USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, and representative citizens > Part 12
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"The new commissioner, being conscien- tious about the expending of money, inmedi- ately after taking charge of the work, dis- missed all the engineers, except Guy Wells, the chief engineer, and employed no officer or other persons, except when the necessity of the work imperatively demanded it. There were in several places of the river snags and bowlders, which much obstructed the naviga- tion, and had become a source of much in- convenience and complaint ; but during the of- ficial term of Bonney the river was 'cleaned of snags, bowlders and 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, af- ter assuming the duties of their trust, entered into correspondence with such persons and companies as they thought likely to embark in such an enterprise. 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 ex- amination of the valley of the Des Moines per- sonally, and making themselves acquainted with the resources of the country, on their re- turn cast imparted to others the undeveloped wealth and advantages of the valley, which was the means of bringing many good and enterprising citizens to the State. AAmong oth- ers who visited lowa for the purpose of inves- tigation was Henry O'Rielly, a man who had acquired some considerable notoriety as a con- tractor in putting up telegraph wires, and he proposed to undertake the work. Such was the known reputation of O'Rielly as a contractor that the commissioner and his associates com- menced the negotiating of a contract. And 'of the 17th of December. 1853. Henry O'Rielly, Esq., of New York, entered into a contract with the commissioners, in which, for the consideration of the unsold lands be- longing to the improvement and tolls and water rents and other profits arising from the work for the term of forty years, agreed to complete the entire work within a period of four years from the Ist day of July, 1854, according to the original surveys and specifications made by the engineers.
"Immediately upon entering upon this con- tract, O'Rielly returned east and organized a company, under the laws of lowa. called the 'Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Com- pany,' to which O'Rielly assigned his con- tract, himself being one of the officers of the
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1
company. On the 9th of June, 1854, by the Fort Dodge as was understood to be by the commissioners and the company at the time of making the contract, a majority of the com- missioners, Bonney and Biggs, entered into an article of agreement with the company, in which they promised to extend the time of the company's use and control of the work to ses - enty-five years. consent and request of O'Rielly, and with the approbation of the officers of the River Im- provement, the contract with O'Rielly was canceled, and another contract was made with the Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Com- pany. In this contract the company agreed to pay all outstanding debts against the Im- provement within ninety days from the date of said contract, to settle and pay all damage suits against the State of lowa 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 com- Flete the improvement from the mouth of the . arose disagreements and misunderstandings Des Moines river to Fort Des Moines, in accordance with the original plans and speci- fications of the state engineer, by the Ist day of July, 1858; and to construct the whole work in such a manner as to assure the navigation of the same for the longest period of each year practicable, and to complete at least one- fourth of the work each and every year. com- mencing on the Ist day of July, 1854.
"In consideration of this understanding. the commissioner agreed to convey to the com- pany all the unsold lands belonging to the im- provement, the use of the work, the tolls and water rents for the term of forty-one years. And afterward, in consideration of the com- pany enlarging the works and making some other improvements in the navigation of the river, and also on account of there not being as large a quantity of land undisposed of below
"Under this contract, the public expected that the work would be immediately com- mented by the new contractors and speedily completed. The great expectations which at first had been raised by the contractors, under the name of the 'Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Company.' soon after they undertook the work began to diminish: for there soon among themselves. The company had been organized under the general incorporation laws of lowa, and, consequently, was subject to the laws of the State. At the called session of the legislature, in 1856, Donald Mann, a stock- holder of the company, memorialized the legis- lature 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 managers of the company had, in various ways, 'corruptly, and for corrupt purposes, vin- lated 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 de- tail wherein they had acted corruptly and vio- lated the law . under which the company was incorporated. Among other things, he stated that, 'for the purpose of deceiving the people and individuals in relation to their means,' they
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had represented to the public and to individuals that there had been paid into the treasury 'enor- ; mous sums of money, on account of stock sold. for much larger amounts than had been re- ceived. And the better to accomplish and main- tain such deceptions, the managers (or a ma- jority of them) caused to be issued certificates of stock to the amount of, nominally, $630,000. or six thousand three hundred shares of $100 for cash, of which shares they had represented to the public and individuals that the holder had paid the sum of $100, amounting to $330,000, when, as a matter of fact. there was only 5 per cent paid on each share, by which means the public and many individuals were deceived.'
"Henry O'Rielly, the individual with whom the contract had first been made. a stockholder and one of the directors, also memorialized the legislature for an investigation of the affairs of the company, in which he reasserted the charges made by Mann, and stated that he held him- self ready. if the legislature would order an investigation of the doing's of the company, to prove, from the records of the company and from other evidence, 'that there was scarcely an important provision in the code of lowa (applicable to corporations ), scarcely an important point in the Des Moines Im- provement laws, scarcely an important pro- vision 'in the contract which the company agreed to fulfill, scarcely an essential provis- ion in its by-laws, or even in the charter which gave it legal existence, which had not been violated, and violated with a recklessness that will form a memorable feature in the history of Iowa.'
