102 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



tution generous support, it was the farmers who swelled the attendance 

 nearly 82,000 above the record of last year. There were two days on 

 which the attendance surpassed the record of 68,000, made on Thursday 

 last year. On Tuesday this year the attendance was 76,406 and on 

 Wednesday 73,109. The total attendance for the 10 days was 408,185 this 

 year as compared with 324,377 last year. Gate and concession receipts 

 were equally gratifying, the total, as given out by the management, was 

 $320,244 as compared with $251,196 last year. 



The fair was well attended last year, but with the boys in the service 

 of Uncle Sam and many of them in Prance and a consequent scarcity of 

 labor on the farms, the inclination to stay at heme was strong. This year, 

 with most of the boys back home, everybody seemed to be in the mood 

 to celebrate and the result was the record breaking attendance mentioned. 

 There was also much evidence of prosperity on every hand. Conces- 

 sionaires everywhere remarked that never had they seen visotors spend 

 money so freely. The fact that sandwiches and lemonade cost twice as 

 much as they did in former days did not cut down the sales. On the 

 contrary everybody seemed to buy more freely than ever. The restaurants 

 all made good money and the side shows were liberally patronized. The 

 grandstand and the bleachers were filled to overflowing every day. The 

 grandstand has a seating capacity of 7,000 and the bleachers 5,000, or a 

 total capacity of 12,000, and on several nights 13,000 people sat on the 

 grass in front of the bleachers, which shows how the fair is growing and 

 also that there is no lack of interest in the splendid performances the 

 management puts on from year to year. This year's battle of Chateau 

 Thierry was a phenomenal success. 



The fair was a success in every sense of the word. Not a single ac- 

 cident occurred on the grounds during the ten days it was in progress 

 and not a person was heard to complain. The judging of the thousands 

 of animals that went through the ring was done without a hitch, without a 

 single complaint from anybody. Secretary A. R. Corey and President C. 

 E. Cameron deserve the thanks of every Iowa farmer and the public in 

 general for their splendid management of this great institution which did 

 a business of nearly a third of a million dollars in ten days. It takes a 

 lot of executive ability to run an institution of that sort. 



The last legislature appropriated $150,000 for the erection of a large 

 cattle barn. The amount asked for by the fair management was $200,000 

 and it is unfortunate that the appropriation was cut down, for a building 

 large enough to accommodate the cattle cannot be built for the smaller 

 sum. The plans for the new building call for a structure 350 by 480 feet 

 and cannot be built for less than $200,000. 



Iowa lawmakers do not seem to fully realize the importance of Iowa 

 agriculture; if they did they surely would provide more liberally for the 

 state fair, the most important single educational institution in the state 

 for men actively engaged in farming. The benefits which the state an- 

 nually receives from this great fair are vast; they cannot be measured in 

 coin. The fair management should be treated more liberally in the future 

 than they have been in the past. It is a fact that the Iowa State Fair has 

 come more nearly financing itself than any other state fair in the coun- 



