USA > Iowa > Des Moines County > History of Des Moines County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 46
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"TO THE PEOPLE OF IOWA
"The whig state convention on the 22d of February last did me the honor to present my name before the people of the state as a candidate for the office of governor. I accept the nomination," etc. "That part of the constitution which prohibits banks and banking institutions should be changed so as to allow them to be established in the state under proper restrictions. On this subject I am sorry to differ, so far as I believe I do, from my respected competitor, Mr. Bates," etc. "The whig convention unanimously adopted a resolution in favor of amending the constitution so as to allow the introduction of banks. The demo- cratic convention refused to adopt such a resolution. On this question the two parties are at issue in this state, the whigs believing that banking should be per- mitted, and a munistic currency furnished to the people, and the democrats nega- tiving the proposition," etc. "If every other state in the Union would abolish banks, and the value and supply and products of the whole country were reduced to a specie standard, there would be fewer advocates for the creation of banks here. But so long as they are allowed and encouraged elsewhere, their circulation cannot be driven from the state, except by a currency of our own, without greatly
SENATOR JAMES W. GRIMES
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depreciating the value of our agricultural, mechanical, and mineral products, and producing a general derangement and paralysis in the business of the com- munity, etc. The argument used, that the establishment of banks is not in accord with democratic principles, is worthy of consideration. How can it be democratic to charter banks in New Hampshire, Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois, Pennsyl- vania and Indiana, and be undemocratic in Iowa? There is not a state east of the Mississippi in which banks are not incorporated by democratic legislation, and yet, in the view of some wise men, it is a gross violation of democratic poli- cies to create them west of that river," etc. "Second, it is no doubt expected that I shall express my views on the temperance question. If the Legislature pass an act prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors, or licensing the sale, I would (if elected) approve the law, unless, in my judgment, palpably unconsti- tutional. On the 2d of March last an amendment was offered in the Senate to the Nebraska and Kansas bill, adding a distinct declaration of the right of the people to exclude slavery, if they chose, and it was rejected by a vote of thirty- six to ten. Against this proposition was arrayed the following believers in 'squatter sovereignty,' Messrs. Dodge and Jones of Iowa. The Nebraska and Kansas bill has passed the Senate by a large majority. It is now pending in the House. Its advocates predict that it will be triumphantly enacted into law. They claim the people desire, and will sanction, its enactment. Every effort is being made to rally the democratic party to its support. The Burlington Gazette, the recognized organ of the said senators, has sounded the tocsin of party. In its issue of March 30th last it declares, 'It is vain to say the bill is not a party ques- tion ; the national democrats of the North are for it almost to a man; the whigs and free soilers alone are opposed to it. In the South, both parties are united in its favor,' etc. I am aware that for entertaining these opinions concerning the Nebraska question, and for fearlessly 'expressing them, I am denounced in some quarters as an abolitionist. I heed not the senseless charge. It is too late in the day for any man to be deterred from expressing his opinions by the mad-dog cry of abolitionism. No false charges shall force me to be false to my convic- tions of right and duty. I will not surrender the right of private judgment on this, or any other subject, to avoid a false clamor, or a wilful perversion of my sentiments. I do not seek or desire to interfere with slavery in the states. I do not seek to violate any of the compromises of the Constitution. I am content that the slaveholders of the South may possess their slaves, and be responsible for their control. I will not ever presume to judge them. But, with the blessing of God, I will war, and continually war, against the abandonment to slavery a single foot of soil now consecrated to freedom. Whether elected or defeated, whether in office, or out of office, the Nebraska outrage will receive neither aid nor comfort from me." JAMES W. GRIMES.
The above is but a part of the most forceful address ever delivered to the people of Iowa.
James W. Grimes received . 23,325 votes
Curtis Bates received. . 21,202 votes
Grimes' majority 2,123 votes
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Space forbids me from setting forth any part of his inaugural address. Hav- ing read it, Mr. Grimes received the following letter :
"Hall of Representatives, Dec. 1, 1854.
"My Dear Mr. Grimes: Thanks for your message, for its doctrines. They are well and fully expressed. "J. R. GIDDINGS.
