Pieces of Iowa’s Past, January 23, 2013

(2013) Pieces of Iowa’s Past, January 23, 2013. Legislative Services Agency (Legislative Service Bureau)

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Pieces of Iowa’s Past, published by the Iowa State Capitol Tour Guides weekly during the legislative session, features historical facts about Iowa, the Capitol, and the early workings of state government. All historical publications are reproduced here with the actual spelling, punctuation, and grammar retained. January 23, 2013 THIS WEEK: Iowa’s Grasshopper Plague of 1873 BACKGROUND: Fifteen General Assembly The 15th General Assembly convened January 12 and adjourned March 19, 1874—a 67-day session. The Senate had six Democratic members, 34 Republican members, and 10 Independent members. The House of Representatives had six Democratic members, 50 Republican members, and 44 Independent members. There were a total of 150 legislators in Iowa. By 1874, the Capital had been relocated to Des Moines. The legislature had occupied the old Brick Capitol since 1858. Joseph Dysart was the Lieutenant Governor presiding in the Senate, and John Gear was Speaker of the House of Representatives. Iowa’s population at the 1870 federal census had grown to 1,194,020. Both House and Senate journals from the 15th Iowa General Assembly include several references to assisting the destitution brought on by the 1874 plague of grasshoppers in Northwestern Iowa. Senator Perkins, from the Special Committee appointed to inquire into the reports of destitution in the northwestern counties of Iowa, submitted the following report, in part: “We have examined such evidence as is attainable here, and made such inquiries of parties interested in affording temporary relief as were to be met, and are pieces satisfied in our own minds that the case is one of sufficient importance to command the attention of the State.”