The billboard (July-Dec 1898)

I 10 THE BILLBOARD Department THE COUNTY FAIR. Now the pumpkin glows resplenden 'Mid the rows of ripened corn; Now the hunted prairie chicken Wishes he had not teen born; Now the suave machine collectors Every day the farmers greet; Now the roads are blocked with wagons Hauling thirty-two-cent wheat. And the merchant advertises "Winter clothing—cheap, but neat!" Now the farmer, from his harvest. Lays his largest pumpkin by. Softly smiling as he thinks how It will strike the judge's eye; Now his thrifty wife is building Piece by piece rare patchwork quilts. And his daughters paint on canvas Brick-red boys in purple kilts. Crimson leaves and pale-green berries. Steel-grey stocks on yellow stilts. Now the racehorse trainer gravely Walks the bob-tailed plug around And each day the trusty jockey Rides him swiftly o'er the ground Both the trainer and the jockey Work him early, work him late: While his owner's nether limb they Regularly elongate: And the fondly trusting owner Credulously pays the freight. Now the weeds upon the racetrack Fast before the sickle fall; Loud the hammers of the workmen Echo in the floral hall. Oft the county fair directors Sit in solemn conclave drear, Planning for the grand occasion. Glory of the passing year! All these portents plainly teach us County fair time's drawing near! County fair! Event auspicious! Heralded both far and necr In our guileless rustic circles As the climax of the year! Joyfully we hail thy coming— Never with thy charm can vie Marble-palaced expositions. Though their temples kiss the i Dearer far the signs that tell us,. County fair time's drawing nigh. iky. Omaha, And the Convention of the A. A. O F A.E. We liad intended to hold this month's issue back a coople of days, and in- clude an account of the convention of the American Association of Fairs and Expositions. After considering the matter carefully, however, we decided that any account which came by wire must of necessity be vague, incom- plete and unsatisfactory; while to wait for the complete minutes would be altogether out of the question._ Under the circumstances we decided to produce the whole report of the meeting in our December issue. "We have arranged for a complete steno- graphic report of the convention, and it will be revised by the secretary and carefully edited. It will appear in our Christmas number, issued Novem- ber 28 next Exhibitions as Good Advertis- ing Mediums. As the controversy as to the value of ex- hibitions as advertising mediums is always likely to be one of more or less interest to the general advertiser, it is particularly helpful at times to hear the subject discussed concisely and sensibly as it was done re- cently at the Northern Counties' Grocery Ex- hibition at Duckworth, M. P., in performing the opening ceremon-. In the course of his remarks he said: . "Certainly it was a very Interesting occa- sion, as they were met as business men, not _-o much, to air their eloquence as to 'talk shop,' their object being to facilitate busi- ness and not to occupy their time with em- pty cr useless talk. (Hear. hear). It might be asked. What were the aims and objects of I such an exhibition. as that? Well, they did ■ not deny that it was In the nature of an ad- vertisement, and grccers did not despise ad- vertisements (Hear, hear). Some of them at- tributed much cf the»r success to judicious 'advertising. There were advertisements which some of them would not like to own. "There were advertisements which overshot tne mark—advertisements which would not stand a very rigid examination: but he was pleased to say that in going from stall to" stall in that exhibition he had not seen the slightest thing that could in any way be con- sidered objectionable, and that everything was reasonable and_ fair and in accordance with the general views and requirements of the trade, . He dared say that some of them had seen 'advertisements that would not stand the test of examination; but it ought oooo$<>o«ooo$oo$o$o$o$ooo to be their aim, as straightforward and hon- est business .men, whether in the wholesale or retail branch of the trade, to see that their advertisements were reasonable and fair, and in accordance with truth, and, above ail, they ought to try to see that the articles they advertised to be sold possessed some intrinsic merit. (Hear, hear)." Mr. John Mark, in supporting a vote of thanks to the above gentlemen, said: "Mr. Duckworth spoke out with no uncertain voice on a subject which he (Mr. Mark)— when as Mayor of Manchester he was enter- tained to a banquet by his fellow-traders— had occasion to deal with, namely, the terms employed in their advertisements by over- zealous tradesmen— terms which if analyzed would neither be found to be truthful nor fair, as they cast a reflection upon other tradesmen. That ought not to be. (Hear, hear). He quite agreed with what Mr. Duck- worth had said regarding business enterprise, but he also felt that in matters of that kind they ought to be exceedingly guarded not to say anything that would reflect upon either the credit or the character of their fellow- tradesmen. (Applause). If a man said he was selling 'the finest tea the world produc- ed' at a certain price, it went without saving that anyone who might be selling