No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 265 



Now, my friends, we have devoted this afternoon session to the de- 

 velopment of the great work. Here before me are the County Chair- 

 men of Institutes and I want to say a word about that, gentlemen. I 

 can think of no number of men anywhere that for the past twelve 

 years have accomplished more disinterested, generous work than those 

 men, without pay. An impression sometimes goes abroad over Penn- 

 sylvania that these fellows that have charge of institutes in the coun- 

 ties somehow or other get a pull. I want to say to you men now, you 

 were invited to Harrisburg: two or three days aero and the strength of 

 your argument before that Appropriation Committee was such that I 

 could say to them that here is a body of men that for the past 12 

 years have devoted about a month of their lives each year to the ad- 

 vancement of agricultural interests without a cent of pay. That 

 closed the mouths of all parties for it is the truth, and the plain un- 

 varnished truth, and they listened to you and they heard your argu- 

 ments. 



I want to say something more. The strength of these Farmers' In- 

 stitutes in Pennsylvania is just disinterested work of such broad- 

 minded men, who have been willing to do it because of the interest 

 they have had in it for the last 26 years. I hope the time will come, 

 and it will come and you men will show forth your strength in Penn- 

 sylvania to get what is rightly coming to you, that you should be 

 worthy of your hire in tins matter. 



And now I'ust a word to these other gentlemen and ladies. One of 

 the things that we hope to develop in the future to a greater extent 

 than has already been developed is that of women's work at these in- 

 stitutes. I am proud to say that we have in Pennsylvania in this in- 

 stitute work a corps of lady workers efficient and faithful to all the 

 trusts wherein they have been trusted. They have gone forth over 

 Pennsylvania through storm, cold, sunshine and cloud, teaching and 

 meeting with the people, with the women and with the ladies, de- 

 veloping the questions of household economics, sanitation, education 

 and teaching the development of home life; of all which I am very 

 proud, and hope the day will soon come when we can go to the law 

 making power, — and demand something practical, equal that given to 

 the regular farmers institutes, for the development of women's work 

 on the farm and in the home. It is coming. Now the men workers, 

 we have a corps of over 70 instructors in Pennsylvania. The State 

 College and Experiment Station has, so far as the duties of their 

 strenuous work would permit, sent out their very best instructors to 

 join with us in this great work, and T express here and now my 

 hearty thanks to that great institution that is doing so much for agri- 

 culture in Pennsylvania and for the work they are accomplishing with 

 us in this State. And the other men who are engaged outside of them 

 are men almost universally who have by actual practice upon their 

 farms and by their research connected with that developed full success 

 in certain lines of acrriculture; men of mature judgment and delibera- 

 tion, sent forth in Pennsylvania to develop Avith the farmers of this 

 State the highest order and conditions of agriculture. If there is any 

 one thing T have reason to be more proud of than another it is that 

 the Pennsylvania Farmers' Institutes have an organization of men in 

 every county who are actually engaged in farming with their sleeves 

 rolled up, and that we have a corps of instructors of ripe experience 

 and actual practice upon the farms of Pennsylvania, and men of deep 



