176 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



informed men and know exactly what your tickets mean and able to 

 handle men. He not only looks after the men, but it is up to him to 

 settle any dispute that may arise at the gate. 



Any new orders that may be put out by your Board are then handed 

 to your captains and they in turn inform their men, thus saving much 

 time in getting the order to each man individually. You will find a great 

 deal of difference in the number of men different captains will ask for 

 to do the same amount of work. Some of them will do the same work 

 with two or three less men and probably not work his men as long hours 

 as the one with more men. It is hard to get them to use their men to 

 the best advantage and have them where he wants them during the rush 

 and relieve most of them during the dull part of the day. Many times 

 you will find all of his men on duty and nothing doing at all and again 

 find him with part of them off duty during the busy part of the day. 



Probably the greatest problem facing all of your fairs today is the han- 

 dling of your autos. This, however, is a question that must be handled 

 differently according to the conditions existing at your different fairs. 

 While this causes a great deal of extra work for your admissions depart- 

 ment, I think the real difiiculty comes not so much in the taking of the 

 tickets as it does in getting them sold to the people in your cars. While 

 the admissions department usually gets its share of the blame for the 

 congestion at your gates, the real trouble is usually getting your tickets 

 sold. I think you will find in most cases your men on the gates can take 

 your tickets a great deal faster than your sellers can sell them. 



I am not saying this in a way to criticize that department, for I fully 

 realize just what they are up against in trying to get them sold to the 

 cars as fast as they will come on your busy days. Get your tickets sold 

 and I am sure your men on the gates will get them. 



The next great problem, I think you have found, is in the handling of 

 your pass gates. This being the case, it has been found advisable at the 

 State Fair to make a separate department of the pass gate men. You 

 might be surprised to know that out of the 125 men used at the State 

 fair, at all outside gates and amphitheater — 25 of them are used in this 

 department. I do not mean to say that one-fifth of the people are getting 

 in on passes, but every entrance must have a pass gate which must be 

 kept open all of the time. 



We have with us today, Mr. C. N. Whiting, who has had charge of this 

 department for a number of years. Most of you are acquainted with him 

 or will be before he gets out of the City and I am sure he would be glad 

 to give you any information along this line. He has given this much 

 study and might have something worth while for you. 



This department is made up of the best men we can find, every effort 

 has been made to get the good ones back each year. When a good pass 

 gate man is found It makes the work much easier if you can get them back 

 year after year. Any good brightman can do good work at your general 

 admission gate, when he has but one kind of a ticket to look for, but when 

 it comes to knowing all your different tickets, which at the I. S. F. num- 

 ber about forty, it requires a man that is willing to give them a great 

 deal of study. 



