AUTHOR'S PREFACE Social problems are everywhere occupying the attention of the public mind to-day. The railroad magnate and the inmate of the poorhouse, the workingman and the scholar, the propagandist and the legislator, all sense the need of social reformation. Deep-seated in the mind of everyone there is the subconscious disapproval of the spirit of professional money-making, of the aristocracy of big business, of the inefficiency that is so prevalent, of the high cost of living, of the standard of public morality, of the method of dispensing charity. In consequence of the general social unrest and the development of a social conscience, there has followed the endeavor to remedy the situation by legislation. Whenever conditions have become sufficiently adverse or new doctrines have been conceived, agitation for new laws has begun. Legislation may be regarded as the final crystallization of public concern into definite regulations. It may, therefore, be deemed symbolic of the progress that is made. The purpose of this monograph is the consideration of the laws of this State which have a funda mental social bearing, with the object of showing the historical development of social legislation in Iowa and to afford a general view of the whole field. It is hoped that the presentation of this survey will facilitate the discernment of the steps which should be taken next. Consequently only those acts or parts of acts that are indicative of the advance of social welfare have been included, while no attempt whatever is made to trace the devious route by which some measures gained enactment. The work is the chiefly a statement of the contents of laws without their legal verbiage: it is not an effort to account for cause, effect, or value. As a background for the social legislation of Iowa it has seemed best to sketch briefly the general course of the development of social legislation. Because the influence of England more than that of any other foreign country has been felt in the United States the beginnings of legislation in the interest of human welfare have been discovered there. The review of social measures in this country constitutes the barest outline of social endeavor. In the discussion of Iowa legislation it has been convenient to use the various official codes as summaries of the legislative work of each preceding period. Thus these codes are made to appear as landmarks along the course of forward movements. This plan, however, is accompanied with the obvious disadvantage of the omission of numerous temporary changes and short-lived experiments. Public education is unquestionably a matter of social concern, but inasmuch as it has become a distinct field in itself no attempt has been made to include the legislation in regard to public schools. The subject is being exhaustively treated in another work. Libraries, being educational in character, have also been denied consideration. Because such crimes as robbery and arson are offenses against property rather than persons, the penalties for them are not discussed. However much may have been accomplished in the line of social welfare during the past it is the first years of the twentieth century that constitute the era of conscious social endeavor. They represent a period so full of new views, so overflowing with advanced ideas that people are bewildered with the efforts of reformers. That Iowa is no exception to the general trend is obvious from the proportion of social legislation before and after the adoption of the Code of 1897. The Superintendent and Editor of The State Historical Society of Iowa, Professor Benj. F. Shambaugh, is responsible by his constant guidance and encouragement for much of the merit which this volume may possess. To Dr. Fred E. Haynes the author is indebted for many invaluable suggestions and criticisms. Thanks are also due to Dr. Dan E. Clark for his expert advice at every stage of the work; while Miss Helen Otto assisted in the verification of the manuscript. THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA IOWA CITY IOWA JOHN E. BRIGGS |