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THE
IOWA JOURNAL
OF
HISTORY AND POLITICS
EDITOR BENJAMIN F. SHAMBAUGH
PBOrBMOS OF POLITICAL 8CIBNCB Ur THE UNIVKBSITT OF IOWA
VOLUME V
1907
PUBLUHIO QUABTKBLT BT
THB STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY IOWA
1907
COFTRIOHT 19M AND IMY BT THE 8TATB HISTORICAL 80CIITT OF IOWA
THE IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTOEY
AND POLITICS
CONTENTS Number 1 — January 1907
Federal and State Aid to Education in Iowa
Hugh S. Buffum 3
The History and Principles of the Whigs of the Territory of
Iowa Louis PsLZSR 46
Alexander Hamilton: An Essay on American Union
A. B. Stobms 91
Communication Edoab Hull 109
Some Publications 121
Americana and Miscellaneous 121
lowana 128
Historical Societies 183
Notes and Comment 142
Contributors 144
Number 2 — April 1907
Federal and State Aid to Education in Iowa
Hugh S. Buffum 147
The Beginnings of Liquor Legislation in Iowa
Dan Elbebt Clabk 193
A Brief History of the Political Science Club 1896-1906
Fbank Edwabd Hoback 213
Bibliography of the Iowa Territorial Documents
T. J. FiTZPATBICK 234
Some Publications 270
Severance— Ptt&iicotiona <^ the Buffalo HistoHcal Society
(p. 270) T. J. Fltzpatrick
vi CONTENTS
Woodruff— TVoceedin^a <^ tht AtXaidic City Confertnce for Oood CUy Oovemment, and the Tw^fth Annual Meti- inff of the National Municipal League (p. 272) F. K. Horack
Proceedinge of the Academy qf Science and Letters qf Sioux
City, Iowa, 1905-6 (p. 278) T. J. Fitzpatrick
Proceedingi of the New York State Historical A$sor.iation
(p. 276) T. J. Fitzpatrick
Dje— McDonald qf Oregon. A Tale of Two Shores (p. 279)
John C. I'ariah
Amw-^State Documente on Federal Relatione. The State and
the UnUed States (p. 281) ... F. E. Horack
Americana and MiBcellaneous 282
lowana 288
Historical Societies 298
Notes and Comment 303
Contributors 308
Number 3 — July 1907
Federal and State Aid to Education in Iowa
Hugh S. Buffum 311
Was the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution Necessary
R. B. Way 326
A Bibliography of Iowa State Publications for 1904 and 1905
T. J. Fitzpatrick 337
Some Publications 409
Parish— /{o&ert Lucas (p. 409) K. F. Geiser
Qfflcial Report qf the Debates and Proceedings in the Nebras- ka Constitutional Convention qf 1871 (p. 411) John C. Parish South Dakota Historical Collections (p. 412) T. J. Fitzpatrick
Collections of the Historical Society of North Dakota (p. 416)
T. J. FiUpatrick T?^e Documentary History of the Campaign upon the Niaga- ra Frontier in the Year 181S (p. 417) John C. Pariah
Americana and Miscellaneous 418
lowana 42^
Historical Societies 42'
Notes and Comment 43
Contributors 4
o»
CONTENTS vii
Number 4 — Ootobek 1907
Judicial Districting in Iowa Dan Elbbbt Clabk 455
The Regulation by Law of Elections in the Territory of Iowa
Hbnbt John Peterson 498
The Election of Francis Gehon in 1839 Louis Pslzbb 534
Some Publications 544
Smith — Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony : Canada and
the American BevoltUion (p. 644) John C. Parish
Proceedinge of the liaseachuseUa Hietorieal Society (p. 646)
Dan E. Clark
Alvord— CoUictiana qf the Illinois State Historical Library
(p. 646) John C. Parish
Publication Number Eleven of the Illinois State Historical
Library (p. 648) Dan E. Clark
Rowland— F^ ^nauoZ Report of the IHredor of the De- partment qf Archives and History qf the State qf Mis- sissippi (p. 649) John C. Parish
Lewis — First Biennial Report qf the DepaHment qf Archives and History qf the State qf West Virginia (p. 661)
John C. Parish
Proceedings qf the American Political Science Association
(p. 662) John C. Parish
Americana and Miscellaneous 554
lowana 559
Historical Societies 568
Notes and Comment 571
Contributors 578
Index 579
THE IOWA JOURNAL of History and Politics
JANUARY Nineteen Hundred Seven Volume Five . . . Number One
FEDERAL AND STATE AID TO EDUCATION
IN IOWA
[Continued from the October, 1906. nnmber] THE SALINE LAND GRANT
