Redwood County, Minnesota - Chapter 18: Legislative Representation, 1916

Chapter 18: Legislative Representation

Alexander Ramsey, of Pennsylvania, then only thirty-four years of age, was appointed by President Taylor the first governor of the new territory of Minnesota. His previous public experience had been as a member of the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth congresses, in which he had displayed the sterling qualities and the marked ability which characterized his long after-career. From the time of his coming to Minnesota until the close of his life he remained one of its most loyal and honored citizens, filling many important positions both in the state and the nation. He arrived in St. Paul, May 27, 1849, and the hotels being full to overflowing proceeded with his family to Mendota, a fur trading station at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, where he became the guest of Henry H. Sibley, remaining there until June 26.

On the first of June he issued a proclamation, said to have been prepared in a small room in Bass's log tavern which stood on the site now occupied by the Merchant's Hotel, making official announcement of the organization of the territory, with the following officers: Governor, Alexander Ramsey, of Pennsylvania; secretary, C. K. Smith, of Ohio; chief justice, Aaron Goodrich, of Tennessee; associate justices, David Cooper, of Pennsylvania, and Bradley B. Meeker, of Kentucky; United States marshal, Joshua L. Taylor; United States attorney, H. L. Moss. Mr. Taylor, having declined to accept the office of marshal, A. M. Mitchell, of Ohio, a graduate of West Point, and colonel of an Ohio regiment in the Mexican war, was appointed to the position and arrived in August.

A second proclamation issued by Governor Ramsey, June 11, divided the territory into three judicial districts, to which the three judges who had been appointed by the president were assigned. The present Redwood county was included in the Third district, which embraced all the southern part of the state, the northern boundary of the district being the Mississippi from the Iowa line to the mouth of the Minnesota, the whole length of the Minnesota, and a line drawn from the source of the Minnesota west to the Missouri. Hon. David Cooper, associate justice, was assigned to the bench and court ordered held at Mendota, on the fourth Monday of August, 1849.

The census of the territory taken in 1849 by an order of Governor Ramsey issued June 11, although including the soldiers at the fort and pretty much every living soul in the territory except Indians, footed up the disappointing total of 4,764 - of which number 3,058 were males and 1,706 were females. Additional and revised returns made the population exactly 5,000 - males, 3,253; females, 1,747.

Another proclamation issued July 7, 1849, divided the territory into seven council districts and ordered an election to be held August 1 to choose one delegate to the house of representatives at Washington, and nine councillors and eighteen representatives to constitute the legislative assembly of Minnesota. The election passed off very quietly, politics entering scarcely at all into the contests, which were wholly personal. In all 682 votes were cast for the delegate to congress, Henry H. Sibley, who was elected without opposition.

The council districts were described in Ramsey's proclamation as follows: "No. 1. The St. Croix precinct of St. Croix county, and the settlements on the west bank of the Mississippi south of Crow village to the Iowa line. 2. The Stillwater precinct of the county of St. Croix. 3. The St. Paul precinct (except Little Canada settlement). 4. Marine Mills, Falls of St. Croix, Rush Lake, Rice River and Snake River precincts, of St. Croix county and La Pointe county. 5. The Falls of St. Anthony precinct and the Little Canada settlement. 6. The Sauk Rapids and Crow Wing precincts, of St. Croix county, and all settlements west of the Mississippi and north of the Osakis river, and a line thence west to the British line. 7. The country and settlements west of the Mississippi, not included in districts 1 and 6. The territory now embraced in Redwood county was included in the Seventh district, which generally speaking included all the territory south of the Sauk and west of the Mississippi to the territorial line, but none of the settlements on the west bank of the Mississippi except such as might be found north of the settlements near St. Anthony Falls and south of the mouth of Sauk river.

