The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-08-22
WAS THE RICHEST lowAN.
Edwin Manning, q Hawkeye Pionet
Dead at keOsauuua.

EDWIN MahnnS,a HaWkeye Pioneer,
Dead at keosauqua.
/ Keosauqua, Aug. 17.-Edwin Man
ming, the richest man in Iowa and for
over half a century the leading bust
ness man in the state, died yesterday
| aged 81 years at his home here. He
left an estate valued at from So, 100000
to $5,O00,000. The story of the accum-
ulation of this wealth is practically
the history of the state from the days
of Black Hawk to the present.
Mr.. Manning was of English descent
and was born in South Coventry,
Conn.,, February 8, 1910. He was
brought up on a farm and educated in
| the public schools until he was is
! years old, when he began life at Beth
| any, Pa, as clerk in his uncle'S store
| at $40 month.
Coming west in 1896, he made a
short stop in Missouri, and then set
tied in st. Francisville, Lee county,
Iowa, where he bought some land
from Indians. He, with James Hall
and others, entered claim and laid
out the town of Keosauqua, this being
the Indian name for the river at that
place.
In 1899 Mr.. Manning purchased the
first stock of merchandise ever
brought to Keosauqua, shipping 1t by
| way of the Atlantic ocean and the
Mississippi river. He built the first
flatboat that ever passed out OF the
Des Moines river, and in 1851 ran
loaded steamers between st. Louis
and Des afoines.
He dealt in lands and merchandise
and engaged in banking. He had
partnerships without number, and ms
enterprises We're always successful.
He had a store at rearly every town
and village on the Des Noines river
from Keosa,llla TO Fddyv'lle. His,
store at Eddyville, where the firm WAS
Manning & Caldwell, was for years
one of the best known mercantile es-
Establishments on the Des NIoines river.
Mr.. Manning never ran for office
but always took deep interest i'll
politics. His son, "Cal' Manning, is Il
banker at Ottumwa, and was the
United States commissioner to Paris
from Iowa.
Mr.. Manning was known for his
steadfastness of purpose and for al
ways keeping his head in Il financial
crisis. AS manager of large interests
he never overreached. He never lost
faith in Iowa real estate, and at the
time of his death owned thousands
of acres of the best Iowa lands. His
office was in his original bank build
ing, looking out on the Des Moines
river, the structure having been pu5
up in the days of steamboating. He
started many young men on success
full business careers.
John Cownie of the state board of
control visited his farm in Iowa coun-
ty. He expects the corn of that coun-
ty to average from fifty to sixty BUSH
els an acre. He states that some of
the farmers are even dissatisfied with
these prospects and they think they
should have more because the price
will be high this year. The crops are
suffering somewhat from lack OF
moisture, despite the fact that 4.42
inches of rain fell in June, 4.24 inches
in July and .63 inches thus far in Au-
gust. The Amana society reports
crop of wheat when went SO bushels
to the acre, oats and barley from 35
to As bushels I. the acre, and of eX
cellent quality.
The Cedar Falls Canning company
began operations Il few days ago with
force of thirty employees and
small quantity of corn. The company
has 400 under cultivation, about the
same acreage as last season. Last
year the output was 100000 cans, but
the concern feels that they will do
we'll this year to put up 100000 cans.
The early planting will practically be
failure. What there is of it is very
badly filled, uneven and blistery. This
will FAKE the quality not as good as
last season, but it will compare favor
ably with the output of other con-
Germs. as s,me OF them have ADAM
doned the saea of opening at all this
season.
The comptroller of the currency
has instructed Receiver Thornton to
pay dividend of 25 per cent to the
creditors of the LeMars National
bank and the divlaend will be paid as
soon as the schedule can be made up
and the checks sent out from Wash
ington. The LeMars National bank is
the bank closed by the defalcation of
Vice President Tom F. Ward, who
skipped out in the early spring with
about 100000 of bank funds and who
was arrested about month ago at
Jersey City, N. j. Receiver Thornton
advised the payment of the dividend a
few weeks ago and has just received
notice that the first dividends will be
paid at once.
James Green, station agent at Ohio.
a town on the Minneapolis & st. Louis
railway, a few miles south of Fort
Dodge, through confusion of orders.
sent out gravel train to meet fast
freight coming from the north. When
he discovered that a collision was in
evitable, Green lost his reason and be-
came violently insane, being prevent
ed from self-destructlon only bv
those around him. 1t is feared his
reason is permanently impaired.
Green received orders to let the
gravel train go to pass the freight
train at Fort Dodge, but later orders
notified him that they would pass at
Ohio. BY mistake he gave the first
orders to the gravel train, which had
gone too far to be held before ne no
ticed the blunder. He wired Fort
Dodge. but the freight had ALREADY
left. Then his mind snapped under
the strain. The trains came together
on heavy grade, but the crews
jumped and escaped injury. The en-
gines We're badly smashed, but aside
from this the damage was slight.