What is known in Iowa history as the Saline Land Grant was not intended by Congress to be used directly for educa- tional purposes. By an act of Congress, approved March 3, 1845, the National government granted to the State of Iowa for its vse all salt-springs within the limits of the State, not to exceed twelve in number, together with six sections of land adjoining or as nearly contiguous as possible to each. These springs and the adjoining land were to be selected by the legislature within one year after the admis- sion of Iowa into the Union, and were then to be used on such terms and conditions, and under such regulations as the legislature should provide. One provision of the act was that the General Assembly should never lease or sell this land and the salt springs for a longer period than ten years at a time without the consent of Congress. ^
On February 24, 1847, the General Assembly authorized the Governor to appoint an agent for the purpose of select- ing these lands.2 Governor Briggs appointed Mr. John Brophy, who made the selections and submitted them to the Governor, by whom they were approved.
Mr. Brophy selected seventy-two sections of these lands and submitted the list to the Secretary of the Interior. But
1 UnUed 8tat48 Statutei at Large, Vol. V, pp. 789-790. ^Laws of Iowa, 1840, pp. 126-127.
4 IOWA JOURNAL OF IIISTOUY AND POLITICS
of tluH amount eleven and eleven-sixteenths sections were either rejected or 8U8])ended. The rest was approved by the Secretary of the Interior August 27, 1852. The amoant ai>proved at this date was sixty and five-sixteenths sections.
To supply the deficieiicit*s resulting from the rejection or suspension of a part of the seventy-two sections selected, Governor Hempstead ap])ointed Mr. J. Keister, Saline Land Agent to make other selections in lieu of those suspended or rejected. June 29, 1854, Mr. Keister rej)orted to the Governor a list of his selections. This list was acceptable both to the State and to the United States otKcers. Thus the seventy-two sections (twelve springs, each with six sec- tions of land) were selected, and wem aj)j)roved by the Sec^ retary of the Interior.
Some of the sections chosen were not ]>erfect sections. A few contained slightly moi'e than 640 acres, and a few contained less than that amount. The exact number of acres, as given by the llegister of the State Land Oflice, is 46,202.53. The location of the saline lands by counties is as follows:
TABLE VIII ^
COUXTT NO. ACRES TIIERBIN
Appanoose 12,UC0.28
Davis G40.00
Decatur 2,500.00
Lucas 25,701.46
Monroe 1,120.00
Van Buren 040.00
Wayne 2,490.79
Total . . : . 40,202.53 ^BeportcfiheRegiBter of the State Land Qfflcty 1871, p. 13.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA 5
It was mentioned above that Congress, in granting the saline lands to the State, provided that the General Assem- bly should never lease or sell them at any one time for a longer period than ten years, without the consent of Con- gress. The General Assembly passed a joint resolution, January 24, 1851, requesting Iowa's Senators and Repre- sentativeB in Congress to m^e the passage of a law author- izing the General Assembly to sell and dispose of the saline lands belonging to the State in such manner and at such price, not to be less than $1.25 per acre, as the General As- sembly might deem expedient. ^
As a result of this action. Congress, by an act approved May 27, 1852, granted the twelve salt springs and six sec- tions contiguous thereto to the State in fee simple to be dis- posed of, and the proceeds to be applied as the legislature might direct.^
Thus the saline grant became the property of the State, to be disposed of as directed by the legislature. During the next ten years seven different acts were passed relative to the disposal of this land. The first of these, passed Feb- ruary 5, 1851, provided that the saline lands should be sold by the same officer as though they were a part of those lands set aside for the improvement of the Des Moines River. The proceeds of the sales were to constitute a fund for founding and supporting a lunatic asylum, except that $5, 000 of the principal was to be placed at the disposal of the Superintendent of Public Instruction^ for the use of the
^Law8 of Iowa, 1860, p. 246.
* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. X, p. 7.
•Laws ef Iowa, 1850, pp. 227-229.
6 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLIITCS
College of PhysiciaDS and Surgeons at Keokuk. The Reg- ister of the State Land Office reported, however, that there were no sales made under this act.
On January 22, 1853, an act of the General Assembly was approved, providing that the saline lands should be sold by the same officer and under the same regulations as though they formed a portion of the school lands of the State. The proceeds were to be paid into the State Treasury.^
The next law relative to this land was enacted January 25, 1855. It provided that from the time when it Hhould take effect, all school, saline, and univeraity land should be sold in accordance with a ])lan set forth in the act, which was practically the same as the plan for selling the sixteenth section land. The act also required the Board of Trustees of the University to elect a Treasurer, and to him the State Treasurer was to deliver over all moneys, books, notes, and other papers in his possession and belonging to the univer- sity or saline funds. ^
The Fifth General Assembly, at an extra session, enacted, July 14, 1856, that jblU money arising from the sale of the saline lands of the State, whether in the hands of the Treas- urer of State or any other person, should be appropriated to the State Insane Asylum at Mount Pleasant. ^
Two years later, March 23, 1858, an act was approved repealing the section of the act of July 14, 185(), which ap- propriated the proceeds from the sale of saline lands for the construction of the Insane Asylum.*
^Law8 of Iowa, 1862, pp. 12ft-127.
*Law8 of Iowa, 1854, pp. 200-201.
*Law8 of Iowa, Extra Session, 1856, pp. 00-91
*Law8 of Iowa, 1858, p. 208.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA 7
An act passed March 26, I860, authoiized the County Judge and County Treasurer to sell the saline lands. The powers vested in the School Fund Commissioners by the act of January 25, 1855, relative to the sale of saline lands were to be vested in and exercised by the County Judge and County Treasurer.^
The final disposition of the Saline Land Grant was made by an act of the legislature passed April 2, 1860, and tak- ing effect May 9, 1860. By this act the saline lands and funds were appropriated to the State University to become a part of the permanent fund of that institution. But from this disposal of the fund, reservation was made that the Board of Trustees of the University could expend out of the saline fund an amount not to exceed $5,000 for completing and furnishing a building erected for a ' 'boarding hall", and a further amount not exceeding $5, 000 in repairing and refitting the main building of the University, and in pur- chasing necessary apparatus for instruction in the institution.^
As a result of this law the Saline Land Grant was defi- nitely and finally diverted by the legislature to the State University Fund. From this time it was in effect the same as if the Federal government had originally made it as an educational grant.
Soon afterward a question arose as to whether these lands were to be sold and certified by the Board of Trustees of the University or by the County Judges and Treasurers. This question was settled by the legislature in an act ap- proved March 25, 1864. The saline lands were by it placed
^Law8 of Iowa, Revision of 1860, pp. 345-340. *LatJ08 of Iowa, Revision of 1860, pp. 346-347.
8
IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
under the control and management of the Board of Trustees of the University "as fully as if the same were a part of the grant of lands known as the University Lands." They were to be sold by the Board in the same manner and under the same restrictions as the University Grant lands. ^
When the Board of Trustees of the University was super- seded by the Board of Regents, as above noted in the treat- ment of the University Grant, the rules and regulations ap- plying to the care and sale of that grant also applied to the saline grant.
The following table shows the amounts of saline lands patented during the successive biennial periods:
|
TABLE NO. IX |
L |
|||
|
NO. ACRES PATBIfTED |
||||
|
DATS OF REPORT DURINO BIBNNIUM |
||||
|
May 14, 1855 6,020.48 |
||||
|
November 14, 1860 |
5,001.34 |
|||
|
December 1, 1857 |
2,504.48 |
|||
|
November 7, 1869 |
1,811.10 |
|||
|
November 0, 1801 |
1,280.00 |
|||
|
November 10, 1803 |
8,081.51 |
|||
|
November 10, 1805 |
10,827.38 |
|||
|
November 12, 1807 |
2,032.29 |
|||
|
November 10, 1809 |
1,145.09 |
|||
|
November 1, 1871 |
1,120.00 |
|||
|
November 1, 1873 |
040.00 |
|||
|
November 1, 1876 |
880.00 |
|||
|
October 1, 1877 . |
880.00 |
|||
|
October 1, 1879 . |
433.62 |
|||
|
October 1, 1881 . |
700.00 |
|||
|
July 1, 1883 |
0 |
^Lato8 of Iowa, 1804, pip. 84-80.
