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lent judgment in selecting the three cities of Massachusetts 

 that you have selected for your convention places. We rec- 

 ognize Boston as the foundation, the feet, so to speak, of the 

 Commonwealth; Worcester, as everybody knows, is the 

 heart of the Commonwealth — and Springfield is the head! 

 (Laughter and Applause) 



Springfield, seriously, is the metropolis of Western 

 Massachusetts. In that respect she occupies a position com- 

 parable with Boston in Eastern Massachusetts, and our citi- 

 zens are proud of the fact. But greater significance lies in 

 the realization by the men of Springfield of the burden 

 which is upon them and the responsibility which is upon 

 their shoulders, and our business men are meeting that re- 

 sponsibility and they are endeavoring to reach out and offer 

 their best protection and cooperation, and particularly are 

 they doing that with respect to those who are pursuing agri- 

 culture and fruit growing and kindred lines. 



Now, you ask, "What is the attitude of the something 

 more than one thousand practical business men who comprise 

 the membership of the Springfield Board of Trade ? ' ' Almost 

 exactly a year ago this month a small number of rich men 

 met in this city and organized the Hampden County Im- 

 provement League for the promotion of just that sort of in- 

 dustry which you are interested in and which you stand for. 

 In that League are to be found some of our very best, big- 

 gest, brainiest and busiest business men, men who have put 

 their shoulder to the wheel and who are giving freely of 

 their time, of their money and of their knowledge, and at 

 personal sacrifice are taking up this matter of progress in 

 the rural community, the development of scientific agricul- 

 ture and scientific horticulture. With such men as they 

 have back of that organization, there can be no failure, and 

 it is going to do, and is doing, one of the greatest works in 

 that line, probably, that has ever been done in any com- 

 munity. 



Now, we would not for a moment rob the Hampden 

 County Improvement League of any of the credit or any of 

 the glory which rightly belongs to it — and it is much — but 

 nevertheless it is true that but for the Springfield Board of 

 Trade there would have been no Hampden County Improve- 



