USA > Iowa > Floyd County > History of Floyd County, Iowa : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 15
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sideration that her public lands should be exempt from taxation by the State, she gave to the State five per cent. of the net proceeds of the sale of public lands within the State. Thus provided for as a bride with her marriage portion, Iowa commenced " house-keep- ing " upon her own account.
A majority of the Constitutional Convention of 1846 were of the Democratic party; and the instrument contains some of the peculiar tenets of the party at that day. All banks of issue were prohibited within the State. The State was prohibited from be- coming a stockholder in any corporation for pecuniary profit, and the General Assembly could only provide for private corporations by general statutes. The constitution also limited the State's in- debtedness to $100,000. It required the General Assembly to pro- vide public schools throughout the State for at least three months in the year. Six months' previous residence of any white male citizen of the United States constituted him an elector.
The government was started on an economical basis. The mem- bers of the General Assembly received each two dollars per day for the first 50 days of the session, and one dollar per day thereafter. The sessions were to be biennial. The salaries of the State officers were limited for the first ten years as follows: Governor, $1,000 per annum; Secretary of State, $500; Treasurer of State, $400; Audi- tor of State, $600; and Judges of the Supreme Court, $1,000 each. And it may here be recorded as a fact that these prices did not dis- courage the best talent of the State from seeking these positions, and that during these 10 years of our history none of these officers were ever known to receive bribes, or to steal one dollar of the pub- lic money. At the time of organization as a State, Iowa had a population of 116,651, as appears by the census of 1847. There were 27 organized counties in the State, and the settlements were rapidly pushing toward the Missouri River.
IOWA SUBSEQUENT TO ORGANIZATION.
The first General Assembly was composed of 19 senators and 40 representatives. It assembled at Iowa City, Nov. 30, 1846, about a month before the State was admitted into the Union.
The most important business transacted was the passage of a bill authorizing a loan of $50,000 for means to run the State govern- ment and pay the expenses of the constitutional conventions. The great excitement of the session, however, was the attempt to choose United States senators. The Whigs had a majority of two in the
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House, and the Democrats a majority of one in the Senate. After repeated attempts to control these majorities for caucus nominees and frequent sessions of a joint convention for purposes of an elec tion, the attempt was abandoned. A school law was passed at this session for the organization of public schools in the State. In pur- suance of its provisions, an election for superintendent of public instruction was held the following spring, and James Harlan re- ceived a majority of the votes cast. After the election, the Demo- cratic Secretary of State discovered that the law contained no pro- vision for its publication in the newspapers, and he claimed it had not gone into effect. He, therefore, and the governor refused Har- lan a certificate of election. The Supreme Court sustained their action.
At this first session of the General Assembly, the treasurer of State reported that the capitol building was in a very exposed condition, liable to injury from storms, and expressed the hope that some provision would be made to complete it, at least sufficiently to protect it from the weather. The General Assembly responded by appropriating $2,500 for the completion of the public buildings. At the first session also arose the question of the re- location of the capital. The western boundary of the State, as now determined, left Iowa City too far toward the eastern and southern boundary of the State; this was conceded. Congress had appropriated five sections of land for the erection of public buildings, and toward the close of the session a bill was introduced providing for the re- location of the seat of government, involving to some extent the location of the State University, which had already been discussed. This bill gave rise to much discussion and parliamentary maneuver- ing, almost purely sectional in its character. It provided for the appointment of three commissioners, who were authorized to make a location as near the geographical center of the State as a healthy and eligible site could be obtained; to select the five sections of land donated by Congress; to survey and plat into town lots not exceding one section of the land so selected; to sell lots at public sale, not to exceed two in each block. Having done this, they were then required to suspend further operations, and make a report of their proceedings to the Governor. The bill passed both Houses by decisive votes, received the signature of the governor, and became a law. Soon after, by " An act to locate and establish a State University," approved Feb. 25, 1847, the unfinished public buildings at Iowa City, together with the ten acres of land on which they
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were situated, were granted for the use of the University, reserving their use, however, by the General Assembly and the State officers, until other provisions were made by law.