•Report cf the Register of the State Land Qgicej 1867-1881, and Report of the Secretary cf State (Land Department), 1883-1905.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA
9
|
KO. ACRRS PATENTED |
||
|
DATS OF REPORT |
DURING BIENNIUM |
|
|
July 1, |
1885 |
160.00 |
|
July 1, |
1887 |
40.00 |
|
July 1, |
, 1889 |
40.00 |
|
July 1, |
, 1891 |
500.00 |
|
July 1, |
, 1893 |
160.00 |
|
July 1, |
, 1895 |
701.82 |
|
July 1, |
, 1897 |
120.00 |
|
July Ij |
, 1899 |
0 |
|
July 1, |
, 1901 |
80.00 |
|
July 1 |
, 1903 |
0 |
|
July 1, |
, 1905 Total |
0 |
|
46,139.61 |
||
|
Amoui |
it unpatented |
a . . . . 1,815.68 |
|
47,955.29 |
||
|
Error |
or duplicatic |
m . . . . 1,752.76 |
|
Amount < |
jf grant . . . 46,202.53 |
One should guard against believing that the entire amount of the saline lands was used for University support. It should be remembered that acts were passed providing for their use first for one purpose and then for another. It was not until 1860 that what was left of this grant was turned into the channel of University support. By that date, a large number of acres had been patented, and a much larger number had been sold. Thomas H. Benton, Jr., said in 1867 that *'in the settlement made w^ith the Board in the autumn of 1860, they received of the proceeds $9,064.64 in cash, and §20,507.10 in notes, making $29,571.74, includ- ing the $10,000 appropriated for buildings and apparatus, leaving a net balance of $19,571.74 and the unsold lands to be added to the University fund — the whole estimated by
10 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the Board at the time at $31,017.81."^ Mr. Benton stated that the amount of land unsold at that time and consequent- ly turned over to the University was 4,578.43 acres.
According to a letter received from the Clerk of the Iowa State Land Office, August 6, 1906, there were at that date 1,409.99 acres of the saline grant lands unsold.
THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE GRANT
It has been the policy of the Federal government to en- courage and aid in the establishment and maintenance of colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts in the various States of the Union. This policy was first outlined in an act of Congress, approved July 2, 1862, which provided for donations of public lands to the several States and Territo- ries which might found colleges for the teaching of branches of learning related to agriculture and the mechanic arts. It granted to the several States an amount of land such that each State should receive a quantity equal to 30,000 acres for each Senator and Representative in Congress to which the respective States were entitled under the census of I860. There was a provision that no mineral lands should be select- ed or purchased under this act. The lands, after being sur- veyed, were to be apportioned to the several States in sec- tions or subdivisions of not less than one-fourth of a section. The quantity of land to which any State was entitled was to be selected from any of the public lands in that State, sub- ject to private entry at $1.25 per acre. Where there was not a sufficient quantity of such land in any State to furnish the number of acres to which the State was entitled under
Benton's Historicdl Sketch of the State University qf Iowa, pp. 28-29.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA H
this grant, the Secretary of the Interior was directed to issue sufficient land scrip to make up the deficiency of that State's Bhai*e. This scrip was to be sold, and the proceeds from such sale were to be used for the purpose for which the grant was made.
