ADDRESS. 



By Hon. Payson Smith, State Superintendent of Schools. 



Augusta. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 



If you were to go into one of the grammar schools of this 

 city tomorrow and ask of the boys and girls there what the 

 leading industry of the city of Auburn is, I fancy that every 

 hand in the room would go up and every boy and every girl 

 would be immediately prepared to answer, the making of boots 

 and shoes. And if you were to go across the river into one 

 of the grammar schools of the city of Lewiston and ask the 

 same question, I suppose there would not be a moment's hesi- 

 tation. The boys and girls there, having been well taught, 

 would say that the leading industry of the city of Lewiston is 

 the making of cotton and woolen goods. And if you were to 

 go down to Portland and ask the same question, the boys and 

 girls there would be prepared to answer that the leading indus- 

 try of the people of Portland is that of commercial pursuits. 

 And if you were to go to Bath and ask the same question, the 

 boys and girls there, equally well trained, would tell you that 

 the leading industry of the people of Bath is the building of 

 ships. And in the larger field, if you were to ask the boys 

 and girls of any well taught school in this State, what the lead- 

 ing industries of Maine are, I suppose the children would 

 answer that the leading industries are agriculture and manu- 

 facturing. 



Now, my friends, as state superintendent of public schools, 

 I suppose I ought not to dispute all of this good teaching, yet 

 I shall be compelled to say to you tonight, that the leading 

 industry of none of these places is the industry that has been 

 named. The leading industry of this city of Auburn is not 

 the making of boots and shoes, the leading industry of the 

 city of Lewiston is not the making of cotton and woolen goods, 

 neither is commerce the leading industry of Portland, nor the 

 building of ships the leading industry of Bath, nor manufactur- 



