The United States may be poor as a nation, owing to ex- 

 cessive activity of the pendulum of politics or to the in- 

 capacity of administration, but the American people are 

 well off. The farmer has had more weeds of late and low- 

 er prices, but unless all signs fail good times are coming. 



Fifty years after the first cotton mill was erected, the 

 first railroad passenger train ran into Salem from Boston. 

 It left East Boston at 9 a. m. arriving at Salem an hour 

 later. The time has since been cut down one half. Col- 

 onel Peabody was the first president of the road, and Hon. 

 Leverett Saltonstall was then the mayor of the city of 

 Salem. Again, fifty years after the arrival of this passen- 

 ger train, a thoroughly successful horseless carriage was 

 run through Salem over our Essex roads ; and I venture 

 to predict that some of us who are here today, will live to 

 see the time when it will be as rare to see carriages drawn 

 by horses as it is at present to see street cars drawn by 

 horses. I noticed in Paris last winter the automobile, as 

 it is there called, is becoming quite a frequent sight, and 

 I understand a contract has been made to place for service 

 in the streets of that city five hundred of these horseless 

 cabs, and the same number are to be placed in the streets 

 of London. 



The bicycle is now being manufactured so cheaply that 

 it is within the means not only of the business clerk, but 

 of the mechanic and farm laborer, opening opportunities 

 of employment at distances, which were practically out of 

 the question on account of the weary tramp home on foot 

 after a hard day's work. It is also bringing about a de- 

 mand for better roads which benefits every one ; and the 

 result is that on holidays and on the day of rest, we see 

 thousands of people flying along on their wheels, enjoying 

 an outing in our beautiful Essex County which was for- 

 merly to them an undiscovered land^ and at the same time 

 gladdening the hearts of inn-keepers who heretofore were 

 barely making a living. 