"His Excellency, J. W. Grimes."
Rev. Asa Turner, pastor of Congregational Church at Denmark, Lee County, Iowa, from 1858 to 1868, gives the following among his reminiscences of Iowa : "We had a free soil organization, embracing a few voters, and had nominated Simeon Waters as our candidate for governor, not with any hope of electing him, but to show our strength. In this state of things Mr. Grimes came to Den- mark and said if the 'free soilers' would vote for him he would be a candidate for governor, and assured us that he would be true to the principles we wished should triumph. The 'free soilers' after a free discussion voted to entrust in his hands the interests of our organization, and the principles we were striving to establish. We would not have been willing to commit such interests to any ordinary man, to anyone of whose integrity or ability we had a doubt. But it was done. He took the stump; I doubt whether any man ever worked harder." Among the men of Burlington who took an active part in politics in the early days was FitzHenry Warren, a descendant of Warren who fell at the Battle of Bunker Hill. In December, 1844, he became associate editor of the Hawkeye with Mr. James G. Edwards. Was the author of the letters "On to Richmond" at the beginning of the Civil war. In later times no one in the state exercised greater influence in republican councils than Hon. Joseph G. Blythe. Mr. Blythe came to Burlington when a young man, and the writer was one of the committee appointed by the court to examine him as to his qualifications for admission to the practice of the law. The examination consisted principally of smoking some good cigars at Mr. Blythe's expense. We all knew he was qualified to enter that honorable pro- fession and so represented to the court. He was made assistant counsel to Hon. David Rorer, attorney for the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company, at the magnificent salary of $75 per month. Mr. Blythe was as great a lawyer as a politician. Not from the fact he knew so much case law, but that he knew what the law ought to be. He had such a clear vision he could see the right of the matter, and draw correct conclusions from a given state of facts. Besides, he was a man of great executive ability. On account of his legal and executive ability he rose to be chief counsel of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company. He loved the excitement engendered by politics ; was not a politician for office, for such he never sought, but to help his friends and to the advance- ment of the policies which he considered best adapted to the welfare of the people. Was conservative in his opinions, never seeking the new and untried when the old was safe. At his time no man in the state had a greater influence in the councils of the party whose cause he espoused. Was the representative of his party in several national conventions. Was a warm supporter of Senator Allison, and believed him to be the ideal man to represent his state in the Senate of the United States. Never harbored ill will to his opponents in a political contest, and if he lost out, which was seldom, was not sore-headed. He was a politician who
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never sulked in his tent : was generous to a fallen foe. Such was the character of Joseph W. Blythe. When he was taken, the wing of the republican party to which he belonged lost its greatest leader in the state.
But in the earlier times, from 1854 to 1860, there were men in the county and city who were given the greatest of credit. Among the democrats was Hon. B. J. Hall, who was a lawyer and as an orator, seldom had an equal. From 1854 to 1860 was the time of breaking of party lines, the time of revolution in politics, of such that the present generation have little conception. It was the time of the "Wide Awake" torch light processions and schoolhouse campaigning, as well as the big rallies in the cities. Hardly a farmer of anti-slavery bearing but took the New York Weekly Tribune. Some of them went on the stump. Among the speakers was a Mr. Calvin J. Jackson of Danville Township, a minister as well as farmer, who represented the county in the Ninth General Assembly. He had the courage of his convictions, and armed with "Helpers Impending Crisis" and thoroughly understanding the issues, and having the power to draw logical conclusions from facts, made a schoolhouse campaign of the county. It would be impossible for one to draw a parallel between General Dodge and James W. Grimes for the reason they were so dissimilar in thought and sentiment. No man had a higher sense of honor, and of justice, than General Dodge. Was the most courteous of men, and had all the feelings and instincts of a gentleman ; was true to his friends and party. Born and raised on the frontier, he understood better than most men the feelings, aspirations and prejudices of a frontier people. They trusted him and he had faith and confidence in them. Hence his almost unlimited power in the command of his party. He had been elected delegate to Congress and chosen United States senator and was afterwards appointed minister to the court of Spain. It can be truthfully said, no one more fully and completely discharged the duties, which were imposed upon him than he did. But his party's eyes were his eyes. He voted against the Wilmot proviso as well as for the fugitive state law, and the compromise measure of 1850. When he voted against the former, and for the latter two, he believed it would redound to his party's success. On the other hand, James W. Grimes followed party only so far as his party sustained his judgment as to what he considered was right. Neither clamor within nor without his party, could move him one inch from the standard of his private judgment. He was more like Mr. Lincoln than any other man of the times. When Mr. Lincoln read to