Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-11-29
RECOLLECTIONS OF PIONEER
Crowded Into the Re
A Fulton.

the hamlet and almost immediately
Joined William Bennett and Mr.. Lam
bert, to be half owner of water
power created by the Wapsipinicon
Falls, in Buchanan county. Mr.. Ben
nett had created log house with two
rooms and shed rooted kitchen, the
first white mans habitation ever
erected in that county.
We, with great hardship and la
Dor, damned the Wapsipinicon river
and created an ordinary frontier grist
mill, built n warehouse and black
smith shop. We had to haul our saw
ed lumber from Dubuque, but the
bulk of all our lumber. even the floor
ing of dwellings, had to be procured
from the forest with an axe. Oh. my,
the task to make a world!
1--WE fondly hoped to plant the
metropolis of the great west at Quas-
queton. On Aug. 4, 1912, the entire
population of Buchanan county num-
bered 10, self included.
I'm the spring of 1S43, the Buchan-
an county lands were sold at auction
in the town of Marion, and / pur-
chased, and in February. 1914, sold the
town of Quasqueton to William w.
IisibI3n lOI eitOllOs lhc
county records now witness.
L did not cease mill-building. but
in 1S47 erected the two first steam
merchant mills in Scott county, one
of them costing $4,000.
Time brought 1854 around and
the presidency of the state senate
caused deadlock for many days,
to the great injury of the state. l. n
free-soil republican, broke from my
moorings and placed Hon. NJ. l..
Fisher, of Clayton county, an avow-
ed pro-slavery democrat, in the presi-
dents chair. for which act / received
the censure of many.
During the extra session of 1856
a grant of public land for railroad
purposes was accepted by the state
and our railroad laws were enacted
and are now amongst the laws that
exist in their original form. Sailor |
had the honor to originate and draft
those laws. and act as their guardian.
During the session of 1855, when
the mann question was Nebraska or
anti-NebraSka, or the extension of
slavery. the party lines were strained,
the supposed candidate for United
States senator was friend and citi-
zen of my district and who would be
one of the arbitrators. But, as | had
when under trying circumstances at
sea. pledged myself ever to battle
against human slavery, 1 had to DISC
bey the almost unanimous petition of
my constituents to abandon James
Harlan, Notwithstanding he had re-
ceived but four votes at the previous
4 !,
elected to make Iowa known at home
and in distant lands. To have with
drawn would decree his defeat.
81 leave the rejection or the con-
firmation of this momentus history
with Hon. James Harlan.
'Respectfully yours,
-. c. FULTON
another good act of Senator Full
ton merits mention and preservation.
as it was an act of lasting and vital
Importance to the people of the state
of Iowa:
1.-The senate proceedings of Dec. 16,
1854, now before us, says:
. Senator Coop. by leave, introduce
ed a bill defining Il standard weight
per bushel for stone coal, and making
that weight 20 pounds per bushel.
senator Fulton moved to strike
out 10 and insert so which, after
debate, was adopted
On the 9th of August, 1894. when
the tyrant strike was in power and
was welding its blighting and de-
structive sceptre to cripple and de-
stroy all and every enterprise, Il Dav-
export journal published as follows:
FRO of no
late Pullman sympathetic strikes,
with the horrors of human life lost,
immense destruction of property and
disastrous effects on business and
commerce, many seem to forget that
we have ever before suffered from
anything so terrible, and probably
equally unjustifiable in their origin.
The Tribune recently awakened the
memory of some of it's older readers
to the strikes of 1875, which far sur
passed those of this year in the loss
of life-over 100 persons in single
highland UNNECESSARILY greater de-
struction of property. In 1888 there
were strikes of coal miners, railr12L
employees, telegraph operators. etc,
more disturbing to great if:EsIness in
terests than those IF today. They
were so serious nh widespread as to
call the aitCi.tion of congress, and
resulted in the appointment of SEN
ate committee to investigate the
causes and, if possible, to recommend
such legislation as might prevent the
recurrence of such calamities. This
committee was composed of nine
senators, representing as many
states, but Iowa was not one of them.
In the same way, at the, practical
close of the strikes of 1894. has the
attention of congress been given to
these disturbances, and the president.
authorized to appoint, which has been
done. a committee to thoroughly in