newspaperman, politician, b. Whitewater. He attended Whitewater State Normal School, subsequently settled in Fennimore, and in 1893 purchased the weekly Fennimore Times Review. He was editor and publisher of this paper until 1897 when his brother, Edward, became a junior partner in the enterprise, and the paper was restyled the Fennimore Times. Roethe continued as editor of the paper throughout most of his life and was its publisher until his death. A Republican, he was state assemblyman (1907-1910, 1913-1914) and state senator (1917-1924). Known as a conservative Republican, both in his legislative career and in his newspaper editorials he was a vigorous advocate of fewer governmental controls and greater economy in public expenditures. J. G. Gregory, ed., S.W. Wis. (4 vols., Chicago, 1932); M. M. Quaife, Wis. (4 vols., Chicago, 1924); Fennimore Times, Aug. 23, 1939; Madison Wis. State Journal, Aug. 16, 21, 1939.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]