392 



IOWA. 



tion for ten years. It is probable that if they 

 are built considerable of the capital required will 

 come from other States. Will we lose anything 

 by inviting it to come? " 



The official crop report for 1899 shows a total 

 of farm products of the value of $194,605,706, 

 to which, the director says, should be added the 

 increment gained by consumption of crops in the 

 production of beef, pork, mutton, wool, dairy and 

 poultry products, horses, etc. This would make 

 the aggregate value of all soil products for the 

 year not less than $230,000,000. 



Public Lands. A statement of the business 

 of the Bureau of Public Lands for the two years 

 ending in October shows that 1 lot and 14,327 

 acres have been patented. There still remain 44,- 

 925 acres in the various grants, exclusive of swamp 

 and railroad lands, which can not be estimated. 



Fisheries. The biennial report of the Fish 

 Commissioner shows that 650,000 adult fish have 

 been put into Lake Okoboji during the period, 

 475,000 into Spirit lake, and 2,844,000 into the 

 rivers and smaller lakes of the State, making a 

 total of over 4,000,000 with which all the waters 

 of the State have been stocked. The receipts of 

 the department amounted to $9,000, the expendi- 

 tures $6,724.47, leaving a balance of $2,275.53. 



Political. Six tickets were before the people 

 for the State election in November Republican, 

 Democratic, Prohibitionist, Populist, Socialist- 

 Labor, and United Christian. 



The Republicans in convention, Aug. 2, adopted 

 resolutions approving the national and State ad- 

 ministrations; they also approved the candidacy 

 of D. B. Henderson for Speaker of the House of 

 Representatives, denounced the Chicago platform 

 and its declaration in favor of free trade and 

 free-silver coinage at the ratio of 16 to 1, and its 

 attacks upon the courts ; favored legislation to up- 

 build American commerce ; said of trusts : " In- 

 dustry and commerce should be left free to pur- 

 sue their method according to the natural laws 

 of the world, but when the business aggregations 

 known as trusts prove hurtful to the people they 

 must be restrained by natural laws, and, if need 

 be, abolished " ; and declared that " there shall 

 be no division among us until all in arms against 

 the flag shall confess its supreme rights and 

 power, and shall know that even in the farthest 

 East it is the sign and promise of equal law, of 

 justice, and liberty throughout the land and to 

 all the inhabitants thereof." 



The nominations were: For Governor, Leslie 

 M. Shaw; Lieutenant Governor, J. C. Milliman; 

 Supreme Judge, J. C. Sherwin; Railroad Commis- 

 sioner, E. A. Dawson; Superintendent, R. C. Bar- 

 rett. 



The Democratic State Convention was held 

 Aug. 16. A Populist convention was held at the 

 same time, and a ticket was agreed upon. The 

 resolutions of the Democrats approved the Chi- 

 cago platform, favored the nomination of Wil- 

 liam J. Bryan in 1900, approved the Spanish war, 

 and said further: "The attempt, unauthorized 

 by Congress, to conquer the natives of Oriental 

 islands is a repudiation of the American doctrine 

 of consent affirmed in the Declaration of Inde- 

 pendence, and in conflict with the principles which 

 George Washington and his fellow-patriots of the 

 Revolution made sacrifices to establish. 



" We also condemn the war against the Fili- 

 pinos, believing it to have been inspired by Great 

 Britain for the purpose of producing conditions 

 that will force an Anglo-American alliance, and 

 we not only protest against the war and demand 

 its termination by extension to the Filipinos of 

 the same assurance given to the Cubans, but we 



record our deep-seated antagonism to an alliance 

 with Great Britain or any other European power, 

 and express our detestation of the attempt made 

 in British interests to disrupt the friendly rela- 

 tions which have uniformly existed between the 

 United States and Germany. We oppose conquest 

 of the Philippines because imperialism means mili- 

 tarism, because militarism means government by 

 force, and because government by force means 

 death of government by consent, destruction of 

 political and industrial freedom, and the oblitera- 

 tion of equality of rights and association of demo- 

 cratic institutions. 



" It is our solemn conviction that the trusts 

 must be destroyed or they will destroy free gov- 

 ernment. And .we demand that they be sup- 

 pressed by the repeal of the protective tariff and 

 other privilege-conferring legislation responsible 

 for them by enactment of such legislation, State 

 and national, as will aid in their destruction." 



Other resolutions condemned contract convict 

 labor and the policy of the State administration. 

 The platform of the Populists was of similar im- 

 port. The ticket follows: For Governor, Fred E. 

 White; Lieutenant Governor, M. L. Bevis; Su- 

 preme Judge, A. Van Wagenen; Railroad Com- 

 missioner, W. H. Calhoun; Superintendent of Pub- 

 lic Instruction, B. P. Hoist. Mr. Calhoun is a 

 Populist. 



The other wing of the People's party held a 

 convention at Des Moines Aug 30. The Omaha 

 platform was approved; free coinage of silver 

 at 16 to 1 was advocated; direct legislation and 

 proportional representation were demanded; it 

 was declared that the evil of trusts can be done 

 away with not by restrictive legislation, but only 

 by public ownership of natural and economic 

 monopolies; and the resolutions concluded: 

 " The declaration of Congress ' that the people of 

 Cuba are and of right ought to be free and in- 

 dependent ' should apply with equal force and ef- 

 fect to the Filipino and his native land, and that 

 the same rights and liberties so guaranteed to 

 one by the United States should also immediately 

 be guaranteed the other and tendered to both." 



The following nominations were made: For 

 Governor, Charles A. Lloyd; Lieutenant Gov- 

 ernor, S. M. Harvey; Judge of Supreme Court, L. 

 H. Weller; Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

 C. Wirth ; Railroad Commissioner, R. L. Dunning. 



A new party, the United Christian, was organ- 

 ized this year, and held its State convention early 

 in July. It aims to unite all Christian voters at 

 the ballot box. Following is a part of the plat- 

 form: 



"We declare for the adoption of the system 

 of direct legislation known as the * initiative and 

 referendum,' together with proportionate repre- 

 sentation and the 'imperative mandate,' that the 

 power of the people may be justly and effectually 

 exercised, being governed in all things, law mak- 

 ing included, by the standard, ' What would 

 Jesus do ? ' 



" We advocate this system of government, and- 

 present it to the people as the only practical 

 method of securing State and national reform. 



" We will not cast our ballots in any other 

 than the name of Jesus Christ, and we will en- 

 deavor to be guided by God, the Father, Son, 

 and Holy Ghost. Amen." 



The ticket was: For Governor, C. C. Heacock; 

 for Lieutenant Governor, J. R. Leonard ; for 

 Judge of the Supreme Court, John M. Helmick ; 

 for Superintendent of Public Instruction, W. C. 

 Pidgeon; for Railroad Commissioner, C. Z. Lind- 

 ley. F. W. Darner was afterward made the candi- 

 date for Justice of the Supreme Court. 