All money derived from the sale of these lands, or scrip if such were issued, was to be invested in stocks of the United States, or of the States, or some other safe stocks, yielding not less than five per cent upon the par value of such stocks; and the money so invested was to constitute a permanent fund of which the capital should remain forever undiminished. The interest of this fund was to be inviola- bly appropriated "to the endowment, support, and mainte- nance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respect- ively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practi- cal education of the industrial classes in the several purauits and professions in life. " ^
To make sure that the entire proceeds from these lands should be applied, without any diminution whatever, to the purposes mentioned above, it was provided that all expenses of management, superintendence and taxes from the date of the selection of the lands until they should be sold, and all expenses incurred in the management and disbursement of the moneys received from such sales, should be paid out of the Treasuries of the States to which these lands should be-
^UniUd states Statutes at Large, Vol. XII, pp. 503-505.
12 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
long. Further, if any part of the funds invested or any of the interest thereon should by any action or contingency be diminished or lost, it was to be replaced by the State, so that the capital might remain forever undiminished. The annual interest was to be regularly applied without diminu- tion to the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one agricultural college, except that a sum not exceeding ten per cent upon the amount received by a State under this act might be expended for the purchase of lands for sites or ex- perimental farms, whenever the legislature of the State might authorize it. No portion of the permanent fund, nor the interest on it, was to be applied either directly or indirectly, under any pretense whatsoever to the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings.
This grant was to inure to any State only in case such State should provide at least one agricultural college within five years after claiming the benefits of the provisions of the act
Under the conditions laid down in this act, Iowa according to the census of 1860, being entitled to eight Senators and Representatives in Congress, was entitled to two hundred and forty thousand acres of land, upon complying with the requirements under which the grant was made. An act of . the legislature making provision for the founding of a State Agricultural College had already been passed (March 22, 1858),^ so Iowa was ready to immediately take advantage of this grant from the Federal government. Accordingly, the General Assembly, being convened in extra session, passed an act, approved September 11, 1862, accepting the lands,
^Xatoa of Iowa, 1858, pp. 178-179.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA 13
rights, powers, and privileges granted to and conferred upon the State of Iowa by the act of Congress discussed above, and upon the terms, conditions, and restrictions contained in that act. The Governor was authorized and required to appoint a Commissioner to select and locate this land under such restrictions as the Governor should direct. But only so many acres were to be selected in any county as there might be in such county subject to entry at $1.25 per acre, over and above the number of acres of swamp lands select- ed in such county; and no lands selected as swamp lands were to be selected by this Commissioner.
The list of selections so made by this Commissioner was to be reported to the Governor and by him laid before the Board of Trustees of the Iowa State Agricultural College and Farm. When approved by them, measures were to be taken to have the lands selected certified to the State by the Secretary of the Interior. This act appropriated one thou- sand dollars, or so much of that amount as might be neces- sary, to meet the expense of carrying out its provisions. ^
Under this act, Peter Melendy, of Blackhawk County, was appointed to select and locate the lands. He made the selections in the latter part of the year 1863, and they were approved by the Secretary of the Interior, December 1 3, 1864. Land selected within railroad limits was approved at double the value of other land; 35,691.66 acres of these ' 'double minimum" lands were selected, and being credited at double value, were accepted by theStateas 71,383.32 acres. When these lands are thus considered, the total quantity of land received under this grant is 240,000.96 acres.
^Law8 of Iowa, Extra Session, 1862, pp. 26-26.