1849 - The first territorial legislature - called the territorial assembly - met Monday, September 3, in the Central House, St. Paul, a large log building weatherboarded, which served both as a state house and a hotel. It stood on practically the present site of the Mannheimer block. On the first floor of the main building was the secretary's office and the dining room was occupied as the Representatives' chamber. As the hour for dinner or supper approached the House had to adjourn to give the servants an opportunity to make the necessary preparations for serving the meal. In the ladies' parlor on the second floor the Council convened for their deliberations. The legislature halls were not to exceed eighteen feet square. Governor Ramsey, during his entire term of office, had his executive office in his private residence, and the supreme court shifted from place to place as rooms could be rented for its use. Although congress had appropriated $20,000 for the erection of a capitol, the money could not be used as "a' permanent seat of government" for the territory had not yet been selected, so the machinery of government had to be carted around in the most undignified manner. The seventh district was represented in the council by Martin McLeod, of Lac qui Parle ; and in the house by Alexis Bailly, of Mendota, and Gideon H. Pond, of Oak Grove.

1851 - The second territorial legislature met January 1 and adjourned March 31. Martin McLeod again represented the Seventh district in the council; while in the house were Alexander Faribault, of Mendota, and B. H. Randall, of Fort Snelling.

The territory, having been divided into counties, it was apportioned by the second territorial legislature (1851) into seven districts. Dakota county, which included the present Redwood county, was the Sixth district.

1852 - The third territorial legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned March 6. The Sixth district was represented in the council by Martin McLeod, of Oak Grove; and in the house by James McBoal, of Mendota, and B. H. Randall, of Ft. Snelling.

1853 - The fourth territorial ligeslature assembled January 5 and adjourned March 5. The Sixth district was again represented in the council by Martin McLeod. B. H. Randall was again in the house and the new member from the Sixth district was A. E. Ames. This legislature changed the boundary lines of certain counties and created certain new counties. The present Redwood county fell in Blue Earth county. In spite of these changes in county lines, the boundaries of the legislative districts remained the same.

Franklin Pierce having been elected president of the United States in the previous November, promptly proceeded after his inauguration, in accordance with the good old Jacksonian doctrine, to remove the "Whig officeholders and distribute the spoils among the victors. The new territorial appointees were : Governor, Willis A. Gorman, of Indiana; secretary, J. T. Rosser, of Virginia; chief justice, W. H. Welch, of Minnesota; associates, Moses Sherburne, of Maine, and A. G. Chatfield, of Wisconsin. Soon after entering on the duties of his office, Governor Gorman concluded a treaty at Watab with the Winnebago Indians for an exchange of territory. At the election in October Henry M. Rice was elected delegate to Congress.

1854 - In 1854 the legislature of Minnesota for the first time assembled in a regular capitol building, its previous sessions having been held haphazard wherever accommodations could be had. This building, which was started as early as 1851, was totally destroyed by fire on the evening of March 1, 1881, while both branches of the legislature were in session. Some of the more valuable papers in the various offices were saved, but the law library and many thousands of documents and reports were burned. The total loss was about $200,000. The present "Old Capitol" was erected on the site of the first building. The fifth session assembled January 4 and adjourned March 4. The Sixth district was represented in the council by Joseph R. Brown; and in the house by Hesekiah Fletcher and William H. Nobles.

1855 - The sixth territorial legislature assembled January 3 and adjourned March 3. Joseph R. Brown against represented the Sixth district in the council, and Henry H. Sibley and D. M. Hanson represented the district in the house.

By the apportionment of 1855 the present Redwood county with the rest of the then Brown county was placed in the Tenth district with Le Sueur, Steele, Faribault, Blue Earth, Renville, Nicollet, Sibley and Pierce.

1856 - The seventh territorial legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 1. The Tenth district was represented in the council by C. E. Flandrau, and in the house by Parsons K. Johnson, Aurelius F. de La Vergne and George A. McLeod.

1857 - The eighth and last territorial legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned March 7. The extra session lasted from April 27 to May 20. The tenth district was represented in the council by P. P. Humphrey and in the house by Joseph R. Brown, Francis Baasen and O. A. Thomas.

