success of the Republican candidates by a plurality of over 30,000. J. H. Lozier, the Temperance candidate for Governor, received 1,397 votes.
In September, 1875, the reunion of the Army of the Tennessee was held in Des Moines. It drew together at the Capital of Iowa the greatest military commanders of modern times. General Grant, who was President of the United States, Generals Wm. T. Sherman, Philip H. Sheridan, George H. Thomas, Oliver O. Howard, John A. Logan, W. W. Belknap, Secretary of War, and Grenville M. Dodge were all present and participated in the meetings which continued several days. Immense crowds of people from every part of Iowa gathered at the Capital to meet and greet these veteran commanders of the late Civil War. A reception was held at the Government building where the famous generals, with President Grant at the head, stood in the main hall, between the United States Pension Office and the Post Office, where more than 10,000 citizens passed taking by the hand these world famous military chieftains. Nearly every building in the city was decorated with the National flag. At the public meeting, held at Moore’s Opera House on September 28th, General Grant made a speech which attracted wider notice and interest than any before delivered by him. It was the subject of public discussion for more than thirty years. The school children of the city had been given a holiday to meet the President, and in their presence General Grant spoke of the common schools in the following sentence:
“Encourage free schools and resolve that not one dollar of money appropriated to their support, no matter how raised, shall be appropriated to the support of any sectarian school. Resolve that either the State or Nation or both combined shall support institutions of learning sufficient to afford every child growing up in the land the opportunity of a good common school education, unmixed with sectarian, pagan or atheistical tenets. Leave the matter of religion to the family circle, the church and the private school supported entirely by private contribution. Keep the church and State forever separate.”
