Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-03-06
Farmer and Merchant.
Comes.
Tho Commoner.

Address delivered at the Farmers
Institute by ". j. Pilkington OF
Des Moines.
Ladies aud Gentlemen, | assure
you this afternoon in appearing be-
fore you that I feel somewhat at
home. l feel somewhat at home be-
cause Of being near the old home
stead. am a Clayton county boy
raised over there in the woods. Here
in the court room just a moment ago,
while was sitting by the door, a
lady came in and shook hands with
me. She is in the audience now.
She and I used to play hockey and
raise'corn and the dickens when we
went to school together. When /
come to Manchester I really feel that
1 am coming nsar the old stamping
grounds again. While my business
is that of editing and publishing a
paper for merchants, yet l want to
tell you that if one in this audience
will go into the field with me, will
show you I can plow as much
ground as you can, and I can milk
as many cows as you can. ! don't
want you to think that the business
l have adopted makes a different
fellow with me. Don't think that
because l am not now engaged in
farming that know nothing Of it. I
think possibly if I had been healthy
and strong all my life 1 would be a
farmer today. know ofno occupa-
ton that demands and is entitled to
the respect of the world more than
that of farming. For some reason.
perhaps not known to us, the farm
seems to be the best place to raise
boys-boys who must make the
future business men. I remember
last spring of being in the city of
Chicago at a conference of manu-
facturers and wholesalers. While
we we're in room in the afternoon
we took to comparing notes. In
that crowd there were six men worth
ten million dollars each and several
worth a million or more-I belonged
in neither class. While we were
talking we found that all but two
men in the room were raised on
farms and three of them were Iowa
boys. Go where you will and you
will find the men who are making
the history today were raised on the
old farm. 1 don't know whether
this will change or not. I don't
know whether we farmer boys will
always be able to carry off the
honors or not, but by Jumping
Jack Rogers" we have learned that
if the city boys want to beat us they
will have to get up in the morning.
| want to congratulate you this
afternoon on having formed your
selves into a Farmers Institute.
There is nothing in the life of the
farmer which has done as much to
promote his welfare as has been ac-
complished in just such conventions
as this. In this coming together
you find how John Brown does
things and John Brown finds out
how you do things. Only a few
years ago we all thonght we could
get on very we'll and let the other
fellow look out for himself. and we
succeeded pretty we'll, but today the
policy is get together. You help me
and l will help you. Today all over
northern Iowa you find the farmers
becoming more and more organized.
The fact is that you farmers today
are more thoroughly organized than
are the retail merchants. The black
smiths and miners have been or
ganized the longest and have beat
the whole bunch of you. The miners
have more influence than you
farmers. They keep themselves
posted as to what the legislature is
doing and they know what Legislation
they want. Let us all learn a lesson
from them.
want to speak to you this after.
noon for a little while in regard te
your relation to the retail merchant
| do not know how to get at this
thing this afternoon, or how to dis.
cuss it, only to make frank ad
mission and state that there is some
thing Of an enmity growing up be
tween the merchants and the farm
ers. Many Of you realize this-th'