Constitutional Convention

March 3, 1857, congress passed an act authorizing the people of Minnesota to form a state constitution. Each council district was to be represented in this convention by two representatives for each councilman and representative to which it was entitled. The constitutional convention, consisting of 108 members, was authorized to meet at the capital on the second Monday in July, to frame a state constitution and submit it to the people of the territory. The election was held on the first Monday in June, 1857. July 13 the delegates met but, a disagreement arising in the organization, the Republican members organized one body and the Democrats another, fifty-nine delegates being given seats in the former and fifty-three in the latter, making 112 in all. Each of these bodies, claiming to be the legally constituted convention, proceeded with the work of formulating an instrument to be submitted to the people. After some days an understanding was effected between them, and by means of a committee of conference, the same constitution was framed and adopted by both bodies. On being submitted to the people, October 13, 1857, it was ratified.

Amos Cogswell, Lewis McKune, and Edwin Page Davis. On the Democratic side, from the Tenth district, sat: Joseph R. Brown, C. E. Flandrau, Francis Baasen, William B. McMahon, and J. B. Swan. Of these, Joseph R. Brown had been the Indian agent living at the Lower Sioux Agency in what is now Redwood county.

The history of this convention is so graphically given by W. H. C. Folsom, who was one of its members, in his interesting volume, "Fifty Years in the Northwest," that we quote it almost entire :

"The state was nearly equally divided betwen the Republicans and Democrats, still the question of politics did not enter largely into the contest except as a question of party supremacy. The people were a unit on the question of organizing a state government under the enabling act and in many cases there was but a single ticket in the field. It was a matter, therefore, of some surprise that there should be a separation among the delegates into opposing factions, resulting practically in the formation of two conventions, each claiming to represent the people and each proposing a constitution. The delegates, although but 108 were called, were numbered on the rolls of the two wings as 59 Republican and 53 Democratic, a discrepancy arising from some irregularity of enrollment, by which certain memberships were counted twice. The Republican members, claiming a bare majority, took possession of the hall at midnight, twelve hours before the legal time for opening the convention, the object being to obtain control of the offices and committees of the convention, a manifest advantage in the matter of deciding upon contested seats.

"In obedience to the call of the leaders of the party, issued the day before, the writer, with other Republicans, repaired to the house at the appointed hour, produced his credentials as a delegate, and was conducted into the illuminated hall by Hon. John W. North. The delegates were dispersed variously about the hall, some chatting together, others reading newspapers, smoking or snoring, and here and there one had fallen asleep in his seat. Occasionally a delegate nervously examined his revolver as if he anticipated some necessity for its use.

"The Democratic delegates were elsewhere, probably plotting in secret conclave to capture the hall, and perhaps it might be well enough to be prepared for the worst. Thus the remainder of the night passed and the forenoon of July 13. As soon as the clock struck twelve the Democratic delegates rushed tumultuously in, as if with the purpose of capturing the speaker's stand. That, however, was already occupied by the Republican delegates and the storming party was obliged to content itself with the lower steps of the stand. Both parties at the moment the clock ceased striking were yelling "order" vociferously, and nominating their officers pro tem. Both parties effected a tern-

"The Democratic wing adjourned at once to the senate chamber and there effected a permanent organization. The Republicans, being left in undisturbed possession of the hall, perfected their organization, and the two factions set themselves diligently to work to frame a constitution, each claiming to be the legally constituted convention, and expecting recognition as such by the people of the state and congress. The debates in each were acrimonious. A few of the more moderate delegates in each recognized the absurdity and illegality of their position and questioned the propriety of remaining and participating in proceedings which they could not sanction.

