The Van Buren press., 1875-12-07
Address of Governor Garland.
Before the Woodruff County Agri-
cultural and Mechanical Associ-
alton, Oct. 13, 1875.
Mr.. President Ladies and Gentlemen /.

Ihe invitation to me to address you on
this occasion could not have been extend
ed for any supposed practical views !
might have and advance as to the ends
and objects of your association: nor have
| accepted it in any vain hope Of enlirnt.
ening you as to the great purposes you
have before you. The pursuits and stu,
dies of my life have not beer in this di.
rection, nor have they been such as would
permit nae even to indulge the hope oil
being able to give you Information upon
topics that naturally arise for considera
tion at meetings of this character
apprehend, as you were now about
beginning reorganization ofyour secie
ty, and starting with the state in new
life, you deemed it not improper that the
governor of your state should be here,
and note together with you the progress
and advancement of our people in theil
industrial pursuits, and from that com.
parison, new ssergy and zeal might be 3
reused to press forward your enterprise
And perhaps you deem it well for the
governor of your state to tell how far he
could and would aid you, and foster and
sustain all such undertakings, under the
constitution and laws of the state.
With this view of the purposes Of the
very high honor you have done me in
this invitation, ] am here not to deliver
what is called an address that is little
too formal if not too classic, for me to
venture upon, and especially is it 80 with
the little time have had at my command
to prepare. But l am here to talk to and
with you plainly and socially, and in no
studied phrases, as to matters in which
we are all intel ested, and which form the
very basis, the very foundation, Of our
good condition and prosperity.
The immediate objects contemplated
by your society, as learn them, are, "te
encourage home manufacture, and to i'm.
prove the stock in this section Of the
state;' or, to enlarge the idea to what i,
must legtimately lead-develop the coun
try and make it prosperous through those
potent agents, agriculture and mechsn
ics-embodying and combating those
great ideas in political economy, trans
mutation and transformation. These or.
ganizatons are valuable beyond calcula.
tion, as they concentrate the mind direct
~ on certain specified objects without
which, in all undertakings, there must be
great waste of time and labor. They al
SO unite efforts otherwise divided and
scattered, and often lost in their results
upon the community. They excite no
BILE and generous emulation to excel. and
| in this, the victor and the vanquishod foI
the prize both can share, as the effects ul
timately rebound to the benefit of all
and are not confined alone to him who
wins the premium. They serve to give
facts and figures as to the progress Of the
community, and to make record to guide
and instruct for future action. They stu-
ulate study and inquiry into the different
systems Of agriculture. And, more than
all this, possible, when at the end of
each crop year people meet. as you are
here to day, to present the results Of their
labor, good social feeling is cultivated
and promoted, and those within the circle
of its influence are made to know each
other better, and to feel as if they belong
ed to one family.
With all the marked improvements in
what is called social science, there is none
more striking than this of keeping alive
enterprises and finally securing great ends
by uniting and sggresating in one direc
ton, in one channel, individual capital,
labor and education.
The world is now moving in this way
combinations, societies, organizations
to reach results. All leading interests
are being thus controlled aud directed
In obedience to this principle we see the
agricultural interests all over the country
nursed and protected by the society call
ed the Pataons of Husbandry, which is
made up of large portion of the wealth,
intellect and enterprise Of the different
states, and which is making itself felt for
good in every section of our land. .
Expand the view somewhat, enlarge the
circle, and let agriculture and mechanics,
two of the necessary elements Of a na-
t!on's progress. be united and protected
together, This is what your society con
templates, and grand idea it is. The
conviction no louger exists that between
agriculture and mechanics, or between
agriculture and manufactures. there is an
antagonism, but now the world ackpowl
edges the broad and liberal doctrine that
there can be no antagonism between any
branches of industry in which one iota of
material is transmitted, transformed or
transported for the benefit and improve.
ment of the human race, But they are
all linked and bound together, and while
they advance the community, they mutu
ally aid and sustain each other.
One of the first writers of our day, no.
ticing the arrival Off period of a nation
answering to that Of maturity of an indi-
vidual, fixes it as accepting the maxim
that the lot of man will be ameliorated. /.
and his power and dignity increased in
proportion rs he is able to comprehend
the mechanism of the world, the action
ofnatural laws, and to apply physical for
ces to his use The value of this theory
has received full recognition and indorsc
ment at the hands of the makers of our
present constitution through this provis-
ion:
"The general assembly shall pass such
laws as will protect and aid the agricultu-
raj, mining and manufacturing interests
of the state, and may create a bureau. to
he known as the mining, manufacturing
and agricultural bureau
II was scarcely possible for the makers
of our organic law to have given in that
ont