At the close of his military service, he was appointed military and private secretary to Governor Fairchild of Wisconsin, with the rank of colonel. About the same time he began the study of law under the direction of his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1867. His success in the law was immediate, and, in the following year, he was appointed assistant attorney-general of the State, serving in this capacity until 1870, when he removed to Hudson, Wisconsin, and resumed private practice. In 1872, he was elected a member of the lower house of the State legislature, from St. Croix county, and took a conspicuous part in the legislation which at that time was necessary to place the State university upon a sound financial and educational basis. While in active general practice at Hudson, he became general solicitor for the West Wisconsin Railway Company, afterward and now the Chicago and Minneapolis Railway Company, not abandoning however his general practice. His experience in corporation and general practice was varied and extensive, and brought him increased reputation as a profound, careful and resourceful lawyer.
Mr. Spooner's congressional career began in 1885, when at the age of forty-two he was elected to the United States senate to succeed Honorable Angus Cameron. The Republican nomination for this position had narrowed down to Ex-governor Fairchild and Mr. Spooner, resulting, after a friendly contest devoid of personal rancor or animosity, in the selection of the latter, who received in the legislature 76 votes to 48 for his Democratic competitor. At the end of his first term in the United States senate, in 1891, the Democrats having obtained control of the legislature, he was succeeded in that office by Honorable William F. Vilas. In the following year, he received the Republican nomination for governor, but was defeated and shortly thereafter he removed to Madison, and resumed the practice of law.
As the term of Senator Vilas drew toward its close, public sentiment again favored the return of Mr. Spooner, and he received the unanimous vote of the Republican caucus. He was accordingly reelected for the term beginning March 4, 1897; and was again elected in 1903.
Sometime prior to the last senatorial election, Mr. Spooner wrote a letter declining reelection, inspired mainly by the condition of his wife's health. He was reelected to the Senate, notwithstanding, and without competition.