The commissioners forthwith entered upon their duties, and selected four sections and two half sections in Jasper County. Two of these sections are in what is now Des Moines township, and the others in Fairview township, in the southern part of that county. These lands are situated between Prairie City and Monroe, on the Keokuk & Des Moines Railroad, which runs diagonally through them. Here a town was platted called Monroe City, and a sale of lots took place. The number of 415 lots were sold, at prices that were not considered remarkably remunerative. The cash payments ( one-fourth ) amounted to $1,797.43, while the expenses of the sale and the claims of the commissioners for services amounted to $2,206.57. The commissioners made a report of their proceedings to the governor, as required by law, but the location was generally condemned.
When the report of the commissioners, showing this brilliant financial operation, had been read in the House of Representatives, at the next session, and while it was under consideration, an indignant member, afterward known as the eccentric .Judge Mc- Farland, moved to refer the report to a select committee of five, with instructions to report " how much of said city of Monroe was under water, and how much was burned." The report was referred, without the instructions, but Monroe City never became the seat of government. By an act approved Jan. 15, 1849, the law by which the .location had been made was repealed and the new town was vacated, the money paid by purchasers of lots being refunded to them. This, of course, retained the seat of government at Iowa City, and precluded for the time the occupation of the building and grounds by the University.
At the same session $3,000 more were appropriated for complet- ing the State building at Iowa City. In 1852, the further sum of $5,000, and in 1854, $4,000 more were appropriated for the same purpose, making the whole cost $123,000, paid partly by the general Government and partly by the State, but principally by the proceeds of the sale of lots in Iowa City.
After the adjournment of the first General Assembly, the gov- ernor appointed Joseph Williams, Chief Justice, and George Green and John F. Kinney Judges, of the Supreme Court. They were afterward elected by the second General Assembly, and constituted
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the Supreme Court until 1855, with the exception that Kinney resigned in January, 1854, and J. C. Hall, of Burlington, was ap- pointed in his place. Hall was one of the earliest and ablest law- yers of the State, and his memory will long be cherished by the early members of the profession. Some changes having occurred by death and removal, the governor was induced to call an extra session of the General Assembly in January, 1848, with the hope of an election of United States senators. The attempt, however, was again unsuccessful. At this session Charles Mason, Wm. G. Woodward and Stephen Hempstead were appointed commission- ers to prepare a code of laws for the State. Their work was finished in 1850 and was adopted by the General Assembly. This "code" contained among other provisions a code of civil practice, super- seding the old common-law forms of actions and writs, and it was admirable for its simplicity and method. It remained in force until 1863, when it was superseded by the more complicated and metaphysical system of the revision of that year.
The first representatives in Congress were S. Clinton Hastings, of Muscatine, and Shepherd Leffler, of Des Moines County. The second General Assembly elected to the United States Senate, Augustus Cæsar Dodge and Geo. W. Jones. The State govern- ment, after the first session, was under the control of Democratic administrations till 1855. The electoral vote of the State was cast for Lewis Cass in 1848, and for Franklin Pierce in 1852. The popular vote shows that the Free-Soil element of the State during this period very nearly held the balance of power, and that up to 1854 it acted in the State elections to some extent with the Demo- cratic party. In 1858 Lewis Cass received 12,093 votes, Zachary Taylor 11,034, and Martin VanBuren, the Free-Soil candidate, 1,226 votes, being 167 less than a majority for Cass. In 1852 Pierce received 17,762 votes, Scott 15,855, and Hale, Free-Soil, 1,606, being for Pierce 301 votes more than a majority.
The question of the permanent location of the seat of government was not settled, and in 1851 bills were introduced for the removal of the capital to Pella and to Fort Des Moines. The latter appeared to have the support of the majority, but was finally lost in the House on the question of ordering it to its third reading.
