ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 19 



State Board of Agriculture. Our quarrel, gentlemen, is with fifteen members 

 of that State Board of Agriculture. That State Board was elected as repre- 

 sentatives of the people of the State ; and there are some of the members who 

 have so failed in representing the State faithfully that if they will not resign, 

 I believe it is the duty of this Board to ask them to do so. At any rate, it is 

 our bounden duty to see that at the next election they are laid on the shelf for 

 ever and ever. 



In this action of the State Board of Agriculture in reference to the butter- 

 ine question, the mistake could be excused, and I would be the first to try to 

 pour oil on the troubled waters, if it had not been for their further action, 

 when they willfully and maliciously libelled the dairymen, not only of the State 

 of Illinois, but of the whole country, by throwing mud upon the representa- 

 tives of the dairy interest ; that was a little too much and it cannot be excused. 



Now, our position with the State Board of Agriculture is this, that fifteen 

 of the members of that Board were given the trust of the people, and when the 

 time came for them to show their colors and show they were our friends, they 

 failed. 



Mr. Hostetter : I do not think we can blame the Board as much as some 

 of these gentlemen do. There were farmers there, stock raisers and hog 

 breeders, who got up a petition and signed it, and handed it in to the Board, and 

 said that this butterine was the product of the hog, and they thought it ought 

 to have a place in the show. I think we ought to talk this matter over without 

 any hard words. There is no use in denouncing the Board or the oleomargarine 

 men. If there is a market for their stuff they are going to sell it. The Board 

 gave them a place as a product of cattle, and I do not think there is anything 

 very much out of the way in it. Of course it is an injury to the dairy interest, 

 but I think if we make them sell it for what it is we will reduce the injury 

 very much. 



Mr. Johnson : All this talk against the State Board of Agriculture seems 

 to me a little out of place. I was only in Chicago one day, and I got my ideas 

 from the press, and I was ready to murder them, but the statement Mr. Chester 

 has made so fairly, puts a different light on the matter. We cannot expect 

 these gentlemen to take the same view of the dairy interest that we do who 

 have been brought up side by side with the cow since we were children. The 

 only thing that I can see that they did out of the way, was to give us a hit after- 

 ward. Every man that runs a factory about Elgin was making bogus butter, 

 they insinuated. Now, I run a factory, but it didn't hurt me. I believe there 

 were but very few people that believed it, and if they did, I do not think they 

 would pay thirty-two cents a pound, as they have done this week, for Elgin 

 butter. 



It was moved by Mr. Buell that a committee be appointed to formulate the 

 sentiments of this convention in reference to the subject under discussion, a 

 part of the duty of that committee being that they should recommend proper 

 action of this convention with reference to it. 



Motion seconded and carried. 



Convention adjourned to meet at 7:30 p. m. 



Convention met pursuant to adjournment at 7:30 p. m. 

 Music — Belvidere Quartette. 



