so far that the question was submitted to the Legislature of 1878 of having a dome and turrets added, at an estimated expense of $461,190.24.

The assessed value of real estate in Iowa, for the year, was $302,277,661; but the average valuation put upon it by the assessors was but $7 an acre, which is said to be less than half the actual value. The returns of live stock show 1,452,546 cattle, 659,385 horses, 42,887 mules, 318,439 sheep, and 1,654,708 swine, in the State.

The number of savings-banks is 20, the gross assets $3,301,209.45; liabilities, including capital stock, $3,104,614.85; undivided profits, $196,594.60. There are 31 banks of deposit and discount organized under State law, an increase of 8 in two years. Their assets are reported at $3,190,063.15, an increase of $504,712.76. The increase of cash capital is $315,750.04.

The total value of railroad property in the State is $22,421,215.10. The number of miles of track is 3,922.2. The assessed value per mile ranges from $1,000 for the Burlington & Northwestern, narrow gauge, to $12,000 for the main line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. The total amount built in the last two years is 275 miles, as follows: The Sigourney branch of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, extended to Knoxville, 49 miles; the Pacific division of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway, from Traer into Grundy County, 25 miles; main line of the same, from Plymouth to a

junction with the Central Railroad of Iowa, and from Norwood northward to Albert Lea, in Minnesota, the addition in Iowa being about 9 miles; the Iowa Pacific Railroad, operated by the Chicago, Dubuque & Minnesota Company, extended from Elkport to Lima, 35 miles; the Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad, 10 miles, to Story City; the Chicago, Newton & Southwestern, which has passed into the hands of the Iowa, Minnesota & North Pacific Company, completed from Newton to Monroe, 13 miles; the Sioux City & Pembina, operated by the Dakota Southern Company, 11 miles, in Plymouth County; a new narrowgauge road constructed by the Burlington & Northwestern Railway Company, from Burlington to Winfield, 34 miles; the Maple River Railroad, from the Chicago & Northwestern Railway to Mapleton; the Fort Dodge & Fort Ridgely Railroad, 11 miles into Humboldt County; the Crooked Creek Narrow-Gauge Railroad, from Fort Dodge, 9 miles, to Tyson's Mill; and the Chicago, Clinton & Western, from Iowa City to Elmira, on the Burlington, Chicago & Northwestern Railway, 9 miles.

The Government canal constructed around the Des Moines Rapids of Keokuk was formally opened in August. The work had been in progress 10 years. The canal is 73 miles long, and 300 feet wide, and has 3 locks, each 350 feet long. It has cost the United States

Government $4,281,000, and $100,000 more will be necessary for the final completion of the work.

The convention of the Republican party of the State was held at Des Moines on the 27th of June, the Hon. James F. Wilson presiding. It was characterized chiefly by a lack of sympathy with the policy adopted by the National Administration affecting the Southern States. Hon. John H. Gear, of Burlington, was nominated for the office of Governor; Frank T. Campbell, of Jasper County, for LieutenantGovernor; James G. Day for Judge of the Supreme Court, and Prof. C. W. Van Coelln for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The platform adopted was as follows:

thority and in its name, this Convention declaresActing for the Republican party of Iowa, by its au1. The United States of America is a nation, not a league. By the combined workings of the National and State Governments under their respective Constitutions, the rights of every citizen should be secured at home and protected abroad, and the common welfare promoted. Any failure on the part of either the National or State Government to use every possible constitutional power to afford ample protection to their citizens, both at home and abroad, is a criminal neglect of their highest obligation.

2. The Republican party has preserved these Governments to the commencement of the second century of the nation's existence, and they are embodied in the great truths spoken at its cradle, that "all men are created equal," that they "are endowed by which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: their creator with certain inalienable rights, among that for the attainment of these ends governments have been instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," which frages of the citizens determined in pursuance of law, consent is evinced by a majority of the lawful sufUntil these truths are universally recognized and cheerfully obeyed, the work of the Republican party is unfinished; and the Republican party of Iowa will stand by its colors and fight the good fight to the end.

