1924-1926
Box/Folder   7/10 File no.   453	B. B. Hicks correspondence, 1927
Box/Folder   7/11 File no.   454	Duncan Electric Manufacturing Company correspondence, 1927
Box/Folder   8/1 File no.   455	Julius Andrae Company correspondence, 1927
Box/Folder   8/2 File no.   467	Wood County Electric Company purchase documents, 1924
Box/Folder   8/3 File no.   468	E. B. Wayts resignation correspondence, 1928
Box/Folder   8/4 File no.   469	Secretary of State annual reports, 1928
Box/Folder   8/5 File no.   470	Insurance statements, 1928
Box/Folder   8/6 File no.   471	Income tax and capital stock returns, IRS correspondence, 1924-1926
Box/Folder   8/7 File no.   472	E. B. Wayts correspondence, 1927-1928
Box/Folder   8/8 File no.   475	Trust deed, mortgage, Badger Electric Service Company stocks and bonds, undated
Box/Folder   8/9 File no.   476	Bond sales correspondence, 1925-1926
Box/Folder   8/10 File no.   479	Accounts Payable notes and working papers, 1925
Box/Folder   8/11 File no.   480	Marshfield Electric Company buy out documents, 1925-1926
Box/Folder   8/12 File no.   481	Correspondence, 1924-1927
Box/Folder   8/13 File no.   482	Invoices, 1924-1926
Box/Folder   8/14 File no.   483	Various electric utilities purchasing contracts, 1924
Box/Folder   8/15 File no.   484	Earnings Statements, 1924-1928
Box/Folder   8/16 File no.   485	Balance sheets, 1926-1927
Box/Folder   9/1 File no.   486	Balance sheet working papers, 1925 May 1
Box/Folder   9/2 File no.   487	Balance sheet working papers, 1924 December 31
Box/Folder   9/3 File no.   488	Balance sheet working papers, 1925 December 31
Box/Folder   9/4 File no.   489	Working papers, 1926 April 30
Box/Folder   9/5 File no.   490	Working papers, 1927 January - May
Box/Folder   9/6 File no.   491	Local telephone companies' financial statements, 1924-1927
Box/Folder   9/7 File no.   492	Old and new account numbers, undated
Box/Folder   9/8 File no.   494	Rules and rates reports, rule books, 1919-1927
Box/Folder   9/9 File no.   496	Lawsuits (other utilities companies) collected materials, 1920-1927
Box/Folder   9/10 File no.   497	Pittsburgh Transformer Company correspondence, 1927-1928
Box/Folder   9/11 File no.   498	Wisconsin Valley Electric Company correspondence and contracts, 1924-1927
Box/Folder   9/12 File no.   499	Electric Service Supplies Company correspondence and invoices, 1925-1928
Box/Folder   9/13 File no.   500	Tax Commission annual reports, 1925
Box/Folder   9/14 File no.   501	Railroad Commission annual reports, 1924-1926
Box/Folder   9/15 File no.   502	Railroad Commission correspondence and annual reports, 1921-1928
Box/Folder   9/16 File no.   503	Tax Commission annual reports, tax forms, 1925-1928
Box/Folder   9/17 File no.   504	Rural Power Lines materials, 1925-1927
Box/Folder   9/18 File no.   505	Wisconsin Rapids Hearing reports, 1925
Box/Folder   9/19 File no.   506	Line extension working papers, 1925
Box/Folder   10/1 File no.   507	Julius Andrae Company invoices, 1928
Box/Folder   10/2 File no.   508	Bell Lumber Company correspondence, 1927-1928
Box/Folder   10/3 File no.   509	B. B. Hicks correspondence, 1928
Box/Folder   10/4 File no.   510	William Bennett correspondence, 1927-1928
Box/Folder   10/5 File no.   511	Clippings, 1924-1928
Box/Folder   10/6 File no.   512	Company checks list, 1927
Box/Folder   10/7 File no.   513	Duncan Electric Manufacturing Company correspondence, 1928
Box/Folder   10/8 File no.   514	Trustee bond issue correspondence, 1925-1928
Box/Folder   10/9 File no.   515	Julius Andrae Company correspondence, 1928
Box/Folder   10/10 File no.   523	Working papers, 1928 (July)
Box/Folder   10/11 File no.   525	Company appraisal, 1928
Box/Folder   10/12 File no.   526	Amherst Electric Company appraisal, 1928
Box/Folder   10/13 File no.   527	Sale negotiations correspondence, 1928
Box/Folder   10/14 File no.   528	Investment securities correspondence, 1928
Box/Folder   10/15 File no.   534	B. B. Hicks meter reading notes, 1927-1928
Box/Folder   11/1 File no.   535	E. B. Wayts expense accounts and salary working papers, 1926
Box/Folder   11/2 File no.   572	Company sale documents, 1928
Oversize Folder   1	Blueprints
Box/Folder   11/3 File no.   589	James McDonald services working papers and documents, 1926-1928
Box/Folder   11/4 File no.   605	William Bennett correspondence, 1928-1929
Box/Folder   11/5 File no.   608	Correspondence and clippings, 1927
Box/Folder   11/6 File no.   609	Balance sheets, 1927 (December 27)
	Series: Wisconsin Utilities Association	⇧
Box/Folder   11/7 File no.   328	Rural lines committee speech and materials, 1922-1924
Box/Folder   11/8 File no.   343	Committee and member lists, 1922
Box/Folder   11/9 File no.   466	Correspondence and president's address, 1924-1925
Box/Folder   11/10 File no.   478	Rural lines committee convention materials, 1925
Box/Folder   11/11 File no.   610	Electrification costs speech notes and working papers, 1922
	Series: W. N. Albertson Telephone Company	⇧
Box/Folder   12/1 File no.   554a	Belleville Farm Telephone Company correspondence and contracts, 1928
Box/Folder   12/2 File no.   554b	Cottage Grove Telephone Company correspondence and contracts, 1928
Box/Folder   12/3 File no.   554c	Beloit Telephone Company correspondence and contracts, 1928
Box/Folder   12/4 File no.   554d	Citizen's Telephone Company correspondence and contracts, 1928
Box/Folder   12/5 File no.   554e	Central Telephone Company correspondence and contracts, 1928
Box/Folder   12/6 File no.   554f	Brooklyn Telephone Company correspondence and contracts, 1928
Box/Folder   12/7 File no.   554g	Miscellaneous correspondence and contracts, 1928
PH 6460	Series: Visual Materials	⇧
	Badger Light and Power Company
Folder   1 File no.   524	Property photographs, undated
Folder   2	Property negatives, undated