No. 4.] FARMERS' NATIONAL CONGRESS. 237 



learning come from the farms and rural communities. It is 

 true also of a majority of the men who lead in public affairs, 

 that they were born and reared in the country. 



The farms, too, are schools of patriotism. The boy 

 whose ductile foot has clung to the soil of his father's farm 

 will grow into a lover and defender of his country. The 

 man who looks upon his home and fields, feels a joy of owner- 

 ship and sense of freedom, becomes, when the hour demands 

 and duty calls, a Cincinnatus or an Israel Putnam, and leaps 

 from the furrow to the ranks of his country's defenders, — 

 drops the plow handle and seizes the sword in defence of his 

 fireside and his country. 



The character of the citizens and the greatness of the in- 

 dustry you represent makes this Congress of farmers of great 

 and national importance, and what you do here will redound 

 to the betterment of every national interest. We hope, as 

 you look upon these grand and enduring mountains, as you 

 cross and recross the great States and Territories that make 

 up our matchless domain, as you meet here as fellow workers 

 from all sections of the United States, you will gain new faith 

 in the permanence of our institutions, realize more fully the 

 vastness and richness of our national resources, see with 

 clearer vision than ever before the unity of purpose that 

 binds together and inspires to patriotic and noble achieve- 

 ments the people of every section of our beloved country. 



The president then presented Gov. C. S. Thomas of Colo- 

 rado, who said, in part : — 



It is a truly interesting thought, when we realize that the 

 session of the Farmers' National Congress that is now opening 

 is being held here in the shadow of the mountains, on the ex- 

 treme western edge of the vast tract of land which for so many 

 years, and even for generations, was known as the Great 

 American Desert. You have come here b}' traversing a wide 

 region that was once barren. To reach the shade of these 

 beautiful trees and of the historic mountains near at hand, 

 you have crossed a region where improved methods of farm- 

 ing have had their efi'ect. You have come to discuss methods 

 and plans whereby 3'ou may further improve on the methods 

 by which you have wiped out the Great American Desert, 

 not only from the map, but from the face of the earth. 



