SPEECH OF EDWIN MANNING.

FROM 1838 TO 1877.

FELLOW CITIZENS:-These dates mark the date of my sojourn, my labors, my experience, my successes, my weal and my woe among you in this locality.

Doubtless you will note, as I do, that time is moving swiftly over my already silvered locks, and if blessed in the future as in the past, a half century of existence will soon be measured in my history with you. It seems to me appropriate on this occasion to take a look back upon some of the past events and glean therefrom, if possible, some appropriate landmark for our future good. The early history of eastern Iowa affords food for reflection and is worthy the memory of ourselves and our posterity. Iowa in 1838 was an open plain, comparatively, and we who planted ourselves here at that period and since, have experienced and witnessed a growth in population and improvements in all the arts of agriculture, manufactures, commerce and science hitherto unknown in so brief a period in any part of the country.

We don't propose to limit our observations to our own locality which has only kept pace with the surrounding towns in our vicinity; and to-day, with twenty-five trading points and towns in our county, dividing the commerce, traffic and exchanges of the county, our share is generally awarded us by an enlightened public. Our motto "Live and Let Live," in all the variety and multiplicity of affairs through the journey of life, is one of the cardinal virtues we should cherish and fail not to impress it upon the memories and show it in our example to our sons and daughters, who so rapidly fill the places we make vacant.

Eastern Iowa to-day is a "little world" compared with its sparse settlement and weak existence 40 years ago. How happy, therefore, should we be that our lives have been prolonged to help each other in developing the great and varied resources of our rich and munificent land.

The opportunities and advantages of which we are possessed to advance the common welfare of our race are constantly enlarging and expanding, and as we seek the knowledge we are sure to find it.

Among the first pioneers you will remember the familiar names of -

Fairman, Hall, Carnes, Sigler, King, Yeager, Billups, Drouliard, Ober, Purdoms, Wm. and Sam. Steele, Gilberts, Bocesing, Stanards, Hadden, Wescott, Duncan, Willoughby, McBrides. Houghton, Slaughters, Swazėys, Brock, Harlan. Meeks' family, Cresap. Bateman, Baldwin, Richards, Fellows, Ansons, McCrarys, Lippincott, Armantrout, Graves, Brewster, Kingsbury, Peterson, Anson, Alexander, Ainsworth, Goodall, Alley, Cochrane, Easling, Lefever, Gideon B. Alexander, Anderson, Selbys, Allender, Arrowsmith, Price, Ayery, Abernathy, Adams, Cate, Brawley, Sanford, Brown, Hancock, Hotchkiss, Shephard, Pope, Proper, Scotts, Rambo, Brattain, Buckland, Burton, Barnes, Bailey,Babcock, Burgett, Jones, Biggs, Sample, Brooks, Elbert, Blanchard, Beaty, Bell, Bundy, Beer, Bradford, Bechtel, Bolinger, Besecker, Valentine, Beckley, Laws, Branard, Foster, Eno, Houk, Skinner, Butts, Barnet, Parkers, Blackinore. Wright, Barton, Brainard, Davis, Quick, Seaman, Cane, Crow, Claflin, Clayton, McComb, Ely, Foreman, Cowles, McCullough, Cassiday, Chase, Cutler, Chandler, Culbertson, Craven, Cox, Colton, Calhoun, Corwin, Charlton, Clark, Christian, McCutcheon, McClure, Crookshank, Crawford, Cooley, Spencer, Cavitt, Culbertson, Cresswell, Cupp, etc.

From this schedule of 150 of the most noblehearted pioneers you will see the roll is fast diminishing: two-thirds of the number have already been called to their eternal homes. We who remain are candidates hastening to follow them, and how soon our call will be sounded no one is wise enough to know, and it is doubtless a great blessing to us that such is the fact. It affords us food for reflection to meet once a year and make a roll call of our remnant of the army of old settlers, and to recall the many happy days and events that transpired in the early days of Iowa.

Pardon me for using the pronoun "I" frequently, as my sketch is more personal perhaps than otherwise.

