History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 26

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

USA > Iowa > Hardin County > History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 26

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3. That the producing, commercial and in- dustrial interests of the country should have the best and cheapest modes of transportation possible; and while actual capital invested in such means of transit, whether by railroad or otherwise, should be permitted the right of reasonable remuneration, an abuse in their man- agement, excessive rates, oppressive discrimina- tions against localities, persons or interests, should be corrected by law, and we demand con- gressional and legislative enactments that will control and regulate the railroads of the coun- try, and give to the people fair rates of trans- portation, and protect them against existing abuses.

4. That we heartily applaud the active meas- ures of the late Congress, in ferreting out and

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exposing corruption. We have seen, with pro- found regret, in the developments made thereby, evidences of political and official corruption, and the abuse of responsible positions by men of all political parties, to further personal ends, and we demand pure official conduct and the punishment of unfaithful public men, who, having betrayed the confidence freely extended to them, shall not be shielded from the disgrace of their acts by any partisanship of ours. and we denounce all credit mobilier transactions and all official misconduct of whatever form.

That we believe that whenever a person 5 holding any position of trust given him by the people, is guilty of fraud or embezzlement, he should be convicted and punished under the criminal laws of our land, in addition to the re- covery from him or his bondsmen of the amount so embezzled.

6. That the act of the majority of the mem- bers of the last Congress, in passing what is known as the back-pay steal, by which they voted into their pockets thousands of dollars which did not belong to them, as well as the act of those who voted against the same and yet re- ceived the money, is most flagrantly improper and infamous, and should secure the political · condemnation of all who were party to it; and we demand that the provisions of the said act by which the salaries were increased, shall be promptly and unconditionally repealed.

7. That we sympathize with every movement to secure for agriculture and labor their due in- fluence, interests and rights, and the Republican party will be their ally in every just effort to at- tain that end.

8. That we are desirous of political reform, and for honesty, economy and purity in all offi cial administration; that to secure this is the duty of every citizen; that to this end every good man should feel bound to participate in politics, and to make an end to bad men forcing their election by securing a party nomination, we declare it the duty of every Republican to oppose the election of a bad and incompetent candidate, whether he be a candidate upon our own or upon any other ticket.

The question of monopolies began to agitate the people to a great extent at this time and the opposition to Republicans united under the name of anti-monopolists. An Anti-Molopolist convention was held at Des Moines, August 12th, and the follow- ing ticket nominated. Governor, Jacob G. Vale; Lieutenant-Governor, Fred. O'Donnell; Supreme Judge, B. J. Hall; Supt. of Public Instruction, D. M. Prindle. The following platform was. adopted at this convention:

WHEREAS, Political parties are formed to meet public emergencies; and when they have discharged the duty which called them into being, they may become the means of abuse as gross as those they were organized to reform; and,

WHEREAS, Both of the old political parties have discharged the obligations assumed at their organization, and being no longer potent as instruments for the reform of abuses which have grown up in them, therefore we deem it incon- sistent to attempt to accomplish a political reform by acting with and in such organization; there- fore,

Resolved, That we, in free convention, do declare, as the basis of our future political action,-

2. That all corporations are subject to legisla- tive control; that those created by Congress should be restricted and controlled by Congress, and that those under State laws should be sub- ject to the control respectively of the State creating them; that such legislative control should be in expressed abrogation of the theory of the inalienable nature of chartered rights, and that it should be at all times so used as to prevent the moneyed corporations from becom- ing engines of oppression; that the property of all corporations should be assessed by the same officers, and taxed at the same rate as the pro- perty of individuals; that the Legislature of Iowa should, by law, fix maximum rates of freight to be charged by the railroads of the State, leaving them free to compete below the rates.

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3. That we favor such modification of our banking system as will extend its benefits to the whole people, and thus destroying all monopoly now enjoyed by a favored few.

4. That we demand a general revision of the present tariff laws that shall give us free salt, iron, lumber, and cotton and woolen fabrics, and reduce the whole system to a revenue basis only.

5. That we will not knowingly nominate any bad man to office, nor give place to persistent seekers therefor, but will freely seek for our- selves competent officers-as heretofore, politi- cal leaders have sought office for themselves- and that we will nominate only those known to be faithful and in sympathy with these declara- tions, and will, at the polls, repudiate any candi- date known to be unfit or incompetent.

6. That we demand the repeal of the back salary law, and the return to the United States treasury of all money received thereunder by members of the last Congress and of members of the present Congress. We demand a repeal of the law increasing salaries, and the fixing of a lower and more reasonable compensation for public officers, believing that until the public debt is paid and the public burden lightened, the salaries of our public servants should be more in proportion to the awards of labor in private life.