At the next session, in 1853, a bill was introduced in the Senate for the removal of the seat of government to Fort Des Moines, and on final vote, was just barely defeated. At the next session, how- ever, the effort was more successful, and Jan. 15, 1855, a bill re-
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locating the capital within two miles of the Raccoon Fork of the Des Moines, and for the appointment of commissioners, was approved by Gov. Grimes. The site was selected in 1856, in accordance with the provisions of this act; the land being donated to the State by citizens and property-holders of Des Moines. An association of citizens erected a building for a temporary capitol, and leased it to the State at a nominal rent.
The passage by Congress of the act organizing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and the provision it contained abrogating that portion of the Missouri bill that prohibited slavery and invol- untary servitude north of 36 ° 30' was the beginning of a political revolution in the Northern States, and in none was it more marked than in the State of Iowa. Iowa was the "first free child born of the Missouri compromise," and has always resented the destruc- tion of her foster parent. In the summer of 1854 there was a tacit coalition or union of the Whig and Free-Soil elements of the State. Alarmed at the aggressive spirit manifested by the adher- ents of the peculiar institution, the Free-Soilers, who almost held the balance of power in the State, readily adopted as their candi- date the Whig nominee for governor. Many of the old-line Whigs abandoned their party because of this coalition, but many strong and able men among the Democrats co-operated with it. James W. Grimes was the nominee of the Whigs, and Curtis Bates, of Polk County, was the nominee of the Democratic party. Grimes was then in the vigor of his manhood, and all the energies of his being appeared to be aroused by what he denominated the aggres- sions of the slave power. He was thoroughly in earnest, and can- vassed most of the organized counties of the State. The people flocked by the thousands to hear him, and were electrified by his
eloquence. No one of the opposition attempted to meet him in debate. The result was his election by a majority of 1,404, in a vote 21,794. A majority was also secured in the General Assembly on joint ballot of the two Houses in opposition to the Democratic party. The opposition party in 1854-'5 were known as anti- Nebraska Whigs. A caucus of this opposing element nominated James Harlan as their candidate for United States Senator, Geo. G. Wright for Chief Justice, and Norman W. Isbell and Wm. G. Woodward for Judges of the Supreme Court.
A portion of the opposition, however, refused to go into this cau- cus, or to abide by its decision as to the United States senator. They were the personal friends of Ebenezer Cook, of Scott County.
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A joint convention was secured, and the judges of the Supreme Court were elected. After frequent ballotings and adjournments, it was at last understood that Cook's friends had yielded, and would support Mr. Harlan. When the hour arrived to which the joint con- vention had adjourned, messengers were sent to the Senate by the House, to inform that body that the House was ready to meet them in joint convention. Before this message could be delivered, the Senate had adjourned over until the next day. The anti-Nebraska senators, however, entered the hall of the House, and took their seats in joint convention. Much confusion prevailed, but finally a president pro tem. of the convention was chosen, and Mr. Harlan was elected. His seat was contested, and his election declared in- valid by the United States Senate. At the next session of the General Assembly, held in 1857, Mr. Harlan was re-elected and was permitted to take his seat.
The year 1856 marked a new era in the history of Iowa. In 1854 the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad had been completed to the east bank of the Mississippi River, opposite Davenport. In the same year, the corner-stone of a railroad bridge that was to be the first to span the "Father of Waters," was laid with appropriate ceremonies at this point. St. Louis had resolved that the enter- prise was unconstitutional, and by writs of injunction made an un- successful effort to prevent its completion. Twenty years later in her history, St. Louis repented her folly, and made atonement for her sin by imitating Iowa's example. Jan. 1, 1856, this railroad was completed to Iowa City. In the meantime, two other rail- roads had reached the east bank of the Mississippi,-one opposite Burlington, and one opposite Dubuque,-and these were being ex- tended into the interior of the State. Indeed, four other lines of railroads had been projected across the State from the Mississippi to the Missouri, having eastern connections.
