A major subject in this collection is that of higher education in Wisconsin. Many of the earliest papers concern Kronshage's experidence as a member of the Board of Normal School Regents, as its president, and also as a member of the state board of education. As chairman of the normal school committee on teachers he received and passed on all requests for changes on the teaching staff. The letters from the presidents of these normal schools contain much information on the progress of the schools, as well as on faculty matters.
Kronshage was chairman of a Committee of One Hundred appointed by the Wisconsin Teachers Association in 1916 to study general school matters in the state and recommend improvements. Scattered among the papers are letters from practically every leading educator in the state, as well as copies of replies and of articles by Kronshage detailing his views on the matter of a state board of education, junior colleges, high school curricula, and various other phases of education.
In 1921 Kronshage was appointed by Governor Blaine to membership on the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin, and the papers for the next six years are filled with university matters. The erection of the Memorial Union and other university buildings, the agitation over support of university research by educational endowments, and the selection of a president are among the many matters discussed in these papers. Letters are found from Presidents Birge and Frank, other members of the board of regents, prominent alumni, and deans and other faculty members. A few letters from Governor Blaine indicate that he sought Kronshage's advice on educational policies.
Throughout these years Kronshage retained close business connections with his native city of Boscobel. Carbon copies of numerous and lengthy letters to August Doeringsfeld, manager of the Parker-Hildebrand Mercantile Company of that city, contain illustrations of Kronshage's business acumen. No detail of the operations of the establishment was too minute to escape him and in spite of distance and pressure of other matters upon his time he kept in touch with selection of goods, prices, markets, advertising, personnel, sales methods, and all the other details of the business. In a similar manner he controlled the Central State Bank in his capacity as president of that institution.
The papers show activities of the same nature in Milwaukee, where he was a member of the law firm of Kronshage, McGovern, and Hannan. Correspondence covers details of his connection with the Espenhain Dry Goods Company and later the Milwaukee branch of the Boston Store. He was attorney for and a member of the board of directors of the Milwaukee Free Press, which his brother Ernst for a time edited, and in 1918 when it merged with the Wisconsin News he retained connections with it. There are a number of letters in the collection to and from Arthur Brisbane, dealing with editorial policies and general publication matters.
In view of Kronshage's close adherence to the Progressive movement there are fewer political letters than might be expected. A few letters from members of the La Follette family scattered through the papers indicate a cordial relationship with them. Kronshage evidently was an intimate advisor of his fellow townsman John J. Blaine during the latter's governorship but the correspondence is of little value for anything more than establishing dates for their frequent conferences. There are occasional letters that reveal Kronshage's affiliations, such as the letter dated October 15, 1928, in which he explains at length why he is supporting Alfred E. Smith for the presidency.
Kronshage also served as president of the village of Fox Point, a wealthy suburb of Milwaukee, and with characteristic vigor he plunged into the subject of municipal government. In a short time he was an outstanding member of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, becoming chairman of its committee on power. Early in 1931 he accepted Governor Philip La Follette's appointment to the state Railroad Commission, and in a short time became its chairman, after it was renamed the Public Service Commission. These activities are also documented in this collection.
Beyond the correspondence summarized so far, the collection also includes one folder of correspondence, 1935-1941, concerning Kronshage which was solicited by Mrs. Kronshage and Joseph Schafer as head of the Wisconsin Historical Society. The goal was to provide information for a biography of Mr. Kronshage.
Also in the collection is a memorial scrapbook of newsclippings on Kronshage, written upon his death. The scrapbook appears to have been compiled at the Public Service Commission.
