Addresses—Importance of agriculture. 441 
If you want a hand in the labor, the honors and rewards, you 
must understand and attend to your business. 
When you, as farmers, have done all you can do to make two 
blades of grass and three bushels of wheat grow where only one 
grew before, by systematic, intelligent, persevering labor, from 
the time the seed is placed in the ground, or the stock needs your 
care, to the time when the results are in your pocket, placed to 
your credit in your bank account, or in improvements upon your 
farm, with frugal, economical living, and you find that you have 
not increased your possessions, it will be well to look around you 
and note the outside causes which are at work to prevent such 
gain and profit. And you have no right to complain of your 
condition until all this is done. If by a careful survey of the en¬ 
tire situation you are of the opinion that other interests are reap¬ 
ing more than a just share of the profits of your labor, in conse¬ 
quence of a want of proper legislation, or because of the enact¬ 
ment of certain laws for the undue protection of class interests, 
you have the remedy in your own hands and you ought to apply 
it. What would you think of a man who held a majority of 
stock in a manufacturing or other important interest, who should 
allow others holding only a few shares to come in and control it, 
elect its officers, manage its financial interests, and do all things 
connected with its affairs as they pleased ? You would at once say 
that he had better sell out his interest in that concern, and invest 
where he would take an interest, and look after his receipts and 
expenditures. Are you not, as farmers, all over this broad and 
beautiful land, to-day doing just this same thing? Millions of 
money is expended annually in this government, back pay 
steals and high and extravagant salaries are inflicted upon the al¬ 
ready tax-ridden people. Men occupying high official positions 
stand up in the halls of congress, and before the people, and ad¬ 
vocate these schemes to rob the treasury, plunder the people and 
enrich themselves with, seemingly, no sympathy with the labor¬ 
ing, toiling millions who produce the staples of life, and who are 
compelled to exercise the utmost frugality to educate and bring 
up their families so that they may take respectable positions in 
society, and not feel that forever they must be slaves and occupy 
a menial’s place. Have you reason* to complain of all this? 
