Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Iowa) 1861-1864, 1864-01-21
THE STATE UNIVERSITY.

lhis institution is now in a very
fiourishing condition. The number of
students in attendance, at the present
time, is over three hundred and ffty.
and they come from all parts of the
state. The faculty are devoted to the
interests of the institution, and it is
rapidly becoming, what it was intend
ed to be-, an honor to the state and
powerful aid in promoting her high.
est interests.
renew my former recommendation
that provision be made, by law, for a
Military Professorship in the Univers
ity. Such professorship will not only
popularize the institution, but will i'm.
part to our young men kind of know.
ledge, the want of which has cost us
many men and much treasure, sipce
the commencement of the rebellion ;
and the necessity for which, in the fu-
turc, the history of other nations
teaches, may come upon us at any
time.
The Board of Education, at their
last session, directed the trustees of
the University to establish a Military
Professorship as soon as the General
Assembly should make the necessary
appropriations. l have placed two
hundred stand of arms, with accoutre-
ments, in the hands of the Faculty
and | earnestly commend the matter
to your favorable consideration.
The present number of students in
attendance upon the University is
greater than the capacity Of the Uni
versity buildings to accommodate and
with the prospective increase in num-
bers, these buildings will soon be en-.
tirely inadequate to the wants of the
institution, and candidates for admis.
sion must be turned away for lack ol
room to receive them.
The former Hall of the House OF
Representatives,, now used as a Chap.
ell, Is insufficient for the present num-
bers, and many are thus excluded
from Chapel services. A larger Hall
is imperatively y needed for Chapel,
Commencement and all other exercises
requiring the assembling of the whole
numOcr Oh students.
There are no suitable rooms for the
chemical labratory. This, to our ag-
ricultural state, is, perhaps, the most
important department of our Univers-
ity. Chemistry iSbecomirg daily a
more liberal contributor to agricultu,
raj knowledge and success and the
advancement of chemical science in
our state, through the state Univers
ity. should be especially encourag ged.
Our University will not be complete
until it shall have an Astronomical
Observatory connected with it. This
has already become prominent fca.
ture OF the University of Michigan,
and the demands Of our more Western
location will soon require it of us. A
building may be erected to answer all
these purposes at much less cost than
to provide for them separately.
| Our state now stands with the FORE
most of her sister states in her intelli.
gent and heroic devotion to the politi.
cal institutions of our country. She
needs but to use her advantages to take
an equally high position in science and
literature. The people are ready tc
avail themselves of the facilities fur
nished, and only ask that the state
shall supply them. | respectfully urge
upon you such action as shall tend, al
timately, to place the state University
Of Iowa among the foremost Of simi
lar institutions in the land.
STATE HISTORICAL. SOCIETY.
1'call your attention to the report
Of the Curators of the state Histori
cal Society.
Passing events render the work o.
this society vastly more important
than ever before. We are now making
history with wonderful rapidity, bu
are making it in fragmentary man
ner. Future ages demand of us thai
we collect and preserve these frag
ments as material from which a ful
and reliable record of the great event:
of our day may be preserved. This
with the ordinary work of the society
in collecting the early history of oul
state, is more than it can well perform
with the means at its disposal.
No man can be found to devote tc
il the necessary time without compen
sation. l recommend an appropria
tion of five hundred dollars, as com
pensation for this purpose, in addition
to the five hundred dollars heretofor,
appropriated for other purposes.
ORGANIZING AND ARsIING VOLUNTEER
! COMPANIES.
l became satisfied during the earl,
part Of last summer that designing
men in this, as in other loyal states
were making preparations for an arm
cd resistance to the authority of tn
General Government. The law O
Congress. providing for draft to fil
the ranks Of the Union army, contain
ed provision that was eagerly seize
upon to array the poorer of our pee
. pie against the Government upon tn
] specious prctence that the object {
the law was to discriminate betwee
! the rich and the poor, to the injury c
, the poor.
The action OF the government, i
freeing and using the slaves in tn
rebel states for the suppression of tn
rebellion, was represented as a scheme
by the government, to over-run tn
free states with the freed slaves. t
the prejudice Of the interests Of tn
poor white man.
: The government had in some in
/ stances, arrested and temporarily i'm
) prisoned or sent beyond our lines
: persons whose restraint the publ
safety required and this was inter
!. preted to mean, an intention on tn
r part of the government to break dow
0 all the defenccs of civil liberty, and t
+ establish despotism. The entire po
( icy of our government, as interprete
by these men, was that the war wa
t waged, not for the preservation of tn
: Union, but for the abolition of slavery
r that the object of the government, i
5 seeking to abolish slavery was I
G bring the free slaves North, and fore
their labor into competition with tha