THE DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



63 



our hands are tied — so absolutely tied that our reputation is like a rol- 

 ler-coaster, some days it is up and some days it is down. There is much, 

 very much that could be said to this convention about dry farming de- 

 velopment from the railroad man's viewpoint, but I am really not pre- 

 pared to make a formal address tonight. This is a vital subject — it 

 means vastly more than the delegates in this convention hall can con- 

 ceive of. We railroad men are watching this movement with deep in- 

 terest and are trying to work along intelligent lines with you. I con- 

 sider this Cheyenne convention as fraught with more than local Western 

 import — it is national and world-wide in its significance. Gentlemen, 1 

 thank you." 



FOREIGN SECTION. 

 AUSTRALIA: 



"Hon. James H. McColl, member of Parliament of Australia, address- 

 ed the Congress as follows: 



"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen of The Trans-Missouri Dry 

 Farming Congress — I felt kind of lonesome here tonight to think I 

 was the only man from Australia, but a gentleman came up to me and 

 said, 1 want to see you; I was born in Australia myself.' My word, I did 

 shake his hand. To think I had gotten hold of someone who had gathered 

 the gum and put his nose in the water blossom. I didn't feel lonely much 

 after that. I have been a farmer there for twenty years in Australia, and 

 if I were at home anywhere, I am at home in the gathering that is here 

 tonight, and those whom I presided over this afternoon. I desire tonight 

 to return thanks for the invitation received to attend this Congress, and 

 thankful that I have been permitted to journey so far, some 12,000 miles, 

 to be here. 



Greetings from Australia. 



"My first duty is to convey to this important gathering the Greetings 

 of the thousands in Australia who are here in spirit if not in body, and 

 who are watching this movement with anxious eyes because its success 

 means so much to them. I desire also to convey to you, and through 

 you to the people of the United States, the assurance of the kindly feeling 

 that exists among all Australians for the people of this great Union, their 

 kinsfolk across the sea. My next duty is to express my heartfelt grati- 

 tude for the warm welcome and feelings of brotherly kindness which have 

 been manifested to me from his Excellency, the Governor of Wyoming, 

 downwards, and how much I feel at home in Cheyenne. 



"I have the privilege of being located with Mr. and Mrs. Gordon, who 

 have been kindness itself, and Dr. Cooke has also spared no pains to 

 make my visit pleasant and useful. 



"This visit is of singular interest to me because of the community 

 of feeling and interest between the United States and Australia. This 

 feeling arises from various causes. First, because we are of one common 