14 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The following table gives the location of this land by counties, stating the number of acres Tiithin and without the railroad limits, and the total amount:
COUNTY
Bcuna Vista Calhoun Cherokee Clay . Dickinson Emmet Oreene Hamilton Humboldt Ida . Kossuth Lyon O'Brien Palo Alto Pocahontas Plymouth Sao
Sioux • Webster Winnebago Woodbury Worth Wright Error
Total
|
TABLE NO. X* |
||
|
▲MT. IN B. R. |
OUTAIDE B. B. |
TOTAL |
|
LIMITS |
LIMITS |
|
|
1,705.33 |
4,072.25 |
5,837.58 |
|
3,008.00 |
3,068.00 |
|
|
2,249.62 |
2,249.62 |
|
|
8,719.42 |
8,719.42 |
|
|
5,159.07 |
5,159.67 |
|
|
16,048.99 |
16,648.99 |
|
|
4,178.65 |
4,178.65 |
|
|
2,481.50 |
2,481.50 |
|
|
3,063.13 |
3,063.13 |
|
|
5,212.32 |
3,426.55 |
8,638.87 |
|
84,198.29 |
84,198.29 |
|
|
1,120.00 |
1,120.00 |
|
|
1,000.00 |
1,600.00 |
|
|
27,718.14 |
27,718.14 |
|
|
3,549.04 |
3,549.04 |
|
|
1,760.00 |
2,082.00 |
3,842.60 |
|
320.00 |
320.00 |
|
|
1,280.00 |
1,280.00 |
|
|
3,249.72 |
3,249.72 |
|
|
2,429.75 |
2,429.75 |
|
|
3,201.17 |
6,902.29 |
10,103.46 |
|
196.56 |
196.56 |
|
|
4,045.45 |
4,645 45 |
|
|
10.80 |
10.86 |
35,691.66 168,617.64 204,309.30
^Report cfthe Register of the State Land Cfflce^ 1865, pp. 120-130.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA 15
On March 29, 1864, there was approved an act of the General Assembly which formally granted to the Iowa State Agricultural College, situated on the Agricultural Farm in Story County, Iowa, the lands carried by the grant of July 2, 1862. By this act the interests on the proceeds arising from the sale of these lands, or any part thereof, and the rents accruing from the lease of any of such lands, were ap- propriated to the endowment, support and maintenance of the college, upon the terms, conditions, and restrictions con- tained in the act of Congress making the grant, and subject to such conditions and restrictions as future legislatures of Iowa might impose. The Board of Trustees of the Agri- cultural College were authorized to sell all of these lands in such tracts or parcels, and to such party or parties, and upon such terms of payment as they might deem proper and for the best interests of the institution. To the purchaser of any part of these lands, the President of the College and Farm was to issue a certificate, countersigned by the Secre- tary of the Board of Trustees, stating the fact of purchase, to whom sold, description of the land, terms of sale, and the amount paid for it. Upon the proper presentation of this certificate, properly endorsed, to the Register of the State Land Office, if full payment of the purchase money had been made, the Register was to issue a patent for the land.
Not more than ten per cent of the entire grant was to be sold in this manner by the Board of Trustees previous to the first day of April 1866, and none of it was to be sold by the Board for less than one dollar per acre. ^
^Law8 of Iowa, 1864, pp. 148-151.
16 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
This act also authorized the Trustees to lease for a tenn of ten or more years, any of these lands. The lessee of such lands was to pay six per cent per annum interest on the appraised value of the lands leased, with the privilege of purchasing the same at the expiration of the lease at the appraised value at the date of the lease. This appraised value was not to be less than ^1.25 per acre. In case the lessee should fail to pay the interest on his lease ^nthin six months after it became due he was to forfeit his lease, with all the improvements thereon, to the College.
All the proceeds of the lands thus sold, except ten per cent thereof, were to be invested in stocks of the United States, or of Iowa, or other safe stocks, yielding not less than five per cent upon the par value of such stocks. The interest or increase arising from such investment, or so much of it as might be necessary, was to be applied to the support and maintenance of the CoUege and Farm.
The Register of the State Land Office reported, Novem- ber 10, 1865, that none of the lands had been sold absolute- ly, but that 45,504.82 acres had been leased, of which the appraised valuation was $89,558.77^
Exactly two years after the approval of the act discussed above, the Eleventh General Assembly passed another act, approved March 29, 1866, regulating the sale and lease of lands belonging to the Iowa State Agricultural College. It was provided that none of these lands should be sold for a less sum than fifty per cent above the prices at which each piece respectively had been appraised in the year 1865. But any land could be sold by the purchaser paying one-fourth
^Report cfthe Register of the State Land Office, 1865, p. 130.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA 17
at the time of the sale, and the balance at any time within ten years from the day of sale, the purchaser to pay eight per cent interest, payable annually in advance, on the defer- red payment. Any failure to pay interest or principal wdth- in sixty days after it became due was to cause the purchaser to forfeit all claim to the land, as well as that portion of principal and interest already paid on the purchase.