In the winter of "37 I was sojourning in Missouri, and fell in with Capt. Hall, Fairman and Carnes, all looking for homes in the west. The Captain and myself engineered a jumper-ride on the Des Moines river from St. Francisville to the rapids in January, 1837 (now Mr. Kinnersley's famous water power). How we were delighted first with our ride up the river on the smooth ice, blanketed with pure snow, and next with the little water fall that we imagined was an embryo fortune for some ingenious Yankee to develop into hydraulic powers -- hence the location of the county town here. But this was not all of our sight-seeing. Mr. Fairman and I made a trip across the half-breed tract to Ft. Madison, and on our way we visited old Black Hawk in his camp, then located on Devil Creek, just below Ft. Madison. I shall never forget the peculiar look and air of the old fallen chief. He received us kindly, but was extremely reticent and would not encourage conversation to much extent. The country at this time was nearly all vacant, the settlements being confined to the streams. Claims had been made along and up the "Demoin" for nearly 100 miles, or as far west as the first purchase reached. My first trade in Iowa was for a "half-breed" claim. This consisted of several hundred acres of land and some 25 town lots in Keokuk, costing me some $500. I then left the country and returned in 1838, and attended the first land sale held in Burlington in November, 1838. In the spring of 1839 I opened out the best stock of goods in the valley. I continued my business prosperously, and in 1841 I contracted to supply the government fort at the Raccoon Forks with provisions. This I did by chartering a steamboat at St. Louis and delivering my goods by steam. The upper country in and about Raccoon Forks was then peopled wholly by the red men. In honor of my bringing a boat from St. Louis and giving the officers and Indian chiefs a free ride upon the river, Capt. Allen sent his couriers to the head men of the nation to come and pay their respects to us and give us a war dance. This was done on a magnificent scale. Not less than 300 of the best braves, Sacs and Foxes, assembled and gave one of their best performances, with all their paraphernalia, bells, feathers and paint. Altogether it was the greatest feat I had ever witnessed in my western life thus far. Soon after this the fort was moved further west and the Indians went to their new house south o' the Missouri.  In '43 the country was opened up for white settlement on the new purchase and great and rapid emigration commenced from all parts of the western states and many from the east.
 
The navigation of the river was obstructed by occasional mill dams and the steamboat men of those days were too timid to risk their fortunes on the Des Moines to fight mill dams. The next great era in enterprise in the valley was flatboating, and in this particular vocation perhaps your speaker was one of the most successful men in advancing and practically demonstrating the Des Moines river to be a natural channel for commerce.

Other operators in the valley followed in quick pursuit and soon the river navigation was fully appreciated. My peculiar fort was to build but few but those were good and seaworthy crafts. In this I was successful, but nevertheless my fate was to sink one boat two times-first at Bentonsport dam and next at Croton-and finally got it into market and realized more money for it than it could have brought if it had reached the market without delay. The moral of this act teaches "help yourselves and good surely follows." Such was the experience of your speaker. Now to give you another page of this history, transpiring at the same time, illustrates more fully the subject in question. My neighbor embarked in the same enterprise. He built cheap and frail boats and hired men to run them, and out of a dozen or more started for market but one single craft lived through the voyage, and that was lost in damages. Thus you see what l inaugurated as a good enterprise my neighbor destroyed. This ended all flatboating on the beautiful Des Moines. Finally the navigation was suspended until '57. At this period the valley had become rich in cereals and a great demand came for navigation. It was not forgotten that in '41 Manning reached Raccon Forks with a steamer, and hence, why not again? This was the cry, "Out with the dams." This was the alarm sounded through the valley. Your speaker was not hard to understand what was most needed in the carrying on of trade in the valley. Accordingly he canvassed the matter with due consideration and ventured upon another commercial enterprise, I proceeded to St. Louis, contracted with Captain Allen at once to load the "Jennie Lind" and barge for Keosauqua and Eddyville. Arriving at Keokuk in due time, and having favorable water, my ambition was up to fever heat.  But to my utter astonishment the captain had learned through the skillful boatmen at Keokuk that they could not navigate the beautiful Des Moines. This brought dismay and trouble for a short time but my perseverance and indomitable willpower to make the effort a success if possible overcame the embarrassment. The Captain was an old and good waterman. He became convinced my heart was in the enterprise, and the more we argued the case the better he liked my logic. We became familiar boating companions for the trip, and finally we cast off the lines and set our face for the "Diamond Navigation." Arriving at Farmington in a few hours our steam and whistle made the village alive, and in a few minutes the whole town was on the bank of the river admiring the beautiful Jennie Lind. All was sunshine and glory to everybody except the mill owners. Here again came the tag of war. It was fight or die. It would never do to stop here. The gates were closed and apparently there was no entrance possible, being to old and weak to open, hence the trouble.

Finally says I to Capt. Allen, "I brought you here to do my work; my order is that you at once remove these gates at my risk and expense and goahead." No sooner said than all hands lay hold and demolished the gates and sent them floating down stream. This brave act of Capt. Allen at an opportune time opened up commerce throughout the valley, and it was never closed until superseded by rail. In this little enterprise I was more than compensated in my own limited business, and what it did for me it did for the whole valley. I did not stop to calculate its importance, nor did I realize it fully till its development almost overwhelmed us, of such value was commerce brought to our doors by this great natural channel.

