Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/149

 commemorating the act, with two hundred dollars in money. The Legislature also placed on record a vote of thanks for her heroic and humane deed. *

The Nineteenth General Assembly met at Des Moines on the 9th of January, 1882, and the House was organized by the election of George R. Struble, Speaker. After the inauguration of Buren R. Sherman as Governor and O. H. Manning, Lieutenant-Governor, the inaugural address was delivered and Lieutenant-Governor Manning assumed his position as President of the Senate.

On the 17th James F. Wilson was chosen United States Senator for a full term of six years from the 4th of March, 1883, and J. W. McDill was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Senator Kirkwood. The votes of the Democratic members of the Legislature were given to L. G. Kinne for the long term Senator and to M. M. Ham for the short term; while the Greenback members voted for D. P. Stubbs for the long term and Daniel Campbell for the short term.

But little legislation of general public interest was enacted during the session. The most important measure considered was a bill introduced into the House to prohibit the issuing of free passes by railroad companies to public officials or delegates to political conventions. The bill also made it unlawful for such officials or delegates to accept such free passes on railroads. Suitable penalties were provided for violation of the act. The bill was framed and introduced by Charles Aldrich, the representative from Hamilton County and earnestly advocated by him on the floor of the House. The issuing of free passes by railway officials to public officers had grown into a dangerous evil in the influence such valuable favors were likely to have upon such officials as were called upon, in the discharge of their duties, to act upon measures in which these corporations were interested parties. These gifts were bestowed upon such officials in order to place

* The great new bridge built by the Northwestern Railway in 1901, across the Des Moines River, near the home of Kate Shelly, has been named in her honor.