ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VIII 417 



that whatever has been done for the good of the association he is 

 entitled to as much credit as anybody else I know of in the associa- 

 tion. There has been no time I have not felt perfectly free to call 

 upon him to do anything and everything that seemed right and 

 necessary for the welfare of the organization. T remember very 

 well a year ago I was in Gladbrook. I picked up the Register and 

 Leader and about the first thing I noticed was an item saying that 

 the dairy bill had been put to sleep. I went to the telephone office 

 and called up this young man and I asked him what he thought 

 about it. I suggested that he call the different members of the 

 Legislative Committee together and that we go to Des Moines. We 

 concluded that was the thing to do. Now, during the fight down 

 there over our bill possibly you don't all understand just what the 

 conditions were. I will say this. We had to bring the bill into 

 both houses on a minority report. It took a good deal of work to 

 get it through under these conditions, and I have never attended 

 a meeting in Des Moines when he wasn't on hand glad and willing 

 to do everything he could to bring about the right result. Gentle- 

 men, I have the pleasure of nominating for your next president, 

 Mr. E. R. Shoemaker, of Waterloo. 



Mr. Shoemaker was unanimously elected. 



Mr. Shoemaker: Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the conven- 

 tion, I don't know but that perhaps a little instance in connection 

 with eastern club life will explain better than anything else I might 

 say about my situation just now. The story as it runs is this. 

 There was a member of a prominent New York club who was un- 

 fortunately affected with stammering speech. He had gone to 

 one of the great specialists. In a short time he had so far recovered 

 that he could say and repeat without hesitancy "Peter Piper picked 

 a peck of pickled peppers." When he returned to his club his 

 friends gathered about him and were congratulating him upon his 

 marvelous recovery, and after he had listened to their congratu- 

 lations for some time he said: "W-w-w-w-well, y-y-y-y-y-es, 

 t-t-t-h-h-hat is t-t-true. I c-c-c-an s-s-s-say Peter Piper picked 

 a peck of pickled peppers, but t-t-hat is a d-d-d-damned a-a-wkw-w- 

 ward s-s-s-ent-tence to w-w-work i-i-nto an or-or-din-nary c-c-c-on- 

 versation. 



Now, really that is about the way I feel. There are a good many 



things, my friends, that I would like to say and that I have in my 



heart to say, but I am not able to work it out right. I appreciate 



the honor you have bestowed upon me. I think it is an honor for 



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