IOWA 



3037 



IOWA 



Naturally enough, in the foremost live stock 

 state of the country, slaughtering and meat- 

 packing ranks first among the industries, the 

 total value of its product being more than 

 twice that of any other industry. Dairy 

 products factory-made butter, cheese and con- 

 densed milk rank second, and flour and grist- 

 mill products, foundry and machine-shop prod- 

 ucts and agricultural implements are made in 

 large quantities. Strangely, in a state which 

 contains practically no forests, the lumber 

 industry once attained considerable propor- 

 tons, logs being brought to the sawmills from 

 Minnesota and Wisconsin. Of late years this 

 industry has declined, as more mills have been 

 erected in the forested states. In general, how- 

 ever, it may be said of the industries of Iowa 

 that they are growing. The increase of the 

 population of the cities at the expense of that 

 of the country districts indicates that more and 

 more wage-earners are turning from the soil 

 to the factory as a means of livelihood. Cer- 

 tain cities, as Sioux City, for example, have 

 had a phenomenal industrial growth, its total 

 manufactures increasing in value over 153 per 

 cent in five years, from 1904 to 1909. The 

 manufacturing towns of the eastern part of the 

 state are expected to be helped by the electric 

 power from the Keokuk Dam (which see). 



The Mississippi River helps Iowa to one of 

 its most characteristic and interesting industries, 

 by furnishing mussels. From the shells of these 

 are made pearl buttons of a very good quality, 

 the industry centering at Muscatine. 



Transportation. The districts along the 

 Mississippi make considerable use of that 

 stream, especially since the difficulties of the 

 so-called Des Moines Rapids have been over- 

 come by the construction of a canal from 

 Keokuk to Montrose; but for the most part 



the state depends little upon waterways. For 

 like most of these north-central states it has 

 excellent railway transportation, a number of 

 the great transcontinental trunk lines, as the 

 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific ; the Chicago, 

 Burlington and Quincy, and the Chicago, Mil- 

 waukee and Saint Paul, crossing it. Its total 

 mileage of 9,998 gives it fourth rank among 

 the states, and affords such excellent facilities 

 that few farms in all the state are more than 

 six or eight miles from a railway station. 

 Des Moines, the capital and chief city, is a 

 railway center of considerable importance. 



Iowa was not one of the first states to take 

 up the building of electric railways, and only 

 in comparatively recent years have interurban 

 roads been built. At the beginning of 1915 

 there were within the state 452 miles of such 

 lines. 



According to a statute of 1911, Iowa has an 

 official known as the commerce counsel, who 

 stands as the representative of the people in 

 all commercial matters. He investigates the 

 rates imposed by railway and express com- 

 panies and reports on them, stating whether in 

 his judgment such charges are just. 



Government . The constitution adopted when 

 Iowa was admitted to the Union in 1846 

 remained in force but eleven years, a'nd that 

 under which the state is at present governed 

 dates from 1857. As in most states, amend- 

 ments may originate in either house of the 

 legislature, and a majority vote of the people, 

 as well as of both houses, is necessary before an 

 amendment becomes an actual part of the con- 

 stitution. Every tenth year, counting from 

 1870, the question of revising and amending the 

 constitution is submitted to the people, and if 

 a majority of them favor it, delegates for that 

 purpose are appointed. 



i :y j. 



IZDNON PRODUCING m& 2 50,000 TOT 00,000 TONS tZHS> 2500 f $5000 per square mile 



BMLESS THAN 100.000 TONS ^500,OOOTO 1.000.000 TONS 



^100.000 TO 250,000 TON5BBI,000,OOOTON5and over WSM& 5000 and over per square mile. 



PRODUCTION OF COAL FIELDS, PER YEAR ANNUAL VALUE OF FARM PRODUCTS 



The diagrams are made from official figures of the United States Bureau of the Census. 



