MEDICAL SOCIETY.
Des Moines County Medical Society was organized at a meeting held on the 19th day of November, 1873. The first members were as follows: Philip Harvey, G. M. Crawford, John Sheehey, J. C. Stone, G. B. Little, H. B. Ransom, D. S. Forney, J. Howes, W. W. Nassau, G. R. Henry, J. V. Bean, P. Brumund, R. C. Walker, F. Kuitham, J. Ransom, S. Scarff, J. A. Wright, L. B. Power. The first officers were: G. M. Crawford, President; H. B. Ransom, Vice President; P. Brumund, Secretary and Treasurer. The present officers are: R. C. Walker, President; G. B. Little, Vice President; G. Nelson Jones, Secretary and Treasurer. The present numbers of members is twenty-three. The Society meets in the office of G. Nelson Jones, on the third Wednesday of each month.

MILITARY COMPANIES.
Mathias Post, No. 5, Department of Iowa, G. A. R.—This Post was organized December 14, 1874, and the charter granted by the National Head Post shows the following as charter members: W. G. Cummings, H. J. Wakerly, William Boyer, H. H. Gillman, C. W. Lemberger, H. A. Sailes, William Roth, James Halliday, A. A. Perkins, W. H. Warden, J. C. Stone. This organization has had its opposition in Iowa, and has enjoyed an era of prosperity seldom known in the history of organizations of its nature, being one of purely charitable motives. Those who associate politics with the Grand Army, and accuse it of being for political purposes, simply display their lack of knowledge; as the constitution governing it especially directs that "nothing of a political nature shall be entertained, as nomination for office, discussion of partisan or political subjects," etc. It is composed of those who it is natural enough to expect would be heartily interested in the great sectienal strife today, and since the close of the gigantic war; but who, if true soldiers, are also true to the principles of fraternity, charity and loyalty, and do not carry it to the sessions of the Post, feeling that there is not the place is belongs. This Post has on its rolls the names of some of Iowa's most gallant soldiers; to enumerate would simply do injustice to those whom we have not the space to name. The name of Gen. C. L. Mathias being its signet is alone enough. There is always a hand extended to those asking admission to its circle; and as they recount the deeds of heroism in the dark days which tried men's souls, they are proud they can join the glad songs and call each other comrades. The present officers are: J. L. Kelley, Post Commander; H. H. Gillman, Senior Commander; C. A. Davis, Junior Commander; W. H. Horm, Quartermaster; J. C. Bonnell, Chaplain.
   The department officers are mostly members of this Post, being as follows: A. A. Perkins, Department Commander; J. L. Kelley, Assistant, Quartermaster General; W. W. Gillingham, Assistant, Adjutant General; and others, whose names the records of the Post do not furnish. It is a deplorable fact that this is the only Post of G. A. R. in the county where so many old soldiers reside, and one that was always among the first to furnish its quota when the call to arms told that more help was needed in supporting the war for the Union. This Post occupies a prominent position among the many charitable institutions of Des Moines County. The meeting-place of the same is the Parsons' Block, corner Third and Jefferson streets.
Lyon's Battery was organized October 16, 1874. Its first officers were: W. L. Crane, Captain; John Sockmeyer and James Martin, First Lieutenants; Andrew Gartley and Robert Blanchard, Second Lieutenants. In April, 1878, this company was transferred to Battery H First Artillery of Iowa National Guards. The present officers are: M. L. Crane, Captain; William Treasure, First Lieutenant; William Atkinson, Second Lieutenant; Emanuel Zerber, Third Lieutenant. The company meets at No. 215 Valley street.
The Burlington Red Ribbon Reform Club was organized November 27, 1877. The first officers were: W. N. Jarvis, President; W. E. Blake, First Vice President; W. H. H. Clark, Second Vice President; J. A. Murphy, Third Vice President; T. W. Lockwood, Secretary; D. B. Colby, Assistant Secretary; J. A. McCosh, Financial Secretary, J. H. Taylor, Treasurer. The present officers are: W. N. Jarvis, President; Charles J. Dodge, First Vice President; J. W. C. Jones, Second Vice President; W. D. Inghram, Third Vice President; J. L. Sharp, Secretary; T. W. Lockwood, Assistant Secretary; S. A. McCosh, Financial Secretary; J. H. Taylor, Treasurer.
   When first organized, this club had a membership of 1,200; at present it has 2,000 regularly enrolled members. During the Drew and Reed meetings in the early winter of 1858, 1,730 persons, male and female, signed the Red Ribbon pledge. The club meets in Mozart Hall, corner of Sixth and Jefferson streets, and has property value at $800.
The Women's White Ribbon Reform Club was organized November 27, 1877, with the following first officers: Mrs. J. L. Brown, President; Miss Lou Acres, Secretary; Mrs. W. N. Jarvis, Treasurer. The present officers are: Mrs. J. L. Brown, President; Mrs. J. N. Ripley, Secretary; Mrs. W. N. Jarvis, Treasurer. This society meets at Mozart Hall also, and has property valued at $500. When the club first organized it had a membership of 600, which has increased to 1,000. In addition to the officers named, there are one Vice President representing each church, and one Vice President at large.

