38 ^'EBRASIvA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The President: The summer meeting of the Nebraska State Horticul- 

 tural Society will now come to order. The invocation will be delivered by 



Rev. Mackay. 



INVOCATION. 



Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we thank Thee that we are able 

 to gather here this morning. We realize that Thou art the creator of all 

 mankind, that all Thy good works are manifest on all sides. O God, may 

 we realize that in working to make perfect Thy creatures upon this earth, 

 we are working in accordance with Thy will. We need nothing to pro- 

 claim Thy presence; everything is in evidence Of Thy glory. 



We ask Thy blessing upon us, and may we strive to reach the sublime 

 and God-like. Bless the officers of this society; bless the work that this 

 body of men represents, and grant that through the efforts of such work 

 all mankind may come to realize Thy presence and Thy glory. Bring us 

 at last to Thy kingdom, we ask in Thy Son's name. Amen. 



The President: We will now listen to the address of welcome by the 

 Honorable J. C. Dahlman, mayor of Omaha. 



ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 



MAYOR J. C. DAHLMAN. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Nebraska Horticultural Society: 



I have been invited by your committee to extend a welcome to this 

 society here today. I want to thank you for the kind invitation. I must 

 admit that it is a little early for me to make much of a speech for my 

 training has all usually been later in the evening. 



On behalf of the people of the city of Omaha, I will, however, extend 

 to you a most hearty welcome. We hope that while you are in our city 

 you will enjoy yourselves, and feel assurred that the people of this city 

 will do all in their power to make your stay a pleasant and profitable one. 



You are engaged in a great work, my friends. You may go back as far 

 as you will and you will find that everywhere this same work has been 

 carried on. You are extending this beautiful work, and I hope you will 

 continue to do so, because any man, woman, or child, who has not found 

 and known a plant or flower has very little refinement. Your work is 

 elevating to humanity, and every time and place you do your work, you 

 are doing that much more for the human race. 



We are glad that you came here to meet, and we hope that you will 

 come again. I want to say, as the chief executive of this city, that so far 

 as I am concerned, the city is yours. Do as you please while you are 

 here. Don't forget to come up to the city hall and see us there. We will 

 be glad to see you. And judging from the crowd I see here this morning, 

 there will be no necessity of notifying the police. I want to thank you 

 for being here, and to extend to you an invitation to come again. Any- 

 thing that we can do we will be more than glad to do so. I thank you. 

 [Applause.] 



