52 TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART II. 



at fairs of this section. The modern fair next to the common schools 

 is America's greatest educational agency because they are public service 

 projects. They are ready targets for the how shooting poisoned arrows. 



Most agricultural journals have, from time to time, called attention 

 to the excellent educational work of the fairs. Let's have more of this. 

 Fair men have been after fakers for years. Does it help us to get them 

 to "boot us" and thereby mislead the public as we still pursue the faker? 



There are over 3,000 fairs and expositions and allied shows in America 

 managed and conducted by perhaps 100,000 men and women and at- 

 tended by fifty million people each year who find them more than worth 

 while. Looks like we are strong enough to sit up and take notice when 

 unjustly attacked. What are we going to do about it? 



Yes, fellow fair secretaries, concessions are attractions and if the 

 proper kind are furnished there is no end of welcome entertainment. 



In the common use of the terms there is a vast difference in "graft" 

 and "grift." There is a certain amount of graft in almost every branch 

 of business. "Grift" is common robbery. 



Fair secretaries deserve praise for their progressive efforts and es- 

 pecially toward having favor-gaining attractions including concessions 

 from which the fairs gain a good revenue. Bat when they or their 

 concession managers discriminate against fair deal concessions there is 

 less cause for praise. If any person is too busy to be courteous and just, 

 he badly needs a well-informed assistant or substitute. 



For a square deal, even chance of deciding which one of several in- 

 dividuals should be the fortunate one in drawing a prize there doubtless 

 is no better way than to give several revolutions di an evenly balanced 

 wheel providing it turns after the starting and stops at its own momen- 

 tum, otherwise, of course, the wheel and the transaction are crooked. 

 They don't care about investigating persons who have this year espe- 

 cially ignorantly made such a cry about wheels and those who would not 

 allow straight merchandise wheels to operate only to sanction (unless 

 the operator wishes it) as swinging balls, gimicked tip-ups, gaffed 

 buckets, some of the roll downs, most picouts, etc. Numerous cases of 

 this nature have been reported this fall and maby of them on fair 

 grounds. Just a little study of the "joints" would give the concessioner 

 the information he needs if he really wants to come clean himself. 



On a great many fair grounds you might see a spindle and also a swing- 

 ing ball. Personally, I consider a swinging ball game in the same class 

 as the shells and the general public looks on a spindle in the same light. 

 In order to clean up I would suggest that the church fairs, bazaars, 

 block dances, home-comings, expositions, etc., be included so as to make 

 it a general clean up for there is much rottenness in closed cities al- 

 lowed by the "powers that be." Merchandise wheels work in the states 

 of Pennsylvania, Virginia, West "Virginia and Illinois and up in all 

 other states where officials exercise common sense it is predicted that 

 more states will permit them during 1922. Yes, the tide has turned. 

 Graft must go. 



All the ball games are not what they appear to be in print. In a 

 game in which the player actually throws baseball at objects, 90 per 



