USA > Iowa > An illustrated history of the state of Iowa, being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875; > Part 18
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There was, at this time, but very little known of the resources of the upper valley of the river Des Moines. This year, by au- thority of the government, provisions were made for a geological survey in Iowa, and a party was sent up the river, who explored it to its source. The report made by this exploring party was very flattering. They reported that "coal was found for two hun- dred miles on the river, and, from indications, heavy deposits of iron ore are supposed to exist." That "gypsum in abundance, forming cliffs for miles, was encountered," and "limestone, that makes a superior hydraulic lime, exists in abundance ; " "lime- stone suitable for lime, clay suitable for brick, rock suitable for polishing, for grindstones, whetstones, and for building purposes (some of superior quality) are found in abundance along the Des Moines," and Col. Curtiss, in speculating upon the future, in his report to the legislature, led the people to anticipate great results from this improvement. He said " no country can afford like accommodations to manufacturers; no country can produce
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more agricultural wealth than that within sixty miles on either side of the river. That, taking all things into consideration, the matter is mathematically certain (except in times of high water in the Missouri) the trade of Council Bluffs will incline to follow the improvement. But it is not this point alone that is reached ; we enter the great valley of Nebraska and the upper branches of the Missouri, and offer to the commerce of these valleys the cheapest and most expeditious route for their products. A coun- try, of a thousand miles extent, capable of furnishing vast and unknown agricultural and mineral products, may, by wise and discreet energy in the prosecution of this work, become tributary to the improvement now in progress on the Des Moines."
These glowing reports of the country, and of the advantages to be derived from the improvement of the river, excited the public mind to the highest expectations, and the people became very anxious to secure as much of the public lands as possible, that this great undertaking might be speedily completed. And, to ascertain the construction put upon the grant by the general gov- ernment, application was made to the land department for a de- cision. Richard M. Young, the commissioner of the general land office, on the 23d day of February, 1848, in a letter addressed to the board of public works, gave it as his opinion, that the state was "entitled to the alternate sections within Sve miles of the Des Moines river, through the whole extent of Iowa." This de- cision gave assurances that the amount of land claimed would be secured. The board of improvement made great preparations for rapidly pushing on the work, and the public mind was exhilarated with the greatest hope of speedily realizing the vast advantages represented to be derived from the undertaking.
But as it is the lot of man to meet with disappointment, such seems to have been the result in this case ; for it was found that lands could not be sold fast cnough to meet the expenses of so extensive a work as had been undertaken. To remedy this diffi- culty, the board of public works, recommended to the legislature " that bonds, bearing the sanction of the supreme power of the state should be issued by the board and pledging the proceeds of the sales of lands, as well as the tolls of the improvement for their re- demption." But this policy did not meet with the sanction of
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some of the leading democrats of the state, who regarded such a measure as not being in accordance with democratic principles, among whom was Verplank Van Antwerp. This gentlemen hav- ing held the office of receiver in the first land office established in southern Iowa, and then holding the same office at Fairfield, and also for a while editor of a paper, was extensively known, and at that time exerted much influence among the people, and he took a very active part against the proposition recommended by the board. He claimed that the measure was not only anti-demo- cratic, but impolitic, and went to Iowa city as a lobby member, and made himself very busy with the members to defeat it; and the opposition with which it met from Van Antwerp and other private individuals had its effect with the members of the legisla- ture, and the measure was defeated, much to the discomfiture of Sample.
This interference of Van Antwerp, with the recommendations of the board, created a coolness between these two persons, which caused some singular results in the future political matters of the state.
During the summer of 1848, a portion of the lands above the Raccoon Fork was brought into the market and offered for sale at the land office at Iowa City, and some of the lands, which it was supposed were embraced within the river grant, were sold by the general government. The failure of the board to obtain the con- sent of the legislature to authorize them to issue bonds, and the selling of these lands by the general government, greatly frustra- ted the plans of the board, and put a damper on the public ex- pectation. For the purpose of securing the full amount of land claimed, the legislature passed a memorial, asking congress to en- act an explanatory law, confirming to the state the quantity of land claimed ; but congress did not feel disposed to do this, and the extent of the grant was a disputed question for several years.