7. That we are opposed to all future grants of land to railroads or other corporations, and " elieve that the public domain should be held sacred to actual settlers; and are in favor of a law by which each honorably discharged soldier or his heirs may use such discharge in any government land-office in full payment for a quarter-section of unappropriated public lands.

. 8. That public officers who betray their pledges or trust are unworthy of renewed con- fidence, and those who criminally trifle with the public funds must be punished as criminals, regardless of their previous influence or the political importance of their bondsmen.

9. That we are in favor of a strict construc- tion of our constitution by our Supreme and other courts, and are opposed to the exercise of the doubtful powers by judicial or other officers.

10. That in the corrupt Tammany steal, the credit mobilier fraud, the congressional salary swindle and official embezzelements, and the hundreds of other combinations, steals, frauds, and swindles, by which Democratic and Repub- lican legislators, congressmen, and office-holders have enriched themselves, and defrauded the country and impoverished the people, we find the necessity' of independent action and the importance of united effort, and cordially invite men, of whatever calling, business, trade, or vocation, regardless of past political views, to join us in removing the evils that so seriously affect us all.

The vote was light, and on Governor was as follows:

C. C. Carpenter, Rep. .. 105,132-24,112

J. G. Vale, Anti-M. .81,020

An Anti-Monopoly convention was held at DesMoines, June 23, 1874, which nom- inated the following ticket and adopted the following platform: Secretary, David Morgan; Auditor, J. M. King; Treasurer, J. W. Basner; Attorney-General, J. H. Keatley; Clerk of Supreme Court, Geo. W. Ball; Reporter of Supreme Court, J. M. Weart. The following is the platform:

Resolved, That we, the delegated representa- tives of the people of Iowa, favorable to the organization of an independent political party, laying aside past differences of opinion, and earnestly uniting in a common purpose to secure needful reforms in the administration of public affairs, cordially unite in submitting these decla- rations:

1. That all political power is inherent in the people; that no government is worthy of pre- servation or should be upheld which does not derive its power from the consent of the gov- erned, by equal and just laws; that the inesti- mable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should be secured to all men, without distinction of race, color or nativity; that the maintenance of these principles is essential to the prosperity of our republican institutions,

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and that to this end the federal constitution, with all its amendments, the rights of the States, and the union of the States must and shall be preserved.

2. That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and especially of the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its judg- ment exclusively, is essential to that bal- ance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depends; and that we denounce as a criminal excess of constitutional power the policy of President Grant's administration in fostering the enormi- ties perpetrated in certain States of the Union in arbitrarily interfering with their local affairs, in sustaining therein the usurpations of aliens and irresponsible adventurers, whereby certain men have been illegally invested with official authority, and others deprived of their constitu- tional rights, oppressive laws enacted, burden- some taxation imposed, and immense and ficti- tious indebtedness created, resulting in the degradation of those States, and the general impoverishment of their people.

3. That the conduct of the present adminis- tration, in its bold defiance of public sentiment and disregard of the common good, in its prodi- gality and wasteful extravagance, in the innum- erable frauds perpetrated under its authority, in its disgraceful partiality for and rewards of un- worthy favorites, in its reckless and unstable financial policy, and in its total incapacity to meet the vital questions of the day, and provide for the general welfare, stands without a par:il- lel in our national history, and the highest con- siderations of duty require the American people, in the exercise of their inherent sover- eignty, to correct these accumulating evils, and bring the government back to its ancient land- marks, patiotism and economy.

4. That the faith and credit of the nation must be maintained inviolate; that the public debt, of whatever kind, should be paid in strict accordance with the law under which it was contracted; that an over-issue of paper money. being at variance with the principles of a sound financial policy, the circulating medium should

be based upon its redemption in specie at the earliest practicable day, and its convertibility into a specie equivalent at the will of the holder, and that, subject to these restrictions, it is the duty of Congress to so provide, by appropriate · legislation, that the volume of our government currency shall at all times be adequate to the general business and commerce of the country, and equitably distributed among the several States.

5. That tariffs and all other modes of taxa- tion should be imposed upon the basis of rev- enue alone, and be so adjusted as to yield the minimum amount required for the legitimate expenditure of the government, faithfully and economically administered, and that taxation to an extent necessary to the accumulation of a surplus revenue in the treasury, subjects the people to needless burdens and affords a temp- tation to extravagance and official corruption.

6. That railroads and all other corporations for pecuniary profit should be rendered subser- vient to the public good; that we demand such constitutional and necessary legislation upon this subject, both State and national, as will effectually secure the industrial and producing interests of the country against all forms of corporate monopoly and extortion, and that the existing railroad legislation of this State should faithfully be enforced, until experience may have demonstrated the propriety and justice of its modification.

7. That while demanding that railroads be subject to legislative control, we shall discoun- tenance any action on this subject calculated to retard the progress of railroad enterprise, or work injustice to those invaluable auxiliaries to commerce and civilization.

