438 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



The delegates convened in the Grand Opera House, and each 

 delegate occupied a seat indicated by a placard bearing the name of 

 their respective State. The president of the congress, Hon. R. 

 F. Kolb of Alabama, was unable to be present, and Vice-president 

 A. W. Smith of Kansas called the meeting to order and presided 

 over its deliberations. Rev. R. D. Black of Missouri invoked the 

 Divine blessing. 



Hon. David R. Francis, Governor of Missouri, delivered an 

 address of welcome, in which he said : " It gives me pleasure to 

 welcome such a representative body of men from all over the 

 United States to the State of Missouri and to the city of Sedalia, 

 representing as they do the agricultural interest, which is the para- 

 mount interest of our country, as fully seventy-five per cent of 

 our exports come from the farmers. It is eminently proper that 

 the farmers, the men who represent the greatest interest in the 

 nation, should meet and confer, and discuss the best methods to 

 promote the welfare and the perfection of their interests. There 

 are two great questions in which the farmer should be interested ; 

 one is the improvement of our great water courses, so that we may 

 have cheap transportation for all farm products ; the second is the 

 improvement of the country roads. The National Farmers' 

 Congress can make its interest felt in both these necessary 

 improvements. In behalf of the people of the great State of 

 Missouri I extend to you a hearty welcome. While our State may 

 not rank first in the great cereals, when you take the products of 

 her mines, her agricultural products and her fruit products into 

 consideration, you will find she is in the front rank of the States of 

 the nation. Again I bid you welcome." 



Acting-Mayor Carroll of Sedalia then in behalf of the city 

 extended a cordial welcome to this the " Queen City of the West." 

 Being called upon by the presiding officer to respond to this hearty 

 and cordial welcome to the two hundred delegates who represented 

 thirty States of the nation, I expressed my pleasure at this oppor- 

 tunity given to Massachusetts to accept the welcome in behalf of 

 my associates from my own and other States of the Union. I said 

 that Massachusetts recognized no State lines when considering 

 the wealth and business interests of the great republic ; that citi- 

 zenship in one State of the Union meant protection in every State ; 

 that in this great gathering, in which the Southern and Western 

 States were so largely represented, I could give the fullest assur- 

 ance that my own State of Massachusetts would be second to no 

 State in anxiety and hopefulness with regard to outcome and 

 results, and that whatever would conspire to the wealth and pros- 

 perity and building up of the South and the West would be of 