tea above the figure named in such an advertisement was abstracting from the public an unjusf- fiable profit. What he maintained was that such statements were untruthful and ought not to be made. (Hear, hear)." Looking round the numerous stands which included many of the largest and best known firms in the Kingdom, one could everywhere see the zeal for attracting attention the vari- ous exhibitors were displaying. As for instance, J. & J. Colman, Ltd., Nor- wich, had their stall in the form of an ex- act model of the works at Norwich, designed and made by Mr. Charles Clowes, of Gran- ville House, Norfolk-street. Strand, and one had only to look at the photographs of the factory hung on the screens to see with what care and exactness Mr. Clowes had accom- plished his task. . E. Lazenby & Son, Ltd.. London, liberally distributed free samples of all their leading preparations. Goodall, Backhouse & Co.. Leeds, were sim- ilarly generous with bottles. "The Billboard" reaches practically every fair association in the U. S. and Canada. * Judging Fruit at Agricultural Fairs. To anyone who has ever given the subject any attention, the necessity for a reformation in the matter of proper naming of varieties of fruits on exhibition at our agricultural fairs is, I believe, so readily apparent as to hardly admit of argument. Attending, as I. have done for "the last half dozen years, an average of some six or seven fairs each sea- son, and with a natural love for an interest in the fruit exhibits made at these fairs, 1 have been strongly Impressed with the incon- gruity of the awards of premiums as they are often given on even some of the more common varieties of apples and pears, such as should be readily distinguished by. any man sufficiently a judge of fruits to entitle him to act in such capacity. Of course, it is easy to understand how, with so many varieties of fruits as nearly identical in general characteristics of form, color, etc., as they are, mistakes would be liable to occur, and this even with expert judges on such sorts as do closely resemble each other, particularly at the early date at which many of these exhibitions are held. But when one sees, as I have often seen, a first premium for Bartlett pears placed on a plate of Clapp's Favorite, or a plate.of King apples, every sample of which Is perfectly typical of that variety, bearing the label of Ben Davis and awarded first prize for the latter sort, it certainly seems as if there Is something wrong either with the fruit grower who makes the exhibition or the judge award- ing the premiums, or with both. And yet this latter did occur under my own observa- tion at one of our local fairs "in our own county when, the following fall*, another plate of apples from the same tree was entered as Ben Davis and by another,- an expert fruit judge, was iu!ed out as wrongly named, the owner of the fruit became very angry at the judge and appealed from his judgment to the officers of the association, who, however, up- held the judge in his decision. . "Why," said the exhibiter, "these apples are ceralnly Ben Davis, for the tree from which the original scions were taken came from the nursery labeled as that sort," and he would not be convinced of the possibility of an error in the case. The judge of fruit, however, told him he was quite willing to stake all his reputation on the decision of any competent authority on the question, and at his request the man sent a sample of his apple to the pomologist of the horicultural department at Washing- ton. D. C, who reported the name cf the variety as King of Tompkins Co., thus show- ing him- it was just possible that by hook or crook a vaiiety might ~e sent out from a nursery wrongly labeled. No doubt many of the mistakes In nomen- clature come from such mistakes, whether intentional or otherwise, in labelling of trees at the nursery, but the carelessness in per- mitting such errors to be perpetuated surely does much harm, and If our agricultural so- cieties are to be educational in their influ- ence there should be some means devised by which such gross errors would be avoided. "But." says some one, "what is the rem- edy, and how shall it be applied?" While I do not know that I have any unfailing rem- edy for the evil. I would herewith make a suggestion, or two on that line. First, it would be well for all our agricultural socie- ties to employ for judges in this department such as may be called expert judges of fruits, and give to them the authority to rule out or exclude all Varieties that are entered under a wrong name, subject only under certain restrictions to the privilege of the exhibiter to make corrections at any time before the judging of the fruit takes place. Then, if possible, let the one appointed to take charge as superintendent of the fruit department be also one who. if not an expert judge, has at least a good knowledge of the leading sorts and who will see to it that all exhibits are arranged in proper order and so far as pos- sible classified according to season of ma- turity and general characteristics .of simi- larity. By such arrangement the work of judging ■will be greatly expedited and valuable time saved for the society as well as better sat- isfaction being given in the award of pre- miums. —E. J. Brownell, Delaware