The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-11

white carnations and artificial palms.
on either side of the POSTMASTER sat
the ladies who were on the programme
and their friends who had accom-
panied them to listen to their efforts
toward enightening and amusing the
stock breeders of the state.
me presence of the ladies at the
convention and at the banquet table
was something of an innovation and
one which the members of the con-
vention voted to encourage.
There were no preliminaries and as
soon as the evidences of the spread had
been cleared away, H. H. Heath arose
to introduce the POSTMASTER of the
evening. 7. A. McNeal, and it might be
said right here that he cause more
commotion when he arose than did
any Of the speakers who followed, be
cause when five hundred chair legs are
moved from the table and the Occu-
pants insist on permitting them to
slide on the floor, the noise is horri-
BILE.
The toastmaster's end of a banquet
seems to be the one where the toast
master of the evening is licensed to
shine. Those who kept close count on
the matter insist that IOaStmaSter M C.
Neal made at least a dozen speeches
during the course of the evening, all of
them interesting and adding life to
the occasion.
The banquet. of course. was a dry
least There was nothing on the menu
which indicated a hard drink save the
much-abused oyster cock tail, and
along towards the closing hour a glass
of very sweet cider From the stand
point of bright things said and done
the occasion was anything but dry, for
wit flowed throughout the entire even
ing as though encouraged by the pro-
verbal wine.
The first speaker of the evening, Pres
icent Z. r. Nichols, of the State Agri
cultural college. dWelt upon the system
izatiOn of the work on the farm and the
value of an education to the farmer and
his children. 1T is not the drudgery of
the farm which drives the boys and
girls to the city" said Professor Nichols,
but it is the undressing life which
the average farmer boys and girls are
compelled to lead. They see too much
of the dark side of the farm life and
not enough of the beautiful Give the
boys and girls an education the first
thing that you do, then surround them
with the little pleasures which are dear
to young folks and do not forget that
their likes and dislikes may be different
from yours"
Mr. John Hazleton, who has been in
strumentaI in bringing the Royal Live
Stock show of Kansas City to its place
of prominence, spoke briefly on the bene-
fits to be derived from raising the stand
ard of the stock on the farm.
General J. w. F. Hughes, who was
chief of the army and navy of kan
sas." who in the past has never been
known to miss an opportunity to discuss
his favorite weakness. Chickens" was
not on hand last night when called on
nor had he sent an excuse. POSTMASTER
A1cNeal called on Major Theodore Stern
burg of Ellsworth to respond to the
toast, Chickens" A more happy. choice
of a speaker could not have been made
and most of the time was taken in
eulogising the hen. The speech was
easily the hit of the evening, especially
from the standpoint of the stock breed
ers who have weakness for the help
full hen and her master.
Three of the places on the pro-
gramme were given over to the ladies
who treated the subjects assigned them
with the same ease and skill as they
would have housewives duties or a
similar paper before a ladies' club.
Mrs. Noble Prentis spoke of the
Home Life on the Farm, discussing
to some length those things which are
of vital interest to the farmers wife
and his daughters, and advocating bet
ter homes. fitted with modern con-