Joseph D. Beck

Joseph David Beck was an American farmer, labor reform advocate, and progressive Republican politician from Vernon County, Wisconsin. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 7th congressional district from 1921 to 1929. He was a close ally of Wisconsin governor and U.S. senator Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette. Working for La Follette's administration earlier in his career, Beck contributed significantly to the crafting of Wisconsin's worker's compensation laws through his work on the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. He was then one of the initial appointees to the Wisconsin Industrial Commission and was chairman of the commission from 1915 through 1917.