152 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



I think you are organized in Iowa to carry on your work rather better 

 than we are in Nebraska, but I am sure you are all familiar enough with 

 the Nebraska situation that I need not make a comparison; but I am 

 going down to Lincoln the first of January when we have our meetings 

 there and will try to suggest to our Nebraska people that this is the 

 automobile age, and that a new situation has come forward in the man- 

 agement of fairs, and that these fairs ought to be near together in order 

 to co-operatively build up each other. Now, we had the idea just a few 

 years ago when I was trying to direct a fair, that we must choose a date 

 that would not conflict with anybody or let anybody conflict with us. Our 

 fairs were about thirty-five miles apart, and if that county had a fair this 

 week, we couldn't have it, and if this one had it this week we couldn't 

 have it, and we had a whole lot of trouble to get in there where nobody 

 else wanted the date. 



I have come to know that fairs do not compete with each other. It is 

 true that some men situated on the border line will prefer one organiza- 

 tion, and some will prefer the other; but I want to give you this sugges- 

 tion from two angles. We must hold two nearby fairs the same week 

 from now on, and we must do that for two or three reasons. As I said 

 before, it is the automobile age, and it travels faster. Now, there are six 

 days a week, and I don't know any county fair that has over two days 

 of actual fair, which gives us a preparation day and two days of attend- 

 ance — and there you are. Now then, you attempt to hold your fairs on 

 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and you consume a week. Your con- 

 cessions have only two days of patronage; your amusements have only 

 two days of patronage, and necessarily those concessions and amuse- 

 ments cannot pay you the money that they ought to, and cannot give yon 

 the amusement that they ought to give you, for the money you can afford 

 to give them. Now, what are we coming to? You men believe it right 

 now, but what we are coming to is right this — two fairs held within rea- 

 sonable distance, 35 or 40 miles of each other, will arrange to hold their 

 meetings the same identical week, and they will co-operate in their con- 

 cessions and amusements so that these concessions can fill their dates 

 here and go to the other fair and get four days of patronage In the week. 

 Your amusements can sell to you cheaper because they can go to two 

 fairs and get four days of patronage, instead of two. That is an econom- 

 ical proposition. And the exhibitors of livestock will do the same thing. 

 Your winning herd will go from this fair to the other and make two 

 shows in one week, and if they are real good ones and have their heart 

 in it, they will go to another circuit and make another two fairs, making 

 four fairs in two weeks, and that is about as long as any farmer can 

 afford to go onto the fair circuit in one year. I offer you those things as a 

 coming business proposition in the conduct of fairs. 



The next thing I want to call your attention to is the relation of fairs 

 to rural amusement. Some of you who have had my letters during the 

 past year know I am — I am willing to be called a critic on the idea of 

 rural amusements. I am going to talk to the association of county boards 

 and county clerks down at Omaha tomorrow on rural amusements. I 

 am going to tell those county fathers that their greatest duty, aside from 



