ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 13 



RESPONSE. 



HON. J. E. MILLER, BELVIDERE. 



Mr. President^ Ladies and Gentlemen: 



In return for the eloquent words of welcome by the mayor of 

 your city in behalf of the people of this county to which we have 

 just so cordially listened, I extend the heartfelt thanks of the 

 Illinois State Dairymen's Association. We accept them as a 

 recognition of the good work of our association in its efforts to 

 develop one of the leading industries of the state. We congrat- 

 ulate the good people of your enterprising city in securing this 

 convention, and we cordially invite them to our meetings, to take 

 part in our discussions and to aid in our work. Let us have a 

 free interchange of opinions, we learn by failure as well as by 

 success. Through our mistakes we learn the truth; we learn by 

 the mistakes of others as well as by our own. As experience is 

 a dear school let us take advantage of the experience of others,, 

 and this is a good place to hear of them. 



We come not to dispel Egyptian darkness, that is far from 

 our intention, we are here on a friendly and social visit for the 

 purpose of extending the social and business relationship of all 

 interested in our business. . We are here to divide with you what 

 we have learned of that business; we are also here for the pur- 

 pose of increasing our own knowledge, believing that a people 

 that have in so few years successfully established the dairy in- 

 dustry in new and untried fields, and have advanced it from its 

 primative forms to the most advanced and modern methods, and 

 whose products grade with the best, are a good people to confer 

 with when practical knowledge is desired. We further congrat- 

 ulate you on these things and trust that our efforts will meet 

 with your approval and be deemed worthy of your support. So 

 when we come to part we may feel strengthened and encouraged 

 and may feel glad for having been here. 



Our object in our annual pilgrimages throughout the state is 

 to bring together the farmer and creameryman, the merchant 

 and the shipper, and all connected with the business, so that all 