"A joint committee was appointed from both branches of the legislature at the called session to investigate the alleged abuses, but, owing to the short time in which they had to act, it was impossible 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 this failed, so that the alleged abuses passed by without 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, president of the company, requested the Governor to examine into its affairs, in person or by a committee, and proposed to pay the expenses of such an examination. The Governor did not feel disposed to comply with the request, but referred the matter to the legislature, which convened the following De- cember, and recommended that a committee should be appointed, with power to adminis- ter oaths, and to send for persons and papers. with instructions to inquire into all the trans- actions of the former commissioners and reg- isters of the Improvement.
"This part of the Governor's message was referred to a committee of 12, consisting of members of both branches of the legislature. who immediately proceeded to the discharge of their duties. After a careful and thorough examination, this committee reported that they did not consider the contract made by the com- missioners with the company a valid contract on behalf of the State, for the law which au-
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thorized 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 Gov- ernor 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 on the State. The com- mittee also reported that the company had acted in bad faith, and violated their charter in many ways ; and, among other things, they found that over $1,000,000 of full-paid stock had been is- sued by the company, upon which had been re- ceived but $167,000, leaving a deficit of $833,- 000, 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 consider- ation, who had purchased, believing its full value had been paid into the treasury of the company. The company had come far short of completing the amount of work which they were required to do under their contract, and their acts gave strong indications that their object was to expend money enough to get pos- session 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 expired, and on a work which was estimated to cost about $2.000.000. they had expended about $185.957.44 for an actual construction of the work, while the com- pany claimed that they had expended $104,- 180.74 for incidental expenses, the most part
of which did not, in any manner, benefit the improvement. Yet the company claimed that they were entitled to land at $1.25 per acre in payment for the whole amount.
"On the 20 of April, 1855, William Mc- Kay, of Polk county, was elected commissioner, and John C. Lockwood, of Louisa county, register ; but in November, 1856, Mckay re- signed, and Edwin Manning, of Van Buren county, was appointed by the Governor to fill his place. Manning bore the name of a good business man and close financier, and he was not willing to audit the claims for incidental expenses, as one for which the company were entitled to receive land : and this became a mat- ter of dispute between the company and com- missioner, and, in order to have the matter ad- justed, the President proposed to make an abatement of $72,000: but Manning did not feel disposed to settle the matter himself, and referred the whole claim to the legislature.
"Manning, in his report to the legislature. showed that there had been sold by the State. through the board of public works, during the six years that the State prosecuted the work, about $75.000 worth of land : and for this sum only "three stone-masonry locks' and two dams had been completed : and there had been certi- fied to the Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Company, by Bonney and Gillaspy. 88.853 19- 100 acres of land, and by Mckay and Lock- wood. 116,630 4-100 acres, at $1.25 per acre. making $256,861.53 worth of land, which had been disposed of to the present Company. a part of which amount was for old debts which they had paid.
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"The report of the committee and commis- sioner having been made to the legislature, that body, acting upon the premises that the con- traet which had been made by the commission- ers with the company was not binding upon the State, on the 29th of January, 1857, passed an act by which there was to be a commissioner appointed by the Governor, who, with the reg- ular commissioner, was authorized to contract for the speedy prosecution of the work, and it was made their duty to ascertain and pay off all just claims against the Improvement ; and they were authorized to contract with any company for the sale of all lands, tolls and water rents who would give satisfactory evidence and se- curity for the completion of the Improvement. But they were not to bind the State by any con- tract further than the appropriation of the land and the income of the improvement : and no contract made by the commissioners was to be valid until approved by the Governor. And by this act, the offices of register and assistant commissioner were abolished, and the register was required to deliver over to the State land office all books and papers in his office ; and the register of the State land office was required to perform all the duties which the register of the improvement had done. And by thus doing, the legislature gave the Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Company to understand that they did not regard the contract made by them with the commissioners as binding upon the State. though by this act they made arrangements for anditing their claims and paying them their just dues.
"About this time, the question was brought
up in the Land Department at Washington, as to the extent of this grant of land. and the opin- ion was made public that the original inten- tion of Congress was to only give to the state the lands below the Raccoon Fork ; but a dis- position was manifested to compromise by the department recognizing as being in the grant all lands adjacent to the river within the state But assumptions had heretofore met with suc- cess, and now those interested in the land grant claimed and contended that this grant embraced all the lands to the source of the river. This difficulty about the extent of the land grant. to- gether with the action of the legislature, nearly suspended all operations on the river, and much was said by the company about enforcing their claims by law.