"The conventions continued their sessions inharmoniously enough. Each framed a constitution, at the completion of which a joint committee was appointed to revise and harmonize the two constitutions, but the members of the committes were as belligerent as the conventions they represented. Members grew angry, abusing each other with words and even blows, blood being drawn in an argument with bludgeons between two of the delegates. An agreement seemed impossible, when some one whose name has not found its way into history, made the happy suggestion that alternate articles of each constitution be adopted. When this was done, and the joint production of the two conventions was in presentable shape, another and almost fatal difficulty arose, as to which wing should be accorded the honor of signing officially this remarkable document. One body or the other must acknowledge the paternity of the hybrid. Ingenuity amounting to genius (it is a pity that the possessor should be unknown) found a new expedient, namely, to write out two constitutions in full, exact duplicates except as to signatures, the one to be signed by Democratic officers and members and the other by Republicans. These two constitutions were filed in the archives of the state and one of them, which one will probably never be known, was adopted by the people October 13, 1857."

Mr. Folsom is slightly in error. The enabling act did not specify any hour for the meeting of the convention, nor did it designate any definite place in the capitol where the sessions should be held, both of which omissions contributed to the confusion in organization. W. W. Folwell, in his "History of Minnesota," narrates the preliminaries as follows: "To make sure of being on hand, the Republican delegates repaired to the capitol late on the Sunday night preceding the first Monday in June and remained there, as one of them phrased it, 'to watch and pray for the Democratic brethren.' These did not appear till a few moments before twelve o'clock of the appointed day. Immediately upon their entrance in a body into the representatives' hall Charles R. Chase, secretary of the territory and a delegate, proceeded to the speaker's desk and called to order. A motion to adjourn was made by Colonel Gorman, and the question was taken by Chase, who declared it carried. The Democrats left the hall to the Republicans, who proceeded to organize the convention. Fifty-six delegates presented credentials in proper form and took their oaths to support the constitution of the United States. At noon of Tuesday the Democratic delegates assembled about the door of the hall, and finding it occupied by citizens who refused to give them place, met in the adjacent council chamber and proceeded to organize the convention. Henry H. Sibley was made chairman, on motion of Joseph R. Brown, and later became president of the body."

After the adjournment of the constitutional convention the Republicans and Democrats held their party conventions, each nominating a full state ticket and three condidates for Congress. The Republican candidate for governor was Alexander Ramsey and the Democratic candidate Henry H. Sibley. The election was held October 13, 1857, the constitution being adopted by an overwhelming vote; H. H. Sibley was elected governor by a majority of only 240 in a total of 35,240 votes, and the Democrats had a small majority in the legislature.

State Representation

The first Minnesota state legislature assembled December 2, 1857. There was a serious question, however, as to whether it was really a state legislature, as Minnesota had not yet been admitted to the Union. There was a question as to the recognition of Samuel Medary, the territorial governor, as governor of the state, but by a. vote of 59 to 49 he was so recognized by the legislature, and he, in turn, in his message recognized the law-making body as a state legislature. None of the state officers could take the oath of office, and the Republican members of the legislature entered a formal protest against any business whatever being done until after the admission of the state as a member of the Union. But the Democrats, having a majority, decided to hold a joint convention December 19 for the election of two United States senators. Henry M. Rice was elected for the long term on the first ballot, but it was not until after several ballotings that General James Shields won the short term. He was a new comer from Illinois and his election was a bitter pill for many of the old Democratic war-horses, such as Sibley, Steele, Brown and Gorman.

As a means of relieving the state from the awkward predicament in which it was placed, the legislature adopted. March 1, an amendment to the constitution authorizing the newly-elected officers to qualify May 1, whether the state was admitted by that date or not, this amendment to be submitted to the voters at an election called for April 15. A second amendment, submitted at the same time, provided for the famous $5,000,000 railroad bond loan, which was the cause of great loss and great bitterness to the people. Both amendments were overwhelmingly adopted, but in November, 1860, the bond amendment was expunged from the constitution, after $2,275,000 bonds had been issued. The legislature, March 25, took a recess until June 2.

