FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION 179 



The way they went about it at Centralia was as follows : 

 The Commercial Club invited Mr. Newman and myself to meet 

 with them. They had a little informal meeting and we told 

 them, as we thought, the best plan to inaugurate the business, 

 and from that meeting grew a banquet. They invited three 

 hundred farmers into Centralia, and the business men of the city 

 served a banquet at their own expense. We had a crowd, as 

 you have had here, and had Mr. Mcllroy of the Southern Illinois 

 University, Professor of Agriculture at that school. Every 

 banker got up and made an enthusiastic speech and pledged him- 

 self to stand by the industry financially, and since then they have 

 been doing so. Had it not been for the unfortunate foot and 

 mouth disease there would have been several carloads more of 

 high grade cows. We feel very much encouraged with the de- 

 velopment. The land is well adapted to the business and cheaper 

 than land in the northern part of the state. 



I do not know whether I ought to impose on you, because 

 I am not a public speaker. But, being in this place, I feel it my 

 duty to meet you, and as best I can give you my ideas. I have 

 always been a business man and a farmer, more of a farmer 

 than a business man, but we are very much interested in this 

 work, because we like it, not only from a sense of duty, but it is 

 a pleasure for us to meet .and mingle with you dairymen. You 

 know it is pretty easy to get up before an audience, Mr. Presi- 

 dent, and make a flowery speech, and write fine resolutions and 

 talk about the great things that have been done and are going 

 to be done — the latter usually the greatest — and it sounds nice 

 in the papers. It is much easier to talk and resolve than it is tc 

 act. I think your President, and the active members of your 

 organization will bear me out in the statement that we have been 

 sincere in our efforts to foster and further the dairy interests 

 of the state. If we have not, it is because we could not. I am 

 free to confess that, with our limited means and knowledge of 

 the technicalities of the position, we have not accomplished as 

 much as we would like to have done. But I know those who 

 are best posted in your organization and most familiar with our 

 work will bear me out in the statement that we have generally 



