222 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



were called upon to talk to at Lancaster county is progressive. Its 

 citizens are awake to the opportunities that are presenting themselves, 

 and they are making the best of these opi)ortunities uj)on their farms. 



My friends, it has been so well said and so much better than I can 

 say it, Lancaster county has been the foremost county not only in 

 this Commonwealth of ours, which we are also proud of to-day, but 

 as well the banner county of the United States in its annual produc- 

 tion of farmers' products. I know that you will agree with me, that 

 we were glad to accept the kind invitation to some over here to hold 

 this Normal Institute in this beautiful city- It has been my privi- 

 lege to visit parts, its colleges, its public schools and some of its great 

 charitable institutions as well as it has been to travel over this 

 county, over its railroads and its trolley system and view these rich 

 and fertile fields of Lancaster county and I know, my friends, before 

 you get away from our meeting that you will have the opportunity, if 

 you have not already had it, of seeing some of the fertile farms that 

 are lying around the City of Lancaster. Now, my friends, I want to 

 plead with our good Mayor this afternoon in your behalf. You know 

 when we get away from home we sometimes may step out of the path 

 that is laid down and I want to plead with you, Mr. Mayor, if any of 

 them may be brought before you, please be easy. 



Just last evening, I do not know who would advertise our com- 

 ing to this city, but I have a good friend from the western end 

 of the State and he came into the City of Lancaster last night. 

 I am not going to tell you his name, but I will tell you he be- 

 longs to the ''duck" family, and he went into one of the prominent 

 hotels and said to the proprietor: ''What are your rates here?" And 

 the proprietor said two dollars and up. And my friend said: "Well, 

 sir, I am an institute lecturer of the State of Pennsylvania." The 

 proprietor said : "I am glad to meet you sir. Then it is two dollars 

 down." Now I suppose that somebody had advertised our coming 

 here, but I hope that there will be nothing more serious than that. I 

 just want to tell you a little incident that happened last evening. We 

 all have a good friend from Pennsylvania and he comes from Allen- 

 town, but I am not going to tell his name, but he is a chicken man. 

 He is recognized all over the State and not only in the State of Penn- 

 sylvania but throughout this great country of ours. We were coming 

 up street last night and he met a gentleman who said to him: "My 

 friend, the next time you send me any chickens don't send me any of 

 your airoplane kind." Well, I thought that was something new, and 

 I waited for developments. And my friend said: "What do you 

 mean?" And the gentleman said: "The last chickens you sent me 

 were all wings and machinery and there was no meat on them." I 

 hope he will get through this week without arrest or anything of that 

 kind. But my friends, you have heard and you all enjoyed the ad- 

 dress of welcome that our good friend has extended to us, and we are 

 here this week to enjoy the instruction that will be given to us in the 

 different sections of this institute and I feel that it would be folly for 

 me to waste my words this afternoon in trying to say anything 

 further ; but I want to say in behalf of our friends who have assembled 

 here, Mr- Mayor, that we thank you very kindly for the warm and 

 hearty welcome that you have extended to us during this meeting, and 

 X hope that we all, one and all will be able to say wll^ft ^® S^ away 