In the meantime the steps looking toward the recognition of Minnesota's statehood by congress had lagged sadly. For some unknown reason, President Buchanan had delayed until the middle of January, 1858, transmitting to the United States senate the constitution adopted by the people. A bill for the admission of Minnesota as a state was introduced by Stephen A. Douglas, chairman of the committee on territories. When this bill came up February 1, there was a prolonged discussion, a number of the senators being in opposition because it would add another to the number of free states, thus disturbing the "balance of power" between the free and slave states. Among those participating in the debate were Senators Douglas, Wilson, Gwin, Hale, Mason, Green, Brown and Crittenden, the latter being much more moderate in his expressions than most of his fellow senators from the South. The debate continued until April 8, when the English bill, which provided for the admission of Kansas as a supposed slave state having passed, the opposition ceased, and Minnesota's bill was adopted by a vote of 49 to 3. The bill then went to the house, where it met the same kind of objections as had been raised in the senate, the English bill standing in the way until May 4, when it was passed. One week later, May 11, the bill admitting Minnesota, passed the house by a vote of 157 to 38, the following day receiving the approval of the President, and May 12, 1858, Minnesota obtained full recognition as a state in the Union. Informal news of the action of congress reached St. Paul, by telegraphic information brought from La Crosse, Wis., May 13, but the official notice was not received until some days later, and May 24 the state officers elected in October, 1858, took their oaths of office.

1857-58 - The first state legislature, as already noted, assembled December 2, 1857. On March 25, 1858, it took a recess until June 28, and finally adjourned August 12. The state was admitted May 11, 1858. It will, therefore, be seen that, although this legislature is called the first state legislature, nevertheless it assembled in territorial times.

By the apportionment of 1857, set forth in the state constitution adopted Oct. 13, 1857, Nicollet and Brown counties (then including the present Redwood) constituted the Seventeenth legis- lative district, with one senator and three representatives. The counties of Le Sueur, Sibley, Nicolett, Blue Earth, Faribault, McLeod, Renville, Brown and all other counties not included within other judicial districts, were constituted the Sixth judicial district. The Seventeenth legislative district was represented in the senate by Thomas Cowan, and in the house by Ephraim Pierce, Albert Tuttle and Frederick Redfield.

1858-59 - No session was held in the winter of 1858-59, mainly owing to the protracted session of 1857-58, which was believed to render unnecessary another one following so soon, the legislature of that year having so provided by enactment.

1859-60 - The second state legislature assembled December 7, 1859, and adjourned March 12, 1860. The Seventeenth district was represented in the senate by Thomas Cowan, and in the house by John Armstrong, E. Rehfeld and William Pfaender.

By the apportionment of 1860, all of the present Redwood county was included in the Nineteenth district, which was to consist of Nicolett, Sibley, Renville, Pierce and Davis counties, and that portion of Brown county west of Range 33. The district was to have one senator and two representatives.

1861 - The third state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned March 8. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by James W. Linde and the house by M. G. Hanscome and E. E. Paulding.

1862 - The fourth state legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned March 4. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Henry A. Swift and in the house by M. J. Severance and Adam Buck, Jr.

On account of the Indian outbreak in 1862, an extra session was called by the governor. It assembled September 9 and adjourned September 29. The officers and members were the same as at the regular session, except that L. K. Asker, from the Ninth district, was not present at the regular session, but presented his credentials to the second session.

1863 - The fifth state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned March 6. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Henry A. Swift and in the house by William Huey and W. Tennant.

1864 - The sixth state legislature assembled January 5, and adjourned March 5. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Henry A. Swift and in the house by Samuel Coffin and William Huey.

1865 - The seventh state legislature assembled January 3 and adjourned March 3. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Henry A. Swift and in the house by Hamilton Beatty and Henry Poehler.

1866 - The eighth state legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 2. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Charles T. Brown, of St. Peter, and in the house by Thomas Russell and J. S. G. Honner. At that time, Mr. Honner lived in Redwood Falls. Later he moved to the Minnesota bottoms in what is now Honner township.

