8IXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART I. 57 



tutes in one week and have been very fortunate in getting out- 

 side help and have had good meetings. We have had such 

 men with us as Prof. Marston, Hon. John Cownie, Prof. Holden 

 Mr. Wilson, and a great many others. Also we were to have 

 torms with us. last year. We did have Storms, but it wasn't 

 A. B. We had our meeting in February last year, a^-d the en- 

 tire week was stormy ; but some of my brothers will tell you that 

 the largest howl was that people could not be accommodated that 

 night, and 200 people could not get into the institute. I think 

 these small institute circuits are all right ; I wouldn't favor large 

 ■circuits covering one-fourth of the state. 



Mr. Steen : Inasmuch as I have read a paper, advocating 

 new thoughts and inasmuch as some have tried to assail the 

 thoughts I tried to introduce, I beg your indulgence. I am sorry 

 that gentlemen on this floor have used such words as "won't" ; 

 they said that idea has been tried and found wanting and it is 

 bad, and that the people of Iowa luon't have it. No one on this 

 side of the argument has sought to say that you shall have it. 

 We have tried at least to be frank and fair, and charitable, and 

 we have simply asked for a little more system and management, 

 and not that you shall have such a program at such a time and' 

 place. Now, let me tell these gentlemen, that we lived in the 19th 

 century, and we said we zi'onff: and now we live in the 20th cen- 

 tury, and we are making progress ; we are not content with pres- 

 ent progress ; we must have larger progress ; we must have larger 

 progress. We must not sit down in our little county and say, we 

 have splendid progress. Now, if by a little bit of management 

 and infusion a system of some sort we can supplement that by 

 larger efficiency, why not? I will tell you, as I stand on this 

 floor, I was present when the institute law of Iowa was born. 

 There were five men in that house who said, we must have some 

 institute law, because the majority were farmers. I am not con- 

 tent with present conditions. Let us see if we cannot do a lit- 

 tle more along the lines of Iowa farming; let us see if we cannot 

 get such men as sit on that front row of chairs to talk tO' us with- 

 out somebody saying we are trying to get our hands on that $75. 

 I want to say, I am proud to stand here and say that I own an 

 Iowa farm. No man on this floor shall say we have not at heart 



