The weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1858-1860, 1859-08-27

osn. bsAes 81 $50 E11l11i
Tie Dsmsssasis ean1l1aiS ~ 0esA6f \
very anxious tNEivs ~ nasisaal qpstlns ths
go-by. and discuas VIA. y $500 qssseleas =
State policy" alone He asens y inAeias that
be 4 a. eminent and iaiAlllbls a tAs 'laas poi
Icy line - vas that other dissi6 alshs1 gsntls-
man, the quack doctor, vhsx declared hat he
could cure any disease in the world II he could
only Rfss convert the disease into fts, Tor he
was ..h--ll ON Ats." Gen. Dodge 10 vain enough
to believe that he - equally iOvincibls On State
policy.
Nov, 20 fer % " can hear, Gen. Dodge has
identified himself With only two measures Of
STATE policy during the whole period Of his res
idencs in lows, and By bic position on them We
can judge how sagaciously he would Get - the
executive ruler Of the State. About no other
State matters have We ever heard il intimsted
that he ever expressed or entertained an opin.
ion.
LIST. When Congress undertook to eurtail the
boundaries Of Iowa, by making line, drawn
midway between the Mississippi and Missouri
rivers, the Western boundary, Gen. Dodge
addressed isttsr to the people Of the State.
in which be urged them 70 acquiesee in these
proposed limits, telling them that 'iorming my
opinion from extensive inquiry and observation
your decision on the frat Monday in April next
may be, zoe will not Be able hereafter, under aay
ciresmstaness, to o6tain ONE square mile more
for owr nev State than is contained Withim the
6osadaries adopted BY the act Of Congress admit
ting Iosce into the Uniom." 1.-THE country lying
Immediately on the Missouri river, and of which
Congress has deprived Us. is said to be fertile;
but large ertens Of lsnd forming the dividing
RIDE of the scassrs rxnring into the AississiPps
and Mssoari rivers, called the sHills of the
Prairie and wlieh has been excluded from our
mey State, Is barren and sterile" 1t was Gen.
Dodge's ..Stats policy" in lS45 TO allow the
State TO be divided by the line We have de-
soribed, and We have never heard that bic
views have undergone any change on this sub
iect. If elecsed Governor will he use the in
Auence and patronage Of his Office to divide tho
State!
Gen. Dodge, s.iormiag his opinions from
extensive inquiry and observation" was satisfied
that not another square mile could be obtained
beyond the limits 6rst fixed BY Congress. The
people Of Iowa, forming their opinions from
common. sense principles not 10 very compre-
hensible to Gen. Dodge, perhaps, were satisfied
that thousands of square miles could DO OBJ
tanned, and therefore rejected his advice. Had
Gen. Dodge's Estate policy" been adopted the
counties of Polk, Monroe, Clarke, Decatur, and
all West of them, would now be beyond our
State limits. Everybody can judge for himself
| Of the value Of this Estate policy aud every
| body must admit that the General Was very
poor Judge Of the views Of Congress, when be
declared that not 'anether square mile" Of
territory could be obtained to add to our cur
tailed limits.
| We learn that Gen. Dodge will soon return to
the Eastern part of the State, and we trust
that he will lose no time TO lay before the pub
lie an account of his explorations among the
.sbarrcn and sterile Hills OF the Prairie" He il
the only geographer who has ever given an
account of these Hills" Indeed, we think he
il entitled to the sole credit of discovery, and {
history of bis discoveries and investigation
there will doubtless be entertaining and in
structive.
I'd. The other measure of estate policy
with which Gen. Dodge is identified is the Ac
Of Congress of August 18th, ls46, by which
lands we're granted to the State for :he improve
meut of the navigation of the Des Aoines riv-
or. His friends claim that he vas the authO
: of this measure, aud We suppose be was. In
stead of securing grant Of land to aid in th'
construction of Railroad, he labored to secur
. graut to slack-wa ter the Des MONIES, KIM
of improvement that is at least half centur
behind the age And then, to render "confu
, sion worse confounded," he employed in draft
ing the act some of his own "English unde
fled" so that the lawyers have been quar-
relling for the last thirteen years about wha
the law really means. Some think that undo
, the wording of the act the grant extends
I the sources Of the river. Of this opinion ar
! Reyerdy johnson and Robert J. Walker. OH
srs think that it extends only to the City OF DE-
e Moines, and Of this opinion are John }. Crit
senden, Thomas Ewing. Caleb Gushing, A. Il.
:. Stewart, Jacob Thompson and j. S. Black
o Gen. Dodge has certainly COMPOUNDED the law
1t yers, and if that is any credit to him be is Ell
n titled to it, but we have never heard that th
d State has been otherwise benefited by his &C
tion.
e The great achievements Of Gen. Dodge, {
far rs this Sta is concerned, in the "Stal
policy" line, may be summed up, therefore,
follows:
lst. The attempt to curtail the limits OF Il
State.
e I'd. The discovery Of the ''barren and steri
\, Hills of the Prairie"
IT Sd. The introduction into the Des Moin
River bill of phraseology, Ia Dodge, th
D. nobody can coustrue or understand.
u. Des lMotnes C0unty..-Shall IL be H
:. deemed1
It's fact known to all well-informed men
u" both parties that at no time during she.last &
years have the Democrats had . majority Of
- legal voters in Des Moines County. And me
y especially is this true Of the county during
last year. At least one hundred and fifty N
y voting the Democratic ticket without SIM
exception, at least once. every election, ha
B. left this city, owing to the stoppage OF put
and private improvements. There has been
work done on the streets-very little build
and not much business to give employment
laboring men, and most Of the Irish labor
have removed hence. By this operation