At the August election in 1849, the officers of the board of public works and the old officers were desirous of holding on to their offices, and Sample made great efforts to have the old of- ficers renominated by the state convention for candidates before the people. Those who were in favor of issuing bonds for the speedy completion of the work, were in favor of reelecting the old
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board, and those who were opposed to the measure were opposed to them. Among those who took an an active part against the old board was Van Antwerp, and his opposition was particularly made against Sample, which produced much ill-feeling between them. The former, to accomplish his ends, before the convening of the convention, prepared a stricture on Sample's political acts, which showed him up in no enviable light. Van Antwerp went to Iowa City, where the convention was to be held, a short time before it convened, and had his strictures printed in handbill form, and on the morning of the convention, circulated copies all over the city, so that a copy of it found its way into the hands of every delegate. This had the effect to defeat Sample and the other of- ficers of the old board, and William Patterson, of Lee county, was nominated for president, Jesse Williams, of Johnson county, for secretary, and George Gillasby, of Wapello, for treasurer.
These individuals were all elected, entered upon the duties of their trust, and with energy undertook to complete all the work which had been put under contract; but they soon found they could not sell lands fast enough to meet their expenditures, and had to suspend a portion of the work; but they did not do this till they had contracted a large amount of debts, which they had not means to pay. The new board on making settlements with the contractors, not having the money to pay them, issued bonds or certificates of indebtedness, pledging the lands for their pay- ment, and binding the board to redeem them as soon as they had the means to do it. So the new board, without the sanction of law, did what the old board had tried to get the legislature to authorize them to do by law, and for which policy they were turned out of office and others put in their place. Those con- tractors who were stopped from going on with their work claimed damages, legal proceedings were had, and some of them recovered large amounts.
The course pursued by the new board met with much censure from the public, and the newspapers, particularly the whig press, were very severe in their strictures. The course which had been pursued by the board of public works made the improvement of the river Des Moines a prominent matter before the legislature which convened in December 1850. The issuing of bonds did not meet
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with the approval of that body, and a law was passed abolish- ing the offices of president, secretary and treasurer, and the offices of "commissioner and register of the Des Moines river improve- ment," were created, which, instead of being elected by the peo- ple, were to be appointed by the governor, by and with the ad- vice and consent of the senate.
As soon as the law abolishing the board of public works went into effect, the governor appointed Verplank Van Antwerp com- missioner and George Gillaspy register of the improvement, who, on the 9th of June 1851, entered into a contract with Bangs Brothers & Co., of New York, in which they stipulated to com- plete the whole work, from the mouth of the river to Raccoon Fork in four years, from the time, when for the improvement of the river, a confirmation should be secured of the extension of the grant of land above that point.
When the contract was closed, Bangs Bros. & Co., and officers of the improvement went to work and succeeded in getting the land department of the general government to reconsider the de- cision in which it had been held that the grant of land only extended to the Raccoon Fork, and obtained a decision that it extended to the northern boundary of the state, which gave hopes that the river would soon be made navigable. On the first recep- tion of this news, there was much rejoicing, but when the details of the contract with Bangs Bros. & Co., were made public, it was found that the contract provided that the lands below the Fork were not to be sold for less than two dollars per acre, and those above for not less than five. This caused much dissatisfac- tion, for a great portion of these lands were occupied by claimants who expected to buy their claims at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, as others had done, who had settled upon govern- ment land. This provision stirred up much ill feeling among the settlers ; public meetings were held, and this part of the contract was condemned in the strongest terms ; and such were the feelings that there were apprehensions of serious difficulties if this part of the contract should be enforced. But when these excitements were at their highest, news came that Bangs Bros. & Co. had failed, and probably the contract would be annulled, and this allayed the public feeling. Bangs & Co. did not comply with
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their contract in furnishing means, and the work on the river did not go on, and the public expectation of a speedy completion of the proposed improvement vanished. The officers of the im- provement were appointed for only two years, and, at the expira- tion of their term of office, Van Antwerp was reappointed com- missioner, and Paul C. Jeffries was appointed register; but these last appointed officers held their trust but a short time, for during the past two years the work on the river had progressed slowly ; the contract with Bangs Bros. & Co. had been declared for- feited, and it was understood that other sources were to be looked to for going on with the work.
The officers appointed by the governor not being successful in their undertaking, the legislature, on the first of January, 1853, repealed the law authorizing the governor to appoint, and made these officers again to be elected by the people, and on the first Monday of the following April, Josiah Bonney, of Van Buren county, was elected commissioner, and George Gillaspy, register ; and for the purpose of aiding the commissioner in conducting and concluding any contract on the subject of improving the river, the legislature appointed Geo. G. Wright, of Van Buren county, and Uriah Briggs, of Wapello, his assistants, "with equal power of the commissioner in making and determining such contract."
From past experience, it was not deemed advisable to parcel out the work to many individuals, and consequently these officers were required by the legislature not to make any contract, unless such contract stipulated for at least "thirteen hundred thousand dollars to be faithfully expended in the payment of the debts and liabilities of the improvement, and its completion to the greatest extent possible."
