Chapter 5 (translation): The State and Its Organization

Chapter 5
The State and its Organization


Currently, the state of Iowa is divided into 99 counties or Grafschaften [the German term for any territory under the jurisdiction of a "count," or Graf]. There were only two counties in 1836, Dubuque and Des Moines. The whole area above Rock Island (or Davenport) was Dubuque, and Des Moines County was below.
Each county in turn is divided into congressional townships, each of it with 36 square miles. The number of those are different in the individual counties since they do not have the same size. The townships are divided into sections. One section is an English mile squared, 320 rods long and 320 rods wide and contains 640 acres. The acres comprise 160 square miles and the rod measures 16 ½ feet.
Iowa, like every other federal state, is represented by two senators in the upper house of Congress. The present senators are: William B. Allison from Dubuque and John H. Gear from Burlington. Senators are elected for six years. Since the state entered the Union, the following citizens have held this high office:

George W. Jones, from 1848-1859
Augustus C. Dodge, ,, 1848-1855
James Harlan ,, 1856-1873
James W. Grimes, ,, 1859-1869
Samuel J. Kirkwood, ,, 1866-1867

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James B. Howell, from 1870-1871
Georg G. Wright, ,, 1871-1877
William B. Allison, ,, 1873-1903
Samuel J. Kirkwood, ,, 1876-1881
James McDill, ,, 1881-1882
James F. Wilson, ,, 1882-1894
John H. Gear, ,, 1894-1900

The state is divided into eleven congressional districts. The current representatives, as well as the counties belonging to the districts, are:
1st District – Thomas Hedge, Davenport. Composed of the counties Lee, Van Buren, Jefferson Henry, Des Moines, Louisa and Washington
2nd District – Joseph R. Lane, Davenport. Composed of the counties Iowa, Johnson, Muscatine, Scott, Clinton and Jackson.
3rd District – David B. Henderson, Dubuque. Composed of the counties Wright, Franklin, Hardin, Butler, Bremer, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Delaware and Dubuque.
4th District - Gilbert N. Haugen, Northwood. Composed of the counties Worth, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Mitchell, Howard, Chickasaw, Fayette, Winneshiek, Allamakee and Clayton.
5th District - Robert G. Cousins, Tipton. Composed of the counties Grundy, Marshall, Tama, Benton, Linn, Jones and Cedar.
6th District - John F. Lacey, Oskaloosa. Composed of the counties Jasper, Poweshiek, Keokuk, Mahaska, Monroe, Wapello and Davis.
7th District - John A. T. Hull, Des Moines. Composed of the counties Story, Polk, Dallas, Madison, Warren and Marion.
8th District - William P. Hepburn, Clarinda. Composed of the counties Appanoose, Wayne, Lucas, Clarke, Decatur, Ringgold, Union, Adams, Page and Fremont.

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9th District - Smith McPherson, Red Oak. Composed of the counties Adair, Guthrie, Audubon, Caß, Montgomery, Mills, Pottawattamie, Shelby, and Harrison.
10th District - Jonathan P. Dolliver, Ft. Dodge. Composed of the counties Boone,
Greene, Carroll, Crawford, Clahoun, Webster, Hamilton, Humbold, Pocahontas, Palo Alto, Emmet, Kossuth, Hancock and Winnebago.
11th District - Lot Thomas, Storm Lake. Composed of the counties Monona, Woodbury, Ida, Sac, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Plymouth, Sioux, O'Brien, Clay, Dickinson, Osceola and Lyon.

The state is further divided into 50 senatorial and 100 representative districts. The senators are elected for four years, the representatives for two years. Regular meetings are held every two years. The governor is able to convene extraordinary sessions. 
There are 20 district judges and seven chief justices. These judges are all elected for four years. The cities Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs and Keokuk have their own courts (superior courts). The state administration rests in the hands of the following officials, who are elected by the citizens every two years.

Iowa’s Executives 1900

Governor
Leslie M. Shaw..................from Crawford County

Lieutenant Governor
J. C. Milliman..................from Harrison County

State Secretary
G. L. Dobson..................from Polk County

State Auditor
Frank F. Merriam..................from Delaware County

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State Treasurer
John Herriott..................from Guthrie County

State School Superintendent
Richard C. Barrett..................from Mitchell County

Railroad Commissioner
David J. Palmer..................from Washington County 
Welcome Mowry...........................from Tama
Edward A. Dawson..........from Bremer


Authority of State Institutions
William Larrabee..................from Fayette County
Lavega G. Kinne..................from Polk
John Cownie..................from Iowa

General Adjutant and Quartermaster
Melvin H Byers………………..from Mills County

Commissioner for Labor Statistics
W. E. O’Bleneß………………from Polk County

Commissioner for Dairy
Byron P. Norton………………from Howard County

State Commissioner for Fish and Game 
Georg E. Delavan……………..from Emmet County

State Veterinarian
James J. Gibson………………from Crawford County

Director of Public Buildings and Sites
J.D. Garrauch……………….from Polk County

State Librarian
John Brigham……………..from Polk County

Curator and Secretary of the Historical Collection 
Charles Albrich………………from Boone County

Oil Inspectors
H. M. Pickell..................Des Moines.
J. B. M. Bischop..................Toledo.
Frank J. Young..................Denison.