3. The permanent pacification of the Southern section of the Union, and the complete protection of all its citizens in the free enjoyment of all their rights, is a duty to which the Republican party stand sacredly pledged. The power to provide for the enforcement of the principles embodied in the recent Constitutional Amendments, is vested by these Amendments in the Congress of the United States, and we declare it to be the solemn obligation of the legislative and executive department of the Government to put into immediate and vigorous exercise all their constitutional powers for removing any just causes of discontent on the part of any class, and for securing to every American citizen complete liberty and exact equality in the exercise of all civil, political, and public rights. To this end we imperatively demand of fidelity to these duties which shall not falter until Congress and the Chief Executive a courage and their results are placed beyond dispute or recall.

4. That the public credit should be sacredly maintained, and all the obligations of the Government honestly discharged, we favor the early attainment of a currency convertible with coin, and, therefore, advocate the gradual resumption of specie payment by continuous and steady steps in that direction.

5. That the silver dollar having been the legal unit of value from the foundation of the Federal Government until 1873, the law under which its coinpossible day, and silver made, with gold, a legal tenage was suspended should be repealed at the earliest der for the payment of all debts, both public and pri

vate. We also believe that the present volume of the legal-tender currency should be maintained until the wants of trade and commerce demand its further contraction.

6. That the investment of capital in this State should be encouraged by wise and liberal legislation, but we condemn the policy of granting subsidies at the public expense to eitlier individuals or corporations for their private use.

7. That we demand the most rigid economy in all departments of the Government, and that taxation be limited to the actual wants of the public expendi

ture.

nue.

8. That we favor a wisely adjusted tariff for reve9. That we hold it to be a solemn obligation of the electors of Iowa to be earnest in securing the election to all positions of public trust of men of honesty and conscience; to the administrative offices, men who will faithfully administer the laws; to the legislative offices, men who will represent upon all questions the best sentiment of the people, and who will labor earnestly for the enactment of such laws as the best interests of society, temperance, and good order shall demand.

10. That we rejoice in the honorable name of Iowa; that we are proud of the State's achievements, of the degree of purity with which its public affairs have been conducted, and of the soundness of its credit at home and abroad. And we pledge to do whatsoever may be done to preserve, unsullied, the State's reputation in these regards.

Resolutions expressing confidence in the ability and integrity of President Hayes, and approving of the "so-called Southern policy," were defeated. A resolution in favor of the "rigid enforcement of our present prohibitory liquor law and any amendment thereto that will render its provisions more effective in the suppression of intemperance," was adopted.

The Democratic Convention was held in Marshalltown on the 29th of August. John P. Irish was nominated for Governor, W. C. James for Lieutenant-Governor, H. E. J. Boardman for Judge of the Supreme Court, and G. D. Cullison for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The platform adopted was as follows:

1. The Democracy of Iowa, in convention assembled, hereby declare in favor of a tariff for revenue only, honest economic home rule, the supremacy of civil over military power, the separation of the Church and State, the equality of all citizens before the law, opposition to the granting by the General Government of subsidies to any corporation whatever.

2. The destruction of the industry of the country and the pauperism of labor are the inevitable fruits of the vicious laws enacted by the Republican party. 3. That as means of relieving the distressed portion of the community, and removing the great stringency complained of in business circles, we demand the immediate repeal of the specie resumption

act.

4. We denounce, as an outrage on the rights of the people, the enactment of the Republican measure demonetizing silver, and demand the passage of a law which shall restore to silver its monetary power.

5. We favor the retention of a greenback currency, and declare against any further contraction, and we favor the substitution of greenbacks for national bank bills.

6. We congratulate the country upon the acceptance by the present Administration of the constitu

tional and pacific policy of local self-government in the States South, so long advocated by the Democratic party, and which has brought peace and harmony to that section; and in regard to the future financial policy, in the language of our national platform adopted in the New York Couvention in 1868,

we urge

7. The payment of the public debts of the United States as rapidly as practicable, all money drawn from the people by taxation, except so much as is requisite for the necessary expenses of the Government economically administered, being honestly applied to such payment when due.

