HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE IN MINNESOTA. 28& 



able to them, the carrying will not be profitable to us. That 

 statement will always hold good. Every one here will recog- 

 nize that unless the condition of the farmers of Minnesota and 

 the Northwest is prosperous, all other interests will suffer, the 

 banker's, the merchant's, the manufacturer's, the lawyer's, the 

 doctor's, everybody's. All must therefore feel an absolute 

 interest in the prosperity of the farmer. And when I say 

 prosperity, I mean that they shall be able to live well, educate 

 their children, clothe and feed them, and add something to 

 their worldly belongings year by year. If that is not the case, 

 other interests of the state will be poor, and Minnesota will 

 not give the results to all her citizens, both in the country and 

 in the towns, that she ought to give. 



Sometimes people have criticized the management of our 

 railroads. As a representative of one of the large railway 

 systems of the Northwest, I reply that we are quite willing to 

 answer all inquiries on that ground. Everybody has a right 

 to know just what we do. On the other hand, I feel that we 

 have an abiding interest in the condition and progress of 

 agriculture, because our prosperity will be determined by the 

 intelligent use of the land. I may sell out my interests, and 

 any other of my associates may sell out his interests, in the 

 railway; and the farmer may sell his interest in the land; but 

 the railway will be there and the land will be there, and the 

 same laws and conditions that affect them to-day will affect 

 them year after year, and they must either prosper or be poor 

 together. I want my friends who are here to bear in mind 

 that I say, with all good conscience, that their prosperity de- 

 pends upon the prosperity of the farmer and that they have a 

 deep interest in his welfare, not only in this world's goods but 

 in the intelligent manner in which he cultivates his land and 

 the intelligent manner in which he uses his time. 



Years ago the State of Minnesota started an agricultural 

 college. In the course of a few years it became an attachment 

 to the State University and fared very badly for a time as a 

 vote-getter for appropriations, because it was something that 

 the agricultural interests of the state were called upon to sup- 

 port. Now I am very sorry to say anything that would in any 

 way operate against the growth and extension and prosperity 

 of the State University, and I am glad to be able to say that 



