ANNUAL MEETING. 19 



Mr. President and Fellow Farmers: 



I feel that I have just as much right to address you by that title as 

 have Messrs. Niblack, Wallace, McDonald and some of the others who 

 have no more calouses on their hands from gripping the plow-handle than 

 I have. Especially am I entitled to so address you, because I received 

 my first introduction to the State of Indiana on an eighty-acre farm about 

 six miles north of the town of Wabash, and some of the pleasantest 

 years of my life were spent upon that farm, especially pleasant because 

 I left the farm long before I was old enough to do anything else than 

 carr>' water. 



It is hardly necessary or incumbent upon anyone representing the 

 city of Indianapolis to assure the members of this association of the 

 fact that they are welcome to Indianapolis. I believe that the people 

 of Indianapolis, as well as all the people of the State of Indiana, are 

 under a lasting debt to the men who. by their energy, have in the years 

 gone by made the State Association what it has proven to be. We of 

 Indianapolis, if there is a special benefit to be derived from your labors, 

 have the opportunity to enjoy that l)ent'rtt without paying the tax which 

 the balance of our fellow citizens in Indiana must pay in order to reach 

 Indianapolis and enjoy the result of your labors. Hence I say that it is 

 hardly necessary for the people of this city in any way to assure you of 

 the fact that you are welcome in their midst. 



We believe here that the State institutions should be a source of 

 pride to every citizen in Indiana. I know not what projects this State 

 Board has to present at this session of the General Assembly, but as 

 one citizen of Indianapolis and of Indiana I do trust that before this 

 General Assembly shall have adjourned the people of the State of Indiana 

 will have had secured to them the magnificent grounds which are now 

 being used and held under lease by the State Board of Agriculture. 



My friends, you are welcome. I do not intend to offer you the keys 

 of the city, for the reason that we do not keep our city locked against 

 men capable of conducting themselves so as not to bring discredit upon 

 the communities they represent, but we have thrown open the doors of 

 the city of Indianapolis, and trust that your stay in our midst will be 

 pleasant and profitable. 



The Secvotary read a letter from Governor Diirbin announcing 

 that he conhl not be present at the session, owing to pressure of 

 business connected with the opening of the Legislature. 



Mr. Claypool, President of tKe Board, requested Mr. John L. 

 Thompson, Vice-Pre,sident, to take the chair, and addressed the 

 meeting as follows ; 