"The commissioners appointed to audit and pay the claims against the Improvement did not succeed in adjusting the claims of the company, and the matter was again referred to the legis- lature; and, on the 22d of March, 1858, there was a joint resolution passed by the legislature. defining the basis upon which the State would settle, and the Des Moines Navigation & Rail- road Company were given sixty days to con- sider whether they would accept of and ratify this proposition : and if they did not, within that time, then it was made the duty of the Governor to enjoin them from further proceed- ing with the work of the Improvement. Also, on the same day of adopting this resolution, there was an act passed giving all the lands which remained after settling with this Com- pany, 'and also all the stone, timber and other materials turned over to the State by the Com-
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pany,' to the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad Company, for the purpose of constructing a railroad from Keokuk up the Des Moines Valley, to the northern line of the state, except the material which it might be necessary to use for the completion of the locks and dams at Croton, Plymouth, Bentonsport and Keosanqua, which the railroad company were to complete : and also, all debts which grew out of the Improvement, which at that time remained unsatisfied, or were, in some manner. provided for. But in this grant there was a provision made that it should not, in any manner, conflict with the lands which had. pre- vious to that time, been given to the State by Congress for railroad purposes, which, on the 15th of July, 1856, had been given by the legis- lature to the companies formed to build the four roads designated by the grant. But it was un- derstood that these lands, having been donated by Congress for the improvement of the naviga- tion of the river Des Moines, could not be di- verted to the building of a railroad without the consent of Congress, and measures were imme- diately taken to get Congress to sanction the diversion : but this attempt failed, so that the action of the lowa legislature did not avail the Railroad Company anything that session. The railroad company determined to make another ,effort at the next session of Congress ; but be- fore the time for this effort, another difficulty arose in the way of obtaining the lands for the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines & Minnesota Rail- road Company.
"In setting up the claims that the grants for improving the river Des Moines extended
above the Raccoon Fork, the citizens of lowa were united, until after the grant of lands by Congress for railroad purposes was made. After this the railroad companies became in- terested in the lands claimed for the River Im- provement, and claimed that the grant did not embrace any lands above the Raccoon Fork, on which the citizens of łowa were now divided, and both sides of the question were represent- ed. Upon this phase of the case the officer of the Land Department at Washington had but very little hestitation in deciding against the claims of the River Improvement. AAfter this decision was made the legal tribunals were restored to, and a case was taken to the Su- preme Court of the United States, where the same decision was given as in the land office.
"On the 3d of March, 1860, there was an act passed abolishing the office of commis sioner of the Des Moines Improvement, and George G. Wright, Edward Johnson and Christian W. Slagle were appointed a board of commissioners for the purpose of ascertam- ing all the liabilities against the Des Moines River Improvement and against the state of lowa, growing out of the improvement. They were required to meet at Keosarqui, and were clothed with power similar to the District Court, to hear and determine all chums grow ing out of the Improvement, and were auther ized to sell all the interests of the State, and all dams and improvements, and the lands ap- pertaining thereto. These commissioners pro- ceeded with their duties, and with their la- bors closed all official acts, as far as the State was concerned, in applying the proceeds of
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this land grant toward the improvement of the navigation of the river Des Moines.
"This was a most magnificent grant, em- bracing some of the best lands in the State: and if the proceeds had been judiciously and properly expended, would have made a great thoroughfare for steamboats, besides affording
an immense water-power for driving machin- ery. But, through the incompetency of manag- ing the means, and the intrigues of designing men, the whole of the lands below Raccoon Fork, and a large quanity above, were disposed of and very little practical good accomplished toward the navigation of the river.
CHAPTER XVII
BENCH AND BAR
EARLY MEMBERS OF THE WAPELLO COUNTY BAR SKETCHES OF EMINENT LAWYERS AND JURISTS- SOMETHING ABOUT THE PRESENT MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
On the 18th of September, 1844, the first court higher than that of a justice of the peace was held in Wapello County. Judge Mason acted in a dual capacity,-as judge of the U. S. District Court and as a judge of the Terri- torial District Court : he had received his au- thority from the President of the United States, Martin Van Buren.
Since that time the following judges of the District Court have held sessions in Wapello County: W. I. Babb, of Henry County: E. L. Burton, of Wapello: 11. B. Hendershott. of Wapello: J. C. Knapp. of Van Buren: C. D. Leggett, of Jefferson: J. C. Mitchell, of Lucas : Cyrus Olney, of Jefferson ; M. . \. Rob- erts, of Wapello : Robert Sloan, of Van Buren : W. H. Seevers, of Mahaska; Dell Stuart, of Lucas: W. D. Tisdale, of Wapello: John S. Townsend, of Monroe: H. Tannehill. of Ap- panoose: H. H. Trimble, of Davis: II. C. Traverse, of Davis: M. J. Williams, of Wa- pello: T. M. Fee, of Appanoose : Frank Eich- elberger, of Davis : and Dashiel, of Monroe.