some of his friends his famous Springfield speech, in which occurred the sentence: "A house divided against itself cannot stand, but must fall," they said to him: "That sentence will defeat you in the race for the Senate, Douglas will call you an abolitionist, and torture those words so as to convey the thought that you favor the dissolution of the Union, if slavery should be carried into the territories." They appealed to him to leave it out. He replied : "They are my living sentiments, and with the blessing of God they will be my dying sentiments, I will speak them as written." To encompass the defeat of Mr. Grimes, he was charged with being an abolitionist. He replied : "I heed not the senseless charge. With the blessing of God I will war and war continually against the abandonment to slavery of a single foot of soil now conse- crated to freedom." This expression was a master stroke. It put him in har- mony with the humanitarian sentiments then filling the hearts of the people of the free states. Mr. Grimes saw and felt what Mr. Lincoln saw and felt.
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When it came to the matter of economics, a policy affecting the material interests of the people, Grimes could be moved ; but when it came to a matter of justice or of right, he was as immovable as the rock of Gibraltar. The hardest burden he ever had to carry was the loss of friends for his vote on the im- peachment of Andrew Johnson. Here he was not the representative of a state; but a representative of justice that knows no state, party or people of a state. When he cast that vote, he knew he would lose friends, many to whom he owed his election in the councils of the state, and nation, still, it did not deter him from what he thought was just and right. Cicero, in one of his orations against Cata- line, said he would lose friends and suffer for the vote to be cast by him for Cataline's banishment, but he declared he would do it, though the republic and the state would say, "M. Tulli quid agis." So with Mr. Grimes, believing it was right, he would cast his vote against impeachment, although his party, and the people of his state, and the whole United States should say to him, "James W. Grimes ; What are you doing?" When party passion had been allayed, and men had come to their senses, they revered him the more, and history has recorded what he did in the matter of impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President, was the greatest act of his life.
An incident took place in Burlington in June, 1855, I cannot describe it better than it is, in a letter of Mr. Grimes to his wife dated June 24, 1855. "Exciting time here. Yesterday morning Doctor James was captured on the Illinois side of the river, with a fugitive slave in his carriage. Bowie knives and revolvers were drawn on him by those in pursuit, and he and the negro were forced back to town. A process was obtained, and the negro thrown into jail, where he re- mained to await his trial on Tuesday. There is great excitement in town, and several collisions have grown out of it. How it will end no one knows. I will furnish no aid to the man-stealer. It has been determined the negro shall have able counsel and a resort to all legal means for his release before any other is resorted to. I am sorry I am governor of the state, for, although I can and shall prevent the state authorities and officers from interfering in aid of the marshal, yet, if not in office, I am inclined to think I would be a law-breaker." June 27: "The negro is free, and on his way to Canada. A great crowd yes- terday in town. I sent on Monday to Davids, via Yellow Springs and Huron, and told my friends and the friends of the slave to be present at the trial. They were here en masse. Marion Hall was filled, and guards stationed at the door, to prevent any more people entering, and around the house. Rorer appeared for the negro. When the decision was made, such a shout went up as was never heard in that hall before, and then, it was caught up by the people outside the building and the whole town reverberated. A thousand men followed Doctor James and the negro to the river, and rent the air with their cheers, as the boat was unlashed from her moorings, and started with the poor fellow on his road to freedom. I am satisfied that the negro would never have been taken back into slavery from Burlington. Our friends, Colonel Warren and Rev. W. F. Cowles, showed that there was some marrow in their spinal columns," etc. This letter is a long one. It can be found on page 72-3, "Life of James W. Grimes," by William Salter, The Hawkeye gives an account of the transaction. From this account it appears that a man claiming to be the son-in-law of the owner of "Dick," the negro, made affidavit that Dick was a fugitive slave, that he had been working
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for him, and stole one of his horses and ran away. On the filing of this affidavit with Commissioner Frazee, Dick was arrested by United States Marshal Funck and lodged in jail. When the time of hearing came, a great crowd assembled at Marion Hall, William Edsley, the city marshal, attending to the seating of the crowd. The first witness called was the son of the man named in the affidavit as the owner, who swore that the negro was not the slave Dick, that the accused was not the property of his father. Whereupon a great shout went up from the people inside and outside of the building. In commenting on the matter, the Hawkeye says: "The termination of the affair places the chivalrous gentleman who swore to the identity of the negro, and his associates who voluntarily for pay, with arms in their hands, and threats without color of law or right, arrested Doctor James and kept him in the streets," etc. This was the first and only instance of an attempt to capture a fugitive slave in Des Moines County.
