184 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



the population of this country. It has been truly said that this country 

 does not become great and prosperous upon its material resources so much 

 as it does upon its men, because the present and the future of the great 

 growth of this country demand from me and from all others that greater 

 degree of service that each owes because of the interests being devoted — 

 you engaged in your daily occupation upon your farm, and the merchant 

 in his. store, and the others without organization, it must be that there 

 shall be in some organization such as you have, the protection of your 

 interests. But beyond that there must be, in my judgment, by the state 

 provided, the persons who shall be charged with the duty of protecting and 

 taking care of these interests, because the larger interests, the corporate in- 

 terests — the railroads are particularly referred to — have their organizations 

 and their corps of officers, and they have all of their different lines and 

 departments, and specialists, and it is necessary that there shall be in 

 those who undertake to represent the people a corresponding degree of 

 intelligence and a corresponding knowledge of the facts, and above all 

 an integrity and a faith in the people, and faith in the officer himself, and 

 a desire that the full service exacted of him shall be performed. 



I am pleased to be here tonight, because I recognize the very strong 

 factor that this organization has been in the administration of the af- 

 fairs of the state. I understand that it was largely through your efforts 

 that the position which I now am trying to fill was created, and because 

 of that I want to come and let you know how I feel in regard to these 

 matters, and be able to stand before you and give expression to such 

 words as I may that come from the heart, that you may understand that 

 there is and will be an effort to perform that service which I believe is 

 due. (Applause.) 



The Toastmaster: Now, the hour is late, and I am going to close this 

 program as I began it, with a w^ord from one of the original members, 

 one of the old wheel horses who has always pulled his full share of the 

 load, Mr. William Drury, of Sac county. I caught him just as he started 

 out here. (Applause.) 



Mr. Will Drury: It is rather a hard position to call on a farmer to 

 end up an evening of this kind, after hearing editors and lawyers, and the 

 governor, and our worthy secretary and president. But I feel a good 

 deal like the Irishman up in our country. One day he met Brady, who 

 said: "Jim, what would you be if you wasn't an Irishman?" he says: 

 "I'd be damned sorry." (Laughter.) That is the way I would feel if I 

 was not a member of the Corn Belt Meat Producers' Association. (Ap- 

 plause.) 



Mr. Ingham has called our attention to the duties we have today, the 

 people of the state of Iowa. I am going to call his attention to what we 

 have done in the nine years we have been an organization. If Mr. 

 Ingham had known and followed back to the time a few of us came down 

 here to plead our cause with the legislature, when they thought we had 

 no case. Look tonight at the friends we have over here on the hill, and 

 the olive branch extended by our friend Davis. He must realize we have 

 made advancement. Mr. Ingham . spoke about the gray-headed men. I 