Many of the judges here named have at- tained distinction. Nearly one-half the 1:1- ber are dead. Those who are alive at this date (.August, 1901) are: W. D. Tisdale, Frank Eichelberger, Robert Sloan, T. M. Fee. W. I. Babb, Il. Il. Trimble, 11. C. Traverse, J. C. Mitchell, C. D. Leggett. Dell Stuart. M. .A. Roberts.
Judge Knapp was a picturesque figure- a link between the old and the new-a judge of commanding appearance: although he was a stern man, he was popular, as was evidenced by his election in a district that was hostile to his party. Judge Burton was a close analytical lawyer ; his opinions were generally affirmed by the higher courts. Judge Williams was eminent in his profession, a just judge as well as a good lawyer. Trimble was able. so was Traverse ; Seevers was a close student ; the same can be said of Townsend. There can be said many good words for the sitting judges. Sloan. Fee. Eichelberger and Roberts. Hon. E. H. Stiles, who was himself a dis-
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tinguished member of the Iowa bar, and at one time reporter of the supreme court, gave this estimate of Judge Il. B. Hendershott: "Al- ways a good lawyer, his legal forces were in excellent discipline, and his great industry, sound judgment and painstaking disposition enabled him to apply those forces in the most thorough and satisfactory manner; while his urbanity and fairness placed everybody at ease and invoked the profound respect of his audi- tors." This tribute, from so good a lawyer as Mr. Stiles, is perhaps all that Judge Ilen- dershott himself would have asked in his life time.
Contemporary with Stiles were such law- yers as Samuel W. Summers, J. W. Dixon. .A. H. Hamilton, M. J. Williams, John D. Devin, John A. Johnson, .A. A. Stuart, Thom- as Bigham and A. W. Gaston, of Ottumwa, with Homer D. Ives and R. W. Boyd. of Ed- dyville, and Cyrus Franklin, of Agency City. Summers became colonel of the 7th lowa Vol- unteer Cavalry, and fought Indians on the plains during the Civil war. J. W. Dixon gave John H. Gear a merry race for the speak- ership of the lowa legislature. Hamilton be- came major of the 30th Jowa Volunteer In- fantry, and was captured by the rebels at Mark's Mill after a sturdy contest. Gaston has remained in Ottumwa during all these years. leading a quiet life. Devin left the country years ago. John A. Johnson went to Mon- tana, where he died about a year ago. .A. A. Stuart left long ago. Thomas Bigham, eccentric and yet with sturdy ideas, is dead. Homer D. Ives died in his prime at Eddy-
ville, and Cyrus Franklin, after a stirring ca- reer as an officer in the Southern Confederacy, passed into the silence.
Mr. Stiles, in an address delivered May 17. 1894, when the new court house was dedi- cated, referred to J. C. Hall and David Rorer, of Burlington; to Townsend and Perry, of Albia; Dunlavy, M. H. Jones and Trimble, of Bloomfield. The author of this book recalls the appearance of Rorer, who always appeared in court with the traditional green bag of the English advocate: he had a bullet-like head, " but he was a bright lawyer. M. Il. Jones had a keen sense of humor; he was full of sarcasm, but a gentleman of infinite wit. His reminiscences, if they could be gathered and printed, would be of great value. Trim- ble was one of the most intellectual men of the Southern border. Perry, of Albia, is an- other able lawyer, who has practiced at the Ottumwa bar.
There were other notable men from other counties who practiced at the Wapello county bar. Such men as Charles Negus, a man of commanding presence and of fine literary abil- ity; Stiles says he had a Jove-like front, and this is true, if our conception of Jove be a true one. Stiles himself was one of the noblest looking men of the county bar. We had here also Micajah Williams, of Oskaloosa, and J. .A. L. Crookham; the latter was picturesque and forcible. Amos Harrie was a tall, angular man; he was from Centerville and was once prosecutor of the district. Judge Knapp was an ancient Greek in appearance-one of the 110- blest of the pioneer jurists of Iowa. George
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Wright and Clay Caldwell are associated with the Wapello county bar; they occasionally made their appearance here in cases of great importance. Judge Caldwell now occupies a commanding position on the Federal bench and adds new luster to our national jurisprudence.
L. C. Hendershott, son of Judge Hender- shott, is the oldest native-born Ottumwa law- yer ; the oldest practitioner now in service is W. W. Cory, who has been very successful as a lawyer and in a financial way. Capt. W. H. C. Jaques is next after Cory as to length of service ; he has made a splendid rep- utation as a lawyer and has been called to distant states in his practice. The name of William MeNett is synonymous with honesty, the position.
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