The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-05-14
THE STATE OF IOWA.
Address Of Gov. Boles at Board Of
Trade Banquet, Council Bluffs,
April Is, 1891, in Response to
the Toast: The State Of
Iowa"

Mr.. President and Gentleman: The
territory within the limits of Iowa
was ceded to the United States by
France in 1903, as part OF what was
the Louisiana purchase.
In 1904 this territory was divided;
the lower or southern part being call
ed the territory of Orleans and the
upper in which our state is situated,
the district of Louisiana. In 1907,
Iowa became part Of the territory
of Illinois, in 1912 part of the terri
tory of Missouri, in 1884 part Of the
territory of Michigan, in 1886 pat
of the territory OF Wis. In 1888 it
was organized as the territory Of
Iowa and in 1916 admitted into the
union as state.
1t appears, therefore, that within a
period of a little more than forty
wears what is now the state OF Iowa
comprises q part of no less than five
separately organized territories and
in and of itself constituted both a
territory and a state.
The changes in the government OF
| the territory Of which the state con-
sists were made necessary by the
rapidly increasing population, at
| tracted by the fertility Of soil and adj
want ages of climate with which the
vast area OF the Louisiana purchase
was found to be blessed.
/ 1t is doubtful whether in the histo-
nv of the world another country SO
great was reclaimed from state OF
mature and brought under the sway
lof civilization in SO short time, but
when governments had been estab-
lished, officers appointed, laws enact
ed and the machinery for their en-
forcement supplied, the real work OF
subduing the wilderness was just be-
gun.
lner stone of the first railroad bridge
to cross the Mississippi river was laid,
and only twenty years have elapsed
since the first trunk line to cross the
state was completed to your city, and
] vet at this day, but little more than Q
, third of q century from the time
when the solitude OF our great prairie
: was first broken by the scream OF the
; locomotive, no less than 8, 400 miles oil
| railway within the state have been
completed and put in operation, and
there is scarcely an acre OF soil with
l in it's boundaries that is not reached
7 by the echoes OF some one OF the
: thousand Of trains that sweep Oyel
, its surface in every direction, bearing
: with them more than q magician's
s wand and scattering along the track
: they pursue cities and towns and
farms that are already the happy
homes of hundreds of thousands o.
men.
These roads represent an actual in
5 yestment of not less than $3.50, DOC, 0Ol
which has been added to the wealth
of the state by their construction
and this sum, large as it is, is insig
nificant when compared with
, the enhanced value of the Other
property of the state, directly pro.
duced by their completion and oper
alton.
: We have in Iowa upwards of thirty
five MILL On acres OF real estate. 1t Il
, not an exaggeration to say that ev
!, cry foot of this land has been more
l than doubled in value, for use Of
7 sale, by construction of the present
: railway system of the state.
Il Young in years as our state IL, for
period of at least twenty Of those o
: its existence, it has stood at the yer.
: head of the commonwealth OF thi'
! Union AZ an agricultural state. year
after year 1t has out-stripped all other
in the production Of cOrn-the mos
e valuable of all crops raised in Thu
: latitude. While each of the otle
: cereals essential to the welfare Of maj
has flourished in abundance upon he
farms. In all her history she has ney
t er known even q partial failure OF az
/ gicultural crops as whole; neithel
q seasons OF excessive rain, nor thos'
of unceasing drouth have been suffic
L lent to rob her soil OF It's wonderful
!, fertility or deprive her people OF sui
2 ficient Of its products to supply ever!
q reasonable want.
During 1889 we sent to eastern ant
foreign over four only of our leading
D railroads more than twenty-thre'
4 million bushels of corn, eight million
q bushels of wheat, twenty -one million
bushels of oats, two million busheli
of fax seed, five million bushels O
r barley, besides large quantities O
y other products.of our farms. and dur
. ing the same years We sent to Warke
over the same roads nearly half 4
: million head of fat cattle and one ant
S three fourth millions Of hogs.
l regret my inability in the limited
time / have had to prepare for thi
occasion to give more complete
l statement of the surplus products O
I our farms during a single year q
least, but when it is considered tina
the reports from which the abov'
: statistics are gathered do not include
: any shipments over two OF our mos
important trunk lines OF road, as wei