IOWA. 



397 



An act was also passed discontinuing the office 

 of Register of Lands and uniting its functions 

 with that of Secretary of State, who is allowed 

 an additional clerk. The law in relation to 

 capital punishment was so modified as to em- 

 power the court to pass sentence in case of a 

 plea of guilty, but to allow the jury to name 

 the punishment in case of conviction by their 

 verdict. An act was passed providing for a 

 " badge of honor" to be given by the State to 

 every honorably discharged soldier, and every 

 citizen of the State who served in the navy 

 during the civil war. An act was also passed 

 regulating the practice of pharmacy and the 

 sale of medicines and poisons under the super- 

 vision of three Commissioners of Pharmacy to 

 be appointed by the Governor. 



The political canvass of the year opened with 

 a convention of the Democrats at Burlington 

 on the 7th of April, at which delegates were 

 chosen to the National Convention of the party 

 to be held at Cincinnati in June. Four dele- 

 gates from the State at large, and two from 

 each of the nine Congressional districts were 

 elected, and the following report of a com- 

 mittee on resolutions was adopted : 



The Democrats of Iowa reassert and reiterate their 

 faith in the principles of the Democratic party as 

 taught by the fathers of the republic ; denounce the 

 fraud and corruption of the Republican party policy 

 deprecate the policy tending to imperialism, evidenced 

 by the continued usurpation of power by the few, by 

 which monopolies are encouraged, labor and industry 

 oppressed, and the liberties of the people threatened. 

 The Democrats of Iowa are now, as in the past, in 

 favor of the two-thirds rule in the National Democratic 

 Convention in selecting candidates for President and 

 Vice-President of the United States. 



A Republican Convention for the appoint- 

 ment of delegates to the national gathering of 

 the party at Chicago was held at Des Moines 

 on the 14th of April. The resolutions adopted 

 were as follows : 



Resolved, By the Eepublican party of Iowa, in State 

 Convention assembled : 



1. That adhering to the principles of the Republican 

 party, as heretofore announced t>y its National Con- 

 ventions, we do not deem it necessary or expedient at 

 this time to restate them in the form of a platform. 



2. That we insist on the nomination of well-known 

 Republicans, of national reputation for ability, purity, 

 experience in public affairs, and adhesion to the princi- 

 ples of the Republican party, for President and Vice- 

 President of the United States by the National Repub- 

 lican Convention. 



3. That as Republicans of Iowa, recognizing in the 

 Hon. James G. Elaine, of Maine, a man of tried in- 

 tegrity, of uncompromising loyalty and patriotism, of 

 commanding ability, both as a leader and statesman, 

 and as a fearless advocate of the principles whicb have 

 preserved the Union and given undying luster to the 

 party of which he is the admired representative, we 

 take pleasure in recording the facttbat he is the prefer- 

 ence of the Republicans of Iowa for the office of Presi- 

 dent of the United States ; and while we pledge our- 

 selves to support the nominee of the Chicago Conven- 

 tion, we nevertheless declare it as our conviction that 

 no other candidate will develop the enthusiasm or call 

 out the number of votes that would be polled by the 

 American people for James G. Elaine as the standard- 

 bearer of the Republican party in the National contest 

 of 1830. 



4. That the delegation of this Convention to Chicago 

 be instructed to cast the vote of Iowa as a unit, and 

 that the delegation be further instructed to use all 

 honorable means to secure the nomination for Presi- 

 dent of Hon. James G. Elaine. 



A convention of the National Greenback- 

 Labor party took place at Des, Moines on the 

 19th and 20th of May, at which delegates to 

 the National Convention were appointed, and 

 candidates nominated for State offices, and for 

 Presidential electors. The nominees for State 

 offices were: G. M. Walker for Secretary of 

 State ; Matthew Farrington for Treasurer ; G. 

 V. Swevenger for Auditor; W. A. Spurrier 

 for Attorney-General ; and Thomas Hooker 

 for Register of the Land Office. A platform 

 was adopted, of which the following are the 

 material declarations: 



1. Resolved, That all currency, whether metallic or 

 paper, necessary for the use and convenience of the 

 people, should be issued and controlled by the Gov- 

 ernment, and not by or through the bank corpora- 

 tions of the country ; and when so issued shall be a 

 full legal tender for the payment of all debts, public 

 and private. 



2. Resolved, That so much of the interest-bearing 

 debt of the United States as shall become redeemable 

 in the year 1881, or prior thereto, being in amount 

 $782,000,000, shall not be refunded beyond the power 

 of the Government to call in said obligations and pay 

 them at any time ? but shall be paid as rapidly as pos- 

 sible, and according to contract. To enable the Gov- 

 ernment to meet these obligations, the mints of the 

 United States should be operated to their full capacity 

 in the coinage of standard silver dollars, and such 

 other coinage as the business of the country may 

 require. 



3. Resolved, That as the producing classes are now 

 enslaved by interest-bearing debt, therefore we arc un- 

 alterably opposed to all bonded indebtedness. 



4. Resolved, That the payment of the bonds in coin, 

 originally payable in lawful money, was a gift to the 

 bondholder, and the payment of the soldier in paper, 

 when by contract payable in coin, was and is an un- 

 just discrimination in favor of the bondholder ; there- 

 fore we demand, in justice to the soldier, that he be 

 paid according to contract. 



5. Resolved, That we are opposed to the importa- 

 tion of Chinese semi-barbarous labor, regarding it as 

 a paralysing and degrading system that will, unless 

 checked, undermine American free labor. 



6. Resolved, That we demand the immediate pas- 

 sage by Congress of a law for the equalization of 

 soldiers' bounties similar to the one vetoed by Presi- 

 dent Grant. 



8. Resolved, That the right of suffrage, free press 

 and speech, are the inalienable rights of every citizen 

 of the United States. 



9. Resolved, That we denounce the discrimination 

 between Government clerks and Government labor 

 ers ; the clerks working six hours and the laborers ten 

 hours. 



10. Resolved, That we are opposed to a large stand- 

 ing army, either National or State, in times of profound 

 peace, eating out the substance or the people. 



Resolved, That we, as the National Greenback -Labor 

 party, know no North, no South, no East, no West. 



Resolved, That all banks of issue and all monopolies 

 must go. 



The Republican Convention for making nom- 

 inations was held at Des Moines on the 25th of 

 August. The candidates agreed upon for State 

 offices were as follows : Secretary of State, 

 J. A. T. Hull ; Treasurer, Major E. Conger ; 