May 15, 1856, Congress passed an act granting to the State, to aid in the construction of railroads, the public lands in alternate sections, six miles on either side of the proposed lines. An extra session of the General Assembly was called in July of this year, that disposed of the grant to the several companies that proposed to complete these enterprises. The population of Iowa was now 500,000. Public attention had been called to the necessity of a railroad across the continent. The position of Iowa, in the very heart and center of the republic, on the route of this great highway of the continent, began to attract attention. Cities and towns
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sprang up through the State as if by magic. Capital began to pour into the State, and had it been employed in developing the vast coal measures and establishing manufactories, or if it had been ex- pended in improving the lands, and in building houses and barns, it would have been well. But all were in haste to get rich, and the spirit of speculation ruled the hour.
In the meantime, every effort was made to help the speedy com- pletion of the railroads. Nearly every county and city on the Mississippi, and many in the interior, voted large corporate sub- scriptions to the stock of the railroad companies, and issued their negotiable bonds for the amount. Thus enormous county and city debts were incurred, the payment of which these municipalities tried to avoid, upon the plea that they had exceeded the constitu- tional limitation of their powers. The Supreme Court of the United States held these bonds to be valid, and the courts by mandam us compelled the city and county authorities to levy taxes to pay the judgments recovered upon them. These debts are not all paid, even to this day; but the worst is over, and the incubus is in the course of ultimate extinction. The most valuable lessons are those learned in the school of experience, and accordingly, the corpora- tions of Iowa have ever since been noted for economy.
In 1856, the Republican party of the State was duly organized, in full sympathy with that of the other free States, and at the ensuing presidential election, the electoral vote of the State was cast for John C. Fremont. The popular vote was as follows: Fremont, 43,954; Buchanan, 36,170, and Fillmore, 9,180. This was 1,296 less than a majority for Fremont. The following year an election was held, after an exciting campaign, for State officers, resulting in a majority of 1,406 for Ralph P. Lowe, the Republican nominee. The Legislature was largely Republican in both branches.
In June, 1854, a Board of State Commissioners contracted with the Des Moines Navigation Railroad Company, an organiza- tion composed principally of New York capitalists, to undertake the work, agreeing to convey to the company lands at $1.25 an acre for all moneys advanced and expended. In the meantime difficul- ties arose in regard to the extent of the grant. The State claimed lands throughout the whole extent of the river to the north line of the State. The Department of the Interior changed its rulings under the several administrations. The Commissioner of the Gen - eral Land Office certified to the State about 320,000 acres of land below the Raccoon fork or the river, and about 270,000 acres above
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it prior to 1857, when he refused to certify any more. This led to a settlement and compromise with the Navigation Company in 1858, whereby the company took all the land certified to the State at that date, and paid the State $20,000 in addition to what they had already expended, canceled their contract and abandoned the work. The General Assembly granted to the Des Moines Valley Railroad the remainder of the grant to the State line, to aid in build- ing a railroad up and along the Des Moines Valley ; and Congress in 1862 extended the grant, by express enactment, to the north line of the State.
One of the most injurious results to the State, arising from the spirit of speculation prevalent in 1856, was the purchase and entry of great bodies of Government land within the State by non-residents. This land was held for speculation and placed beyond the reach of actual settlers for many years. From no other one cause has Iowa suffered so much as from the short-sighted policy of the Federal Government in selling lands within her borders. The money thus obtained by the Federal Government has been comparatively incon- siderable. The value of this magnificent public domain to the United States was not in the few thousands of dollars she might exact from the hardy settlers, or that she might obtain from the speculator who hoped to profit by the settlers' labors in improving the country. Statesmen should have taken a broader and more comprehensive view of national economy, and a view more in har- mony with the divine economy that had prepared these vast fertile plains of the West for the " homes of men and the seats of empire." It was here that new States were to be builded up, that should be the future strength of the nation against foreign invasion or home revolt. A single regiment of Iowa soldiers during the dark days of the Rebellion was worth more to the nation than all the money she ever exacted from the toil and sweat of Iowa's early settlers. Could the statesmen of 40 years ago have looked forward to this day, when Iowa pays her $1,000,000 annually into the treasury of the nation for the extinction of the national debt, they would have realized that the founding of new States was a greater enterprise than the retailing of public lands.