8. That the limitation of the Presidency to . one term, and the election of President, Vice President and United States Senators by a direct popular vote, and a thorough reform of our civil service to the end that capacity and fidelity be made the essential qualifications for election and appointment to office, are proposed reforms which meet our hearty endorsement. .

9. That we demand such a modification of the patent laws of the United States as shall

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destroy the monopoly now enjoyed by the man- ufacture of agricultural and other implements of industry.

10. That the personal liberty and social rights of the citizens should not be abridged or con- trolled by legislative enactment, except in so far as may be necessary to promote the peace and welfare of society.

11. That holding in grateful remembrance the soldiers and sailors who fought our battles, and by whose heroism the nation was preserved, we insist that Congress shall equalize the boun- ties and grant to each one of them, or to his widow and children, a homestead of one hun- dred and sixty acres of land from the unappro- priated domain of the country .

12. That we desire hereafter to be known as the Independent party of Iowa, and recognizing the individual conscience of the voter as para- mount to the claims of the . party, ask the co- operation of those only to whom this declaration of principles and the candidates nominated by this convention may commend themselves worthy.

The Republican convention, which con- vened July 1st, at DesMoines, put in nom- ination for Secretary of State, Josiah T. Young; Treasurer of State, Wm. Christy; Auditor of State, Buren R. Sherman; Reg- ister of State Land Office, David Secor; Attorney-General, M. C. Cutts; Judge of Supreme Court, E. J. Holmes; Reporter of Supreme Court, John S. Runnells. The following is the Republican platform:

We, the representatives of the Republican party of the State of Iowa, in convention assem- bled, do adopt the following platform of princi- ples :

Resolved, That as the policy of the Republi- can party in relation to finance, lias afforded the people not only a safe, sound and popular cur- rency, of equal and uniform worth in every portiou of our common country, but has like- wise greatly improved the credit of the country at home and abroad, we point with pride to its record and accomplishments in this regard. And

while re-affirming the policy announced by the party in the national conventious of 1868 and 1872, and triumphantly endorsed by the people at the polls-a policy which, while contributing to the public credit has also enhanced the indi- vidual and collective prosperity of the American people-we favor such legislation as shall make national banking free to all, under just and equal laws, based upon the policy of specie re- sumption at such time as is consistent with the material and industrial interests of the country, to the end that the volume of currency may be regulated by the national laws of trade.

2. That we re-affirm the declaration of the Republican national platform of 1872, in favor of the payment by the government of the United States of all its obligations in accordance with both the letter and the spirit of the laws under which such obligations were issued, and we de- clare that in the absence of any express provis- ion to the contrary, the obligations of the gov- ernment when issued and placed upon the mar- kets of the world, are payable in the world's currency, to-wit, specie.

3. That under the coustitutiou of the United States, Congress has power to regulate all "com- merce among the several States," whether carried on by railroads or other means, and in the exer- cise of that power Congress may, and should, so legislate as to prohibit, under suitable reualties, extortion, unjust discrimination, and other wrong and unjust conduct on the part of per- sons or corporations engaged in such commerce; and, by virtue of the same constitutional power, Congress may and should provide for the im- provement of our great natural water-ways.

4. That the State has the power, and it is its duty, to provide by law for the regulation and control of railway transportation withiu its own limits, and we demand that the law of this State passed for this purpose at the last session of the General Assembly shall be upheld and enforced until it shall be superseded by other legislation, or held unconstitutional by the proper judicial tribunal.

5. That we feel bouud to provide all appro- priate legislation for the full and equal protec-

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tion of all citizens, white or black, native or foreign born, in the enjoyment of all the rights guaranteed by the constitution of the United States and the amendments thereto.

6. That the $27,000,000 reduction in the estimated general government expenses for the coming fiscal year meets our hearty commenda- tion, and shows that the Republican party on questions of retrenchment and economy is carry- ing out in good faith its oft repeated pledges to the people.

7. That we are in favor of an amendment to the constitution of the United States, providing for the election of President and Vice-President by a direct vote of the people.

8. That while inventors should be protected in their just rights of property in their inven- tions, we demand such modifications of our patent laws as. shall render the same more fair and equitable to consumers.

9. That the faith of the Republican party is pledged to promote the best good of the civil service of the country, and that we, as Republi- cans of Iowa, demand that only honest and capable men be elected or appointed to office, and that we commend the position of the party in instituting investigations of corruption in office, sparing therein neither friends nor foes.

10. That since the people may be intrusted with all questions of govermental reform, we favor the final submission to the people of the question of amending the constitution so as to extend the rights of suffrage to women, pursuant to action of 15th General Assembly.

On Secretary of State the vote stood:

J. T. Young, Rep. 107,243-28,183

David Morgan, Dem.

