TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III 195 



"It is Mary's, and Mary lives out in our neighborhood," and they 

 come and look at it, because there has been so much work put on it. 

 I have judged in institutes, for instance, aprons. I hold up those 

 aprons to the light, look at the hems and look at the button holes and 

 see if they are stitched neatly, and wherever I find something that 

 should be criticised I stick in a pin — and some of the garments when 

 they are sent home are stuck full of pins. The object is to make the 

 exhibit educational — the value, again, of that judging card; you have 

 the card for a tally, and as you judge the garment you mark the card. 

 I like to have two women work with us in order to get the thing done 

 quickly, and then frequently I have taken the time to talk as I 

 judge. You can get a lot of things explained while they are right 

 there. The value of the lecture next day is great if the women come, 

 but they aren't always there. Why, just think what this thing 

 means ! We send our girls to college to get this work, but the 

 mothers cannot go to college, they cannot close up their house and 

 go to school, but they want these things, so short lessons are given 

 to them for just an hour on the next afternoon. Just explain your 

 reasons for making the awards, taking the best and the poorest 

 (they keep still about the poorest, but usually everybody knows 

 whose the best is). 



The importance of uniform classification — I would like to have 

 the whole state classify just the same — one county just the same as 

 another county, using the same premium cards. I have had quite 

 a bit of criticism for this lack of uniformity. I have heard a great 

 many remarks that they did so-and-so over here, and so-and-so over 

 there. The automobile is used so extensively in this day that peo- 

 ple go back and forth and see much more than was possible in days 

 gone by, and I think it would be better to use uniform classification. 

 Honestly, it's a crime, some of the things that are put up there and 

 what these fair people are paying for them. If you are going to 

 have things made during the civil war period, let it be entered as an 

 antique, but don't put those things in with up-to-date things. A fair 

 should be educational, and it's a crime some of the things that are 

 sent up from Missouri and other places, box after box of them! 

 Why, things that aren't presentable — things that are so dirty, things 

 that are so soiled, absolutely — well, unpresentable. Remember the 

 importance of putting new life into the exhibit by putting in novel 

 features. We are dead, so to speak. We have got to put ourselves 

 so that people will come in. One of the things I would like to see 

 would be household booths. I would like to have the originality of 

 the women in your county exhibited. I would like to have a town- 



