No. 6. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 259 



of local pride, and they feel at ease with him, and local people must 

 be interested to make it go. Now, suppose the County Cliairman, 

 who is a representative of the Department, presides. The people are 

 likely to reason that the State sends the speakers, pays the bills, pre- 

 sides and is the whole thing. By getting one of their number to pre- 

 side, you show them that it is their Institute, and their local pride 

 is aroused to make it a good one, and good to the community' is the 

 result. 



My next reason is the good it brings to the man who presides. It 

 gives him a recognition of his own power. It is an education and 

 help that will enable him to come out and take part in other meet- 

 ings, and T tell yon that is what th<' farmers of Pennsylvania and 

 of the United States, want — men who will be le«aders of men. And 

 one of the best ways these Institutes can be made a help to the dif- 

 ferent localities is by taking some worthy, capable young man to 

 be the presiding officer. It will help him, and help those for whom 

 the Institutes are held. A County Chairman can use his position 

 to overshadow local men, and suppress them rather than call them 

 forth and help them. 



Now, that leads us up to the second question: ''How to make the 

 selection?" Well, I have alw^ays selected the Chairman of the local 

 committee with this in view. This means a knowledge of the men 

 in the county, and an acquaintance with their abilities. The presid- 

 ing officer must be a man interested in agriculture — in touch with 

 the fields. He must be a capable man, who has in his make-up three 

 elements that I regard as essential to capability: 1. A good voice, 

 that when he makes announcements he can be heard by the audience. 

 2. Self-assertion and force of character. Sometimes it is needed for 

 those who talk too long, and take the time that belongs to others, 

 spending time that could be used to a good deal better advantage. 

 So he must be capable of calling them down, even if they are Na- 

 tional or State Lecturers. Moody's success was largely due to his 

 ability to handle men, and keep things going. It is related that at 

 one of his meetings a good brother rose to pray, and kept on pray- 

 ing without knowing, apparently, when to stop. The audience began 

 to get restless, and Moody said. "Friends, we will sing a hymn, until 

 our brother finishes his prayer." We need a little of that self-asser- 

 tion in the presiding officer. 



3. A man w^ho does not talk too much himself. Now, you say such 

 men are not to be found. I have not found it so, and if you have, it 

 seems to me that it is time for us to begin to turn some of our fellow- 

 farmers to work just like this and train them. There is the program 

 to guide him; there are the State speakers, who have the most 

 kindly feelings towards any man who has anything to do with the 

 meetings, and then there is the County Chairman to help him; with 

 all these forces to assist him. the man will succeed, and he will 

 grow^ I am sure, my fellow-chairmen, that we nre of one mind in 

 wanting the best and wisest methods, that our Institutes may be 

 made a great power for better farming, better men and better homes. 



