TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III 265 



The Chairman : Now we have other speakers who will follow 

 on the program interspersed with various kinds of entertainment. 



(Several musical numbers were given at this time.) 



The Chairman: As a diversion I would like to introduce Mr. 

 A. L. Rule, of Mason City, who will speak to us at this time. 



A. L. Rule, Mason City, Iowa : Mr. Toastmaster and gentlemen 

 — The various speeches that have been made here tonight remind 

 me of a story of two Hebrew brothers who were drafted into the 

 service, and after they had been in a short time one of the brothers 

 started to write home and he wrote : "My dear father and mother, 

 I am so glad I came into the army, it is a wonderful job,- — I have a 

 fine place to sleep, nice warm blankets ; I have a nice place to eat, 

 and I have the very best of food to eat ; I have nice clothing and I 

 get my pay every thirty days. It is a wonderful job, I am so glad 

 I came here. Your loving son, Abe. P. S. — Ike went to the guard- 

 house this morning for kicking." But, gentlemen, in a serious 

 vein, as I sat here tonight your guest and enjoyed this repast, I 

 looked over the faces at these tables and the thought occurred to 

 me that it was no wonder that the fairs of Iowa are a remarkable 

 success. When you men of business ability put your shoulder to 

 the wheel and start into a public enterprise, such as the great fairs 

 of the state of Iowa are, it is no wonder that they are successful. 

 You are accomplishing a wonderful work! There is not enough, in 

 my judgment, in this life of the attempt of men to organize to do 

 good for their fellow man and to furnish him a diversion. Every 

 form of entertainment which you develop which brings entertain- 

 ment and relaxation, together with instruction, is doing a wonderful 

 work for this country, and in connection with your work you are 

 reaching out and bringing the farmer in touch with the people of 

 the towns and the cities. You are bringing the farmers together 

 and forming organizations which are going to redound not only to 

 the benefit of the state of Iowa but to our country. We are living 

 today in a time which, in my judgment, is far more serious than 

 was any period during the war. We are living in a time when wc 

 are talking a league of nations — and I am not talking against it — 

 we are living in a time when we are trying to assist the rest of 

 the world, and yet while we are doing that thing, while I am trying 

 to stand here and bring this thought to you, we are on the verge of 

 an eruption that may mean the destruction of this country. We 

 have fought the world's war, but we are far from having finished 

 it. The slimy serpent that Germany sent into Russia, the Lenincs 



