508 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



location for the meeting of the next Congress, of which Mr. 

 Appleton of Massachusetts was made a member. 



Judge Wm. Lawrence of Ohio read an interesting and 

 instructive paper, entitled, "How the Farmers' National 

 Congress can become a great political power in aid of non- 

 partisan legislation, State and national." 



In his paper the judge urged that thorough organization is 

 necessary to insure success to the farming interests, and 

 that farmers should be awake to the subject of protection to 

 their own products ; and ilhistrated his subject by stating 

 that " the imports on agricultural products for the past year 

 amounted to $200,000 ,000, the greater part of which could 

 and ought to have been the product of American farms." 

 An animated discussion followed, in which bright men took 

 part, and valuable information upon the subject of agri- 

 culture was imparted. 



A gentleman from Iowa, Mr. Coffin, stated the annual 

 value of the products of his State, and concluded his remarks 

 by saying : "In the recent political campaign we have heard 

 a great deal about gold, silver and our banking capital ; and 

 I want to say that if they were all sunk in the depths of the 

 sea we should soon rally from the disaster, for the value of 

 the product of the cow in this country for a single year is 

 greater than that of all the precious metals and banking cap- 

 ital combined." 



Judge Lawrence's paper met with but little opposition, in 

 fact, it was almost unanimously endorsed, and was referred 

 to the committee on memorial to CongresSc 



Judge E. B. Martindale of Indianapolis, on behalf of the 

 Board of Trade and the Commercial Club of the city, ten- 

 dered an invitation to the delegates to a reception in the 

 assembly room of the Commercial Club for Wednesday 

 evening, the 11th inst., which was accepted with thanks. 



Wednesday Moi;nixg, Nov. 11, 1896. 

 The Congress convened at 10 o'clock a.m., and the first 

 business Avas a resolution presented by Francis H. Appleton, 

 Esq., of Massachusetts, inviting Ex-President Benjamin 

 Harrison to address the Congress. The resolution was 

 unanimously adopted, and a committee appointed, of which 