Co., N. Y. The Aspen meeting was pulled off last week without broken bones, hard feelings or fast time. These country places will never have notable meetings until the managers learn the art of advertising. —Denver (Col.) Field and Farm. New York State Fair. The last exhibition of the New York State Agricultural Society was probably the larg- est and best one it ever made. The entries in every department were more than usually numerous, and all articles very fine. The animal department, from the best blooded horses and cattle down to the bantam chicks and Guinea pigs, was fully and splendidly represented. Farm implements and appli- ances, and products of all kinds, were shown by large numbers of manufacturers. The display of vegetables was grand, and some of the finest specimens ever seen. The col- lection of fruits by the Western New York Horticultural Society and the Eastern New York Horticultural Society. The former took the first prize and the latter the second. The display of the Eastern Society was remark- ably fine, and it is not Improbable that anoth- er year will see it carrying on" first honors. The show of plants and cut flowers was a fine one, but the very hot weather during fair time was unfavorable to the good keep- ing of cut flowers. : ^auw- It wag noticed with pleasure that the ob- jectionable feature of fakir side shows did not appear, the grounds being entirely free from them. The officers of the Society are to be commended for this result. A temperature of 85 and 90 degrees or more, nearly every day of the fair, waB not conducive to the comfort of the people or the animals. The buildings for the accom- modation of the latter are very commodious and their comfort was secured to as great a degree as possible. The people, however on the grounds were fully exposed to the sun from a cloudless sky, and that during some of the hottest weather of the past season How thankful everyone would have been for the shade trees, but not a tree adorns the grounds. It is a great mistake that they are not planted. If this had been done when the grounds -were first occupied by the Society, the trees would now afford considerable shade, and each succeeding year would in- crease their beauty and usefulness. This is a matter which should be no longer delayed, and a' proper committee should be appointed and funds appropriated to plant the grounds suitably and In good stylo. There are a great many. persons, agricul- tural papers, implement manufacturers, etc., who will donate premiums and prizes for the advertisement It gives'them. A premium of this sort is very often more highly prized than a cash premium. The Kentucky State Fair. It is extraordinary that so great a state as Kentucky should not annually enjoy a great state fair at one or other of her leading cit- ies. No doubt either Louisville or Lexing- ton would gladly co-operate with the state authorities In furnishing the necessary facil- ities for holding such a fair, and it does not seem that there should be any difficulty in bringing negotiations to a head with this end in view. We learn that of late a movement has been set afoot to have the state fair held in Lexington, but that negotiations can not be completed in time to permit of anything being done for a fair this season. This is to be regretted, but all. possibly, will be well if a state fair is held iu Lexington in 1899. There does not seem to be any valid reason why a state fair can not be held in Lexington as well as in any other similar city in any other state of no greater resources. It is not to be expected that the state of Kentucky will turn out an enormous attendance as, for Instance, the state of Illinois:but why should it not turn out as many as Wisconsin, whose fair managers manage annually to distribute some $30,000 among stockmen and some $10 - COO more among employes and officers, for the most part residents of the state. Kentucky could certainly do as well, and with her, as with most of the other commonwealths, the major portion of the prize money offered would stay at home. Besides, wherever the Kentucky state fair is held, harness racing must obviously form a leading part of the show, which points to the selection of a loca- tion where that sport has an ardent follow- ing. No doubt Louisville would make an ad- mirable point at which to hold the fair: but so long ^as the preponderance of opinion points to Lexington—and history tells us that state fairs do not necessarily succeed In cities of metropolitan proportions—by all means let the citizens of that place and its vicinity contribute each his share In work. Influence, or money, to the end that a state fair may be permanently established In Ken- tucky fully worthy of her resources and wealth. The agricultural papers Instituted a well- organized crusade against gambling and Mid- way shows this season. Papers that are purely educational usually have small circulations, and consequently limited opportunities to exeicise educational influence. It Is the same with fairs. Unless there Is a potent attraction In the way of many and varied amusements, there will be but small attendance, and the exhibits will fail to influence as they should. ■A Glimpse of the Carthage Fair Grounds, Hamilton County, O. Management of Fairs. The