EXHIBITION OF 1871—OPENING ADDRESS. 
79 
to fulfill that office. It was organized with the co-operation of 
public-spirited citizens, and has for many years been, as we be¬ 
lieve, faithfully administered with that end in view. 
We know that the means which it employs—the exhibitions 
it holds, the correspondence it carries on, and the valuable and 
popular volume of reports annually distributed—are calculated 
to promote the advancement of all branches of industry in our 
state; and we must be pardoned if we insist that the persist¬ 
ent efforts it has put forth during this period of infancy on the 
part of Wisconsin, have had an important influence in secur¬ 
ing the results of which the people are so justly proud to-day. 
In the past it has not unfrequently been a ground of dis¬ 
couragement to those who have been responsible for the growth 
and prosperity of the society, that many of our citizens whose 
practical connections with industrial pursuits, and even de¬ 
pendence upon them for the wealth and position acquired, 
have manifested little or no interest in its objects and labors. 
But it is gratifying to observe that, with the day of small 
things, that day of indifference has passed. 
This magnificent collection of blooded stock, and supe¬ 
rior products of our agricultural, horticultural and manufac¬ 
turing industries, and this gathering of the people from every 
quarter of the state are proofs that the society is rapidly gain¬ 
ing, what it has fairly earned, and should always have had, the 
cordial sympathy and support of the public. 
The officers of the society, though their ability were ten-fold 
greater than it is, and their efforts Herculean and unremitting, 
could not, of themselves, insure so much as the success of a 
single exhibition like this. They must have the moral sup¬ 
port, and the practical support of the best citizens, and of the 
great body of citizens. For this we have striven, and this we 
are glad to know, is becoming ours more and more every year. 
For the present, therefore, I will only further, on behalf of 
the society I have the honor to represent, offer our hearty 
thanks to all who have contributed to this satisfactory condi¬ 
tion of things, especially to those who have helped to make 
this our greatest and most complete exhibition of the industry 