Our next great hope was the Des Moines Improvement. In this we all expected to be enriched and made happy for the rest of our days. The great river grant was procured through Gen. Dodge, a veteran pioneer and popular politician in the state in those palmy days of bourbon democracy. With this munificent land grant for a great and good special object the state accepted but finally Iimited and failed to aid and foster the enterprise. The magnitude of the work contemplated state endorsement; failing to obtain this the work languished and was finally abandoned as being behind the age and progress of the times at that period. In approximating its final adjustment with contracting parties your speaker occupied a responsible position, having been appointed by Gov. Grimes, and subsequently elected, commissioner of the improvement. I was let into the secrets of fat internal improvement contracts. It was not unfashionable in those days to carry a good supply of old burbon, and when the wheels got slow to use a little for propelling power. It so happened in one of my sittings criticising [sic] the accounts of improvement expenditures we all became very jolly, but it was a habit of mine not to sign papers without understanding their full import. This kind of sharp practice had been indulged in of occasionally asking a commissioner to certify lands before they were fully paid for, and it was considered quite courteous to obtain an accommodation of this kind, but I was always so slow to understand such things that they did not get my name as often as they wanted it to such papers.

But in one grand levee we held over a settlement the company limbered up with bourbon and gave me the sung little sum of $75,000, discount on their regularly entered charges against the state improvement. This was an eye-opener to all the people. The state at once proceeded to make a final settlement with the New York company. Subsequently the remaining lands of the grant were negotiated for by the Valley railroad. Thus ended the great farce of the first land grant to the Des Moines valley.

The period of the rebellion from 1861 to 1865 we will all never forget. The precious lives sacrificed and treasure wasted is a lasting rebuke to rebels and a great warning to all mankind. This great rebellion was the offspring of slavery on one side and radical abolition on the other.

The political demagoges [sic] on both sides hastened the development of the rebellion by their radical views, neither of which would succomb [sic] nor would they reason together. Hence the conflict. This great question should have been settled by people's conventions, The government giving fair remuneration for the freedom of the slaves and the owners accepting it as an equitable solution of that great disturbing element in our government. My allusion to this issue of our times is occasioned by the present extreme tight and pinching condition of our common country. We may rejoice many of us that our locality is peculiarly agricultural and not subject to the great strains that now visit manufacturing districts in the eastern part of the union. These hard times are partially if not mostly the fruit of the late rebellion. The great demoralizing elements that pervaded the country during the rebellion caused great expansion in values in all commodities as well as affecting the price of realty. And now we have for ten years been falling back to our old positions. Hence the consequent changes and the present hardships now afflicting the country. Allow me to say I view it as a great lesson possibly sent upon us to prepare us for future hardships awaiting us.

The last and most recent issue upon us is the strike. This is nothing more or less than a great subsisting jealousy between the laboring men of the country, and the present nonpaying dividend rail roads of our country having failed to satiate the thurst [sic] of the employes remunerative services. Hence the strike. All reflecting minds must see that the laboring striker is directly injuring himself and violating the law for his own safety and liberty.

The question is of such a vast magnitude that congress will have to provide a remedy against all such disturbances in the future.

Finally and lastly we come to the Hayes policy. To this I give my most hearty support and stand with the Ohio republicans, and say God speed the policy and may it prosper the south and give quiet and satisfaction throughout the whole country,

And now It may not be out of place for me here to give you a specimen of my logic of human affairs:

1st. Life is short with all, hence it should be improved and utilized for the best during existence.

2d. Temperance in all things should be practiced at home and abroad.

3d. Elevated manhood should be the golden prize we live for, work for, fight for, and finally transmit this glorious legacy and sentiment to our children and those who respect us for our worthy motives.

Now, what are the advantages resulting from a life governed by those rules. I need not ask all of you to accept my conclusions, for many of you believe with me, but I aim my advice to the young men who are now to come upon the stage of action and wield their influence in the public affairs of the nation.

How important, therefore, is it that the youth of our country should grow up with good morals, good understanding, good habits; and above all these things is one other, viz: Learn to love truth and practice it.

True manhood has so many shining lights its path compared with the cloudy and intemperate character that fails to attain to elevated manhood.

The present time is opportune for the rising generation of young men of our country to inaugurate reforms suited to the great want of our intelligent communities,

These views close my remarks.