Any of the lands could under this act be leased, in amounts not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres to any one man, for a term not to exceed ten years. The lessee was to pay in advance interest at the rate of eight per cent per annum upon the price of the land, the price of which was made fifty per cent additional to the price at which it had been appraised in 1865. The lessee failing to pay the interest on his lease within sixty days from the time it was due, w^as to forfeit his lease together w^ith all interest already paid and the improvements on the land.^
The Trustees were empowered to appoint agents to carry out the provisions of this act, and those of the act of March 29, 1864, which were not repealed by this one. Hon. G. W. Bassett was appointed such agent. In a report which he made in 1869, he gave the total number of acres leased to September 30, 1869, as 204,056.69. The appraised val- uation of this land was $487,608.59, or §2.39 per acre.^
On March 19, 1874, an act of the General Assembly was approved, which authorized the Board of Trustees to renew leases, for a term not exceeding ten years from the date of
^Latoa of Iowa, 1800, pp. 02-04.
* Report of the State Agricultural CoUege-and Farm, 1870, pp. 70-71, in Legisla- tive Documents, 1870, Vol. II.
18 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
renewal, and making such lands subject to assessment for taxation at the end of ten years from the date of the original lease. ^
Ten years later, March 27, 1884, an act of the legislature was approved, differing but little from that of March 19, 1874. The Trustees were empowered to still further extend leases, and to continue selling Agricultural College lands, on practically the same terms and conditions as had been pre- viously the case.^
On March 28, 1884, there was approved an act which pro- vided that the Board of Trustees should consist of one per- son from each congressional district of the State, elected by the General Assembly, to serve for a term of six years. Neither the President nor any other officer or employee of the College and Farm nor any member of the General As- sembly was to be eligible to the office of Trastee.^
By an act approved March 28, 1898, the Governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction were made ex-officio members of the Board of Trustees.*
The following table shows the number of acres of this grant patented during each biennial period :
TABLE NO. XI^
DATE OF RSPORT ACRES PATENTED DURING BIEKNIUM
November 10, 1809 .... 160.00
November 1, 1871 .... 3,242.69
November 1, 1873 .... 2,085.16
^Lawa of Iowa, 1874, p. 93.
»Law8 of Iowa, 1884, pp. 80-82.
*Law8 of Iowa, 1884, pp. 84-85.
*Law8 of Iowa, 1898, p. 46.
'^Report of the Register cf the State Land Office, 1869-1881, and Report of the Secretary cf State (Land Department), 1888-1905.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA
19
|
DATE OF SKPORT |
ACRES PATENTED DURINO BIENZaUM |
||||
|
November 1, 1875 .... 13,418.54 |
|||||
|
October 1, 1877 . |
10,775.61 |
||||
|
October 1, 1879 , |
1,440.00 |
||||
|
October 1, 1881 |
5,753.57 |
||||
|
July 1, 1883 |
6,580.97 |
||||
|
July 1, 1885 |
35,424.78 |
||||
|
July 1, 1887 |
24,534.67 |
||||
|
July 1, 1889 |
14,321.07 |
||||
|
June 30, 1891 |
32,344.20 |
||||
|
June 30, 1893 |
18,256.51 |
||||
|
July 1, 1895 |
11,409.91 |
||||
|
July 1, 1897 |
11,919.66 |
||||
|
July 1, 1899 |
4,888.51 |
||||
|
July 1, 1901 |
4,649.76 |
||||
|
June 30, 1903 |
1,480.00 |
||||
|
June 30, 1905 |
680.00 • |
||||
|
Total |
203,365.60 |
||||
|
Amount unpatented |
330.02 |
||||
|
Not accounted for |
607.68 |
||||
|
Amount of gi |
'ant . |
204,309.30 |
Of the 607.68 acres which appear on the above table as **not accounted for", 102.94 acres are accounted for by Geo. W. Bassett, Agent for Iowa Agricultural College, in his I'eport for 1870. He says *'the number of acres in the grant was reported to be 204,309.80, whereas the actual number of acres is 204, 206.86, a difference of 102. 94 acres. "^ Not any of the Agricultural College Grant land remains un- sold at the present time.
The following table shows the income of the Agricultural College from rentals and interest on the National endowment.
^Legislative Documents, 1870, Vol. U, Report of State AgricuUurdl College and Farm, p. 71.