8. Equal taxation of every species of property ac cording to its value.

9. One currency for the Government and the people, the laborer and the office-holder, the pensioner and soldier, and the producer and the bondholder. 10. The right of the State to regulate its corporations having been established by the highest court of the country, we now declare that this right must be exercised with due regard to justice, and as there is no necessary antagonism between the people and these corporations, the common interests of both demand the speedy restoration of the former friendly relation, through just legislation on one side and a cheerful submission thereto on the other.

11. The rights of capital and labor are equally sacred, and alike entitled to legal protection. They have no just cause of quarrel, and the proper relations to each other are adjustable by natural laws, and should not be hampered by legislative interference.

12. We favor the repeal of the present prohibitory liquor law of this State and the enactment of a judimoney derived from licenses to go to the common cious and well-regulated license law instead, all school fund of the State.

The following resolution was also adopted unanimously:

Resolved, That it is the belief of the Convention of the Democrats of Iowa that S. J. Tilden and Thomas Hendricks were respectively elected President and Vice-President at the last election.

A convention of the Greenback party had been held at Des Moines on the 12th of July, at which D. P. Stubbs was nominated as a candidate for Governor, A. A. McCready for Lieutenant-Governor, John Porter for Judge of the Supreme Court, and S. T. Ballard for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The platform was as follows:

Whereas, Throughout our entire country, labor, the creator of all wealth, is either unemployed or denied its just reward, and all productive industries are paralyzed; and

Whereas, These results have been brought about by class legislation and the mismanagement of our national finances; and

Whereas, After generations of experience, we are forced to believe that nothing further can be hopec for through the old political parties: therefore, we make the following declaration of principles:

1. We demand the unconditional repeal of the specie resumption act of January 14, 1875, and the abandonment of the present suicidal and destructive policy of contraction.

2. We demand the abolition of national banks, and the issue of legal-tender paper money, by the Government, and made receivable for all dues public and private.

3. We demand the remonetization of the silver dollar, making it a full legal tender for the payment of all coin bonds of the Government, and for all other debts, public and private.

4. We demand the equitable taxation of all property without favor or privilege.

5. We commend every honest effort for the furtherance of civil service reform.

6. We demand the repeal of all class legislation, and the enforcement of such wise and progressive measures as shall secure equality of rights to all legitimate interests, and impartial justice to all per

sons.

7. We demand a reduction of offices and salaries, to the end that there be less taxation.

8. We demand that the Independents of Iowa sustain and indorse the principles of railroad legislative control, as expressed by the highest judicial authority, not as enemies of public enterprises, but as friends of the whole country and of the people.

9. We demand that all legal means be exhausted to eradicate the traffic in alcoholic beverages, and the abatement of the evil of intemperance.

10. We are opposed to all further subsidies by either the State or General Government, for any and all purposes, either to individuals or corporations.

11. We invite the considerate judgment of our fellow-citizens, of all political parties, upon these our principles and purposes, and solicit the cooperation of all men in the furtherance of them, as we do believe that upon their acceptance or rejection by the people the weal or woe of our beloved country depends.

A convention of Prohibitionists was held at Grinnell, on the 22d of August. Their candidate for Governor was Elias Jessup, the rest of the ticket being made up of nominees of the Greenback party.

The election took place on the 9th of October. The total vote for Governor was 245,766, of which Gear received 121,546, Irish 79,353, Stubbs 34,228, and Jessup 10,639. Gear's plurality over Irish was 42,193, but he did not have a majority of all the votes. The Legislature of 1878 consists of 38 Republicans and 12 Democrats in the Senate; and 73 Republicans, 25 Democrats, and 2 "Greenbackers" in the House. The Republican majority is therefore 26 in the Senate, and 46 in the House, or 72 on a joint ballot.

Mr. Gear, the new Governor, was born in Utica, New York, in 1825, and removed to Fort Snelling in 1836. He became a resident of Burlington in 1843, and has been a citizen of the State ever since it was admitted into the Union. He has been prominently engaged in mercantile affairs for many years, his business of late being that of a wholesale dealer in groceries. He was an original member of the Republican party of the State, and in 1863 was chosen Mayor of Burlington. Ile has since served three terms in the General Assembly, and for two sessions was the presiding officer of the House of Representatives.

