292 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY . 
f 
With increased intelligence and a better morality, the Club 
must necessarily exert a beneficial social influence. Farmers as 
a class live too isolated. There is often too much of this “every 
one for himself and the d—1 take the hindmost ” in the farmer’s 
social life. The Club brings the whole neighborhood together; 
old acquaintances are renewed, and new ones formed ; and an oc¬ 
casional friendly call at neighbor A, B, or C, is the result, and 
you will not be nearly as apt to have a “spat” with your 
neighbor about his cattle breaking iuto your cornfield or vice versa , 
as yon were when the only time you called on each other was 
when some such accident had transpired. 
Yes, brother farmers, if you have no Club or Grange in your 
neighborhood, go home and help organize one. Let it be prop¬ 
erly conducted, and in a short time you will be astonished at the 
social improvement of your neighborhood. 
But with the intellectual, moral and social improvement, we can 
not be expected to let politics entirely alone, and here we also 
have an advantage in organized association. How can we expect 
any reform in the transportation question, or be able to check the 
unscrupulous politicians or monopolists if we “ let politics alone;” 
and here I believe a Farmers’ Club has the advantage of a Grange, 
if what the grangers tell us be true, viz, that they “ don’t meddle 
with politics.” You all know something about party politics; 
how the slate is very often made up ; how much “rings inside of 
a ring,” “ wire pulling ” and “ ax grinding ” has to do with the 
election of our state and national servants. Yes, even our town 
and county politics are “ run ” by “ court house rings ” and “ town 
cliques.” And the farmers must let politics alone! No, sir. 
Gentlemen, it is our duty as men, as American citizens, as well as 
farmers, to “ meddle with politics.” It is our duty to do all we 
can to get the “ right man in the right place,” and not let the party 
lash whip us into mere voting cattle. Henceforth let the man, 
rather than the party, direct our votes, and to the existing polit¬ 
ical parties we will say, “If you want the votes of the farmers give 
us the right man as a candidate, and unless you do so, we do not 
regard the party lines strong enough to hold us.” 
At the meeting of the club you become well acquainted with 
yo ur fellow-townsmen ; you know more of their ability as well as 
