William Wallace Dodge

As printed in 1888

WILLIAM WALLACE DODGE, a prominent lawyer of Burlington, Iowa, and the present State Senator from the Ninth Senatorial District, was born in Burlington, April 25, 1854. His father was the late Gen. Augustus C. Dodge, of whom a sketch is given elsewhere in this volume. His grandfather, Gov. Henry Dodge, was the first Governor of Wisconsin and also served as United States Senator from that State.

William Wallace Dodge received his literary education at Notre Dame, Ind., taking a scientific course and graduating in the class of '74. He then entered the law department of the State University of Iowa, graduating in June, 1876. He had the honor of being chosen president of class-day exercises on that occasion, June 19, and was awarded the literary prize offered by the Burlington bar to the graduating class for the best written argument on a given thesis of law. Immediately after taking his degree, Mr. Dodge entered upon the practice of his profession in his native city, in company with his brother, Charles J., under the firm name of Dodge <fe Dodge. By his brilliant talent, high moral character and close application to business, he has won a prominent position at the bar.

Mr. Dodge is an earnest Democrat, and seems to have been born with a natural instinct for politics, in fact it might bo said to be hereditary with him. His father and grandfather before him were eminent statesmen and Democrats of the old Hickory t3'pe. Both were members of the United States Senate at the same time (the only instance in the history of the country where father and son sat side by side as members of that body) one from Iowa and the other from Wisconsin. Mr. Dodge began reading and talking politics in his youth, and made his maiden campaign speech while in company with his father at the little town of Franklin, Lee Co., Iowa, during the Presidential campaign of 1870, since which time he has taken an active part in ever local and national campaign, speaking from the stump, serving on committees, presiding at conventions and working at the polls. He was chosen Captain of the Cleveland and Hendricks Club during the campaign of 1884, served as Chairman of a number of Democratic County Conventions, and as Delegate to local and State Conventions. At the Democratic State Convention, held at Des Moines, Sept. 1, 1837, he had, for a young man, the distinguished honor of being chosen Temporary Chairman of that organization, and performed the duties of his position with dignity and dispatch. During many years of indefatigable effort in behalf of his party, Mr. Dodge never sought, nor would he accept, public office till the fall of 1884, when his friends induced him to accept the nomination for State Senator, when, as if to prove the exception to the rule, that a " Prophet is never without honor save in his own country," he was elected by a majority of 934 over a popular Republican candidate, who

1 r men had the advantage of age. political experience, and the prestige of a good soldier record. It was charged that, while Mr. Dodge possessed superior ability and unquestioned integrity, he was guilty of the heinous crime of being a young man, and was lacking in legislative experience. The first fault, his friends claimed, time would remedy; and the latter he could more quickly overcome by placing him where the necessary opportunity existed. His course in the Senate has fully- justified the most sanguine expectations of his friends and constituents. His introduction of important bills, and able management in securing their adoption, soon proved his lack of experience no serious hinderance to his usefulness, while his eloquent and logical speech in favor of the impeachment of State Auditor Brown attracted general public attention. His many course in rejecting the so-called "$216 salarygrab," and his sensible speech opposing it, was consistent with his high sense of honor, and was generally approved by his constituents. He was the first to introduce a bill in the Iowa Legislature on the subject of child labor, designed to prohibit the employment of children under fifteen years of age, in factories, mines and work-shops. Mr. Dodge has made the subject of that bill, and the laws of other States and countries in regard to the same, a special study\ His correspondence in relation to the subject has been voluminous and varied, until he was well qualified to be the champion of that worthy cause. He was the first to advance the idea of making the Iowa Eegistry law an issue in politics, and predicting the bad effect of its enforcement. The subsequent amendments of the law fully justified his views.

Mr. Dodge is a most indefatigable worker in whatever he undertakes, possessing intellectual faculties of a high order, and, with studious habits, his abilities, both natural and acquired, are such as attract attention and command respect. Nature has happily endowed him with a fine physique, a good voice and a gift of oratory. Quick in perception and correct in analysis, his conclusions are logical and convincing. While next to the youngest member of the Senate, Mr. Dodge has won a place in the foremost ranks of the legislators of the State. His name has already received favorable mention as a future candidate for Congress, and it is only a question of time when this talented young lawyer will be found following closely upon the footsteps of his illustrious ancestors in the halls of the National Congress.

Near the close of the session of the Twentysecond General Assembly of Iowa, he was appointed one of two selected from the Senate, to act on the committee of five appointed to investigate certain charges that had been preferred against the State University of Iowa. The investigation began on May 15, 1888, ended July 20, 1888, and to his credit be it said that he was the most faithful member of the commission, not having lost a day from his labors. This is but an additional evidence to his fidelity to public duty.

As a representative of the younger generation, but one who has already made his mark among the distinguished men of Des Moines County% we gladly present to the patrons of the Album an excellent portrait of Mr. Dodge.

As printed in Portrait and biographical album of Des Moines County, Iowa, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county .. (1888). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.