By the apportionment of 1866 Redwood county was placed in the Nineteenth district with Nicollet, Brown, Sibley, Renville, Pierce and Davis counties. It was to be represented by one senator and two representatives.

1867 - The ninth state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned March 8. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Adam Buck, of Henderson, and in the house by Charles T. Brown and D. G. Shillock, of New Ulm.

1868 - The tenth state legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned March 6. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Charles T. Brown and in the house by John C. Rudolph, of New Ulm, and Adam Buck.

1869 - The eleventh state legislature assembled January 5 and adjourned March 5. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Charles T. Brown and in the house by J. C. Rudolph and J. C. Stoever, of Henderson.

1870 - The twelfth state legislature assembled January 4 and adjourned March 3. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by William Pfaender, of New Ulm, and in the house by William L. Couplin, of St. Peter, and P. H. Swift, of Beaver Palls.

1871 - The thirteenth state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned March 3. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by William Pfaender and in the house by W. L. Couplin and J. S. G. Honner.

By the apportionment of 1871 Redwood county was placed in the Thirty-seventh district, with Brown and Lyon counties, to be represented by one senator and two representatives.

1872 - The fourteenth state legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 2. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by William Pfaender and in the house by O. S. Reishus, of Yellow Medicine, and Henry Weyhe, of New Ulm.

1873 - The fifteenth state legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned March 7. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by J. S. G. Honner and in the house by J. W. Blake, of Marshall, and Charles C. Brandt, of Brown county.

1874 - The sixteenth state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned March 6. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by J. S. G. Honner and in the house by Ziba B. Clark, of Lac qui Parle, and Charles Hansing.

1875 - The seventeenth state legislature assembled January 5 and adjourned March 5. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by John W. Blake and in the house by H. S. Berg, of New Ulm, and Knud H. Helling, of New Ulm.

1876 - The eighteenth state legislature assembled January 4 and adjourned March 3. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by John W. Blake and in the house by Peter P. Jacobson, of Lac qui Parle, and William Skinner, of Brown couinty.

1877 - The nineteenth state legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 2. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by S. A. Hall, of Wood Lake, and in the house by David Worst, of Redwood county, and E. P. Bertrand, of Brown county.

1878 - The twentieth state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned March 8. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by S. A. Hall and in the house by J. W. Williams, of Marshall and Charles C. Brandt.

1879 - The twenty-first state legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned March 7. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by K. H. Helling and in the house by Gorham Powers, of Granite Falls, and J. P. Bertrand.

1881 - The twenty-second state legislature assembled January 4 and adjourned March 4. The Thirty-seventh district was represented in the senate by S. B. Peterson of New Ulm, and in the house by J. C. Zeiske, of Sleepy Eye, and G. W. Braley, of Redwood Falls. Beginning with this year, a resident of Redwood county has sat in every session of the legislature.

By the apportionment of 1881, Redwood county was placed in the Ninth district with Brown county and was entitled to one senator and two representatives.

An extra session was called for the purpose of considering the legislation at the regular session relating to the state railroad bonds, which were declared unconstitutional by the supreme court. The session was commenced October 11 and closed November 13.

1883 - The twenty-third state legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 2. The Ninth district was represented in the senate by S. D. Peterson, and in the house by Joseph Bobleter, of New Ulm, and Orlando B. Turrell, of Redwood Falls.

1885 - The twenty-fourth state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned March 2. The Ninth district was represented in the senate by S. D. Peterson and in the house by William Skinner and Orlando B. Turrell.

1887 - The twenty-fifth state legislature assembled January 4 and adjourned March 4. The Ninth district was represented in the senate by Thomas E. Bowen. of Sleepy Eye, and in the house

1889 - The twenty-sixth state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned April 23. The Ninth district was represented in the senate by T. E. Bowen and in the house by James McMillan, of Redwood Falls, and C. W. H. Heidemann, of New Ulm.

By the apportionment of 1889 Redwood county remained in the Ninth district with Brown county, to be represented by one senator and two representatives.

