Billboard advertising (Jan-June 1899)

10 THE BILLBOARD fair« Department How to Make a Fair Successful. However'strange it may appear, still it is an. undoubted fact that the majority of agri- cultural fairs, successful though they may be iri their exhibitional and amusement char- acter,' do not show a flnanial balance on the right'side of the ledger. Weeks and months are devoted to the work preparatory to the fair, and the thousand and one details inci- dental to this work tax the best energies and resources of' t Its management.- Those un- * familiar- with the work, and anxiety involved in the setting up of a fair of any considera- ble^'magnitude are--greatly surprised when told fn detail of these things, and the major- ity of people, if they give the matter any thought at a!!, imagine that the work neces- sary for launching a fair can be done within a few" weeks before 1 its opening. Nothing can be farther from the truth, and'nothing, per- haps; more largely determines the success of- a fair than' the amount-and character of the preliminary work bestowed upon it. Herein, in my opinion, is one of the great weaknesses -of the average ' -fair. Lack of forehandedness and lack of business treat- ment. Take, for instance, a fair whose out- lay for premiums-and'special attractions, ad- vertising, labor.. etc., is, say $25,000, $30,000 or-.$40.000- Surely these are-amounts of suffi- cient magnitude to warrant the very best business- consideration that can be ■ com- manded: and first of all, your fair must be conducted . upon sound business principles. Ways and ■ means must always be kept well iir-.-view.: or else-the most-arduous labor, the best intentions and the most conscientious care of departmental details will' result in that only too common: and discouraging state or affairs, "a fine fair, but financial failure." The direction -of the finances of a fair should be- vested- in>business men of known ability. Income, and outgo must always in Droper fair management-be as studiously.observed as in any-, successful mercantile enterprise of mag- nitude^ Next, a well ordered system should govern all-the deta.il work of the fair. There should be'a division and. subdivision of the work of the various departments, with a sufficient force of persons in charge to give a full and faithful attention to the requirements of each. Heads of departments should have full and untrammeled. control, subject, of .course, to a central authority,' and this preferably an individual rather than a committee. One en- ergetic person in authoritjr will, as a rule, perform more and better work than a com- mittee. The exhibition buildings should be taste- fullv decorated, both' externally 'and intern- ally. * A few hundred dollars expended in paint and attractive bunting produce an effect upon visitors which will trebly Justify" the outlay. The grouping and classification of exhibits, it done with intelligence and with an eye to artistic arrangement, go far toward the success Of a fair. How often is it not the case that exhibits are piled in a heteroge- nous mass, as'if they had been deposited there by some convulsion of nature rather than by' human -agency. The woman's de- partment'of a fair should be the central point in the'exhibition halls, as the capabilities for attractiveness in display are greater here than elsewhere.' 'Again, if "your fair can at the start interest, please and' satisfy its ladv visitors, an advantage is gained which wll as a consequence extend to the other depart- ments, also--The Floral Department can. by good management, be made to please the eye to an extent which will please all classes of visitors. Kverybody likes flowers, but for show purposes two-thirds of the effect- is se- cured by their arrangement. What is true of the woman's and floral departments of a fair will apply, if only in lesser degree, to other departments as well.- Order, classifica- tion suitable provision for and arrangement of exhibits, cleanliness of buildings, ventila- tion are.great essentials. On the score of "special- attractions," by which is understood features of a fair not covered by its premium list, much can be said. - Some critics deplore the prominence given to these, holding that the fair proper suffers in consequence. :; This may in. some- instances be true, but it does not necessarily follow. The fair of today can not be the fair of-a quarter or half century ago. Our people and people's tastes have changed wonderfully during all these van- ished years. More is demanded nOw to sat- isfy the exoectation of visitors to the fair: a greater variety in tastes must be taken into consideration. The fair of today is or should be the fair of "ye olden time, plus the "special attractions." It is of no use to de- plore the prominence given to them, or to ruefully advert to • the fairs of years lone gone bv. for it is a fact beyond dispute that a fair "if given today upon the lines of the olden time would be foredoomed to fiat financial failure. Its promoters would not be able to pay fifty per-cent, of its obliga- tions: and unless fairs can not be made to pay, thev can not be given at all. The "at- tractions" have come to stay, and the more or them that can be put-upon the fair nro- grarame so much better will be the pros- pects of the financial success of the fair- It does not follow that the standard or tradi- tional features of the fair must in conse- nuence be sighted in the smallest degree. Probably no clientage is more diversified and difficult to please than that of a_ fair. Is it not the part of wisdom, then, to cater "to as many tastes as possible, if by doing so suc- cess can be assured? To please everybody is, of course, impossible. : That the ssm» things will please everybody alike is also not to be expected- The wisest nolicy then is to furnish a programme so varied as to con- tain something for every taste. . Next comes the advertising of the fair. Here is one of the strongest factors in the tfc s success of the fair. No matter how good, now large or how completely arranged your fair may be. unless it be properly advertised success can not be looked for. Fully twen- ty-five per cent, of the total outlay for a fair should go to advertising. It pays to adver- i? e '.J 1 ?' 