Below is part of chapter 7 vol 3 - History of Iowa. You can see the whole chapter on the Iowa History Site. CHAPTER VII Fencing Prairie Farms - The Invention of Barbed Wire - Formation of the First "Trust" - A Monopoly to Control the Manufacture and Sale of Wire Fencing - Farmers of Iowa Organize to Resist the Monopoly - A Free Factory Established - A Legal and Commercial Conflict - The State Aids the Farmers - Their Final Victory - The Farmers' Alliance - Kirkwood in the Cabinet - Assassination of President Garfield - Political Conventions of 1881 - The First Woman Nominated for a State Office - Buren R. Sherman Elected Governor - An Important Decision - Heroic Deed of Kate Shelly - The Nineteenth General Assembly - Election of United States Senators - Free Passes for Public Officials - Prohibition Amendment to the Constitution Adopted - Declared Void by the Supreme Court........... Debbie Clough Gerischer Iowa Gen Web, Assistant CC, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ IAGENWEB: Special History Project: http://iagenweb.org/history/index.htm Gerischer Family Web Site: http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/