The annual convention of the State Woman Suffrage Society was held at Des Moines on the 24th of October. It was devoted mainly to reports and discussions, and the following resolutions were adopted:

Resolved, That the aristocracy of sex as it exists in this country is contrary to natural justice and to the spirit of our free institutions.

Resolved, That taxation without representation is tyranny, whether the victims be women or men, and that all persons who assist in bearing the burdens of government should share equally in its privileges.

Resolved, That the ballot is a source of power and necessary to the protection of individual rights and liberties; that it should be the property of all lawabiding adult citizens.

Resolved, That we believe the ballot in woman's hand would prove a blessing alike to herself and her country; that while it will protect her rights, advance her interests, and enlarge her opportunities, it will also bring to the State the ameliorating influence of her enlightened conscience and moral force. Resolved, That we pledge ourselves to a more determined and vigorous prosecution of this work; and that we will besiege the State Legislature to take such preliminary action as is necessary toward investing woman with her full rights of citizenship. Whereas, The ballot is necessary to uproot many of the evils which afflict society; and

Whereas, Women are deprived of this potent, silent power: therefore,

Resolved, That it is not the duty of women to contribute to the support of the clergy who oppose their enfranchisement.

Whereas, Congress has enfranchised the negro, alien, and ex-rebel; and

Whereas, The woman citizens are as intelligent as the aforesaid classes: therefore,

Resolved, That the citizens of the State unite in a petition to Congress for a sixteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, giving women also the ballot upon equal terms with men.

Resolved, That the thanks of the Christian women of this Convention be extended to Rev. Isaac See, of stand, as ministers of the Gospel, in behalf of New Jersey, and other clergymen, for their noble woman's right to speak from the pulpit, and thus help to remove the bigotry which fetters the free exercise of the religious inclinations of women.

The annual session of the State Grange was held at the State House in Des Moines, beginning December 11th, and continuing four days. Among the resolutions and declarations were the following:

Resolved, That the State Grange favors the repeal of the resumption act, and the remonetization of silver, and the repeal of the national bank act, and asks the General Assembly to memorialize Congress to shape the financial legislation of the country in accordance with this resolution.

Resolved, That the effort now being made by the Boards of Supervisors of the State to procure legislative reforms reducing the burdens of taxation, has our earnest sympathy.

Resolved, That the Master of this Grange be inwith a copy of these resolutions, and to call their structed to present the Convention of Supervisors attention to the propriety of procuring legislation on the following subjects:

1. The abolition of the grand jury.

2 To compel litigants to give security for costs. 3. To tax the whole cost of jury to the losing party. And the winning party shall pay the jury before the verdict is recorded.

4. To fix by law the fee of attorneys appointed by the court to defend criminals.

5. To regulate more definitely the compensation allowed short-hand reporters.

6. The propriety of abolishing the office of County Superintendent.

7. To compel Sheriffs to report their fees as other county officers.

The Supreme Court of the United States decided, in June, the case in which the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was the plaintiff in error, brought for the purpose of testing the constitutionality of the law regulating freight and passenger charges on the

railroads of the State. The decision affirmed the right and authority of the State to regulate these charges unless prevented by the terms of charters. It is claimed by those opposed to what is known as the "Grange Legislation," that the result has been to keep capital from seeking investment in the State, that it has prevented Iowa roads generally from making dividends, and that it has increased the burden of the people for transportation expenses beyond the limits of the State, by compelling the companies to secure heavy charges over connecting lines, in which they have an interest.

In a case brought in the Des Moines Circuit Court, and tried in March, for the recovery of property stolen in a sleeping-car, a verdict for the plaintiff was rendered. The court in laying down the law said: "If a person purchases a first-class railroad ticket and a ticket for a sleeping-car berth, the owner of the sleepingcar is under obligations to furnish suitable facilities and means to him for sleeping, and to take charge of and secure the safety of his personal effects-to the extent that is reasonable and prudent for a man to take with him while traveling-while he is asleep."