8 is a truism, but it is one which should be borne in mind constantly. Taking "■« total amount of the appropriation for ad- vertising, let it be apportioned variously. Use the newspapers, daily and weekly. Have your advertisements well written, and do not be niggardly in the amount of space used. Use display "ads," local reading notices and illustrations. Organize a good bill posting outfit, or. if this can not be done, employ the regular bill posters everywnere within the territory from which you expect to draw your patronage. Use plenty of pictorial lithograph. A good lithograph tells its story quickly, so that "he who runs may read." and this is a busy age, the Lord knows. Everybody seems to be on the rush. Use type posters also, but not': to the: same extent as the color litho- graphs. Use large size letters on type post- ers: do not attempt to get too much detail on them: leave that for your newspaper ad- vertising. As to the premium list: Make this compact, with classifications up to date, and exclude all unnecessary verbiage. Condense wherever it can be done. Offer liberal prizes for live stock classes. Everybody likes to see fine animals, the city man quite as well as his country cousins. Circulate the premium list freely by mail and by personal delivery, and do this months before the opening of the fair, as this is advance advertising of the most efficacious kind. In the- line of special attractions, try al- ways to present novelties. The amusement nalate of fair visitors is very capricious, and is always demanding a change in the bill of fare. Have plenty of good music at your fair, and offer good inducements to the "fakirs." These gentry add to the snap and vitality of a fair immensely. Finally, to attempt to summarize the whole matter, a fair may be said to be a vast kaleidoscopic show of amusement and in- struction, presenting an everchanging view and variety- The fair is a composite, and the greater the care and skill exercised in fram- ing it the greater will be its success in every respect. PROMOTER. PROCEEDINGS Of the Annual Convention of the American Association of Fairs and Expositions, held in Omaha, Neb„ Oct. 25 and 26, 1898. (Continued • from December issue.) The following subject being next on the program, was then presented: LIVE STOCK SALES AT AGRICULTURAL FAIRS. (By Jas. W. Fleming. Assistant Secretary, ' Ohio State Board of Agriculture.) The subject upon which I have been re- quested to speak at this time, while prac- tically^ new one for the consideration of this body, is hot altogether a recent thought to me; in fact. I may say that the subject to be dealt with formed a hobby which I rode, or attempted to ride, some years ago. but was not able to get the colt fully or sat- isfactorily broken, so had to turn him but to pasture until a more auspicious season should be presented. The'matter of live stock sales at agricul- tural fairs I deem a question of great import- ance, as a means of encouraging breeders and good breeding, and also as an aid in dis- seminating good blood and profitable breeds throughout the country. Agricultural fairs are, or should be. edu- cators, institutions of learning, and we should be as ready to consider new ideas and advanced methods as are other institutions of learning; in fact, to keep abreast of the times and be recognized and accepted as factors in promoting education and science, our fairs must not stand still.. The fair of ten or twenty years ago will not answer the . purpose of to-day any more than the hun- dreds of other things in vogue a decade ago fill the purpose now. The.fair of this year can not fill the requirements for next year, and hence we. as managers, must be on the lookout for new things and ready to consider new method- that appeal for recognition and that seem likely to contribute to the inter- ests we represent: nor should we wait for ap- peals: rather it is our province to seek out the things that should be represented from year, to year, for the consideration or the public, and to study up new methods of sim- plifying and imparting the information end knowledge that come within the scope of the fair. I am inclined to the belief that live stock sales at agricultural fairs is one of the new ideas, or. at least, undeveloped ideas, that is worthy of our roost serious consideration. I believe the time is ripe for their introduc- tion, and that, ir introduced, they will be- come of greater weight in attracting atten- tion to our fairs than may appear from sur- face indications at the present time. A proposition shOuld have something to sunnort it. Let us see what there is to sun- port this one. The object of the annual fair*, it i- agreed, is to encourage and promote es- pecially agriculture, stock raising and the mechanic arts, the work of the fair being to stimulate by example, and thus encourage the introduction of that which is improved, new and useful, and that mav tend to facili- tate labor, increase production and enhance the profits on that which we produce. The case that we arc considering is a pro- posed means of encouraging the breeding and introduction of pure breeds of live stock and increasing their use, by bringing breeder and buyer together at our fairs in a manner and under a form that shall be as nearly abso- lute protection to both as is possible, accord- ing to our best judgment. Let it be under- stood that I do not advocate sales in the direct interest of those who purchase for slaughter- ing purposes, or to afford a convenient mar- ket for all sorts of live stock, regardless of breed' or quality: for in such case every available stall and pen would be filled with animals such as might be seen on any farm or in any ordinary stock-yard, and the pur- pose of the fair would be lost from sight, and the object lessons presented by the exhibi- tion of pure bred or highly improved stock would be seriously interfered with by an in- troduction of scrubs. On the contrary, I ad- vocate the establishment of sales for blooded stock only—improved breeds and pure blood —that a better and more profitable class of animals may be more widely introduced and substituted for much of the common stock of the country, thus enhancing values end increasing profits to the breeder and the feeder. In this day and age of experiment and ex- perience, and especially before a bodv of men conversant with all the facts relating to the superiority of pure bred animals over scrub or chance breeds, and the profit of the for- mer as compared with the latter, it would be a waste of time to present t».e claims of the several types of the purse breeds—they are too well founded to even admit of dis- pute. In extenuation, however, of their claims for more extended recognition by fair managers, in the matter of protective sales under fair association management, it might be well to call attention to the wide differ- ence in money values in pure breeds and their grades, and the greater profits that -would accrue to the ordinary farmer, breeder and feeder, if by such sales they could be en- couraged and induced to pay greater atten- tion to their stock and be more careful in the selections made to build up their herds. As evidence that it is more Drofitable to breed choice than inferior animals you have but to examine the quotations of the princi- pal stock markets of the country. Simply as an illustration I will give you the recent quo- tations of one of the principal cattle markets: Prime animals, per hundred, live weight ............................$3.50 to $3.70 Choice animals, .per hundred;' live -weight ......... 5.20 to 5.50 Good animals, per hundred, live weight ............................ 4.S5 to 5.15 Rough and miscellaneous.-..-..... 3.85 to 4.20 You will notice that there is a difference between rough and miscellaneous and prime animals of about a dollar and a half per hun- dred weight, and between rough and average good of about one dollar per hundred weight, which means from* twelve dollars to twenty- five dollars on the animal; and not only that, but the demand is in favor of the good and prime animals. Now. why is it that these pure breeds, or their grades, classed as prime or choice cattle, are in greater demand at high prices than the rough common cattle at lower figures? You have but to ask an ex- perienced butcher or a shrewd buyer, and he will convince you very quickly of the supe- riority of pure breeds or their grades over scrubs. Place a keen-eyed, level-headed butcher in a pen containing a batch of mis- cellaneous cattle, and he will immediateiy separate the well-bred from what he terms plugs, and will place a great distinction be- tween the two classes, so far as price is con- cerned, and why? Because he knows that the -well-bred animals-will net him from fifty- five to sixty-five pounds of dressed meat to the hundred weight. He knows that there is less offal in the pure breed than in the plug, that the fat is nicely marbleized with the lean, and that he can cut luscious steaks down to the shank, and thus get good prices for the entire carcass. Not so with the plug. The butcher knows that he will dress only forty or fifty* pounds to the hundred weight, that he has a big head, coarse, thick hide, big bones, that his flesh is coarse-grained, and that when he strikes the diminishing portions of the round, he must begin to sell either soup meat or scran. The olfferenc" in market value in favor of animals from im- proved stock, is true of all breeds and classes. An hour might be devoted to the horse alone —what a vast difference in both demand and nrice for fixed breeds of horses over chance breeds. For the past few years, and until but re- cently, it was said that the horse market was low. " During that time, if you had occasion or desire to buy a horse, or a team, that pos- sessed certain hieh dualities that could only be attained by fixed breeding, or breeding to a fixed purpose, you have certainlv found that the market was not low. but ratbT h ; gh for just what you wanted, an evidence that the superior, when in demand at all. Is al- ways at ton prices. Take the Bastern horse 'markets.- They have their agents and buyers 5-couri»-<r the country for good, topoy and clean-limbed road horses, such as are pro- duced from i'-e substantial trotting ly>-a. as well as 'or the heavier coachors that are not produced bv chance breeding. Good prices are peid—ofttirnes what, would seem exorbi- tant—but the Omand for this class of ani- reals seems to increase rather than diminish. And I' we e»n encourage, by sales on our grounds, strict" attention to fixed tym-a of horses, we shall increase the weelth of the country and the profit of the breeder. A great consideration in fs-"or of nnro b-cd animals is that thev assimilate fond b"tt.er end n-»titre earlier than the ■ common" stock.- Now. I Co no* propose to enter into a <""s- cnsFfnn es to the corona rath-e co-t "f feeding. p'*t in the ease cf the beef enir-eis fo»- In- stance, punnose that t*-»i* "ore bred unim-l does consume es piu'-h food *n thr"". veers at o comcen apical dees 'e fe.tf ,,ij,-«: If 1,„ has r*-ede the same a".oi|nt of flesh, V'M hi-v r-*i"ed ope veer of labor In /■•"•ii'' f°r t"'~ F*ecv; besides the more speedy returns of ye»»r "nvcetreoet sen prolt. ft. is npt neccpssr" for ree *o "lt.op.nt to point out the superiority of ell the "*ne«es ef nnre bred animal- to r-tjiM-i-"' (he '""• that they are more profitable to breed than scrubs. Laoh type possesses advantages for which they were adapted or improved ad- vantages well established and that can not be controverted. If you are breeding for beef, you want pure beef stock: If for milk and butter, the best dairy breeds; If for wool the best wool producing types: and if for pork or lard, the best adapted of the hog kind. The man who has once fairly tested the raising of pure stock to a fixed purpose is never ready to abandon it for the scrub or chance breed, and if we establish