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Simon H. Bauman..................Mt. Vernon.
C. F. Gullixson..................Bode.
C. R. Meyers..................Mason City.
Chas. H. Hare..................Oskaloosa.
Louis Reinstein..................Burlington.
W. D. Hartman..................Waterloo.
John O’Keefe..................Creston.
F. O. Udall..................Dubuque.
Theo. Guittar..................Co. Bluffs.
Wm. A. Welch..................Oto.
Ad. Crawshaw..................Clinton

State Mine Inspectors
James A. Campbell, 1st district………………Ottumwa 
John Werner, 2nd district…………………Oskaloosa 
James W. Miller, 3rd district………………..Des Moines

Examiners for Mine Inspectors 
Floyd Davis………………Des Moines
Alexander Dargavel…………….Centerville 
James E. Stout……………….Des Moines 
John Owens……………..Beacon
Joseph W. Lewis……………..Hiteman


State Superintendent for Weights and Measures 
Prof. L. G. Weld………………Iowa City

Boat Inspectors
James Carmody………………Monona County
J.C. Bixby………………Co. Bluffs Chas A. Beebe………………Mason City Richard N. Wilcox………………Ottumwa
Arthur E. Arp………………Okoboji David G. Fleming………………Des Moines

State Printer
Freeman R. Conaway………………Poweshiek County

State Binder
Lafayette Young………………Polk County

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State Weather Service Director 
John R. Sage………………Des Moines

State Geologist
Samuel Calvin………………Iowa City

Council for Execution
Governor, state secretary, state auditor and state treasurer

Trustees of the State Library
Governor, state secretary, state superintendent and judges of the high court

Council of Geology
Governor, auditor and presidents of the state university, the school of agriculture and the academy of science

State Examiner of Insurance Max Beehler………………..Manchester

Bank Examiners
Robert B. Raines………………..Independence
H. J. Blackburn………………..Des Moines
P. L. Sever………………..Stuart
F. A. Bennett………………..Manning

Salaries of state officials per year
Governor $3,000
Lieutenant governor, for every session of the legislature $1,100
State secretary $2,200
Auditor $2,200
Treasurer $2,200
State school superintendent $2,200
Railroad commissioner $2,200
Member of authority of state institution $3,000
General adjutant $1,500
Commissioner for labor statistic $1,500
Commissioner for Dairy $1,500

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Commissioner for Hunting and Fishery $1,200
State veterinarian $5 per day
Director of public buildings 1500
State librarian $1,200
Curator of the historical collection $1,200 
Oil inspectors $1,200
Mine inspectors $1,200
Weather service director $4,000
Examiner of buildings and loans $5 per day
Bank examiner fees
Chief justice $4,000
State attorney $4,000
Secretary of the high court $2,200
District judges $2,500
Members of the legislature, for every meeting $550
Council of execution $500
Members of the pharmaceutical commission $5 per day
Oil inspector, $50 per month and 25% by fees

High court of Iowa
Charles T. Granger, chief justice..................Waukon.
Josiah Given, judge..................Des Moines.
Scott M. Ladd, judge..................Sheldon.
Chas. M. Waterman, judge..................Davenport.
Horace E. Deemer, judge..................Red Oak.
John C. Sherwin, judge..................Mason City.
Milton Remley, judge..................Iowa City.
Chas A. Van Vleck, assistant advocate general..................
C. T. Jones, secretary..................Washington Co. Howard M. Jones, assistant secretary....
Benjamin J. Salinger, keeper of the minutes of the high court. Manning.

The governors of Iowa 
The first governor of Iowa, Ansel K. Briggs, was elected in 1846.
He was followed by the following governors in sequence and for the years in which they were elected:

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Stephen Hempstead, of Dubuque County 1850
James W. Grimes, of Des Moines County 1854
Ralph P. Lowe, of Lee County 1857
Samuel J. Kirkwood, of Johnson County 1859
Wm. M. Stone, of Marion County 1863
Samuel Merrill, of Clayton County 1867
Cyrus C. Carpenter, of Webster County 1871
Samuel J. Kirkwood, of Johnson County 1875
Joshua G. Newbold, of Henry County  
John H. Gear, of Des Moines County 1877
Buren R. Sherman, of Benton County 1881
W. Larrabee, of Fayette County 1885
Horace Boies, of Black Hawk County 1889
Frank D. Jackson, of Polk County 1893
Francis M. Drake, of Appanoose County 1895
Leslie M. Shaw, of Crawford County 1897