NINTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III 111 
The President: Hon. H. E. Deemor of Red Oak will now ad- 
dress the convention on the subject, ''Country Life vs. City Life." 
COUNTRY LIFE VS. CITY LIFE. 
H. E. DEEMEK, EED OAK, IOWA. 
Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Association (or 'perhaps I had letter put 
it in the plural, and say Associations) : 
A personal foreword may not be inappropriate; indeed, it may be well 
to explain my presence before this distinguished body of agriculturists. 
In the first place, I will say that men in my profession are always looking 
for precedents, and I believe I have one which I may follow to-day. One 
of my most distinguished predecessors always attended these agricultural 
meetings, and was for a time the President of the State Agricultural So- 
ciety of Iowa. I mean the late lamented George G. Wright, at one time 
United States Senator, and after that Chief Justice. Again, I feel that 
any man who as a boy followed the down row when the temperature was 
lower than it is to-day and the snow deeper, and went out and warmed his 
bare feet where the cow laid the night before, is entitled to speak to almost 
any farmers' organization. In the next place, I claim the distinguished 
honor of being one of the oldest agriculturists here. You know there is 
a difference between a farmer and an agriculturist. I am going to try 
to place myself on both feet. Twenty-six years ago I came as a delegate 
to the State Agricultural Society at Des Moines. We met in Moore's opera 
house, as I remember it, and I see but one face here that was there then. 
I do remember Uncle Henry Wallace and Judge Wright and a few of that 
type of men. At that time, if I mistake not, I had the honor of nomi- 
nating for a member of that board who afterwards became one of its best 
Presidents— Mr. John Hayes of Red Oak. And then latterly I have had 
some little connection with short courses in this state. So that I feel 
that I can speak to you as agriculturists as well as farmers. 
Living neither in a large city nor on a farm, but on the outskirts, and 
as far away from the court-house as I can get in a good county seat in 
Iowa, I feel that I can discuss this question which you have submitted to 
me from an unprejudiced standpoint. Of course this subject, "Country 
Life vs. City Life" — from the business and social points of view, assumes 
that there is an issue — a difference and a distinction, and of course there 
is, because, as you all know and have heard many times, there is a dif- 
ference in the Creator. Man created the city and God created the coun- 
try. But when we come to look right down into the heart of hearts of 
mankind and open the windows to the soul, we find that after all, hu- 
manity is the same the world over. But there is a manifest distinction 
between city life and country life. There are differences due to the 
fact that men have different capacities and different adaptations. The 
same thing is not a pleasure to all men and all women, and it is because 
of this fact that so many mistakes are made. Many men who ought 
to be on the farm are in the city, and some men who ought to be in the 
cities are on the farm. But unfortunately the drift in this country for 