at our fair stock sales in the interest of blood, and there- by encourage better and more profitable breeding, then Indeed have we accomplished more In the general interests represented by our agricultural and mechanical organiza- tions, than had we devised means for filling our treasuries with money and neglected such encouragement. In the breeding of pure bloods you know just what you are doing and can count on results months and years ahead. The care- ful breeder prepares for a market months and possibly years ahead, in the certainty that the care exercised from the start in making the foundation the best, and giving it the best development throughout, will be the measure for his future profit. Not so the breeding of scrubs, for you can not tell what a day or an hour may bring forth. A prominent agricultural paper has made the following argument in favor of the com- mon animal: "If the cow has the marks of a good milker it is wisdom to breed frdm her. whether or not her calf will inherit her good qualities, time alone will tell." It is right here that the value of improved stock is greatest. Its characteristics are and will be reproduced. It is here. too. where the value of a registered pedigree is apparent, not that the register in itself is anything, but the fact that it tells that the animal has certainly come from a long Itne of ancestors which have regularly transmitted their char- acteristics in everything. Tor it not only shows that the animal itself possesses the family characteristics, but that it will in turn be able to transmit them. The common animal may reproduce itself and it may not. The pure bred animal will reproduce itself. Now, I do not pretend to say that all a man needs to become a successful and money- making breeder is to start with pure bred animals and then trust to luck for success. On the contrary, he must bring the best judg- ment into requisition. First, he must study carefully the surrounding circumstances to decide what breeds are best adapted to his particular locality; then, when his herd or stable is established, he must conduct the business of breeding for profit on the same business principles as those which charac- terize the shrewd merchant or manufacturer, who knows when to buy, how to buy. when goods are in demand, and the best market in which to place them, but he must have something to sell, something thai he can de- fine and that is a finished specimen of its kind. Further argument along this line is un- necessary.. Let us consider what we, as fair managers, can do toward increasing the in- troduction and use of better animals by the establishment of a sale department at the an- nual exhibitions. A quite general investigation of this mat- ter of sales, based also upon experience gained in ah effort made to conduct them one year at the Ohio State Fair, convinces me that such a department should be as distinct- ly one by itself as is any other department of the fair: a department in which every animal exhibited Is for sale, and I would suggest at a fixed price rather than by the auctioo system. To make such a department decidedly interesting and a feature of the fair, one that would attract breeders of known reputation with entries in large num- bers, and that would attract buyers who were seeking the best blood to Improve their herds, I am decidedly of the opinion that the department should occupy a separate building or buildings from the stock exhibited in pre- mium competition and not entered in the sale department. This is the only drawback I can see to the sales being inaugurated now on fair grounds where progressive ideas pre- vail, but it seems to me that the larger fairs, at least, could afford to set aside certain Brace and equip it with stalls and pens, under roof or under canvas such as is used by the large traveling shows for protecting their animals. Manv plans might he suggested. Each fpjr could adopt something suited to its surround- ings and its circumstances. The attraction annually to one point, for a particular pur- pose, would have great weight in giving prominence and standing to the sales feat- ure, and breeders and buyers would look for- ward to the time with a great deal of inter- est, and I believe it would not be long, it propcrlv managed, until the fair sales would outrival in Interest the many stock sales con- ducted by individuals throughout the land, and do as much, if tint more, than our show rings toward the direct introduction of pure -blood and the encouragement of Improved breeds. Observation has taught me. and I tlilnK teaches us all. that any particular business or study that Is operated or conducted as a spe- cialty attracts greater attention and suc- ceeds better than when not so operated or conducted, and tho same will, in my opinion, hold true of live stock sales on agricultural fair grounds. Separate and distinct from Ihe other live stock departments and in charge of an officer of the fair, will make of thcni pot only a feature, but a regular division of the fair work that will be Interesting and carry with it a well-dellncd purpose. The •lepnrtment should, of course, be classified fnr horses, cattle sheep and swine, and each division prominently namrd on a conspicu- ous part-of the buildings, subordinate to a verv lnrce sign or banner with the words /"Pale Department." If conducted properly, with conditions or protection to both seller and buyer, the •»"- pnicrs under which held would bring to the fair sales a confidence in the selling a"d buy- ing that »-ould Intensify the Interest and en-. -": courage all concerned. ' It would be necessary to ndont plans and notify breeders of the various classes of I've stock, the opportunities to lip offtn-d, and in- THE BILLBOARD vite them to make entries, a reasonable fee being required with the entry; the conditions should be' such that entries would close a c-onsiderable. length of time prior to the fair, then all the particulars could be published and distributed, so that buyers might have ample, time and opportunity to verify pedi- grees and other claims for the animals pre- sented. 