People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 October 1896 — Mr. Krueger’s Personal History. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mr. Krueger’s Personal History.

Martin T. Krueger’s parents came from Germany in 1864 and located in Michigan City. At that time Martin was ten years of age. He was one of a family of nine children. The family was very poor, and at 13 Martin was already shifting for himself, working for farmers during the summer months for what small pay he could obtain, and attending district school in the winter, and doing chores for his board. In 1870 he began work in the Haskell & Barker car shops in' Michigan City, and worked there several years; he then learned the art of finishing saddle trees, an industry that then flourished there, but the business soon declined and he sought employment with Orr & Sons, manufac-

turers of sash, doors and blinds, at a salary of 75 cents a day. When the factory closed he took passage in an empty freight car for Chicago, as he supposed, but when he was “fired” by the train crew he found himself in Matteson, 111. He walked to Chicago a distance of 26 miles, and there found an older brother and borrowed $5.00, which paid his fare west as far as Mendota, Ill.; there he found employment at farming, at sl2 per month. He continued farming in LaSalle, Lee and Bureau counties during five years, except part of one summer, when he was -employed by the Michigan Central railroad o clean grates in locomotives. In the fall of 1877 he went home to Michigan City and began reading law in the office of Fred Johnson. Mr. Johnson died five months later, and Krueger, having no money to further pursue his studies at that time, secured the agency of several insurance companies and followed that business. He was elected city clerk of Michigan City in 1879, again in 1881, and again in 1883; representative in the legislature from Laporte county in 1884, and a member of the common council of Michigan City in'lßßs. In 1886 he was nominated by the Democracy for clerk of the Supreme Court of Indiana, but was defeated with the rest of the Democratic State candidates. In 1889 he was elected mayor of Michigan City, and that position he tilled until September, 1894. Since June, 1888, he has been a member and secretary of the school board of Michigan City. If he had not been nominated for Congress so unexpectedly he would have been on the Demo-> cratic ticket in Laporte county this fall as a candidate for State Senator, his nomination for af-’ fice having been conceded and agreed upon by common consent among Democrats of that county.' Mr. Krueger has a large acquaintance all over the district, is a good speaker and a good campaigner generally.

MARTIN T. KRUEGER.