12 
SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OP THE 
riers who are lawfully bound to carry goods at a fair rate. 
Who will decide what is a fair rate? The lawyer will an¬ 
swer: “The courts.” Very true. Theoretically that is cor¬ 
rect, but practically it is impossible. 
THE RIGHT OF MIGHT. 
The average orange grower can never reach justice thus, 
for he has not the sinews of war to conduct a protracted suit 
against a great corporation. The transportation companies 
assume the right to say how much they will take, and they 
take it. The other party to the arrangement has no voice in 
the matter. That is not a disinterested tribunal. Its inter¬ 
ests preclude the possibility of impartial judgment. 
There is but one way in which we can get a just and fair 
tribunal accessible to the poor and lowly, as well as to the 
rich and strong, and that is by the action of the sovereign 
people. 
This brings us to another phase of the subject, and that is 
the proper relationship of the horticulturists to the state and 
nation. In a republic, the people are not only the recipients 
of the benefits of good government, but in them is placed the 
sacred duty and responsibility of making it a good govern¬ 
ment. The horticulturist is no exception. He bas a right to 
expect of the state the protection of just laws. The state 
has a right to expect him to do his full share in making and 
enforcing the laws. Some very good men seem to think it 
particularly meritorious to say: “I attend strictly to my 
business and let politics alone.” Such men are selfish. They 
neglect the first sacred duty of American citizenship, and are 
deserving of censure. They expect the protection of the 
laws, and yet will not do their part in making them what 
they should be. 
Gentlemen, the laws of a state are exactly what the law¬ 
makers make them. If we neglect our duty and allow the 
laws to be made by the professional place hunter, we must ex- 
% pect the laws will be made to subserve his interest. If the 
producers and business men of the state make the laws, they 
will be made in accordance with their ideas of justice. If the 
horticulturist refuses to do his duty as a sovereign citizen, 
if he neglects to study public questions and act on his knowl¬ 
edge, his punishment will consist in having his interests ig¬ 
nored by those who have done their duty as responsible citi¬ 
zens of the republic. 
ASSERT YOUR RIGHTS. 
Here then is the plain road Instead of going to the com¬ 
mon carriers and begging for favors, assert your rights like 
men who know them, and enforce justice at the ballot box 
