* 
ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN’S ASSOCIATION. 87 
being seen in the sons and daughters of the present time. 
But the indebtedness is not all on one side—the farms is as 
much benefited by the t5oy, as the boy by the farm; and 
that this valuable appendage may be properly appreciated, 
we would commend to parents the perusal of the sound, 
though somewhat humorous words of Charles Dudley 
Warner, entitled “A Boy on a Farm,” who gives it as his 
opinion, that a farm without a boy would soon come to 
grief, closing with these words, “ and yet I doubt if any 
boy ever amounted to anythtng in the world, or was of 
much use as a man, who did not enjoy the advantages of 
a liberal education in the way of chores.” Permit me to 
recommend to your notice the appreciation, as well, the 
. chore girl on the farm, who sometimes fills the place ofboth 
in that unfortunate family where the boy is wanting. 
Would that every father and mother in our rural districts 
might feel, as in the past, so in the future, the weal or woe 
of an nation must largely depend upon what the sons and 
daughters of farmers are trained to do and be, and ex¬ 
cise their parental care and authority accordingly. It is 
plain that to these we must look for an influence which shall 
counteract that of the extravagant, the idle, and the vicious, 
with whom the large cities abound. Does it not seem that 
we carry within, the elements of our own destruction in 
the habits of life, and sects, whose authority is paramount 
to the national, unless the former can be corrected, or over¬ 
balanced and the latter properly restricted. Combine with 
this view, the statement of our consul at Zurich, Switzer¬ 
land, that among the thousands landing daily upon our 
shores are many paupers and criminals, shipped on condi¬ 
tion they never return to their native land, and soon pos¬ 
sessing here the same power in the ballott that any 
American born citizen exercises with so much just pride, 
and we have some of the dangers which threaten our 
national life. With this outlook, briefly and imperfectly 
drawn, we appeal to you, Mr. President, and gentlemen of 
the convention, here assembled, to use your influence, and 
votes in such a way as to promote sobriety, industry, 
honesty, and all the principles of right and justice upon 
which our nation is founded, that we may continue to be 
what we now are—a prosperous, intelligent, Christian 
republic.. 