79,060

For the campaign of 1875 the Democrats, Liberal Republicans and Anti-Monopolists met at Des Moines, June 24th, and nom- inated a State ticket headed by Shepherd Lefler for Governor; Lieutenant-Governor, E. B. Woodward; Judge of Supreme Court, W. J. Knight; Supt. of Public Instruction,"

Isaiah Donane. The following platforn was then adopted:

The Democrats, Liberal Republicans, and Anti-Monopolists of the State of Iowa, in delegate convention assembled, declare, as a basis of per- manent organization and united action, the following principles:

1. A firm adherence to the doctrine of politi- cal government, as taught by Jefferson, Madison, and other fathers of the republic.

2. A strict adherence to the constitution in all measures involving constitutional power.

3. The supremacy of the Republican govern- ment within the sphere and reservation of the local authority of the constitution as opposed to the concentration of all powers in a strong cen- tralized government.

4. Absolute prohibition of military interfer- ence with the local State elections, and the peaceful assembling and organization of the State Legislatures, except in the manner clearly defined in the Constitution.

5. Honesty in the administration of the public officers, and strict economy in the public expenditures.

6. All officers to be held to a strict accounta- bility for the misuse of the public funds or for the prostitution of their powers for private use.

7. The preservation of all the rights of every citizen, without regard to race or color.

8. The reservation of the public lands for the benefit of actual settlers, and opposition to any further grants to corporate monopolies for any purpose.

9. The restoration of the Presidential salary to $25,000. No third term.

10. That we are in favor of the resumption of specie payment as soon as the same can be done without injury to the business interests of the country, and maintain a sufficient supply of national currency for business purposes; opposi- tion to present national banking law.

11. A tariff on imports that will produce the largest amount of revenue, with the smallest amount of tax, and no imposition of duties for

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the benefit of manufactures at the expense of agricultural interests.

12. We are in favor of the repeal of the present prohibitory liquor law, and the enactment of a practical license law, strictly enforced, as the best guard against, and the safest solution of, the evils of intemperance,

13. That we are opposed to all legislation that restricts any citizen in his individual or social rights and privileges.

With this declaration of principle and policy, in the language of our brethren of Ohio, we arraign the leaders of the Republican party for their extravagant expenditure and profligate waste of the people's money, for their oppressive, unjust, and defective system of finance and taxa- tion; for their continued tyranny aud cruelty to the Southern States of the Union, and their squandering of public lands; their continuance of incompetent and corrupt men in the offices at home and abroad, and for their general mismanagement of the government, and we cor- dially invite all men, without regard to past party association, to co-operate with us in removing them from power, and in sccuring such an administration of public affairs as char- acterized the purer and better days of the republic.

The Republican convention at Des- Moines placed in nomination for Governor, S. J. Kirkwood ; Lieutenant-Governor, Joshua G. Newbold; Judge of Supreme Court, Austin Adams ; Superintendent Public Instruction, Alonzo Abernethy. The convention also adopted the follow- ing platform:

Resolved, That we declare it a cardinal prin- ciple of the Republican faith that the republic is a nation, one and indissoluble, within which the constitutional rights of the States and of the people to local self-government must be faitlı- fully maintained.

2. That we favor the early attainment of cur- rency convertible with coin, and therefore advocate the gradual resumption of specie pay- ments by continuous and steady steps.

3. That we favor a tariff for revenue, so adjusted as to encourage home industry.

4. That the earnest efforts of the government to collect the revenue, prevent and punish frauds, have our unqualified approval.

5. We are opposed to further grants of land to railroads or other corporations, but we de- mand a reservation of public domain for settle- ment under the homestead laws, and for other bona fide settlers.

6. We demand such a revision of the patent laws as will relieve industry from the oppression of monopolies in their administration.

7. That we cordially approve the policy of the present administration in the settlement of difficulties between ourselves and other nations, by arbitration, instead of appealing to arms.

8. The Republican party of Iowa is opposed to a third term.

9. We demand that all railway and other cor- porations shall be held in fair and just subjection to the law-making power.

10. We stand by free education, our public school system, taxatiou of all for its support, and no division of the school fund.

11. That our national and State administra- tion of public affairs have our hearty support.

12. We cordially invite all who are opposed to the restoration of the Democratic party to power, to forget all past politieal differences, and unite with the Republican party in maintaining the cause of true reform.

13. The persistent and tyrannical efforts of the enemies of the Union, by murder and intim- idation of the enfranchised citizens, and the ostracisms and proscriptions of the white Repub- licans of the South, for the purpose of rendering null and void this amendment, merits the con- demnation of every honest man.

14. That we heartily endorse the action of President Grant in enforcing the laws when called upon to do so by the proper authorities of the State.

The Prohibitionists of the State met and nominated for Governor, Rev John H.

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Lozier, and adopted the following plat- form :

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History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 26

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002