20 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
TABLE NO. XIl^
YEAR
AMOUNT
TKAR
AMOUXT
1805
1800 1807 1808 1809 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1870 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885
|
$4,914.55 |
1880 |
|
4,923.27 |
1887 |
|
30,840.81 |
1888 |
|
23,241.75 |
1889 |
|
31,735.03 |
1890 |
|
32,400.42 |
1891 |
|
33,820.02 |
1892 |
|
29,001.78 |
1893 |
|
33,390.15 |
1894 |
|
30,779.32 |
1895 |
|
35,880.18 |
1890 |
|
34,930.17 |
1897 |
|
37,833.98 |
1898* |
|
38,200.30 |
1899 |
|
40,304.30 |
1900 |
|
41,791.24 |
1901 |
|
44,384.20 |
1902 |
|
48,135.77 |
1903 |
|
45,949.73 |
1904 |
|
40,721.89 |
1905 |
|
39,122.53 |
Total |
$45,355.^8 49,009.94 40,239.01 47,891.87 44,145.14 49,371.22 44,417.73 43,928.78 51,159.65 43,291.26 40,590.05 47,729.75 10,009.62 47,178.42 41,819.27 43,801.05 38,253.93 30,728.51 30,295.73 35,205.08
$1,504,170.34
THE FIVE SECTION GRANT
Another body of land which, like the Five Hundred Thou- sand Acre Grant, the Federal government gave to Iowa for purposes other than education, and which was diverted by the State into educational channels, was that known as the
^Census of loioa^ 1906, pp. cxix-cxx.
♦Partial year— November 11, 1897 to June 80, 1898. Change in ending of fia- cal year.
FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION IN IOWA 21
Five Section Grant The land conveyed by this grant be- came a part of the Agricultural College lands and therefore should be considered in a treatment of the sources of our educational funds.
In an act supplemental to that for the admission of the States of Florida and Iowa into the Union, approved March 3, 1845, Congress provided that five entire sections of land, in legal divisions of not less than a quarter section, be grant- ed to the State of Iowa. The purpose for which the pro- ceeds of this land were to be used was that of completing the public buildings of the State, or for the erection of public buildings at the seat of government of the State, as the leg- islature might determine and direct. These five sections were to be selected and located under direction of the legis- lature, and might consist of any of the unappropriated lands of the United States within the State of Iowa. ^
The State legislature accepted this grant, and, in order to carry out the provisions of the act by which it was made, passed an act February 22, 1847, in which John Brown of Lee County, Joseph D. Hoag, of Henry County, and John Taylor, of Jones County, were appointed Commissioners to locate the permanent seat of government of the State, and to select the lands granted by Congress to aid in erecting pub- lic buildings. 2 These Commissioners chose the entire 3,200 acres in Jasper County. The selections, described by sec- tion, township, and range, are shown in the following table:
» United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 790. *Lawa of Iowa, 1846, p. 85.
22 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
TABLE NO. Xni^
SECTION TWP. SANOB ACRES
Lots 6 & 8, and the S. W. i of 3 . . 78 N 20 W 320
Lots 5, 6, 7, & 8, and S. E. & S. W. i of 4 78 20 640
Lots 5, 6, 7, & 8, and S. E. & S. W. i of 5 78 20 640
Sec. 8 78 20 640
Sec. 9 78 20 640
W. i of 10 78 20 320
Total 3,200
In an act approved March 22, 1858, the General Assem- bly provided for the establishment of a State Agricnltural College and Farm. Of this act, section eleven stated that ^* There is hereby appropriated the proceeds of the sale of five sections of land heretofore granted to the State of Iowa by Congress for the erection of Capitol buildings, for the use and benefit of the college herein established : Provided Congress diverts the same for this purpose. "^
On the following day, March 23, 1858, there was ap- proved an unpublished resolution asking Congress for a diver- sion of thes^ five section lands from their originally intended use in the erection of public buildings. This resolution in- structed Iowa's Senators in Congress and requested her Rep- resentatives to endeavor to obtain the passage of an act of Congress authorizing the use of the five sections of land for the benefit of the Agricultural College and Model Farm.'
In response to this request, Congress passed an act July 11, 1862, in which it was enacted that the