Executive Office, Sept. 3, 1862.
Gentlemen of The Senate and House of Representatives:
You have been convened in extraordinary session to consider
some questions vitally affecting the public welfare, which, in my judgment,
require your immediate action.
When you closed your last regular session, the belief
prevailed very generally that the strength of the rebellion against the General
Government had been broken, and your legislation upon some questions of great
public interest was controlled by that belief. The lapse of time has shown that
belief to be erroneous, and a change of legislation on those questions has
therefore become necessary.
The provision made for our sick and wounded soldiers, and
for their return to their homes on furlough, will, under existing
circumstances, prove wholly inadequate. The largely increased number of our
soldiers that will be shortly in the field, and the great length of time they
will be exposed to the danger of disease and the casualties of battle, will
render absolutely necessary a large increase of the fund provided for their
care and comfort. The extraordinary expenses of my office have also been, and
will probably continue to be, largely increased in consequence of the new
demands that have been and may be made upon the State. I, therefore, recommend
to your favorable consideration such increase of the contingent fund for
extraordinary expenses of this office as will be sufficient to enable me to do
for the gallant men, who so nobly represent our State in the army of the Union,
when suffering from wounds and disease, that which every loyal heart so
anxiously desires should be done, and also enable me to carry on successfully
the many and arduous labors imposed upon this office, in promptly responding to
all the demands made upon the State for the support of the Government.
The labors of the office of Adjutant-General have been
largely increased, and must continue to be very great as long as the war lasts,
and for some time after its close. This State will soon have in the field
nearly or quite 50,000 men, and the interest and welfare of our soldiers and
their friends require that the records of that office should be fully and
carefully kept. The Adjutant-General now discharges, in addition to the proper
duties of that office, the duties of Quartermaster-General and
Paymaster-General. It is, in my judgment, impossible for one officer properly
to superintend the labors of these three departments. The amount of labor and attention required is
more than one person can give, and the necessary work cannot be so promptly
done or so well done as if there was a proper division of labor. I recommend
that I should be authorized to appoint an assistant Adjutant-General, who shall
act as Paymaster-General. A Quartermaster-General can be appointed under
existing law, and then the duties now imposed upon the Adjutant-General can be
so divided and arranged as, in my judgment, to greatly benefit the public
service.
In my judgment, the compensation of the Adjutant-General is
not adequate, either to the labor or responsibility of his position, and I
recommend an addition thereto, either by allowing him a contingent for
traveling expenses or by an increase of his salary.
Congress has provided by law an allotment system by which
our soldiers can set aside a portion of their monthly pay and have the same
paid at their homes to such persons as they may designate, without risk or
expense. The benefits of this system are obvious and great. Commissioners have
been appointed by the President, but under the law the compensation of these
commissioners must be paid by the States, and as no appropriation has been made
for that purpose, our soldiers and their friends have not, as yet, enjoyed the
benefits of the system. One of the commissioners is now engaged in procuring
the allotments of our regiments before they leave the State, and I earnestly
recommend such an appropriation as will secure the benefits of this system to
all our soldiers.
Since your adjournment Congress has passed a law donating
public lands to such of the several States and territories as may provide
colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts. Under this law,
this State is entitled to a donation of 240,000 acres of land. It is a most
munificent donation, and for a most worthy purpose. It is of great importance
that immediate action be had by you touching this grant. By taking such action
the State can secure the entire amount of the lands within her own limits, and
consequently control their management and disposition. Should action in this
matter be postponed till the next regular session, other States may select
their lands within the limits of this State, and manage and dispose of them in
a manner very undesirable to us. I recommend the subject to your careful
consideration. * * *
It is of the highest importance that the numerical strength
of the regiments from this State be maintained in the field. Many of our old
regiments have been much reduced in numbers, and thus the expense of
maintaining them in proportion to their numbers is much increased, while their
efficiency is much diminished. Our new regiments will go out full, and the old
ones will soon be filled, but in a short time their numbers will be again
reduced. To remedy this evil, 1 recommend that with the approval of the proper
Federal authorities a camp of instruction be established at some suitable point
in this State sufficient to accommodate 1,000 men; that the several counties be
required to furnish their equitable proportion of that number of men to place
in camp under instruction; that when men are needed to fill the ranks of any of
our regiments, requisitions be made for the proper number which shall be filled
as nearly as may be from the men in camp from the counties in which the
companies composing the regiment were organized, and their places in camp be
immediately supplied by new men from the same counties. This is entirely just
to all the counties; will send the men into companies composed of their neighbors
and friends, and will keep up our regiments to their effective strength.
