72 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



tion of our home and city in our country. And I fear we do not appre- 

 ciate the influence of beautiful parks, boulevards and lawns upon the 

 character, the patriotism, the health of the future citizenship of our 

 boys and girls. 



You build a park or boulevard in the most dilapidated part of our 

 city and the people along its border clean up, paint up and repair, wash 

 their faces, comb their hair and transform themselves into new persons 

 in new homes with new surroundings. 



A man was recently walking down the street of one of our cities where 

 improvement work has taken hold on the minds of the boys and girls. 

 He tore a wrapper off a magazine and threw it away. "You mustn't do 

 that, papa," said the boy. "The improvement society tells us that it is 

 wrong to throw those papers on the street." He was ashamed. He took 

 up the paper and put it in the paper receptacle. He said to another after- 

 wards, "My boy is a better citizen than I am." This is but one of the 

 thousands of incidents thai arise unknown to you or me as the result of 

 the movement for improving city, village and farm. 



Recently a little boy in illustrating the idea said to another, "You 

 ought to clean up your place, don't you know that pigs don't like nasty 

 pens." 



We have done a number of things in Omaha which have shown a 

 marked improvement, resulting from the influence of the smaller clubs 

 and the Omaha Improvement League. 



You need only ask citizens of our city who have observed the changes 

 wrought to learn what has been done. I have heard the expression 

 many a time from persons who have been away for a short time during 

 the summer season, "What wonderful changes are being made in the 

 attractive appearance of our city." And how can it be otherwise when 

 last year 1,600 boys and girls, with the influence of the yards, upon others 

 about them which they were beautifying, took part in the contest for 

 prizes. 20,000 one cent packages of seeds were distributed through the 

 schools and a larger number this year. It cannot help but mean improve- 

 ment. 



Lectures have been given with the stereopticon, at which 3,000 school 

 children attended, v/here they were shown the changes that have been 

 made by the efforts of men and women and boys and girls, in beautify- 

 ing their home cities. And in one respect a home city is as much our 

 home as the houses we live in, for many during the hard toil of their 

 lives are about the city more than at their home. An exhibition was 

 given last year by the prize winners of the products of their labors, 

 which in interest and beauty can not well be described. The pictures 

 which I have with me best show you. Many things have been done by 

 the clubs of this city. And the citizens of this city owe a debt of grati- 

 tude to them for helping to make our city attractive. And too frequently 

 it is» those who gained the least from the movement that do the most 

 work. 



