58 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



and especially in connection with this dairy business is the 

 encouragement of the public, financial, leading men; that the 

 leading officials, men high in authority, should encourage the 

 investment of capital. What are we doing at the present time 

 with $80,000,000 that is deposited in our savings banks, half or 

 two-thirds of it coming from these farmers, and a goodly meas- 

 ure of it from the farms represented here tonight? What are 

 we doing with that money? It goes into our savings banks and 

 goes into the great enterprises in connection with outside 

 states and distant states, with scarcely an investment in our own 

 home State and in our own business. It is difficult today for 

 one of these farmers who has made a share of this money and 

 deposited it in the bank, to get that bank to loan it back to him^ 

 and it requires wide security to do it. Xow that sentiment is 

 wrong. We want a sentiment that will encourage the invest- 

 ment of that money here upon our own farms, in our own 

 homes, and keep them with such of the conveniences of life, 

 such of the privileges as they may easily have, such as are 

 equal to those in the larger towns and in the cities, and thus 

 add to the pleasure of farm life. And in closing I wish to say 

 here that my observation, my experience, and my claim is at the 

 present time that nowhere in business life can so much be gotten 

 out of life that is desirable, that we are all after, that we all 

 wish for. that we all need, as on one of these independent 

 farms ; a country home where with our children, and our rela- 

 tives, our friends and our acquaintances, we can carry on this 

 business and enjoy every privilege that is vouchsafed to intel- 

 ligent people. You do well, ladies and gentlemen, to come here 

 tonight to encourage us and show by your presence that you 

 believe in this country life, that you believe in the w^ork that this 

 Association is engaged in, that you believe in our beloved State, 

 that you believe in this town, in this vicinity, and that you know 

 there is much to reward us for the honest effort put forth intel- 

 ligently in the direction of this and other associated industries. 

 We thank you heartily for this reception and for your presence, 

 and we trust that this meeting may leave a good impression 

 that w^ill have a tendency to encourage you to go on to still 

 greater effort to build up this community still more prosper- 

 ously and give to country life such a measure of appreciation- 

 as we firmly believe it should have. 



