address you. He has it thoroughly at heart. He knows it all, and 

 he is with us to tell us how to do it, and honors us by being here. 



"It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you Secretary Wilson. 

 of the Department of Agriculture of the United States." 



(Prolonged and vigorous applause.) 



HON. JAMES WILSON, Secretary of Agriculture, then addressed the 

 meeting as follows : 



"Ladies and gentlemen: I came to New York with a great 

 deal of hesitation. Naturally, everybody who comes here has that 

 feeling. We do not see how we can give the people of this place 

 any information on any subject. 



"You have heard incidentally with regard to conservation in late 

 years ; something with regard to conservation of woods, water powers, 

 etc. In this day, when conditions are different from those with which 

 you have been familiar in the past, I came to speak for a few moments 

 with regard to the conservation of the soil. . 



"Singularly enough, history tells us nothing about the soil from 

 which we have drawn our sustenance, and now when we have ques- 

 tions with which you are all familiar with regard to the cost of 

 living, and all that, I regard the discussion of the soil from which 

 we draw our food as a prime necessity, and have prepared some 

 brief remarks on that topic. 



"I have been in the habit of speaking now and again during 

 my lifetime to small audiences here and there, but I have never before 

 spoken in a room as big as an acre lot. 



"The cost of living calls for careful inquiry into the causes that 

 have operated to bring about conditions that are new to us as a 

 people. We have had great abundance of food at prices that were 

 lower than most other countries enjoyed; particularly those countries 

 with which we compete in commerce and manufacturing. Compen- 

 sation for skill and labor has been comparatively high in our country, 

 but increased cost of living has become a disturbing factor that cannot 

 be adjusted at present to the satisfaction of those concerned. There 

 are many factors that enter into this inquiry. 



"It costs more to get anything done in our country than in most 

 others. Until within recent years new land was abundant and to be 

 had for the asking. Railways pushed ahead of the homesteader, the 

 reaper came, and bread and meat were cheap. The farmers, com- 

 pared with other workers, had low wages. The education of the 

 schools had done nothing for him, while much was done for other 



6 



