Saturday, December 6, 1913, 8 p. m. 

 Council Chamber, City Hall, Philadelphia. 



Mrs. Smith, Chairman: As this conference is about to come to a 

 close I would like to say a few words to you as to how this conference 

 came to be. It has been accomplished through the co-operation of the 

 Corn Exchange Bank, the various trades bodies of the city of Philadel- 

 phia, the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, and the Penn- 

 sylvania Rural Progress Association — all represented in this conference. 



I want to ask every one of you who come from other cities to take 

 home with you some of these programmes, and we would like to call the 

 attention of the various chambers of commerce and bankers of your 

 towns to this conference that the Pennsylvania Rural Progress Association 

 proposes to be available for the getting up of other conferences such as this. 

 Outside of Philadelphia we organized a conference lasting three days last 

 spring in Williamsport, in co-operation with the Chamber of Commerce. 

 It will help agricultural progress and bring the city and country in closer 

 touch and do a great amount of good. 



So let me tell you the Rural Progress Association of Pennsylvania 

 stands ready to organize conferences of this sort in any small town or 

 large town. That we only have to hear from the people in order to come 

 there and make arrangements to make up a programme to last a day, an 

 afternoon, or evening, or last three days if it is desired. And that is just 

 what we hope to be able to do for Pennsylvania, to bring about a closer 

 touch between the town and the markets and the rural districts. 



I want to introduce to you Mr. Russell R. Lord, of Baltimore, who 

 will speak to you for a few minutes. 



(222) 



