12 



mouth is a friendly town. Monmouth is a country town. We are smart 

 enough to know that we draw our sustenance from the country. We do 

 not believe that we are doing the farmers a favor when we let them drive 

 their cattle in here and spend money with us. We know they are doing 

 us a favor. We try to do business along those lines. We are trying to 

 make Monmouth a town that is popular with our rural population. You 

 may call that selfish-minded, or whatever you wish. 



That is another reason we are glad you gentlemen are here, because 

 we want Monmouth to be a good agricultural community. We know that 

 the old days have passed in farming. I lived in Oklahoma for a while and 

 I saw something that probably a good many of you gentlemen have never 

 seen. I saw as many as five men working on a load of corn. If they 

 worked all day they would probably not get more than sixty or seventy 

 bushels. Nowadays one muscular Swedish gentleman can get up early in 

 the morning and get that much done in time to finish the pool tournament 

 in the afternoon. I know it is a changing age. You men typify to us the 

 vanguard, or the leaders in this changing age in agriculture. There is 

 more education; there is more thought. There is more up-to-dateness found 

 on the farm than in any other walk of life. We know that to be true. The 

 man who works in a bank, the man who works in the shop develops a 

 one-track mind, if you will pardon that old expression. A farmer has 

 to be resourceful; he has to battle elements. You gentlemen are the 

 type of farmers who are leading this advance movement in farming. I am 

 only sorry that the grain market is closed up today. I would like to tell 

 you how much wheat is up this morning, but since this is a holiday I can 

 not tell you. 



I want to tell you something else that may be of interest to many of 

 you. I am a country grain dealer. I run one of these little elevators that 

 you see standing along the track every few miles. We have been in busi- 

 ness nine years. The nine years we have been in business we have never 

 entered into a contract with a man to buy or deliver his grain. There 

 never has yet been a scrap of paper in our office that in any way looked 

 like contract that has been broken. In nine years' time we have had exactly 

 one farmer to go back on his contract. The reason I tell you this is that 

 I want you to know that we have some regular farmers up in our com- 

 munity. You know how it is in different communities. That is the kind 

 of farmers we have in our community. 



But, gentlemen, I am not going to make a speech. I simply want you to 

 realize that Monmouth is your town. We are glad that you are here. We 

 hope your institute is a big success, and we will meet you in Belleville 

 or Paris next year. [Applause.] 



PRESIDENT MANN: I think we will all appreciate being 'in Mon- 

 mouth a few days, and we will concede that this is quite a city. Some of 

 us have come from small towns, those towns where they quit ringing the 

 curfew many years ago because it woke up so many people. We believe 

 Monmouth has gotten beyond that. I am sure we will appreciate our 

 stay here. 



I want to appoint some committees this morning. The Committee on 

 Resolutions: Mr. A. N. Abbott of Morrison, Frank S. Haynes of Geneseo. 

 George A. Switzer of Macomb, E. L. Wilson of Manhattan and C. V. Gregory 

 of Chicago. 



It has been the custom heretofore to refer all resolutions to the Com- 

 mittee on Resolutions without being presented to the house and if there 

 is no objection that will be the procedure this year. 



The Committee on Credentials: Mr. O. W. Holt of Geneseo, E. Wright 

 Allen of Decatur, and Chas. Arnold of Franklin Grove. 



That committee will be holding in the Y. M. C. A. building next door, 

 and those of you who are delegates file your credentials there and become 

 registered before the regular convention later. 



There is nothing nearer to the heart of the Institute than systems of 

 permanent fertility. We want you also to understand that permanent 

 systems of fertility may be profitable systems and hence we are asking a 