failure of so many fair associations to keep out of debt is one of the great subjects for discussion at this time of the year. The real difficulty appears to be the intrusion of the sporting element, which Is manifest In racing, gaming and fakes of all sorts. The apparent attractiveness to the public or things of this sort so often deceives fair managers that they will always be able to produce their evil results. Most of them are willing to pav directly towaids the support of the falls. Not a pro- fessional gambler who follows thcEC meet- ings but is more than ready to pay a round fee for space Inside the fence, for he Is usu- ally obliged to stop on the outside. He Is even then able to gather about him so many people that the managers of the fair arc In doubt as to the propriety of keeping such things at arm's length, and so the more legi- timate trotter Is embraced 111 full. If the actual helps to a fair, helps that wilt remain such year after year instend of driv- ing away the real supporters of It, were made the mort of. good cultivators, breeders, man- ufacturers and the promoters of household affairs, there would be no need of the catch- penny methods that let in the verv people who would do Injury lo the community at large and are a pest wherever they go. If it were possible for 'airs to succeed by means of the fakirs and spurting element, they would at once fall Into the class to which Mils gentry belongs, and should be voted a •lanKeroux combination. The excuse for gam- ing Is that It affords amusement, so that one of the alms of the fair association should be to furnish all possible amusement of the in- nocent sort, so that It will set aside the mis- taken demand for amusement that dissipates and demoralizes the public—Farmers Jour- nal. France, the Paris Exposition and the Lafayette Monument. In spite of all the paid puffs and ' hired booming of the Paris Exposition, American exhibitors are holding off. Attempts have been made to create the Impression that ap- plications for space have far exceeded the original allottment, when, in fact, not one- tenth of It has been taken. Commissioner Peek is In France, and hl.i dally itinerary is eablrd to the American press. His doings, his plans, his aims and his successes are chronicled at great length, but little If any- thing is said of the insults offered to Amer- icans in France solely because they are A merleans. Humiliating affronts, marked discourtesy and mde treatment Is dally encountered in Fiance, not only by American men, but by ladies, and even little children. The news does not come to us through the press, how- c\er. It is brought by private letters and returning tourists, all of whom are a unit in declaring that life In France for an American is simply unbearable at the present time. The American press seems united in an at- tempt to suppress these facts. It is also united In an attempt to boom the American exhibit at the Paris Exposition. But for all that American exhibitors are asserting their Americanism and boycotting the Paris Ex- position. It is a safe prediction that the prospect to raise $250.0*0 in this country by popular sub- set iption for a monument to Lafayette, to be erected in Paris, will not go through with a whirl, although If a number of people of wealth desire to carry through such a move- ment there can be no objection to It. Hut the scheme to squeeze this enormous amount out of the poor school children of the United States by a "Lafayette Day" process Is very much on the sandbagging order, and ought to be sat down upon instantly. To begin with, a quarter of a million dol- lars is a very large amount of money for any monument. The monuments that have cost as much as that are not numerous, either in America or abroad. This, however, is not the important point in the matter. The mem- ory of Lafayette has been honored with en- tire sufficiency by the people of the United States in proportion to what he did for us in the Revolutionary War. During his life- time he was honored tremendously through- out the country upon the occasion of his visit. He received as a gift vast grants of land and $200,000 in gold from Congress, and was altogether given such general tokens of gratitude as probably no young nation ever showered upon an assistant to Its liberation. All over the United States there are towns and counties bearing Lafayette's name, streets, parks and avenues by hundreds are called after him. and numerous statues and monuments stand to his honor In public places. The fact of the matter Is that some other foreign officers who helped us nobly during the revolution have been sadly neg- lected. The idea of setting up a monument to La- fayette in Paris is well enough, but to raise a quarter of a million here from school chil- dren when half of our great cities have no monuments of any sort to either Washing- ton or Lincoln Is utterly absurd. If the school children are to be drawn up and filled with patriotic enthusiasm, while they are re- quested to "each bring a dime" for a Lafay- ette monument to be put up some th""««nH- of miles away, why not work the sa' first for some statues costing a fifth > and set up closer to their vision? - In view of the fact that Lafayette i. ready been splendidly honored In this Co^_ try, it