1 would propose a series of strict rules to be fully complied with. First. I should.sug- gest that wo open a sales' entry book. In which to record the animals offered; then I should send out blanks, fully setting forth the terms and conditions, the blank to be beaded by a guarantee to be signed by the party making entries, that the animals offered are as represented. The blank should then provide for: 1. Name and post office address. 2. Breed and class of animal. 3. Name, age and register number of ani- mal. 4. Record and volume in which recorded. 5. Name and number of sire, ti. Name and number of dam. 7. Name and number of dam's sire. 8. Price at which offered. ' The blank should also contain space and lines for remarks, under which should be concisely stated proof of breeding qualities, family characteristics, and other information of value to the buyer, so as to enable him to form quite a correct idea of animals before seeing them, and thus to be the belter pre- pared to make selections. Now, 1 will tell you why I would require the guarantee iu the entry blank and the placing of them.on file. I should require, first, as a pledge of good faith on the part of the seller: and. second, that I might furnish the buyer with documentary evidence where- by he could collect damages in case the ani- mals purchased were not represented; and why should not a man who has been im- posed' upon In the purchase of pure bred animals be allowed damages in the courts? There is no reason whatever why he should not, but every reason why. be should, for the damages that accrue to the farmer, and especially the beginner in pure stock breed- ing- by the purchase of what he supposed to be pure bred and which afterwards prove not to be. is far greater than the dollars and cents figured in the purchase price. The courts are beginning to recognize this fact, and that. too. without the strong evidence that would be supplied by the entry forms and guarantee I propose. Under such strict rules and by such author- . ity as our State Boards of Agriculture, there is little danger that imposition would be practiced or not detected. Reliable and re- putable breeders would not object to the strictest repuirements. while the crafty and unscrupulous would not submit and hence avoid entering the sales. Buyers would scon learn to feel a confidence, and sellers finding buyers attracted would build up the sales department, and all alike would stamp their approval of the sales feature as an advanced step and a move in the right direction. Upon the close of entries, where practicable, the fair authorities should examine the pedi- grees and claims to see that they are enr- rectly stated, then the matter should be pub- lished in catalogue form and given as wide a distribution as possible, while the original signed entries and guarantee should be properly endorsed and placed on file in the office of the fair association. it will be readilv seen, that after this precaution, none but those willing to make good th. ir guar- antee would enter the list. Then, too, buy- ers would be afforded amnio opportunity, be- fore the exhibition, for considering the merits of the animals offered for sale, as enough ot the pedigree is given to enable them to trace the ancestry and family strain as far back as thev would care to go. The consemience would "be. the buyer would come to the ex- hibiiton with his eyes onen and knowing jurt what he wanted. On the other hand. I be- lieve this svstem of sales would be favorably met by all legitimate breeders, as they would have no fear of the tricky and dishonorable who freouently make their appearance in r»bll" sales and can not well be reached after the damage is done. From the sale department we should no doubt get manv entries for the premium classes and regular show rings of the fa"r that we would not otherwise have secured. It seems to TV- the sales would be a great ale in this nartlcular direction. . Gentlemen, these proposed sales, if estin- li«hed and properly conducted in the interest of nure breeds only, will be of ereat benefit to breeders and farmer- generally, and boo- ing the suggestions will have consideration bv vourselvcs ns fair managers and by the bodies you represent. I thank you for your attention. , Mr Peerce: I would like to ask a oue-- tion. What should the fee be. whether I should be a pere-ntage or whether it sliouia %r. r F"lemh.R-° My Idea would be that i'. Fhonld not ho a percentage, but a f-e s. - eiept tO CO-er CV"OnS» of aflVCTtis eg. pub- llcntiop. and incidental- that would »"- sorlly have to be furnished on the crotii-ds I no -ot think that nev hrooc-r wo.-ld have obiectlon to pavl—. 1 em sat ^'fJ^lt-J correspondence with breeder', thst th" »st t> llshment of such e denartP'eni would b met with very *ren» favor on the p-rt o hrecdrrs. nod -'so those who come to w fairs, hut wo-ld like to ni'v on * n,n ? *""* gnerap.op and "nder As-nri-tlon •"•"t"ct|on. Mr Pearre: " would be nece-swy to e.~p- stnict large bulldlors ."-d it would be onb-o en cxpopso to rut mi buildings for such pur- Poseand to conduct. t „om-'"l!v as "<uch e™ B '..v ether dcr.sr.menl.. Tb't "On - iv. the opIv trouble, .".loss thev «"""'•' ""' "" tents, bill tl-t WUM "ft'do I" " e °"° \ he this year. I hclicvc in the pl»;> and I be- lieve I. would do good to the whole countrv ",d the oilv oucstlon is whether ■»«"« of the fair "Uoe«s..o..s would he "'"""red o undertake It. Cert»miv there I-; nolh «: eoubi ho done that would advance th" tot. r. s« f breeders, feeder-, and everyone .• lse - si,.«. h sa that, and I Hitnk it would be well to t"j It and discuss It at our board meet lues .ml make up our minds what can be don.- In (his direction. e,- M Jo, Fulke , r ! on: r WuUl<J nku to ask wheth- one dayT U " H the Wh ° le week or »»'* „,^ Ir .' | ,< \ min e. : I would run it as a depart- ment dunug the holding of the fair P Mr.-Lovejoy: We were asked to have a sale at our fair and we finally did it "id we m ?? e a ver * successful sale . Mr. Funk: We, have had sales that were ciatloTSS2? r V° the SeI1Cr nor the ™*°- llshcd hi »ii - t ? owever ; If this were estab- lished by all fair associations it might be- o?o" C ? £S 0 ? f hing - but unIesa all the states did establish it I do not think it would be a very good thing. There have been some sale! at our state fair that have been very unsatis- factory to the seller and the association both. a J flxed Pe p a r r ice? "° W W ° UW " be " tbty havd th*n r ' Funk: Perha Ps that might be a gcod Mr. Hill: i listened with a great deal of interest to Mr. Fleming's paper and I think his suggestions are good. I can endorse what he says about auction sale. We had one last year. We advertised It extensively in jour- nals both in Canada and on our side oi the line and when the day came for tho sale I do not think that they realized above half what the owners wanted for them, and in fact a good many of the animals had been sold be- fore the sale and a good many of the buycts had made arrangements. A good many of the cattle that were, brought there were wanted to take to other fairs and they put too high a price on them. I think that some- thing should be done iu this direction and I think if the exhibitors would put on thfir entry sheet the nrice it could then be put In the official catalogue, and if the price were put there visitors or buyers coming to the fair would know all about it and could inter- view the owner and a good many salts could be effected in that way. 1 am glad to say that at our last fair there were more sal.s made than ever before, but all were ap- proved sales. We did our best to get up a good sale of live stock and it was a totel failure the last day of the fair. 1 think if we could do something in that direction to have the list published it would help us a great deal, but I can not see that Mr. Flem- ing's suggestion to have separate depart- ments for that class of stock could be car- ried out very well, because we classify every- thing. .Mr. True: There is a criticism, of course, if we are to discuss this question, which might be made upon the thought suggested by Mr. Fleming of not allowing them to be entered. The best animals and men would seek to enter, and would it not seem if they were set apart from the breeders who were exhibiting their animals for premiums that they were seeking to palm off on the pub.ic tofericr stock tbruugh this department? Mr. Liggett: I think the paper is good enough to commend itself and I am glad sj good a paper has been discussed and I be- lieve it is un important one. i hope this paper will be taken up by the different stat?s at the January meeting and if something of this kind could be done and done successfully it would be an excellent thing to do. We had *ome experience a good many years ago and I must say that we were not very suc- cessful. The great trouble was we had auc- tion sales and they were catalogued very much as Mr. Fleming suggests, and the own- ers paid us a fee for advertising, etc.. but it seemed you could not get a crowd to pay attention to the sale. Hut still that might have been overcome if we had had the sale in some building where it was not so much expoted. It was difficult for the auctioneer and 1 do not think the sales were satisfac- tory to the owners, however. I believe It would have been if we had continued it and given more attention to it. Mr. Cooper: 1 would like to add that some years ago when I was a member of the State Board we attempted to have auction sales and we made a failure of it. and 1 believe that the auction sales will be a failure, for the reason that it comes at a time when the majority of people ore attracted somewhere else: but a sale as per Mr. Fleming's sug- gestion and the mode of doing it is a grand, good one. It provides for the sale department to be open and on exhibit the whole week. Now I know there are a great many people that do not come to the state Tairs to look for stock. Our country up there is a new countrv. as vou all know, and the farmers arc just beginning to inquire in to good stock. Now if there was a de-artment carried on properly we might improve on Mr. Fleming's ideas considerably if we commenced to nut them in force, but I think the general plan is an exceedingly good one. Men coming for that purpose will have the whole week to look them over and will have th" whole week at his convenience to make that de- partment. I hope the fair associations will take that up and consider it. Mr Grimes: The Ohio State Board of Ag- riculture will endorse anything that cur worthy Assistant Secretary approves and I would state that his ideas have been gone over through a great many of the fairs, and we have had sales which have been very suc- cessful, and there is no question that with the proper restrictions, ns his paper depicts to you all. that these sales would be a suc- cess, but heretofore they have been carried on In such a manner that naturpllv would not give satisfaction to either buyer or seller. As I said in the beginning, it is natural for us to endorse him. and I hone that this bodv will take this pacer into consideration and pass some resolutions that can be sent out to the fair associations of which you are all members. ...... Mr. Uandnll. of Minnesota: Instead of pass- ing a resolution in which we attempt to em- body the Ideas contained in the paner I think that the paper itself, ns well as other nsners yet to be read, be included In the published account-of this meeting, which I am sure the Secretary-will-prepare-after the meeting is over, anil then let « sufficient number of con- ies be sent out to the various associations for their use at their annual meetings, most of which will be held In the winter. Mr. Grimes: It seems to me to be the gen- ernl opinion that the paper should be en- dorsed and mv object was to have a simple resolution passed endorsing the paper by this body. Mr. Ellis: The people,are many of them engaged very largely in swine breeding and they have been testing this method of sale of their swine and it has universally proved a success. I