On the 17th day of August I issued a proclamation urging
upon our people the strong necessity of filling up our old regiments, and as an
inducement to enlistments for that purpose declared my intention of
recommending to you the payment of bounties by the Stale to all who should
enlist for the old regiments, between the date of proclamation and the first
day of the present month. I have not yet learned the number of men who have thus
enlisted between the dates named, but I recommend to you that an appropriation
for the purpose of paying to each of them such bounty as you may deem
advisable.
The theory of our government is that the people rule. This
theory can be carried into practical effect only through the ballot box.
Thereby the people mould and direct the operations of the government and settle
all questions affecting the public welfare. The right of suffrage is therefore
highly prized by all good citizens, and should be exercised by them at all
times, and especially at times when questions of grave importance are presented
for solution. There never has been, perhaps there never will again be a time
when questions so important, interests so vital as those now demanding action
at the hands of our people were, or will be submitted to them. The very life of
the nation is at stake, and may be as fatally lost at the ballot box as on the
battlefield. Under such circumstances it is not only the right but the duty of
all good citizens to exercise the right of suffrage, and to see to it that the
principles for the preservation of which our people are so freely offering
their treasure and life, are not jeopardized, are not lost in the halls of
legislation — State or National. A very large number of the electors of the
State are in the army. We say but little when we say that these men are as good
citizens, as intelligent, as patriotic, as devoted to their country, as those
who remain at home. Under existing laws these citizens cannot vote, and unless
these laws can be changed it may be that the same cause they are periling life
in the field to maintain, may be lost at home through supineness or treachery.
I therefore recommend that the laws be so modified that all members of Iowa
regiments, who would be entitled to vote if at home on the day of election, be
allowed to vote wherever they may be stationed in the United States, and that
provision be made for receiving and canvassing their votes.
There are in this State some religious bodies who entertain
peculiar views on the subject of bearing arms, and whose religious opinions
conscientiously entertained preclude their doing so. Their members are
generally among our most quiet, orderly and industrious and peaceful citizens,
and their sympathies are wholly with the government in this struggle now going
on for its preservation, yet they cannot conscientiously bear arms in its
support. It appears to me it would be unjust and wholly useless to force such
men into the army as soldiers, and yet it would not be just to the government
or to other citizens that they should be wholly relieved from the burdens that
others have to bear. I suggest therefore that these persons who cannot
conscientiously render military duty be exempted therefrom in case of draft
upon payment of a fixed sum of money to be paid to the State.
Startling rumors have recently reached me of danger to our
people on the northwestern frontier from hostile Indians. I immediately
despatched Schuyler R. Ingham of Des Moines to the scene of danger with arms
and ammunition and full authority to act as circumstances might require. I have
not yet had a report from him, but will immediately upon receipt of such report
communicate with you by special message should the emergency require your
attention.
The condition of the country is such as justly to cause
anxiety and distrust, but not despondency to the patriot. It is true the
rebellion against the government has assumed a magnitude and shown a strength
we did not anticipate, but it is also true that the government has exhibited a
degree of power for its suppression that the most sanguine did not dream of.
Our rulers and our people have at last realized the extent of the task before
them, and have girded themselves to the work like men. We have all, rulers and
people, at last learned, on a page all blotted with tears and blood, that in
this war conciliation and kindness are more than useless, and that the enemy,
whose social fabric is based upon force, respects only force, and can be
subdued by force alone. We are learning, if we have not yet learned, that it is
wise to strike the enemy where he is weakest, and to strike him there
continually and with all our power, that God's blessing upon our cause will
surely bring its triumph, and that we cannot with confidence claim that
blessing until our cause by being made in all things like Him — pure and holy,
fully deserves it. If we have fully learned these lessons, and shall fairly act
upon them, we will soon triumph. If we have not learned them we will yet do so
and we will then triumph.
SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD.
SOURCE: Henry Warren Lathrop, The Life and Times of
Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa's War Governor, p. 220-4
