228 agriculture: of MAINE. 



seen the small factory I have been connected with grow from 

 1 20 to over 500 patrons in this time. I think a great deal ot 

 our success was due to this very thing, — that we got the patrons 

 to have confidence in the business, in the manager and in the way 

 the cream was tested and paid for. Sometimes we do not pay 

 as much as our competitors but we have had but very little 

 trouble on that score, as long as our patrons thought we were 

 paying all we could afford. 



I am sorry there are not more dairymen here. I want to of- 

 fer one suggestion, — that the papers that are being read here 

 should be sent to the associated press of the State, and the agri- 

 cultural papers, so that instead of reaching two or three hundred 

 people they will reach thousands all over the State. I think 

 it would bring these things more to the attention of the people. 



John M. Deering: I was not upon the program to speak 

 and it may seem out of place for me to ask for your attention at 

 this time but I wish to speak of some matters in connection with 

 the man who first discovered that a dairy organization was nec- 

 essary in this State. I well remember, some fourteen or fifteen 

 years ago, of receiving a letter from Hon. Rutillus Alden of 

 Winthrop stating that there was to be a meeting held at Lew- 

 iston at a certain date for the dairymen, for the purpose of or- 

 ganizing a dairy association if possible, and asking me to attend. 

 I attended that meeting, with others, and Mr. Alden set forth 

 the reasons why he thought it was necessary to have a dairy as- 

 sociation in the State. He said that he thought he could see a 

 gleaming light in the future which if the dairymen would follow 

 it, would not only be of great benefit to them but to all other 

 agricultural interests of the State. He could see that the con- 

 ditions of Maine were such that without a prosperous live stock 

 interest it would be impossible to have a prosperous agricul- 

 ture. He could see that if the live stock interests of the State 

 deteriorated all other lines of agriculture would deteriorate in 

 the same proportion. He could see that dairying was the most 

 reliable of any line of agriculture because when other lines failed 

 dairying would always furnish the money to pay the taxes and 

 provide food and clothing for the children. These were Mr. 

 Alden's sentiments at that time, and there were some at that 

 meeting who felt that Mr. Alden was right in his premises. 

 There were others present who thought the light was too far in 