MUSICAL BANDS.
   The Burlington Silver Cornet Band and Orchestra was organized in 1856, and consisted at that time of ten members. Many changes have occurred in the membership, and of the original members, only four, namely, M. Albert, Henry Bauer, Fred Bauer and William Brand, are now connected with the band. M. Albert is the leader, and it numbers six regular members.
   Rhein's Cornet Band, formerly the Orchard City Band, was started in 1873, with ten members. Frequent changes have been made in the membership, which at one time numbered fourteen. July 6, 1876, a re-organization took place, and the present name was adopted. The band is composed of six pieces, and has for its leader W. H. Rhein.
   Lehman's Band consists of Joseph Lehman and his three sons, and is a strictly private band.

CEMETERIES.
Aspen Grove Cemetery was incorporated January 3, 1844, by B. White, A. Bridgman, G. Temple, John Johnson, Levi Hager and their associates. The first officers were: B. White, President; Oliver Cock, Secretary; Levi Hager, Treasurer. The Board of Control were composed of G. Temple, G. Partridge and A. Bridgman. The present officers are: C. Starker, President; William Garrett, Secretary; F. Schramm, Treasurer, and F. Leicht, Sexton. The Board of Controls consists of Lyman Cook, Evan Evans, J. G. Foote, S. E. Taylor, John Ganhn and O. H. Schenck. The cemetery is located in the northwestern part of the city, contains fifty-one acres of ground, several large vaults and many fine monuments.
The Catholic Cemetery is located at the end of Sixth street, and contains ten acres of ground.
The Jewish Cemetery is located on the Germantown road, and contains one acre of ground.

DES MOINES COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The history of the Agricultural Society of Des Moines County, dates, according to the records of the Society, to 1852, in which year the citizens of Des Moines County organized an agricultural society, which held its first annual fair in 1853. In the succeeding year, the annual fair was a success, but it involved the Society in debt, and no fair was held again until 1856, and then in an open field. This was repeated in 1857, after which the organization was abandoned. In the spring of 1859, the citizens of Des Moines County again began to agitate the question of having an agricultural society, and a new organization was effected May 28, and a Constitution and By-Laws adopted.
  The first officers—President, H. W. Starr; Vice President, J. K. Scott; Secretary, George H. Lane; Treasurer, William F. Coolbaugh. Directors—Calvin Gamage, Robert Stewart, M. W. Robinson, John S. David, Elbridge G. Leffler.
   The subsequent history of the Society we will not give in detail, but shall content ourselves with the fact that the history of the association shows a career of uninterrupted progress; each successive exhibition has generally been a decided improvement over that of the previous year. Its sole aim and purpose is to advance the agricultural and industrial interests of Des Moines County, and the vast and fruitful country surrounding it.
   The grounds are beautifully situated near the western limits of the city of Burlington, embracing within the inclosure thirty acres of beautiful level land. There is an abundance of good water on all parts of the grounds, from springs, ponds and wells.
   The race-track, one-half mile in length, with a grand stand, from which the horses can be seen on any part of the track, is acknowledged to be the finest in the State. There are other customary buildings and improvements on the grounds, including Fine Art and Floral Halls, Fruit and Vegetable Hall, Mechanical Hall, etc., and fine covered stables and stalls.
   The Fair of 1875 was a complete success financially and otherwise. Since the above-named year, fairs have been held annually, and, though the exhibitions have always been a success, yet they have not always proven financially satisfactory.
   The present officers are: John Patterson, President; E. Chamberlain, Vice President; C. C. Fowler, Treasurer; C. M. Garman, Secretary. Directors—G. R. Henry, D. Leonard, W. F. Johnson, C. Messenger, C. Cameron, R. B. Foster, J. Bock.