could name a dozen of our lead- ing breeders who keep their swine until the day of sale and sell it at public sale and they claim that they can realize from 50 to 100 per cent, more on the stock than they would the old way of selling it out. Now if it works so well with swine, I can see no reason why it might not be applied in the same direction with other animals. I .believe it is certainly worth a fair trial and I hope that some meas- ure will be taken at least to test it. Mr. Fleming: There has been some criti- cism against stock sales to which I can most fully agree, but they do not all of them ap- ply to the suggestions that I have made. I think the setting aside of a certain day to have an auction sale on fair grounds will not work successfully. It has not worked suc- cessfully with us and we have tried it once or twice. When we gave the sales somewhat after the ideas advanced in my paper they provoked the very best commendations from the breeders nf our state: and besides it gave us a large show of animals, and no fair would t object to a large show of animals. And about its being so expensive to construct separate buildings, why it seems to me that some or- dinary structure or canvas cover could be ' rut up that would answer the purpose per- - haps, until it might be found that the sales were so well received and successful that the fair managers could put money, in them for proper equipment. Certainly the live stock interests are of sufficient importance - to receive some attention even if it does take money. We are in existence to imorove the interests of the state. Brother True says there would be an objection, in that it would be thought that the poorest animals were in the sales department. The general sales ani- mals are hardly ever fit for showing, accord- iog to the way of showing at most of our fairs. Show animals are put out in such sbane that they are not generally like thos^ that are sold in barns, at least. I do not think his objections would bold good in that ' respect, but I do certainly believe that with departments where it was known that all animals were for sale and fair managers had received a guarantee from every party who i cr« red an animal, with the guarantee sworn to and on file in the office of tb~ - Secretary, and that an examination had been made of the pedigree, and the Secre- tary had stated ill his catalogue that he had found it to be as renresented. it seems to me that the buyer would come with a great deal of confidence. There would be somebody to - protect him. I only throw these ideas out as suggestive, but it seems to me that it^ is a subject worthv of discussion and that is all I expect for it. I simply desire to see the matter discussed. 1 wanted to get more light mvself. The President: We will now take up the next subject on the program, whereupon the following was presented: THE DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF EXHIBIT- ORS AT FAIRS. P.y Wm. M. Liggett. We live in an age of progress. Fairs are the inevitable outcome of a progressive age. That fairs have exercised a powerful in- fluence in promoting industrial development iu all lines can not be denied. That they have stimulated invention more than any other single influence is probably true. There is no doubt that well managed fairs have beep a groat stimulus to better thing- in all departments of agriculture, and especially in live stock. Many a breeder has been well satisfied with his improved live stock until he placed it on exhibition at the fair in com- petition with superior stock of the same breed. . • . . I know an exhibitor who had purchased some highlv bred animals and supposed they were of the" best type until they came in com- petition with others. After the exhibition was over and the awards had been given. I asked the man in charge how he came out. He said bis cattle did not have a place by reasoo of the judge being capable and hon- orable enough to make just awards. The defeated exhibitor, however, resolved to im- prove his herd and be ready for another con- test the following year. If the fair is an index of the state of the civilization and orogress be made to lift this mighty lever of improvement to a higher .plane by discussion, such as is proposed by oi" association. . The management of fairs has- frequently heendiscussed.hut <he discussions have chieflv been one-sided. They have come from in- - experienced people, and have been made un chiefly of criticism, just or unjust, on the management. There is another side to this auestion. The board of managers is not all Of the fair, nor does it include all the sinners who attend fairs. A fair is made up of the board of managers, the exhibitors, and the qublic at large. The exhibitors have duties to perform as well as the board of managers.' and it is of these duties as well as rights of exhibitors, that this paper will treat. Prominent among the duties of exhibitors at fairs are the following: 1. They should provide an honest exhibit. 2. They should comply with all regulations. S. They should - be courteous to the public. 4. Thev should seek no special favors. 5. Thev should h° content with fair judgment. «. They should K lvo due attention to their exhibits. Exhibitors should provide an honpst ex- hibit. A dishonest exhibit is one which in one or more of its features contravenes the rules of the fair and bears an incorrect label. It is not what it Is represented to be: or. it is represented to be what it is not. The man who brings grain or seed of last year's growth, representing it as irain of this vear's growth, as reouired bv the rules of entry, brines a dishonest exhibit. So does the iran whose samples deteriorate all the way down to the bottom of the bag. The same is true of the stockman who represents that his cow is carrying a calf, when he knows that she is barren. When such fraud is detected by a fair association, it should \\ be promptly exposed, that others may be de- terred from belittling their manhood by such practices; nor should any wealth or position shield such