Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/223

 IOWA 20J) people, the term of office being in each case two years. No one is eligible for the office of governor or lieutenant- governor who is less than thirty years of age, or has not been a citizen of the United States and of the State for at least two years. The governor is cornmauder-in-chief of the militia. He has the power of filling vacancies in office in cases for which the law does not otherwise provide, of calling the general assembly to meet in extra session, of vetoing laws passed by the general assembly, and of pardoning persons convicted of any crime excepting treason. The lieutenant-governor is ex oflicio president of the State senate ; and, in the event of the death, resignation, or removal of the governor, he assumes his office. The legislative department is vested iu the general assembly, which consists of a senate and house of repre sentatives. The former consists of not more than 50 senators, who are elected for terms of four years. Each senator must be at least twenty-five years of a^e, and must be a citizen of the State. The house of representa tives consists of not more than 100 representatives. Their term of office is two years. A representative must have attained the age of twenty-one years. The general as sembly meets at DCS Moines (which since 1857 has been the capital), and holds a regular session once in two years. The judicial department comprises a supreme court and district and circuit courts. Its officers are the judges of the several courts, clerk and reporter of the supreme court, attorney-general and district attorneys, all of whom are elected by the people. The supreme court consists of four judges, whose term of office is six years. The senior in office is the chief justice. The State is divided into a certain number of judicial districts, in each of which are elected every four years a judge of the district and of the circuit court and a district attorney. The latter is the prosecuting attorney for his district. The representation of the State in the national congress consists of two senators, chosen by joint ballot of the two houses of tha general assembly, and of nine representatives, elected directly by the people of the congressional districts. The State is divided into ninety-nine counties. Their officers are all elected by the people, and the tenure of office is two years. They are three, five, or seven super visors (who collectively form a &quot;board of supervisors&quot;), an auditor, a clerk of the district and circuit courts, a sheriff, treasurer, recorder, superintendent of schools, coroner, and surveyor. The board of supervisors have authority over the property of the county, levy State and county taxes, and keep in repair roads and bridges. Each county is divided into civil townships, which are in most cases 6 .miles square, corresponding with the congressional or survey townships of the general land system. Each town ship is under a civil government, administered by three trustees, a clerk, an assessor of taxes, and two or more justices of the peace and constables. All these officers are elected by the people, and all, with the exception of the justices of the peace, whose term is two years, serve for one year only. The trustees are the general managers of the affairs of the township. They are the judges of election, and have charge of fences and roads, and the care of the poor. Cities and towns, when incorporated, are not removed from the jurisdiction of the township officers. Value of Property. The preliminary results of the tenth census (1880) show the following figures regarding the wealth, debt, and taxation of the State : Assessed valuation of real estate $296,254,342 ,, ,, personal property 101,268,422 Total assessed valuation 397,522,764 Amount of State tax 827,305 county tax 4,280,091 State debt in 1879 545,435 Bonded debt of counties 2,607,211 All other debt ,. 325,165 Judging from returns of true valuation of real estate from a few counties, scattered over the State, the true valuation of real estate _must be not far from 900,000,000. Itis impossible to make an estimate of the true valuation of personal property. Education. The State is divided into school districts, eaeh civil township constituting one, with such incorporated cities and towns as may so elect. The support of the educational system is derived from the proceeds from all sales of State lands, 5 per cent, of all proceeds from sales of land belonging to the general Government within the State, a county tax of not less than 1 mill nor more than 2J mills on the dollar, and a district tax of not more than per cent, upon the assessed valuation of the property within the school district. Besides these, there are several other minor sources of revenue. The amount of the school district tax for 1880 was $3,704,465, and the county tax for schools, $409,110, giving a total taxation for support of schools of 4,113,575. The total valuation of school property is estimated at 12,197,396. The total school district debt, all which is bonded, is $1,125,138. The schools are graded, and classified as primary, intermediate, grammar, and high schools. The law permits a high school in each county. The State supports one university, located at Iowa City. It com prises academical, normal, medical, and law departments. The State also supports a school of agriculture and the mechanical arts, located near Ames, in Story county. There are also several colleges supported by religious denominations, the greater number of them belonging to the Methodists, theological seminaries, and a college under the direction of the Norwegian Luther Synod. Population. The inhabitants of the State in 1880 numbered 1,624,620, a gain of 36 per cent, on the number of 1870. The fol lowing tables show the growth of the population since 1840, and give details of its distribution in 1870 and 1880 : White. Coloured. Total. Increase! per cent. 1840 42,924 188 43,112 1850 191,881 333 192,214 346 1860 673,779 1069 674,913 251 1870 1,188,207 5813 1,194,020 77 1880 1,614,510 9953 1,624,620 36 1880. Percentage. 1870. Percentage. Males 848 234 52 625 917 501 Females 776,386 48 568 103 474 Natives 1,363 132 84 989 328 83 Foreigners 261,488 16 204,692 17 The density of the population is 30 inhabitants per square mile. Excluding the cities of 10,000 inhabitants and upwards (the urban population), this density is reduced to 27. The principal cities of the State, with their population in 1880, are as follows : Des Moines 22,408 Dubuque 22,254 Davenport 21,8-34 Burlington 19,450 Council Bluffs 18,059 Keokuk 12,117 Cedar Rapids 10,104 Clinton 9,052 Ottumwa 9,004 Muscatine (estimated) ... 8,294 History. Iowa was originally a part of the Louisiana purchase. In 1834 all that part of the United States lying west of the Mississippi river and north of Missouri, including the present area of Iowa, was placed under the jurisdiction of the Territory of Michigan, and two years later the Territory of &quot;Wisconsin was created, including what is now Iowa. In 1838 Iowa itself was made a Territory, and on December 28, 1846, it was admitted to the Union as a State. At the time of tlie Louisiana purchase, this region was occupied by the Sioux, Sac and Fox, and Iowa tribes of Indians. The first white settlements within the State were made along the Mississippi in 1833, Fort Madison, Burlington, and Dubuque being the first points occupied. From these points set tlement spread westward, and the growth of the Territory and State has from that time been rapid and steady. (H. G. *). IOWA CITY, the capital of Johnson County, Iowa, and till 1857 the seat of the State Government, is situated on the Iowa river, and on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad, 130 miles east of Des Moines. It is the seat of the State university, which since 1857 has been open to both sexes, and holds a high position among western colleges, both as regards methods of study and the number of students in attendance. The population, which in 1870 was 59H, numbered 7123 in 1880. XIII. 27