To this end, if it was thought necessary, they were authorized " to sell and dispose of all and any lands " which had been, or there- after might be granted by congress for the improvement of the river, and if it was necessary to effect a contract, they were authorized to convey the right to tolls and water rents arising from the improvement, for the length of time, and upon such terms as they might deern expedient; but in disposing of the lands they were not to contract them for less than one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre; and if no contract of this character
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should be made before the first of September, 1853, then the pay of all the officers connected with the work, except the register and and one engineer, was to cease, and all operations connected with the work, except such parts as were under contract, were to be suspended until further action by the legislature. The register was required to put all unfinished work then under contract in such a condition as to prevent it from injury, and to see that all property of the state, connected with the work, was carefully pre- served. If the "register at any time subsequent, should receive propositions which he deemed sufficient for consideration, he was to submit the same to the commissioner, and should a contract be made on the terms required by the legislature, then the pay of the officers should commence, and the work go on as though it had not been suspended." The new commissioner, being consci- entious about the expending of money, immediately after taking charge of the work, dismissed all the engineers except Guy Wells, the chief engineer, " and employed no officer or other person ex- cept where the necessity of the work imperatively demanded it." There were in several places in the river, snags and boulders which much obstructed the navigation, and had become a source of much inconvenience and complaint, but during the official term of Bonney, the river was "cleared of snags, boulders aud other obstructions to such an extent as to make the navigation of the river at proper stages of the water, safe."
The commissioner and his associates, after assuming the duties of their trust " entered into correspondence with such persons and companies as were thought likely to embark in such an enter- prise," and by this means they succeeded in eliciting the attention of capitalists to such an extent that a number of persons came to the state for the purpose of investigation. These persons, by an examination of the valley of the Des Moines personally, and mak- ing themselves familiar with the resources of the country, on their return east, imparted to others the undeveloped wealth and ad- vantages of the valley, which was the means of bringing many good and enterprising citizens to the state. Among others who visited Iowa for the purpose of investigation, was Henry O'Reilly, a man who had acquired some considerable notoriety as a con- tractor, in putting up telegraph wires, and he proposed to under-
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take the work. Such was the well known reputation of Mr. O'. Reilly as a contractor, that the commissioner and his associates commenced the negotiation of a contract; and on the 17th of De- cember, that gentleman entered into a contract with the commis- sioners, in which, for the consideration of the unsold land belong- ing to the improvement, and tolls and water-rent, and other profits arising from the work, for the term of forty years, agreed to com- plete the entire work, within a period of four years from the first day of July, 1854, according to the original survey, and the speci- fications made by the engineers. Immediately upon entering into this contract, O'Reilly returned east and organized a company under the laws of Iowa, to be called the "Des Moines Navigation and Rail Road Company," to which company he assigned his contract, himself being one of the officers of the company. On the 9th of June, 1854, by the consent and request of O'Reilly, and with the approbation of the officers of river improvement, the contract with O'Reilly was canceled, and another contract was made with the newly organized company. In this contract the company agreed to pay all outstanding debts against the improvement within ninety days from the date of said contract; to settle and pay all damages against the state of Iowa, on account of the prosecution of said work to mill owners, or others who have, or might thereafter, sustain damages on account of the same; to pay the salaries and expenses of the officers and engineers in charge of the work; to complete the improvement from the mouth of the Des Moines river to Fort Des Moines, in accordance with the original plans and specifications of the chief engineer, by the first day of July, 1858; and to construct the whole work in such man- ner as to assure the navigation of the same for the longest period each year practicable, and to complete at least one fourth of the work each and every year, commencing on the 1st day of July, 1854.