An accident on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, on the 28th of August, occasioned by the giving way of a bridge over Little Four Mile Creek, nine miles west of Des Moines, resulted in the death of 20 per

PRODUCTS.

sons and the injury of 35 others. It was the severest disaster of the kind ever known in the State.

An interesting colony of German socialists, with peculiar religious views, is located at "Homestead," on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, a short distance west of Iowa City. It is known as the Am-a-na Society's settlement. The number of inhabitants, when the State census was taken in 1875, was 1,624, of whom 827 were males and 797 females. There are seven small villages about three miles apart, consisting of about 250 houses in all, occupied by some 300 families. All property belongs to the Society, though each family has an exclusive right to the use of its house. Meals are taken at boardinghouses. All receipts and expenses are an affair of the Society, and not of individual members. The community is represented as being sober, industrious, and flourishing. Their religion is a modified form of Christianity, somewhat similar to that of the Quakers.

IRON AND STEEL. According to the latest annual report of the American Iron and Steel Association, which contains the most comprehensive and trustworthy statistics, prepared by Mr. James M. Swank, the secretary of the association, the total iron and steel production of the United States during the past five years, in net tons of 2,000 lbs., was as follows:

The decrease in the production of pig-iron from 1873, the year of greatest production in the United States, to 1876, has been 775,042, or 27 per cent. This great shrinkage indicates, with concurrent low prices, a marked depression in the pig-iron industry of the country. The decrease was 6 per cent. in 1874, 15 per cent. in 1875, and 8 per cent. in 1876. The figures for 1876, as compared with those of the preceding year, indicate that the industry has begun to rally from the effects of the panic of 1873. This view is strengthened by the fact that there has been a gradual decrease in the unsold stock on hand at the end of the year. At the close of 1874, this stock amounted to 795,784 net tons; at the close of 1875, 760,908 tons; and at the close of 1876, 674,798 tons. Twenty-three States, and the Territory of Utah, made pig-iron in 1876. Pennsylvania made almost one-half of the entire product, viz., 1,009,613 net tons, or 48.2 per cent., slightly increasing its production over that of 1875, and largely increasing its percentage, VOL. XVII.-26 A

49,243

Ohio came next

which was 42.4 in that year. to Pennsylvania in 1876, making 403,277 tons, or 19.2 per cent., showing a slight decrease upon its production in 1875, but also a slight increase in its percentage, which was 18.3 in 1875.

At the close of 1876 there were, in 25 States and the Territory of Wyoming, 338 rollingmills, containing 4,488 single puddling-furnaces, each double furnace being counted as two single furnaces. Of the whole number of mills, 260 were in operation during the whole or part of the year. Of the whole number 98 were built to make rails, and of these 56 made rails in 1876. The rolling-mill capacity of the country, like its blast-furnace capacity, is at least double the production of 1876. Sixty-four rollingmills in 13 States made cut nails and spikes in 1876. The number of machines contained in these mills was over 3,800, but all were not employed. The American keg of nails weighs 100 lbs.

The production of pig-iron by States in re-cent years has been as follows:

The whole number of completed furnaces in the country at the close of 1876, which were either active, or capable of being made so on short notice, was 714, against a similar total of 713 at the close of 1875. Of the total number of furnaces at the close of 1876, 236 were in blast, and 478 were out of blast. Of 713 furnaces at the close of 1875, 293 were in blast, and 420 were out of blast. The productive capacity of the furnaces of the country is at least twice the actual yield of either of the last two years. The greatest activity in

67

12214

12

110,599 158,789 143,660 117,224 111,014

the erection of new furnaces has been shown in the Hocking Valley, in Ohio, where several bituminous furnaces have been built since the beginning of 1876, while others are now in course of erection or definitely projected. The production of pig-iron in the United States was 54,000 gross tons in 1810, 20,000 in 1820, 165,000 in 1830, 315,000 in 1840, and about 565,000 in 1850. The growth of the various branches of the pig-iron trade of the United States from 1854 to 1876 has been as follows: