TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART II 117 



of Iowa — men who have maintained it in perfect fealty until now it has 

 grown to be the greatest exhibition of its character in America. Not only 

 a place of amusement and diversion and entertainment, although it is all 

 that, it is much more — it has become one of the greatest educational insti- 

 tutions in our state. I think the people have large pride in the generous 

 way in which they have supported the state fair. I know that there is now 

 in the atmosphere everywhere clamorous demands for economy in the 

 public service, and they are demands which must be recognized and an- 

 swered, but I earnestly hope that there are two interests in our state 

 which will never be subjected to parsimony by the legislature of Iowa — 

 one is those great educational institutions of our commonwealth which 

 provide enlightenment of our citizenship, and the other is the great agri- 

 cultural society which furnishes us, or ought to furnish us, with the best 

 information that can be derived upon agricultural subjects in our state, 

 for agriculture is the basis of Iowa prosperity. Of course, you will be 

 amazed if you will refer to statistics of our manufacturing, at its magni- 

 tude, at our mining and its magnitude; but, after all, they are mere drops 

 in the bucket of our prosperity when compared to the great agricultural 

 creations of our state. 



What I have said of the state fair applies in a limited way to the county 

 fairs of the state. I have in mind one county fair in Iowa that I think is 

 almost ideal in its management. I will not indicate any county, so that it 

 will leave every man to infer that I am discussing his county. But in that 

 agricultural society they have, of course, the highest degree of emulation 

 among the farmers as to the agricultural products; they have the highest 

 spirit of rivalry, each endeavoring to excel the other in the merits of their 

 products, and they have some fairly entertaining harness racing there, 

 which I trust none of us is too old to enjoy; but in addition to that the fair 

 in that county is a great visiting assembly where the people from remoter 

 parts of the county meet there to revive old acquaintances, to renew old 

 associations, to establish new friendships, and I believe it is one of the 

 best and most agreeable, at the same time, methods of promoting a com- 

 munity interest in any county In the state of Iowa. 



I think our legislature ought to be generous to the state fair, and it 

 ought to contribute as liberally as may be consistent with proper pru- 

 dence to the welfare and success of every county organization in Iowa. 



I have done much more than merely appear here. I thank you for your 

 attention. (Applause.) 



The President : We will now listen to the report of the com- 

 mittee on credentials : 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CREDENTIALS. 



We, your Committee on Credentials, report the following list of dele- 

 gates entitled to vote at the State Agricultural Convention, December 

 8, 1920. 



COUNTY AND DISTRICT FAIRS 



Adair F. A. Gatch, Greenfield 



Adams Harry Scott, Corning 