Among the noted politicians of Des Moines County was John Henry Gear, who was among the early settlers of the county. When he first came to Burling- ton he was engaged as a salesman in a wholesale grocery store. Later on he with others joining him, carried on the same business for many years. He had always taken an active part in politics when in business, but not for his personal advance- ment. When the time came, when his friends urged him to stand for the office of representative of his county in the House of Representatives of the state, he began to display distinctively his abilities as a vote getter. His nature was such that he was what is commonly called a "good mixer." Was of a genial disposi- tion, kind and accommodating, and without a particle of selfishness in his being. He never forgot the face and features or the name of any one with whom he became acquainted. He was a practical clear headed man, who saw what results would follow from a course of action. Was in no sense a theorist. Whatever of argument he made on any question was from illustration rather than reason- ing from premises. Without much academic training, but with his good common sense, and the personality of the kind he possessed, he became one of the most influential men in the State of Iowa. He was wider and better known than any man in the state at his time. He represented his county in the House of the Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Assemblies of the State Legislature. Was made speaker of the House in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Assemblies. Was elected governor October 9, 1877. reelected in 1879. His second term expired in 1882. He represented the First Congressional District in the Fiftieth, Fifty- first and Fifty-third Congresses of the United States. Was elected to the United States Senate and served as senator from 1895 to 1900. He died July 14, 1900.
There are others of Des Moines County who were not distinctively politicians who represented the First Congressional District in the Congress of the United States. I will only speak of them in the later times as we have elsewhere written of them in the earlier times.
Joseph C. Stone was representative in the Forty-fifth Congress from 1877- 1879. Mr. Stone was a physician and a republican in politics.
Benton J. Hall represented the district in the Forty-ninth Congress, from 1885-1887. He was a democrat, and was defeated by Mr. Gear, his republican opponent, for a reelection. Was subsequently appointed by Mr. Cleveland com- missioner of patents. Mr. Hall was one of the best of lawyers, and a great orator,
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many considered him the greatest orator which the bar of Des Moines County has produced. He was a cultured gentleman, and fond of the classics.
John J. Seerley, democrat, represented the district in the Fifty-second Con- gress, from 1891-1893. Mr. Seerley is now living among us and one of our most honored and respected citizens. Is a man of large legal attainments, and an advocate of anything which pertains to the public welfare. Has positive convic- tions of what he considers of right and duty. He never sought office as such, but when he entered the political field, he did so at the solicitation of his friends. Has a strong personality, and it was because of this, he was considered the most available candidate his party could bring forth. He consented to make the race, not because he wanted office, but through a sense of duty which he believed he owed to those who thought as he did. The First District has been overwhelming republican since the first organization of the party in the state, and it is only when that party has blundered, so many of its members become disgruntled, through the distribution of patronage, that the opposite has had any show of success.