transgressors from the exposure they deserve. Exhibitors should comply -with all the rules when exhibiting. If the regulations' call for entrance at a certain date, the entries should be made by- that date. If they call for payment of entrance money at the time of entry, it should be so paid. No exhibitor should put the secretary of a Tab- in the em- barrassing position of giving him credit: neither should a secretary allow himself to be put in such a position. The exhibits should all be on hand at the date called for, unless the time for their ar- rival has been extended by proper arrange- ment with the party in charge of the depart- ment. If prize winning animals are to be on exhibition at stated titues In the ring or out of it, they ought to be there, and all ex- hibits should be allowed to remain during the full time specified In the regulations. Nor should any exhibitor feel himself aggrieved by the exaction to the letter-by the board of all the requirements as published in'the prize list. The board has published in the prem- ium list the nature of the-contract which it makes with exhibitors. The latter' accepts the contract in its entirety _ when he- makes his entry; and the man who; having-signi- fied his acceptance of the terms of the con- tract, tries in any way to evade the same, is not honorable. Exhibitors should be courteous to the pub- lic. Usually they are, but not always. Take, for instance," a live stock man who Keeps his favorite animals within - locked * doors, or screened from View by close curtalns-during the hours while the fair is open. He may attempt to justify himself by saying that ex- posure will do tbem harm and not give them their rest. ' While this may be true to some extent, exposure to view is a part of the con- tract; that exhibitor agreed, when he en- tered 'that' animal, to put it on exhibition, and it is not on exhibition when it is bidden from view. Visitors are-prone to ask' questions; and are entitled to courteous answers. In fact, they should ask questions. That is one medium through which information is imparted. The man who would go through any one depart- ment, of an exhibit without desiring-at least to ask some questions must be very little interested. It is true that the obligations of the fair association do not bind the exhibitor to answer such questions, hut the-law of fair- ness and equity demands of all men that .they shall' be courteous In their- relations, ant. it makes no exceptions'of-'parties who exhibit at fairs. To answer such questions may be monotonous t and tiresome,- but it should be done and in an uncomplaining manner. Exhibitors at fairs should seek no special favors. They have no right io look -for these, much less have they a right to ask them; and yet this is just what they do again and again, as any one knows who has-been for any length of time at the bead of a department. Exhibitors should be satisfied with fair judging. When in a close contest the exhib- its are so equally matched that' even good judges may differ, the one who comes out second best should not feel aggrieved. To make trouble under these circumstances, would be even more unseemly. . Had the de- cision been reversed, the other party would have the same right to manifest the inherent selfishness of human nature. An exhibitor is liable to look through the spectacles of a natural bias. The judge looks at them as they are; hence, his judgment is more likely to be correct. Too many exhibitors feel, (or at least they give evidence of ; such feeling, by their actions in way of inquiry, sugges- tions, etc.) that the managers of departments are inclined to discriminate in favor'of some personal friend, or an exhibitor of his own state, or that promises have been made to exhibitors from a distance "when - soliciting exhibits to help out in making a good show and creating an interest by close -contests. It is and should be an exhibitor's privilege to secure all information, even to detailB, be- fore making entries. When he places hta stock in the bands of the management, he should obey explicitly the directions given by his superintendent under the rules of the society governing such. After the awards have been made, if the exhibitor honestly believes that he has not been fairly treated it' is" his privilege not to come • again. No charge of intentional unfair treatment should be made on the ground that the judge hai> made an error in placing awards, as this often happens when the lodge is both com- petent and honorable." When' such a judge has been employed, and has nerhaps, by being overworked or Tor -some - other cause, over- looked some'nbinf or allowed too much credit on some other and thus made an error, it usuallv causes the' manager more real grief than it does the exhibitor. If the latter h a reasonable man. he has taken this all Into . consideration and anticipated - these disap- pointments, knowing that it is not possible for anv man to be perfect in judging. Exhibitors should also give due attention to their exhibit's. To stav bv the exhihit during the whole time when it is on exhi- bition mav be a tryine ordeal: and on many occasions it mav not be necessary: but It Is certainly the duty of an exhibitor to keen himself informed through his-superintendent and he present while bis-exMhits ere to b» examined and be able to nroduce his entry cards to the superintendent. In the cas» of manv exhibits, especially'those in the line* of live stock, the opportunity furnished for doing bn-iness or advertisin""- it. is-perhaps one of the best throughout the year: hence, the almost imperative necessitv of the own- er's «-tiyingbv th» exhihit. Self-interest will usuallv regulate this duty. ^ Promi"eet among the rights of exhibitors are the following: 1. r-onsiderate treatment from the manage- ment. . *>. i^air and competent -Judges. .= S. Prompt payment of awards. ,.„. Considerate treatment implies that exnin- iter- are entitled to due protection for their exhibits. If fruit i- on exhibition, it should be saved from molestation:-If grain is on: ■-■■:.-' ■ ■