ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



splendid man who today is President of this magnificent land of 

 ours, if my memory is correct, is the only large city born man 

 who has ever held that exalted office. They have come from the 

 farms and smaller towns, rural communities. Washington was 

 a practical farmer; Washington was a successful farmer. Wash- 

 ington, with all the mighty responsibilities resting upon him as 

 commander in chief, and afterwards as first President of the 

 republic for two terms, never for a day lost the active control and 

 management of his farm at Mt. Vernon, and deemed it his highly 

 honorable occupation. 



I say that the farmer is the king of men. The old Declara- 

 tion of Independence said " These colonies are, and of right, 

 ought to be free and independent states," but they were not save 

 in embryo ; they were not free and not independent, and not 

 states ; yet in a certain limited sense the statement was true. 

 The agriultural people of this country, in a similar, certain sense 

 are and of a right ought to be, and in some better clay, will be 

 kings of men. And among the kings of men, the dairymen ought 

 to stand as the king of kings. But what, my farmer friends, 

 what are you doing to attain such ideals for yourselves, or for 

 your children. 



This constant iteration and reiteration of the details of your 

 great industry suggests a story often admirably told by Hon. A. 

 M. Herrington, one of the ablest lawyers of the State, who said 

 that on a bitter cold morning, with the mercury far below zero, 

 he was called a little before sunrise and told a man urgently 

 desired to see him quickly in the kitchen. Hastily putting on a 

 portion of his clothing, he came to the kitchen and found an old 

 bachelor client who lived alone, some seven miles distant, and 

 who was half frozen from his long, cold ride in the gray dawn, 

 A stiff hot toddy loosened his tongue and unfolded his mournful 

 tale: '' You remember, Mr. Herrington, the fine bull calf your 

 brother James gave me Well I took the best care of him, and 

 we became great friends. He grew to be the finest bull in Kane 

 county, and I used to talk to him and tell him all my troubles 

 and he seemed to sympathize with me. He took sick and yester- 