POOR-FARM.
The County Poor-Farm is located on Section 4, Township 69, Range 3 west, and is composed of cultivated fields, pastures, corn-fields, an orchard and several buildings. The present keeper is Lemuel Ewing. It is but right to state that this public institution of Des Moines County has been repeatedly condemned by the Board of Supervisors as inadequate for the purpose in general as well as for the accommodation of the present number of deserving applicants for admittance. The erection of workshops nearer the city has been recommended, as also the building of tenement-houses and an insane hospital, to insure the proper care and employment of the county poor.

PIONEER SOCIETY.
PIONEER SOCIETY.The Hawk-Eye Pioneer Association, an organization limited to the county, was organized on the second of January, 1858. It was designed to include all as members who came to the county on or before the first day of June, 1840, though its constitution admitted to corresponding membership those who were residents of Iowa at that time. The Association reached about two hundred members. The oldest settler was Judge William Morgan, now deceased, who came to the county from Illinois on the 5th of June, 1833, five days after the Indian claim had expired. He was Judge of the first court ever held in Burlington. The oldest settler now living is Henry Moore, who was Mayor of Burlington in 1842.

BURLINGTON'S OPPORTUNITIES.
Burlington is well situated for becoming a great commercial and manufacturing city. With lines of railroad radiating in every direction, bringing to her warehouses the products of near and distant portions of the country; with the Mississippi River at her door, ready to float upon its bosom such products as seek a Southern market; with a wealth of timber suited to manufacturing purposes near at hand; with inexhaustible coal deposits within easy reach either to the east or west; and with the great South and West as an unfailing market for either manufactured articles or surplus breadstuffs; it does appear as if a promising future opened before the city; and it is not unreasonable to believe that within a few years these expectations may be realized.
   We commend the following remarks, taken from the Hawk-Eye, to all who feel an interest in the future of Burlington as a manufacturing city:
   "We have not the statistics at hand, but the total amount paid by the State of Iowa alone into the coffers of manufacturers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and the Eastern States, is almost incredible.
   "Do we want a threshing machine or a reaper? It comes from Ohio. Do we need furniture? A manufacturer in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, or the East, immediately supplies our wants. Do we want iron or glass? Pittsburgh stands ready with open and capacious pockets, ready to draw in our last dollar. Do we need cotton or woolen goods? Nothing is easier than to send our orders to a Stewart or a Claflin. And so the list might be continued indefinitely. Out of all the labor-saving machinery and other articles of daily consumption in the State of Iowa, what a beggarly array is made here?
   "The people of Iowa pursue a suicidal policy in shipping their grain to the manufacturing districts of the East, submitting to outrageous freight tariffs, and then duplicate their folly by purchasing three-fourths of everything they consume, as well as a large proportion of all the machinery with which they make and secure their crops, from a distant market, and, besides paying a large profit to the manufacturer, again contribute to the plethoric purses of the railways.
   "The true remedy for the growing evils of which farmers complain, is to encourage home manufacturers. Give them the preference always, and as a legitimate result, factories of every conceivable kind will at once spring into existence in the West, attracting large bodies of mechanics and their families, and creating a home demand for a large per cent of the breadstuffs that now find an Eastern or Southern market.
   "No city in the West offers more decided advantages as a point for the investment of money in manufacturing enterprise than does Burlington. Real estate is cheap and local encouragement of a substantial character will be cheerfully, gladly extended.
   "Fuel is abundant. Both to the east and west, within easy distance from this city are vast quantities of coal, as yet but partially developed. It can be laid down at the doors of factories in large quantities at almost nominal cost.
   "There is an unfailing supply of water obtainable--whether it may be needed in rolling-mills, in paper-mills, or simply to supply boilers.
   "There is a ready market. No one will dispute this proposition, we presume. And when we reflect how large a per cent of the territory of this and the Western States is yet undeveloped, the magnitude of the future market almost passes comprehension.
   "There are abundant modes of transportation, by which raw material can be obtained cheaply and expeditiously, and these opportunities are constantly multiplying, and by the same or other routers manufactured articles can seek a market.
   "Burlington possesses all of these advantages, and that they are correctly stated, and that the deduction drawn from them is a fair one, witness the flourishing condition of such manufacturing enterprises as are now in operation here. We ask capitalists and others to consider these facts."

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