10 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



of the Sugar Trust are women; 49% of the Penn. R. R. and 

 52 1-2% of the Telephone Co. They are not all large stock- 

 holders, but their holdings are large for many of them individ- 

 ually. They reach ever)^ village and hamlet in the land. They 

 are your customers and neighbors, and ours. One-half of the 

 funds of the savings banks of this state are invested in cor- 

 poration stocks and bonds. And those funds represent the 

 accumulations of more than 233,000 depositors, 312 out of 

 every thousand men, women and children in the state. Where 

 is greater proof that every man owes his neighbor a duty, and 

 must cooperate with him. 



The lesson is plain. Our work must be constructive, not 

 destructive. The corporation is but an aggregation of individ- 

 uals. The merchant and the mechanic and the farmer are all 

 units in the great mass, and what truly benefits the individua' 

 benefits the mass. We have no right to oppose legislative 

 reforms conceived by the Grange, nor you those put forward 

 for the manufacturer, the merchant and the laborer. In our 

 several walks and interests we perceive separate and distinct 

 needs, but so long as they severally look to the improvement 

 of the general condition of humanity they will be generally 

 beneficial, and we must give and take as we work toward that 

 end. 



Again I say, we gladly welcome you here. We welcome you 

 because you represent the best citizenship of the state. We wel- 

 come you because your increased prosperity prospers us. We 

 welcome you because our mutual contact and better acquaint- 

 ance makes for broader views, broader mindedness and thac 

 spirit of cooperation without which there can be no real social, 

 educational, political and financial growth and stability. We 

 earnestly hope that when your labors are ended and you repair 

 to your several homes, you may each and all carry with you a 

 warm spot in your hearts for our city and our citizens. 



RESPONSE. 



Dr. G. AI. Twitchell, Auburn. 



As a private in the ranks, it is a pleasure to me to stand here 

 at the request of our president, and accept the cordial words 



