TWO MINUTE TALKS. 469 



attending the sessions, and I am interested in all that is said 

 and done, and I am especially interested in the spirit of friend- 

 ship and goodfellowship which the members of the society show 

 toward one another. (Applause.) 



The President : There is nothing like having a friend at 

 court if you are after something. We are going after some- 

 thing in what we call the chief court down at St. Paul, and 

 we are going to have a friend there in the person of the Hon. 

 Thomas E. Cashman, of Owatonna, senator of his district. His 

 election was a most complimentary one, for although he is a 

 very excellent democrat, he defeated the republican candidate in 

 a strongly republican district, and that speaks well for his stand- 

 ing as a citizen and as a man. We are now going to hear from 

 Senator Cashman. (Applause.) 



Hon. Thos. E. Cashman: Mr. President, I am very grate- 

 ful to you, indeed, for these few words of commendation. I 

 wish to say that this has been a very interesting meeting to me, 

 as all the horticultural meetings have been which I have at- 

 tended. I am very much indebted to this horticultural society 

 for the valuable lessons I have learned, and when I came to 

 look over this fine collection of seedlings on the lower floor 

 and remember what I had seen at the state fairs during the 

 last four or five years, it lead me to believe that the ideal ap- 

 ple for this cold Northwest will soon be realized. This word 

 "ideal" reminds me of the question once asked by a lecturer 

 who was giving a lecture on the subject of ideal citizenship. 

 He said, "Does any one in this audience know an ideal man?" 

 There was a deep silence. "Does any one know an ideal 

 woman?" "Does any one know an ideal woman?" he repeated. 

 A sweet faced woman got up in the audience and said, "Yes, 

 there was one ; I have often heard of her, but she is dead now. 

 She was my husband's first wife." (Laughter.) The thought 

 that prompted this little story is that the men who have brought 

 about these conditions are not getting the encouragement and 

 praise they should have, and it will not be until they have 

 passed from us that they will receive their just reward — that is, 

 the people will not fully appreciate what they have done for us. 

 But I sincerely hope those who are with us, the eminent horti- 

 culturists who are doing so much in bringing out new varieties, 

 will live long enough to realize the great hope of their lives. 

 (Applause.) 



The President: I noticed this in Cashman's remarks, he 

 was non-committal. That is the sign of a statesman. Now I 

 am going to call on just one more. There are a number more 

 on the list I wanted to call upon, and I will do so if you want 

 to stay here, but it hardly seems as though it would be the 

 proper thing to do. Every whip that is any good has a snapper 



