THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 147 



a Farmers' National Congress. There was an immense crowd, 

 an intelligent crowd. The greatest National meeting was called 

 to order, the preliminary exercises were over, the orator for 

 the evening introduced. He was bright looking, a man of no- 

 toriety, he was a distinguished looking man, and his first utter- 

 ance was, "I am a Dairy Farmer." The stillness was painful, 

 not a response. The man who had educated himself in every 

 branch that would fit him for any position, that great specimen 

 of health and happiness ; one of nature's noblemen ; that man 

 w ! l had chosen from all the avenues that was open to him what 

 (to my mind) was the greatest profession in the category, and 

 availing himself of this opportunity, in the presence of thous- 

 ands of people, in the strength of his manhood and in the glory 

 o r his high calling to declare himself, not only a friend and ad- 

 vocate of the best organization in the world, but a member 

 itself and an enthusiastic believer in the justice of their cause, 

 and in all that vast concourse of people, not an audible response. 

 My first thought was my own boy, who was just arriving at an 

 age when he must decide what his occupation in life would be, 

 with a strong inclination toward farming, and of course anx- 

 ious to select an occupation that would be remunerative and at 

 the same time pleasant. He had but one guide that was promi- 

 nent, he had a right to expect that his future could be seen in 

 the reflection of the past; of those who had trod the path that 

 he was seeking. He could judge of their contentment and their 

 satisfaction by their enthusiasm, and I wondered if he could 

 have attended these meetings what his conclusions would have 

 been as between a Republican and a Democrat and a farmer. 

 He had the right to believe that the most popular was a Demo- 

 crat. 



I am glad that the time has past when the idea prevails that 

 a man who is unfit for anything else can farm successfully, and 

 that the poorest of farmers make "Only a Dairyman." I am 

 thankful that institutions of learning are being established and 

 are now being operated where our boys can especially fit them- 

 selves for agricultural pursuits in a way that they may get 