1891 - The twenty-seventh state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned April 20. The Ninth district was represented in the senate by S. D. Peterson and in the house by Orlando B. Turrell and Christian Ahlness, of Brown county.

1893 - The twenty-eighth state legislature assembled January 3 and adjourned April 18. The Ninth district was represented in the senate by S. D. Peterson and in the house by William Skinner and Orlando B. Turrell.

1895 - The twenty-ninth state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned April 23. The Ninth district was represented in the senate by E. D. French, of Redwood Falls, and in the house by J. N. Jones and Nels Christenson, of Brown county.

1897 - The thirtieth state legislature assembled January 5 and adjourned April 21. The Ninth district was represented in the senate by E. D. French and in the house by Henry Heimerdinger, of Brown county, and James A. Larson, of Walnut Grove, Redwood county.

By the apportionment of 1897 Redwood county was placed in the Nineteenth district, with Brown county, to be represented by one senator and two representatives.

1899 - The thirty-first state legislature assembled January 3 and adjourned April 18. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by George W. Somerville, of Sleepy Eye, and in the house by Henry Heimerdinger and James A. Larson.

1901 - The thirty-second state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned April 12. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by George W. Somerville and in the house by S. D. Peterson and James A. Larson.

An extra session was called for the purpose of considering the report of the Fox Commission created by Chapter 13, General Laws of A. D. 1901. The extra session convened February 4, 1902, and adjourned March 11, 1902.

1903 - The thirty-third state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned April 12. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by George W. Somerville and in the house by S. D. Peterson and Frank Clague, then of Lamberton, Redwood county, now of Redwood Falls.

1905 - The thirty-fourth state legislature assembled January 3 and adjourned April 18. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by George W. Somerville and in the house by S. D. Peterson and Frank Clague.

1907 - The thirty-fifth state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned April 22. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Frank Clague and in the house by S. D. Peterson and C. M. Bendixen, of Three Lakes, Redwood county.

1909 - The thirty-sixth state legislature assembled January 5 and adjourned April 22. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Frank Clague and in the house by C. M. Bendixen and Albert Pfaender, of New Ulm.

3 and adjourned April 19. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Frank Clague and in the house by Joseph R. Keefe, of North Redwood, Redwood county, and Albert Pfaender.

An extra session was called for the purpose of enacting a state-wide direct primary law applicable to all state officers, a corrupt practices act and a reapportionment law. The extra session convened June 4, 1912, and adjourned June 18, 1912.

1913 - The thirty-eight state legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned April 24. The Nineteenth district was represented in the senate by Frank Clague and in the house by Albert Pfander and C. M. Bendixen.

At several successive sessions of the legislature prior to that of 1913 attempts had been made to secure a new apportionment. The last had been in 1897 and a great change in the population had taken place in the meantime - the northern part of the state having increased while in the southern part the gain had been slight, in some counties an actual loss having taken place. At the 1913 session, after a protracted struggle, a compromise bill was agreed upon, by which the number of senators was increased to 67, and the number of representatives to 130, although the legislature was already one of the largest in the United States and altogether out of proportion to the population. By this apportionment, Redwood county was placed in the Fourteenth district with Brown county and was to be represented by one senator and three representatives.

4 and adjourned April 22. The Fourteenth district was represented in the senate by L. E. Potter of Springfield and in the house by Albert Hauser of Sleepy Eye, Alfred W. Mueller of New Ulm and C. M. Bendixen.

Congressional Representation. Redwood county has never elected any of its residents to Congress, though Orlando B. Turrell was once a formidable candidate for the Republican nomi- nation. Since the apportionment of 1871, Redwood county has remained in the Second Congressional district with the exception of the period from 1901 to 1913 when it was in the Seventh district. The Second district now consists of Blue Earth, Faribault, Martin, Watonwan, Brown, Cottonwood, Jackson, Nobles, Rock, Pipestone, Murray, Redwood and Lincoln counties.