172 TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III. 



and girls. That is not very much when we consider this fact, that there 

 are enrolled in Iowa in this boys' and girls' club work now about 15,000 

 members, an average of 150 boys and girls to the county. In the fair 

 work this last year, as near as I could say, something like 10 per cent 

 or 1,500 of the boys' and girls' club members took part in the Iowa State 

 Fair. I have not figured how many took part in the local fairs. The first 

 thing of importance now is to decide what can be done for the boys 

 and girls in the clubs which they are organizing this coming year. 



I think also some of you people who represent district fairs should think 

 of the opportunity of putting on an interesting district contest. For 

 instance, you know the Inter-State Fair at Sioux City is doing a large 

 amount of work for the boys and girls not only of Iowa but of the central 

 west. They are devoting a great deal of attention and money to that 

 phase of the work and I am sure Mr. Eaton and Mr. Moore and others 

 agree with me that it is putting a very interesting feature into their fair. 

 They are also doing considerable up through the northwest Iowa counties. 

 I believe the same thing holds true for any fairs which cover more than 

 one county. I believe if you would go at it in time you would work up 

 district contests there which would be very, interesting and also would be 

 very helpful to this work in that district. I hope that will be carried 

 out in all districts where they cover more than one particular county, 

 because I believe it adds very much to have inter-county contests. There 

 is nothing like the boys and girls competing with one another. 



The contest completed in Chicago last week was probably the greatest 

 contest ever carried out; that was the national canning contest, and the 

 prize was a trip to France to one of the teams. The Iowa team which 

 won at the state fair canning contest last year was sent to the Inter- 

 State Fair at Sioux City last fall and competed with twelve central west 

 states, and as you might expect Iowa came out on top. So the winning 

 team there was entitled to go to Chicago and meet the older teams from 

 over the United States in the final contest. And in that contest, like 

 every other contest held in Chicago last week, we are proud of the fact 

 also that the Iowa team of club girls in Muscatine county were again 

 on top and won this wonderful prize trip to France, which they will take 

 beginning about next May, and go through the same work as in their own 

 local community. They are going there to teach the people of France the 

 canning method which they have used in their own homes and own club 

 work in their county. That is the sort of information we have spread in 

 our state, in our country, and we are going into other countries. 



The boys' and girls' work such as is done in the United States has 

 become an institution in this country, but it never has been much in any 

 other country. Now a great deal of interest has developed all over the 

 world and we are receiving requests for information as to how we do this 

 work. I believe after this work is done in France this year we are going 

 to have considerable helpful interest there, and probably a good many 

 countries are going to proceed with it. I think that is specially interesting 

 because it is one of the few things that has been originated in the United 

 States. The school system is not limited to the United States alone. But 



