380 



IOWA. 



was held in Clarke County, and women voted. 

 The legality of the issue of bonds by virtue of 

 such elections will undoubtedly be brought be- 

 fore the courts, as it is held that the Legislature 

 has no power to grant the right; that it can 

 only be given by constitutional amendment. 



Labor Troubles. The State Miners' Conven- 

 tion, held at Albia in May, decided to order a 

 strike. On May 5 the coal miners of Boone Coun- 

 ty struck, out of sympathy for the eastern miners, 

 and those of Polk, Mahaska, and other counties 

 followed. It was believed that if Iowa miners 

 furnished coal for shipment to other States the 

 result would be injurious to the striking miners 

 in those States. Militia were sent to Evans, 

 Mahaska County, where strikers were intimidat- 

 ing men trying to work ; but the troops were soon 

 withdrawn, as no serious trouble was developed. 

 A conference was held at Oskaloosa, June 9, be- 

 tween miners and operators, and a settlement 

 was effected, the scale of wages and regulations 

 of 1893 being restored, the operators agreeing to 

 make no discrimination against any of the men 

 on account of their part in the strike, since no 

 acts of violence had been committed. 



The railroad service in the State was affected 

 by the general strike in July. At Council Bluffs 

 there was a lockout, the Rock Island discharging 

 all the yardmen and others. At Sioux City a 

 railroad bridge was burned. At Ottumwa an en- 

 gine on a passenger train was ditched, and the 

 engineer and fireman were killed. In some local- 

 ities the abandonment of freight trains caused 

 hardship to miners who had been out during the 

 miners' strike, and were again deprived of work 

 by the impossibility of the coal's being moved. 

 Business on the Rock Island in the State was 

 completely suspended, and the service on all the 

 roads was affected very seriously. At Sioux City,, 

 in July, 1,400 strikers were gathered into a mob, 

 and the railway company could not protect its 

 property. The Governor was appealed to, and 

 he ordered 8 companies of militia to the city. 



A decision in regard to wages was given in 

 the circuit court at Council Bluffs, in October, 

 in answer to a petition by the receiver of the 

 Omaha and St. Louis (Wabash) Railroad, asking 

 permission to reduce wages of employees accord- 

 ing to a schedule he had drawn up. The em- 

 ployees filed a protest, and a master in chancery 

 was appointed to render an opinion. He de- 

 cided in favor of the receiver, but the judge, 

 after hearing the evidence, reversed the decision. 

 Reciting the recent decision of Judge Caldwell, 

 that employees must be paid fair wages even 

 though no dividends are realized, he showed by 

 comparison that the employees of the road were 

 not receiving more than those of other roads, 

 except in two branches of the service ; and said 

 further that he could not regard as having much 

 weight the argument that since many railroad 

 men were out of employment the places could 

 be filled for less money, since the retention of 

 faithful and capable men is of more importance 

 than temporary decrease in wages. 



The San Francisco division of the Coxey Army 

 entered the State at Council Bluffs in April, 

 causing some apprehension. The Governor or- 

 dered out several companies of militia to pre- 

 serve peace, and the authorities of the North- 

 western Railway directed that every empty car 



and engine be run out of the city. Much in- 

 dignation was aroused by the refusal to allow 

 the Industrials to take shelter in the amphithea- 

 ter on the Chautauqua grounds where they were 

 encamped, during a severe thunder and hail 

 storm. The militia were quartered in a build- 

 ing 300 yards distant, and drove them back at 

 the point of the bayonet. The commanding 

 officer said there had already been friction, and 

 to bring them so near together would be danger- 

 ous. A meeting to denounce the treatment of 

 the Industrials was held in Omaha, and the Gov- 

 ernor was asked by the people of Council Bluffs 

 to remove the troops. He ordered them back to 

 their quarters at the transfer depot. A consider- 

 able amount of money was contributed to the 

 army. The Governor was advised to get posses- 

 sion of a train and carry the army at once across 

 the State. The excitement at Omaha and Coun- 

 cil Bluffs was intense, and the feeling against 

 the authorities of the Northwestern was very 

 strong. A mob attempted to seize a train, run 

 to the camp, take the army on board, and carry 

 them to Chicago. The railroads having refused 

 transportation, the Industrials had announced 

 an intention to travel along the line of the Rock 

 Island road, leading through one of the farming 

 portions of the State, going on foot and depend- 

 ing upon contributions of supplies. Consider- 

 ing this plan a serious menace to the peace of 

 the country to be traversed, the Governor, hav- 

 ing appealed to the railroads in vain either to 

 carry the army or hire to him a train, tried 

 to get steamboats to carry the men down the 

 Missouri. Nothing came of it, and the army 

 marched to Des Moines, being helped on the way 

 by farmers' wagons; at Des Moines flatboats 

 were provided, and they passed down Des Moines 

 river. 



Legislative Session. The twenty-fifth Gen- 

 eral Assembly met Jan. 8, and adjourned April 6. 

 Candidates for the office of United States Sena- 

 tor to succeed J. F. Wilson were John H. Gear, 

 Republican, and Horace Boies, Democrat. Mr. 

 Gear, received 61 of the 74 votes cast. 



Among the important measures of the session 

 was a new liquor law, designed especially for the 

 relief of those localities where the prohibitory 

 law could not be enforced. The principal pro- 

 visions of the bill known as the Mulct Law, are 

 the following : A tax of $600 per annum is to 

 be assessed against every one, except registered 

 pharmacists holding permits, who shall be en- 

 gaged in the sale of intoxicating liquors, and 

 upon any real property and the owner thereof 

 where such liquors are sold ; and such taxes are 

 to be a perpetual lien upon all property, person- 

 al and real, used in or connected with the busi- 

 ness. Assessments are to be made in December, 

 March, June, and September, and returned to 

 the county auditor by the assessor of each town- 

 ship; and if he fail to perform his duty. ;my 

 3 citizens of the county can procure the listing 

 of names and places by a verified statement ad- 

 dressed to the county auditor. Any person so 

 assessed shall have the right of appeal to the 

 board of supervisors. Either the petitioner <>- 

 the county attorney may appeal to the district 

 court. The tax shall be" levied by the board of 

 supervisors in September, and shall be payable 

 semiannually on or before the 1st day of April 