Thomas Hedge, a lawyer, was elected to the Fifty-sixth, Fifty-seventh, Fifty- eighth and Fifty-ninth Congresses, serving continuously from 1895-1907. Mr. Hedge is still living among us, and is one of our most honored and respected citizens. When he came to Burlington, he says, he "came crying without any clothing on his body." Here he grew to be a boy and waded in Hawk-Eye Creek and caught minnows to take when going a "fishing." Ilere he went to school and with the other boys took his "medicine." Was here when the quails ran along the paths through the hazel brush which grew on North Hill. Was here when thousands of prairie chickens on frosty mornings roosted on the tops of trees and rail fences awaiting the coming of breakfast time, when they would fly to where wheat fields, buckwheat patches had been reaped, then to fill their craws, then fly back to the prairies, and hide amidst the grass, their native home. From Burlington he went to Yale, where he graduated. Joined the Army of the Potomac, helped the boys whip Lee. Read law, was admitted to the practice. No one representing the First Congressional District in Congress more faithfully dis- charged the duties of the office and to the satisfaction of the people than Mr. Hedge.
Shepherd Leffller, a farmer of the county, represented the district in the Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth and Thirty-first Congresses. He took his seat December 20, 1846, his last term ending in 1851 when he was succeeded by Bernhart Henn of Fairfield. Mr. Leffler was a democrat, and a man of good ability. He was not the partisan like Gen. A. C. Dodge. This was shown in his refusal to follow the leaders of his party on the ratification of the Constitution of 1844, but on the other hand used every means in his power to defeat its ratification. He came to Iowa during its territorial existence, had devoted his time and energies to the upbuilding of the county, so much so, that for no office, or the sake of office for others would he consent that any other than the Missouri River should be its western boundary. It is a pleasure to record, that in no single instance, have those whom the people of the county delegated the power to represent them in state or the national assemblies proven false to the trust imposed upon them. More than three-quarters of a century has passed and in all that time no in- dividual empowered to represent the people from this county in the state or
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national assemblies or in the government of the state, nor has anyone in the First Congressional District proven false to the trust committed to his care, or done anything that would tarnish his name and bring disgrace on the people whom he represented. May it so continue in the future as in the past, giving us faith in the stability of institutions of government based on the popular will.
I cannot pass by in this connection Hon. W. C. McArthur, a native of Burling- ton, who represented this county in the State Senate and who now holds and has for many years, the responsible office of clerk of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Whatever may be said of some in political matters, cannot be said of him. He keeps his word and is never false to a friend.
CHAPTER XXIV
MEMBERS OF THE DES MOINES COUNTY BAR
No class of professional men in this county are worthy of more commenda- tion than the members of the Des Moines County bar. It has been our good fortune to have known many of the early lawyers of the county. We entered on the practice of the law, at a time when some of the first members of the bar of the county had passed the meridian of life; a time when younger men were taking their places. We can speak for those whom we have known with feelings of pride, not only because of their abilities as lawyers; but also of their sterling qualities as citizens ; men who, when young, and in the prime of their lives, came to a new country to assist in building it up in such a way, that it represents the best of civilized life; that of law and order ; of good government : securing the individual in his personal liberty ; personal security, and right to private prop- erty. It can be confidently said that the legal profession sustains to organized society, wherein the highest ideals exist, a place unequaled by any other profes- sion. The reason for this is, the law, in its main features, is the application of uniform rules of conduct in order to obtain justice, and it is made the duty of the lawyer to see it is so administered. What we call justice "is the persistent and continuous effort to render to each man what is his due." While justice at all times has not been done, it is not because of the fault of the law, but because of man's imperfections. While sometimes it seems to the outsider that lawyers strive to make "the worse appear to be the better reason," it is not for the purpose of defeating justice ; but from a standpoint to create the better and larger investigation to arrive at justice. Courts and jurors recognize this to be the fact. Claims are made against lawyers that they resort to technicalities to defeat justice. No greater mistake was ever made. They are resorted to for the purpose of obtaining justice. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty of the crime with which he is charged; and in the nature of the case, he has a right to rely on the proposition, that the state will show him guilty, before it claims a forfeiture of his life, liberty, or property ; that he shall know whereby, and in what manner, he has forfeited his rights, before he is placed on trial. The contention of some that because it may happen occasionally that a guilty person escapes punishment for a crime, the system of administration of the law is all wrong, and ought to be condemned, is without reason. There was a time, when to accuse, was sufficient to condemn; and more innocent men were punished by far, than the guilty have been freed.
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