332 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

 PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



S. B. SHILLING, MASON CITT. 



Ladies and Gentlemen. — I can assure you that it gives me great pleas- 

 ure to stand before you again in an effort to give you my third annual 

 address and I want to preface any remarks that I may make to you this 

 evening by this statement that in one thing at least it will have merit 

 and that will be in its briefness. 



I want to do the same that I did when I stood before you one year ago, 

 and that is I want to call your attention to our splendid financial con- 

 dition as read by your treasurer. They rather cautioned me against this 

 but I find I cannot resist calling your attention to it because there is 

 something I want to say afterwards, and if I leave the reference to our 

 financial condition out I cannot say it. I do feel that we are to be con- 

 gratulated; I do not refer to this matter with any idea of indulging in 

 self praise or to give any degree of praise to any of the officers of this 

 association, but do it because I want to see praise given where it properly 

 belongs, and that is to the buttermakers of the state of Iowa. I want 

 to say that were it not for the loyalty of the buttermakers of this state 

 today we would not be in the position we are, that is to hold up a purse 

 of a thousand dollars to be competed for this year. While we might 

 have held and probably would be holding a dairy convention, I believe 

 were it not for the loyalty of the buttermakers of the state the interest 

 in it would be sadly lacking. We have in the room adjoining 219 tubs of 

 butter. Now there are not 219 boys in the state of Iowa that came with 

 their butter with the expectation of getting the high scores, it is not that 

 that actuated them in bringing their butter here, and if any proof of the 

 loyalty of the buttermakers was wanting in the support of our association 

 it is there. Those 219 tubs are to me, and I believe to the other officers 

 of this association, simply an indication of the fact that the boys are 

 back of us now as they have always been. 



As 1 said before I simply have to go a little further. I am not going 

 to tell a story, but if anyone here had told us at one time that we would 

 ever see the time when we had a thousand dollars at interest we would 

 have considered that that man simply did not know what he was talk- 

 ing about; yet, by the treasurer's report you have just listened to, you 

 know that such is a fact; that we have that amount of money. Another 

 thing the treasurer informs me that he does not believe he will need to 

 touch that loan this year, that the loan will be carried over and we 

 are hoping that such good luck will fall to us that something may be 

 added to it the coming year. To me this is very gratifying and the rea- 

 son I emphasize it is that I want to give the credit where it belongs. I 

 want to thank those contributors who have donated to us year after 

 year, but the great bulk of our success lies in the loyalty of the butter- 

 makers of the state of Iowa. If there is credit due to the buttermakers 

 of any state it is due to the buttermakers of Iowa from the fact they 

 are doing all this themselves, — we have no assistance outside of them. 