In January, 1857, another Constitutional Convention assembled at Iowa City, which framed the present State constitution. One of the most pressing demands for this convention grew out of the prohibition of banks under the old constitution. The practical result of this prohibition was to flood the State with every species
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of " wild-cat" currency. Our circulating medium was made up in part of the free-bank paper of Illinois and Indiana. In addition to this, we had paper issued by Iowa brokers, who had obtained bank charters from the Territorial Legislature of Nebraska, and had their pretended headquarters at Omaha and Florence. Our currency was also well assorted with the bills from other States, generally such as had the best reputation where they were least known. This paper was all at two, and some of it from 10 to 15 per cent. discount. Every man who was not an expert in detecting counterfeit bills, and who was not posted in the history of all manner of banking institutions, did business at his peril. The new constitution made ample provisions for house banks under the supervision of our own laws. The limitation of our State debt was enlarged to $250,000, and the corporate indebtedness of the cities and counties were also limited to five per cent. upon the valu- ation of their taxable property. The judges of the Supreme Court were to be elected by the popular vote. The permanent seat of government was fixed at Des Moines, and the State University located at Iowa City. The qualifications of electors remained the same as under the old constitution, but the schedule provided for a vote of the people upon a separate proposition to strike the word "white " out of the suffrage clause, which, had it prevailed, would have resulted in conferring the right of suffrage without distinc- tion of color. Since the early organization of Iowa there had been upon the statute books a law providing that no negro, mulatto or Indian should be a competent witness in any suit or proceed- ing to which a white man was a party. The General Assembly of 1856 -- '7 repealed this law, and the new constitution contained a clause forbidding such disqualification in the future. It also pro- vided for the education of "all youth of the State " through a system of common schools. This constitution was adopted at the ensuing election by a vote of 40,311 to 38,681.
Oct. 19, 1857, Gov. Grimes issued a proclamation declaring the city of Des Moines to be the capital of the State of Iowa. The removal of the archives and offices was commenced at once and con- tinued through the fall. It was an undertaking of no small mag- nitude; there was not a mile of railroad to facilitate the work, and the season was unusually disagreeable. Rain, snow and other ac- companiments increased the difficulties; and it was not until De- cember that the last of the effects, -the safe of the State treasurer, loaded on two large " bob-sleds " drawn by ten yokes of oxen,-was
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deposited in the new capitol. It is not imprudent now to remark that, during this passage over hills and prairies, across rivers, through bottom lands and timber, the safes belonging to the several departments contained large sums of money, mostly individual funds, however. Thus Iowa City ceased to be the capital of the State, after four Territorial Legislatures, six State Legislatures and three Constitutional Conventions had held their sessions there. By the exchange, the old capitol at Iowa City became the seat of the university, and, except the rooms occupied by the United States District Court, passed under the immediate and direct control of the trustees of that institution. Des Moines was now the perma- nent seat of government, made so by the fundamental law of the State, and Jan. 11, 1858, the seventh General Assembly convened at the new capitol. The citizens' association which built this tem- porary building borrowed the money of James D. Eads, Superin- tendent of Public Instruction, and leased it to the State. In 1864 the State purchased the building. At the session of the General Assembly in 1858, James W. Grimes was elected United States Senator as successor to George W. Jones.
In 1856 and 1858 large appropriations were made for the erec- tion of public buildings and the support of the unfortunate classes, and a loan of $200,000 was authorized. In 1859 the Republicans nominated for governor, Samuel J. Kirkwood, and the Democrats selected as their candidate Gen. A. C. Dodge, then just returned home from a mission to Spain. Kirkwood was elected by a ma- jority of 2,964 votes.
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