In consideration of this undertaking, the commissioners agreed to convey to the company all the unsold lands belonging to the improvement, the use of the work, the tolls and the water-rents, for a term of forty-one years ; and afterwards in consideration of the company enlarging the works and making some other im- provements in the navigation of the river, and also on account of
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there not being as large a quantity of land undisposed of below Fort Dodge, as was understood to be by the commissioners and the company at the time of making the contract, a majority of the commissioners - Bonney and Briggs - entered into an article ยท of agreement with the company, in which they promised to ex- tend the time of the company's use and control of the work to seventy-five years. Under this contract the public expected that the work would be immediately commenced by the new con- tractors and speedily completed. The great expectations which had been raised by the contractors under the name of the Des Moines navigation and railroad company, soon after they under- took the work, began to diminish, for there soon arose misunder- standings and disagreements among themselves. This company had been organized under the general incorporation laws of the state of Iowa, and consequently was subject to the laws of Iowa. At the called session of the general assembly, in 1856, Donald Mann, a stockholder of the company memorialized that body to correct the " manifold abuses," of which he charged the directors of the company to have been guilty. In this memorial he charged that the mangers of the company had in various ways "corruptly and for corrupt purposes," violated the laws of the state, "greatly to the injury of the people thereof, and to the great loss and damage of the stockholders," and showed in detail wherein they had acted corruptly and violated the laws under which the company was incorporated ; and, among other things, he stated, that for "the purpose of deceiving the people and in- dividuals in relation to their means," they had represented to the public and individuals that there had been paid into the treasury " enormous sums of money on account of stock sold, for much larger amounts than had been received." And the better to ac- complish and maintain such deceptions, the managers (or a major- ity of them) caused to be issued certificates of stock to the amount, nominally, of six hundred and thirty thousand dollars, or six thousand three hundred shares of one hundred dollars, for cash, of which shares they represented to the public and individ- uals, that the holder had paid the sum of one hundred dollars, amounting to six hundred and thirty thousand dollars, when, as a matter of fact, there was only five per cent. paid on the share,
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by which means the public and many individuals were deceived." Henry O'Reilly, the individual with whom the contract was first made, a stockholder and one of the directors, also memorial- ized the legislature for an investigation of the affairs of the com- pany, in which he reasserted the charges made by Mann, and stated, "that he held himself ready, if the legislature would order an investigation of the doings of the company, to prove from the records of the company and other evidence, that there was scarcely an important provision in the code of Iowa (applicable to corporations) ; scarcely an important point in the Des Moines improvement laws; scarcely an important provision in the con- tract which the company agreed to fulfill ; scarcely an essential provision in its by-laws, or even in the charter which gave it legal existence - which had not been violated, with a reckless- ness that will form a memorable feature in the history of Iowa."
A joint committee was appointed from both houses of the legis- lature at the called session, to investigate the alleged abuses, but owing to the short time in which they had to act, it was impossi- ble for them to make the necessary investigation. An attempt was made to create a committee for this purpose, to act after the legislature adjourned, but it failed, so that the alleged abuses passed by without an examination at that time.
These memorials to the legislature, and the discussion of these matters by the newspapers, greatly prejudiced the public mind against the company ; and while these discussions were going on, W. C. Johnson, the president of the company, requested the gov- ernor to examine into the affairs of the company, in person or by a committee, and proposed to pay the expenses of such an exam- ination. The governor did not feel disposed to comply with this request, but referred the matter to the legislature which convened in the following December, and recommended " that a committee should be appointed, with power to administer oaths and to send for persons and papers, with instruction to inquire into the trans- actions of the former commissioners and registers of the improve- ment."
This part of the governor's message was referred to a commit- tee of twelve, consisting of members of both branches of the legislature, who immediately proceeded to the discharge of their
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Hon. S. H. Bonham.
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duties. After a careful and thorough examination, this commit- tee reported that they did not consider the contract made by the commissioners with the company a valid contract on behalf of the state, for the law which authorized the commissioner and register to make contracts, required that any contract made by them, to be valid, must be approved by the governor, and that the subsequent law which created two assistant commissioners did not do away with the provision requiring the governor to approve of such contracts; and as the contract made with the company had never been approved by the governor, they did not regard it as binding upon the state. The committee also reported that the company had acted in bad faith, and violated their char- ter in many ways; and among other things, they found "that over one million of dollars of full paid stock had been issued by the company, upon which had been received but one hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars, leaving a deficit of eight hun- dred and thirty-three thousand dollars, for which certificates of full paid stock had been issued, for which not a farthing had been received by the company, which had been sold to innocent purchasers for a valuable consideration, who had purchased, be- lieving that its full value had been paid into the treasury of the company. The company had come far short of completing the amount of work that they were required to do under their con- tract, and their acts gave strong indications that their object was to expend money enough to get possession of all the available lands, and then abandon the work ; for more than one-half of the time which was given for completing the entire contract had ex- pired, and on a work which was estimated to cost about two mil- lions of dollars, they had only expended about one hundred and eighty-five thousand, nine hundred and fifty-seven dollars and forty-four cents, for an actual construction of the work, while the company claimed that they had expended one hundred and four thousand, one hundred and eighty dollars and seventy-four cents for incidental expenses, the most part of which did not in any manner benefit the improvement ; but the company claimed that they were entitled to land at one dollar and a quarter per acre in payment for the whole amount.
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