FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 213 



meeting; it was not as interesting as the paper I listened to last night 

 by Sister Hinds — it was not as good as that — but they listened to it 

 quietly. It was on some scientific subject. After the paper they had a 

 little banquet, some blue points and some lunch, and we all gathered 

 around the table. There were three Massachusetts men there, one a 

 Harvard or Yale College man, and two from Boston — educated men, all 

 of them. They had never been west, and were real typical Bostoners. 

 This was in the winter of '94, the fair at Chicago had closed the first of 

 November, 1893. These men had been to Chicago, and if ever I heard 

 anything eulogized, it was when those men from Boston spoke of the 

 Exposition and the surroundings there. They eulogized it in the 

 choicest language and the strongest terms, its conception and execu- 

 tion. It seemed to surprise them more than anything else. Well that 

 fair was wonderful. I was there pretty early in May, and when I got 

 home I couldn't describe it. When asked what I saw, I couldn't tell 

 them anything about it. Could you? 



And so they talked about it a little, and every once in a while a Boston 

 man would say, "I was overwhelmed with astonishment," "It brought 

 honor to Chicago," "How a city so far from the seaboard, so far from Bos- 

 ton could ever conceive and construct and execute such a thing, passes 

 my comprehension," "It is the most wonderful thing I ever met," "I know 

 nothing in history equal to it." He turned to President Angell and said, 

 "What is your solution of their achievements?" He replied, "I will tell 

 you." The doctor got upon his feet; you know what a handsome speaker 

 he is, polished in his manner, not as decided as some people, but a strong 

 speaker, and he went on and eulogized it a little. He didn't come up to 

 the Boston man, though, and he said, "You want I should tell you what 

 is my solution of the causes that led up to that achievement, an achieve- 

 ment which did so much honor to the country and the city of Chicago? 

 Chicago will quarrel about its religion, it will quarrel wonderfully on 

 politics, it will attack with great vigor its officials, they will fight over 

 some internal matter, but the moment you touch Chicago as Chicago, 

 every man, woman and child in the city will rally to its defense and sup- 

 port and upbuilding." 



That is practically his thought. He said, "Chicago is enthusiastically 

 loyal to itself." 



Now, farmers, I could die in peace, believing that my work of the last 

 twenty-five years, devoted, most of it gratuitously, in the effort to induce 

 the farmers of this country to be loyal to this great interest, loyal to 

 themselves; I could die in peace did I believe that I had contributed any- 

 thing toward leading them on and upward to a position so essential to 

 the welfare of this republic, and the stability of the government itself. 



So now, what I beg and beseech, is for you to be loyal to yourselves, 

 as well as to other people. Be loyal to your community and to this cause 

 of your own. Defend it, place yourselves in a position where you can 

 advocate it, where you can praise and honor it. 



One other thing and I am done. If this country ever goes out in dark- 

 ness, it will not be because the farmers through corruption have con- 

 tributed to that result, but it may be through neglect. History repeats 

 itself. Way back, Egypt ranked high in the scale of civilization. It is 

 an open question today, whether America or any part of Europe has 