Is also worth while to remember that France has shown herself entirely the oppo- site of friendly toward the United States up- on numerous occasions during the century. There is no denying that right recently dur- ing this Spanish war the most miserable petty Insults have been heaped upon Ameri- cans In Paris. Hundreds of private letters have narrated street attacks, insults to wo- men and men in public cafes and hotels that make the blood boll. The French news- papers have, as a rule, treated us in the manner of a lot of snapping curs and sided bitterly with the Spaniards. The French people have shown decidedly their contempt for the United States on every occasion. They care nothing for anything American except our dollars, and for us to spend a quarter of a million in adding to the ornamental attraction of their capital Is be- yond all reasonable calculation. What we most need here Is to keep a pro- per proportion In our estimates of the heroic personages In our national history, and then spend our thousands upon monuments to decorate our own localities. The United States Government spent $250,000 only a few years ago for a monument to Lafayette which was made In Paris by French sculptors, and now stands In Washington. The most dis- tinguished sculptor In America, who himself suggested that the French sculptors be chos- en, stated afterward. In commenting on cri- ticisms as to the "carelessness" of the work, that these aforesaid Frenchmen had declared It "good enough for America." Whether this Is true or not wc do not know, but we do know that Americans are looked upon as barbarians In a good many places amongst theso people, and that their knowledge of America Is as small as their contempt for anything outside their own country is great. Now that the'fair Is over, why not obtain An early start? Why not perfect the organ- ization, elect the officers and claim the dates " for next year's fair before the present year expires? It will give the manager and the secretary a better chance to work. It will <io more than anything else to make the fair a success. Call the meeting thla month. Mrs. Brooks, the famous butter artist, has 'nine marvelous artistic productions In the exhibit of the Missouri Dairyman's Associa- tion at tho Omaha Fair. Several pieces of of statuary, together with busts and life- sized figures of McKlnlcy and Dewey, attract most attention. THE BILLBOARD California. The State Fair at Sacramento a Frost. The California Jockey Club has lost money duiing its two weeks of racing In this city, and numbers of our citizens are deploring that result, declaring that the club will not hold another meeting at Sacramento. As citizens vitally interested in every thing that conduces to the advantage and welfare of Sacramento, we can not say that we would bn soiry If this city never saw another race meeting, with its attendant evils of book- making and pool rooms. Legitimate racing is a splendid sport. But racing as now conducted is conductive of more gambling evils than all the faro games that ever existed. The pool rooms have been the financial and moral ruin of men, women and boys In San Francisco and Oakland. They have created embezzlers, forgers, con- victs. And their evil hand Is now upon this city of Sacramento. . If racing can not be conducted without spreading this blight of feverish and insane gambling among our people, to the detriment of business, to the ruination of morals, and to the Increase of convicts, then we say that It Is far better that Sacramento never sees another race meeting. And from these strictures we fio not except the state fair. If the state fair can not be made a success unless by the promiscuous spreading of this pool room gambling among our people—gambling which is not one-tenth as square as the average faro table—then we say Godspeed to the day when the state fair is taken away from this community—Sacra- mento Bee. Thus does the Sacramento Bee. in its inde- pendent, vigorous style, confirm the argu- ments used by the writer when we fought and voted against an appropriation for carry- ing on a state fair on the grounds that, in- stead of benefitting the agricultural classes, the state fairs had simply become race courses for pool selling and gambling. As conducted in this state the large appropria- tions made for these state and district fairs are worse than thrown away because they demoralize the communities in which they are held. Last legislature appropriated $40,- 000 for the state fair. etc. We are in favor of agricultural fairs, which add interest and stir up competition in the lines of produc- tions. But that is not the line on which our fairs are conducted, as this article from the Bee shows. Paris Exposition. work on the Building Completely Suspended —Valuable Time Being Lost. Paris, France, Otober 7 (Special Corres- pondence).—All work on the Exposition buildings and underground railroad leading to them has entirely ceased, and the biggest strike in years is on. Sixty thousand mechanics and laborers, embracing practically all of the building trades artisans of Paris and its immediate environs, are involved. The directors and the various construction and building committees are almost frantic •nr the outlook. The work Is behind hand .r, and every day lost will be almost im- sible to recover, nless the strike Is settled very shortly. <: opening of the exposition will have to be postponed. The J. C. Ayer Co.. of Lowell (Mass.). did a novel bit of advertising recently at the meeting of the North Middlesex County Fair in that city. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon there was a balloon ascension, and when the balloon had attained a considerable altitude 10.0CO advertising circulars In the form of telegrams were thrown overboard and flut- tered slowly about the heads and into the hands of the thousands, of waiting people be- low. Then followed a scramble among the spectators who had captured one of the cir- culars to get them to the offices of the com- pany and receive a cash prize. There were 28 prizes for men and the same number for women: to the first to deliver a circular. $20 to the second $10. to the third $5, and to the next twenty-five $1 each. There were two special circulars, on which were printed, "Ayer's, the sarsaparilla that made sarsaparilla famous." and "One thing Is certain. Ayer's Hair Vigor will make hair grow." respectively. The persons who se- cured these two circulars and presented them at the office received $10 each. There was great hustling to get to the office of the Ayer Company first. Horses and bicycles were used, while many small boys depended upon their legs to win prizes for them. The event was advertised a long lime In advance by ads three-quarters of a column deep and three columns wide in the Lowell papers.— Printer's Ink. On the whole, the season of 1S9S was kind to the fairs. Comparatively few reports of loss have yet reached us. while many. In fact, very many, communications recite the pleasant story of increased attendance and a comfortable bank balance to bo carried over to next year or spent in improvements on the grounds. In view of the war excitement, 11 must be conceded that the showing is a splendid cne. This augurs wpII for the season of 1S99. It promises to bo tho best since 1S92. J. P. Reeve, Secretary Sparta Driving and Agricultural Association, says: "Your paper Is all right and a great benefit to all fair as- sociations." Poultry Shows. With the fairs began the poultry shows, which will continue through the winter. The benefit that is conferred on the public by these shows can not be estimated. There has been a great advance in the character of our poultry and in the productiveness of all the flocks, and this advance has come Indi- rectly from the shows. It is not easy to trace the causes and effects, but all of the influences of this kind are far wider in their reach than we comprehend. A farmer's boy goes to a show and becomes interested in some breed. He thinks little of what he saw at the show, but at the same time a new standard is set, toward which he works. In a few years he is the possessor of a good- sized poultry establishment. He has perhaps forgotten that the was influenced at all by the show at which he got his ideals, for the ideals are to him consciousness rather than a series of objects. Nevertheless the show had Etartcd influences that go on increasing in power according to the great mles of evo- lution. The seed was little and weak, but the tree resulting from the seed is great and its fruit excellent. The poultry shows must be fostered and encouraged, for they hold in them great power for good. Jno. A. Parsons. Recording and Exhibition Secretary of the Troy (Po.) Fair, writes: It is very gratifying to the management to report that our fair this season was a pleas- ing success in all respects. E. L. Stearns, Secretary of the Eastern Maine State Fair, writes: Our fair for the year of '98 was very suc- cessful, and had it not been for the loss of our principal attraction (Marion Mills), which we had extensively advertised, it would been. a recoid-breaker. We cleaned up enough to winter on, and come out smiling in the spring, if we are here. Our attractions im- prove each year, and the. public will always patronize a good show. We had a very heavy attendance during the middle days of the fair, and the other two were quite satisfac- tory. We should be pleased to see seme of your staff at our exhibition in the coming year. Bloomington's Big Bloomer. The fair at Bloomington. Ind., turned out a pronounced failure as usual. The follow- ing letter to a prominent and well known Cincinnati printing house tells the sad story: Replying to your letter of the ISth. in re- gard to the draft which you forwarded on the fair, will state that the big Bloomington Fair is a "thing" of the past, busted flat in every manner possible. The fair already owed $2,000 before this fair was given..and I made an effort, backed by a number of others, to make a little money this fair to help pay on the old debt: instead cf that it rained, rained, rained, and the fair went In the hole a $1,000 more. I am out three months' solid time in working for the fair, besides at least $200 expenses and money advanced in getting ready to hold the fair. What little money was received from fair sources was paid for labor bills. The horse- men were paid 50 cents on the dollar; nobody else has received any money. Every dollar of fair money is gone and exhausted. I turned over into the funds for the pav- ment of fair debts my salary, and