Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 4.djvu/165

 and lecturer of unusual power and eloquence. In his efforts to secure justice to the settlers on the Des Moines River lands, Mr. Dolliver prevailed upon President Harrison to direct the United States Attorney-General to begin an action in the name of the Government to forfeit the original grant. The case was tried in the United States District Court for Northern Iowa, where Judge Shiras decided against the Government, which decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court. No other remedy now being left, the settlers at last united in asking for indemnity. Mr. Dolliver thereupon secured the insertion of a section in the Sundry Civil Bill of 1893, making an appropriation for such indemnity and subsequent additional appropriations. Thus a tardy settlement of the long controversy was finally made. In 1902 Mr. Dolliver was elected to fill the unexpired term in the United States Senate occasioned by the death of Senator John H. Gear. WILLIAM G. DONNAN was born at West Charleston, New York, on the 30th of June, 1834. He lived on a farm in boyhood and was educated at Cambridge Academy. He entered Union College later and graduated in 1850. In September of the same year he came to Iowa and located at Independence where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857. In September he was elected recorder and treasurer of the county and served until 1862, when he enlisted in the Union army and was elected lieutenant. He won rapid promotion in the service until he reached the rank of major before the close of the war. In 1867 he was elected to the State Senate on the Republican ticket, serving four years. He was largely instrumental in securing the establishment of the Hospital for the Insane at Independence. In 1870 he received the Republican nomination for Representative in Congress for the Third District and was elected by a majority of 4,964. He was reëlected in 1872, serving two terms, declining a third. In 1884 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention and voted for the nomination of President Arthur. WILLIAM G. DOWS was born in Clayton County, Iowa, August 12, 1864. He was educated in the public schools of Cedar Rapids and Shattuck Military Academy from which he was graduated in 1883. Upon the organization of Company C, of the Iowa National Guard, he became a member and served in various positions finally attaining the rank of colonel of the regiment. When the Spanish-American War began, he became colonel of the Forty-ninth Iowa Infantry and served with his regiment for one year in Cuba. In 1897 Colonel Dows was elected on the Republican ticket to a seat in the House of Representatives in the Twenty-eighth General Assembly from Linn County. He was reëlected in 1899 serving in the following Legislature as chairman of the House committee on appropriations.