Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/516



“Real estate became valueless. It was necessary to adopt a system of self-denial never before known in Iowa. It was with the utmost difficulty that the common necessaries of life could be obtained. Tea, coffee, suit, and all kinds of groceries were out of reach of nearly all. It was not uncommon for families to live for days on wild meat with only such breadstuffs as could be ground in a coffee mill. Musk-rat pelts were almost the only resource for raising money to pay taxes. The people had to cut up grain sacks for clothing, supplemented with deer skins for moccasins in place of shoes and stockings.”

Thousands of citizens were unable to get money to pay taxes or to save their property from sale under the summary process of deeds of trust from which there was no redemption at that time. Thousands were reduced from prosperous farmers, merchants and mechanics to poverty and destitution. Such was the financial situation when the Seventh General Assembly met at Des Moines, the new Capital, on the 11th of January, 1858. This was the first session under the new Constitution and in many respects was the most important legislative body that ever convened in Iowa. For the first time the Senate was presided over by a Lieutenant-Governor, chosen by the electors of the State, Oran Faville. In the House, Stephen B. Shelledy was elected Speaker.

Governor Grimes, in his message, said:

“Your labors will exercise a potent influence upon the future character and prosperity of the State, long after the last of you shall cease to be interested in human affairs. All the general laws of the State will require some modifications to adapt them to the provisions of the new constitution.”

He recommended a registry law to record all legal voters; a revision of the revenue laws; a restoration of township assessors; a sound banking system; the support of public schools by taxation, and the enactment into laws of the school system prepared by Horace Mann and Amos Dean and submitted to the last General Assembly.

The financial condition of the State was reported as follows: