200 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



thousand industries, and have hound in fraternal union the Orient and the 

 Occident with the pathway of the iron horse of travel. Our inexhaustible 

 mineral wealth can scarcely be estimated, and the treasures yet hidden in 

 the granite safes of the future, away from the gaze of the present generation, 

 will be valuable incentives for active brain and muscle in our children's 

 children, that their inventive genius and industrious daytime may lead 

 them to the summit of a peaceful plenty. 



The sunrise of hope breaks with freshness upon a prosperous future, and 

 the grateful signs of future prosperity cannot be marred by want or sloth- 

 ful indifference. Thousands upon thousands of God's- green acres have 

 yielded, and will 3aeid, their abundant harvest, that we may be nurtured 

 and bountifully fed. The beautiful Sierras have furnished their precious 

 metals of trade to better our condition, and the mighty vaults that for cen- 

 turies have been closed, at the command of scientific research, opened with 

 a spring, and the millions they had treasured from their youth until the 

 snows of age had tipped their rugged peaks have been thrown recklessly 

 in the lap of man, with the command to the subjects at their base to respond 

 in a just proportion. American genius caught the fire from heaven, and 

 it speaks to us from a hundred thousand miles of wire for our family con- 

 versations. We may send it into the bosom of the Atlantic and across its 

 waters and hold friendly converse with the islands of the sea. Tired of the 

 pony express, wearied of the post, angry at the expense of the messenger, 

 we conquered time and distance by the wonderful invention that makes 

 the telephone our constant companion and its necessity absolute. Won- 

 derful, say we all, is our present. Still more wonderful the virgin years 

 beckoning us on to greater achievements. 



What shall we say of California, the regnant queen, robed in her maiden 

 garments of prosperity and wealth, unspotted yet by a mistake in anything 

 of interest to her people. The Pacific pays her tribute with one thousand 

 eight hundred miles of its waters, and invites the commerce of the world 

 to voyage to her Golden Gate. One hundred and ninety thousand square 

 miles, yielding all kinds of mineral and agricultural wealth, sustaining 

 her, and a million industrious and energetic souls as her subjects, she 

 can progress and prosper from her own natural resources and pour millions 

 of dollars into the treasuries of the world, and though young in years, we 

 ask no favors from the world's cities for fruit and vine, and it seems that 

 God has willed us perennial spring. Piercing the domain of heaven, Shasta 

 and Hamilton invite the world's tourists to pleasures denied them elsewhere, 

 while Yosemite proudly watches us in our effort, and the Sentinel Dome 

 stands godfather for our patriotism and power. Education, science, and 

 art are no longer the companions of wealth and power exclusively. In 

 workshop and stubblefield, our public schools open their doors to our grow- 

 ing children as a potent factor in future civilization, fitting them for the 

 highest type of American citizenship. With all these tributaries to State 

 and national greatness, we bid the future a courteous defiance, and hand 

 to our children's children the ark of freedom's covenant in the presence of 

 a lasting peace. 



And now, at this annual congregation of our agricultural people, under 

 circumstances most encouraging and most auspicious, let us bid each other 

 God-speed in our good work, and in behalf of the President and Directors 

 of this institution, I bid you all welcome. Stay with us, be happy, and go 

 to your quiet homes feeling and knowing that it was well to have been 

 here. 