so did the other officers of the fair. The fair has no property of any value which it is able to sell to realize any money. The fair grounds are owned by the county, and the buildings there- on placed by the Fair Association has been turned over to the county for rent due for the use of the Fair grounds and buildings thereon. This was done last spring with the understanding that the county will permit the Fair Association the free use of the Fair grounds and buildings thereon this fall for the purpose of holding a fair. The fair is over, and the lease was surrendered to the county last spring and ill the buildings went to the county. I am sorry to state that this is the state of facts that exists. I have lost more money than anybody else in the failure of the fair. I believe two-thirds of the county fairs in In- diana this year lose money, and a number of them went entirely broke, as it rained al- most the entire month of September. I know several of the fairs that paid SO cents on the dollar, and knew a number of others by rea- son of owning the Fair grounds were able to borrow money, as they had some security to offer. I remain Respectfully. BIG BLOOMINGTON FAIR, per C. R. Worrall, Asst. Mgr. \\ A Financial Success. The Omaha Exposition Has Money in Bank and Its Biggest Month to Run. Omaha, Neb.. October 22 (Special Corres- pondence).—Omaha is to be congratulated upon the great financial success she has at- tained in her exposition. Already the clear profit Is more than $300,000 and the time re- maining may swell that to $500,000. Excepting the Philadelphia Centennial, this is the only interstate exposition with national pretensions which has been a finan- cial success. If matters turn out as now seem probable, this enterprise will return to its stockholders every dollar of their sub- scriptions. This will be encouragement for other experiments along the same line and for the country's good. Tor they are edifying and instructive in a very marked way. But Omaha has been benefited to a much greater extent than is apparent on the sur- face. She has had a wonderful amount of free advertising, which is of no small benefit to a city. In addition her merchants and inn keepers have reaped large profits by reason cf the increased trade of the visitors. If they had had no direct return from the exposition they would have been none the worse off but as they are to get their money back they are doubly blessed. This exposition was a daring venture for a city with a population less than 200,000. It is a gratification to known that the energV and daring of the people have been so abun- dantly rewarded. It is said that before the experiment Omaha was in the dumps from a business standpoint Business was dull and everything lagging Now the city has taken on new life and trade is boooming along every line. Surely the men who are the managers of the enterprise are entitled to the thanks of tue whole city fir the success is undoubtedly due to good m . a 2 a S emeDt and sood financiering, coupled with Western energy. Omaha and her man- agers are to be congratulated on the wonder- ful success of their experiment. Fred. M. Williams. Secretary Douglas County Agricultural Society, West Superior. . k At ,°S r e , !ecU ™ of officers for ensuing veai- the following were elected: F. M. Williams President: W. H. Webb, Secretary; Hams Rayers, Treasurer. «*™-w The matter of moving the fair was talked over, and an informal ballot was taken, which resulted in favor of moving the '99 "'•^ Driving Park, and conduct o«r itii £?.. '? { he ., £ame ^ at other points in e=?jH te '.K nE t ead , of in the large building lo- cated in the business part of the city. Next SI a »°2 s , J fair X.* t spect wlu De one of the best held In the Northwest- We expect to join the-Wisconsin Circuit and offer purses that wi.1 bring the best horses in this part of the west to pur fair. We have a first-clasa one-half mile track, which will be improved ancl. made one of the best in the West. New buildings win be erected for all classes of ex- hibits. After our meeting in January and our p.ans for ,99 are complete, I will advise Space in the premium list Is valuable. Ad- vertisers of a certain class esteem it highly Do you publish a premium list? If so ad- vertise the fact in "The Billboard." THE FAIR. Ruth. Raymond. I do not think the days are lost- When we attend the county fair; I never stop to count the cost Of sundries only needed there. When wife and children wear their best I do not fear a dash of rain And proud to see them nicely dressed Do not believe them weak and vain. Their happy faces make me glad As through the crowd I guide them well. I do not take to every fad,. Am never called a country swell. But up to date I like to be. And all my loved ones just the same. So at the fair we strive to see The latest things in style and name. "Progressive" is a pleasant word: In all machines, the rake, the hoe In blooded stock, in fowl and bird The fair some progress best will show Each year; and those who wish may learn Of man's device and woman's art. So to the county fair I turn: In every one I have a part. The season of 1899 will aeo a marked re- vival of Interest In fairs on tho part of the large advertisers. An EI Reno Board, Property of Jesse J. Sinclair.