No. 4.] NEW ENGLAND AGRICULTURE. 123 



ness that we talk about and ])rag about is the superstructure 

 that rests upon the foundation of agriculture. Let it be 

 remembered by statesmen, let it be remembered by those 

 who teach the people, who call them together to listen, — let 

 it be remembered that the foundation of any prosperity must 

 be stable. 



Let it be remembered that the farmers even here in 

 Massachusetts are discontented with their local and State 

 tax, even without going to the question of the great burden 

 of federal taxation, which is borne solely, let me repeat it, 

 solely by the agricultural population of the country. 



Excuse me for taking up so much time. 



President Atherton. I think I am entitled to the thanks 

 of the Board for saying what should call out so eloquent a 

 speech as we have listened to. I have listened with very 

 great interest to the remarks Mr. Russell has made. I do 

 not rise to discuss the question. 



In the lirst place, the article from Ex-Governor Boutwell 

 was an article printed in either the ' ' Forum " or the ' ' At- 

 lantic Monthly," and if it was a political speech it was not 

 when I saw it. Mr. Boutwell makes one or two illustrations 

 to prove his statements which I did not wish to bring in. 



If the statistics which he quotes are misleading, I am not 

 responsible for them. I quoted Ex-Governor Boutwell 

 simply as confirming what I had been saying from my own 

 inquiry, and the statistics which I used were from the United 

 States census exclusively, so that any statistics that Ex- 

 Governor Boutwell quoted from the misleading statistics of 

 Massachusetts do not apply to what I had to say. 



If I had known Mr. Russell was here I should have said 

 what I did in regard to wool with a great deal more em- 

 phasis, for I should have known that it would have called 

 out his most eloquent speech. I believe in it, and he does 

 not. I understand that Mr. Russell has expounded his views 

 before the farmers of Massachusetts before. 



Mr. Russell. Never did, sir, — never. 



President Atherton. I do not feel that I am concerned 

 with the discussion of a tariff question. I firmly believe 

 that the suggestion that I made, to give the farmer an 

 opportunity to raise his wool, is a sound suggestion, sus- 



