The Portland daily press., 1885-09-25
THE STATE FAIR.
Clear Weather and a Large Crowd.
Speeches by Mr.. Blaine and Other
Distinguished Men.
Some Fair Trotting on a Heavy
Track.
Especial to the Press.

Some Fair Trotting on Heavy
Track.
Special to the Press)
LEWISTON, Sept 24.-Today has been
good one for the fair and its managers.
Trains from all directions have brought great
crowds of visitors and both the grounds and
City Hall have been thronged with well
pleased visitors. There are numerous esti-
mates OF the number of people in attend
ance upon the show today, some placing itas
high as 10000. AS near as can be estimated
there appears to be from Is 900 to 10000 peo-
pie here. The presence of great crowd is
shown by the animated appearance of the
streets and the wagons for the grounds are
doing thriving business. Everything has
been pressed into service and the drivers of
beach wagons, antiquated carryalls, hacks,
carts and barges stand side by side calling
for passengers.
The exhibition building has been filed all
the morning with people and large numbers
have visited the quarters of the cattle.
The event of the day has been the visit of
Hon. James G. Blaine Senator Hale, Con-
gressmen Boutelle and Dingley and other
| distinguished men.
| A special train bearing the above gentle
men arrived at the grounds at about eleven
O'clock this forenoon. The guests were re-
ceived upon the platform by Col Henry s.
! Osgood and Joseph Fl. Manley Esq. A car
riage was In waiting and the Coburn Cadets
with the State College band were drawn up
at the entrance to the grounds to do escort
| duty. At The Office of the president the
| guests were introduced to the officers of the
Maine State Agricultural Association and
| afterwards proceeded to the east entrance of
| the exhibition. Here the assemblage of peo-
| pie was called to order by President Prince,
who said that among its members the State
! Agricultural Association reckoned men of
all callings, and that there was one present.
statesman, whom all would be glad to hear.
| Mr.. Prince then called upon Mr.. Blaine who
was greeted with applause and cheers. He
| spoke as follows;
MIR. BLAINE's SPEECH,
do not know which is the more conducive OF
| the advancement Of agriculture-a first class
horse tr0t or five minutes address by a man
who knows nothing about farming; but in this
case hope the horse trot will be better than the
| speech.
respond to your call fellow-citizens. only that
may thank you for your cordial reception, and
the courtesy of an invitation to attend this spen-
did exhibit Of the industrial and agricultural re-
| sources of Maine.
Every citizen of this State must look with pride
and hopefulness upon our development and pro-
gress within the past ten years. Other States may
have made more rapid advances In population,
and that admit is always an encouraging sign-
but If we have lost many of our good men who
have gone to labor on other fields, we who have
remained at home have taken good care of the in
terests of the State. We have retained a suffi-
ciently large number to treble the wealth of the
State while other communities favor trebling
their population. Ii there are not so MANY OF MS
as there might be If we had held our own we
nave on an average made great progress in the
comforts and refinements of life which always
follow an increase of wealth. [Applause.l
country progress that surprises all the nations
This very morning saw fact of great moment
stated in the press, which better than anything
can say Illustrates our growth. The corn crop
of the United States for this single year is greater
in the number OF bushels and greater in money
value than all the corn we have exported since the
close of the revolutionary war, 1000, 600 900
bushels; All but small portion of this vast pro-
duct will be used and consumed at home-at this
home of sixty millions of people, making within
itself whole world of trade and commerce of that
world at home. am proud to believe the State
owns no inconsiderable part, contributing as
much to the aggregate progress and prosperity of
the country as any other. Thanking you, gentle
Applause and cheers
Senator Hale was next introduced and
was received with applause. He spoke sub
stantially as follows:
Mr.. President and Fellow Citizens: Although like
the distinguished speaker who has just addressed
you, am not much of a farmer, am glad to be
mere to-day as representative of sister agTicu-
tural Soclety-the Eastern Maine State Agrieul-
tural Association-and of what l have heard thus
far IN lewiston and of what knowof the ex-
hibiion at Bangor two weeks ago. believe that
every citizen IN the State of Maine is honestly en-
titled to do little Dragging about the advantages
OF our own State on all things that go to make up
the prosperity, comfort and welfare of people.
stand here to-day with peculiar satisfaction. l
Of f1,n
and reared. My mind goes back to-day over the
lapse of years. Naturally L think of the days of
then as now In those days 1 remember that
pair OF 612 feet steers was a wonder and that
pair OF foot cattle were the talk of the town,
and yet my friends, saw at Bangor the other
day team of 20 yoke of cattle, not one of whom
was less than eight feet. Talk about horses too.
Let any man think of the breeds of horses to-day
as compared with those of twenty years ago 1
looked at the record made here Tuesday and was
proud Of it. was glad too to see that an ELS.
when the only races held in this region were held
up here on Atkins Plain or on the Androscoggin
inside four minutes that horse was phenomenon
Barns IN those early days that were clapboarded
as rare as good cookstove.
While we have lost good many of our citizens,
everybody believes that we have kept as good or
the best al home. To me it is matter of satiSfae-
tlon that Maine has had her hard day and hard
times Maine I believe has future worth con
Senator Hale referred briefly to the decadence
OF shipbuilding interests in Certain sections bnt
spoke glowingly Of the growth of the mines and
particularly of the increase in Names Importance
as place of summer resort.
II any young man here believes that he can do
better to go West, let him think twice, sir for the
day OF Maine is still coming, and the future grows
brighter day by day.
Congressman Boutelle who was next in
troduced spoke at some length upon the ad- 1
vantages of the State of Maine touching
especially upon its desirability as a:home So
far from being place to emigrate from Mr..
Boutelle said that Maine was good place
for immigration. He referred to the part
taken by the State in the war of the rebel
lion and mentioned the fact that Names
quota to the Union armies represented one
soldier for every nine of the States popula-
ton. Mr.. Boutelle's speech was received
with ap lause.
Congressman Milliken was the last
speaker and was greeted with applause. He
said that having understood there was to be
no speech-making he was somewhat taken
by surprise. He spoke principallyo of the
value of the farming communities in the
preservation of the city and the state The
cities which consume the products of the
farms could not exist without them and the
foremost men of the cities are drawn from
the farms of their fathers. Men engaged in
agricultural pursuits are among the best
classes of the population. Their value as
citizens is enhanced by the fact that they
cannot remove with their property to other
lands If government is unjust they must
remain and bear the tyranny or overturn the
oppressive power But no one ever heard of
farmers engaging in riot. They are not
the men who destroy the valuable produc-
tions and monuments of civilization. They
are the producing and preserving element.
After the speech-making the guests were
shown over the exhibition building, and
then proceeded to Hotel Swan, where the
banquet rendered them by Col Osgood was
served A distinguished party sat at the
tables among whom were:
Hon. j. G. Blaine, Gov. Robie Senator Eugene
Hale, Congressman G. A. Boutelle, S. L. Mliken,
Nelson Dingley, Jr., Wallace H: White, Esq. Lew
lston, Hon. W. D. Pennell, Lewiston; DR.. William
Osgood Of North Yarmouth, G. II. Baker, ESQ., of
Portland, S. NJ Carter, Esq, of Lewiston, Joseph
D. Manley, esq, Augusta, Secretary A. L. Denni-
son OF Portland, ex-Gov. A. Gareelon, Lewiston,
Samuel l.. Boardman, editor of "HOme Farm"