84 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



the Women and Children's Building. The following permanent improve- 

 ments were made on the grounds: Completing Women and Children's 

 Building and furnishing same, $8,000.00; new brick cattle barn. $5,893.80; 

 subway under the track, $6,657.92; cooling out paddock in the speed 

 department, $9,867.19; enlarging the street car station, $3,204.26; 

 moving and repairing Power Hall, $9 52.57; grading, $472.57; cement 

 walks and curbing, $3,019.74, and numerous other improvements 

 making a total of $48,288.13 for permanent improvements other than 

 the Women and Children's Building. 



The great problem of the day with the managers, not only of state 

 fairs but of county and district fairs, is, "What can we have to increase 

 the interest and the attendance." Nowadays there are so many counter- 

 attractions held during the summer months that when fair time comes a 

 great many people feel that they have seen about all there is to see and 

 do not seem to take interest in the fairs as they formerly did. This 

 applies more particularly to county and district fairs. In my opinion, 

 we must go back to first principles, and that is, not lose sight of the 

 educational features of our fairs. We should try to make the different 

 departments of the fair more interesting by introducing new ideas, by 

 making strong competition in the different departments, enlarging the 

 departments, interesting the boys and girls to make exhibits and to 

 instill in their minds that the future of the county and state fairs will 

 fall on their shoulders and that they should commence early in life 

 to take up this great work. 



I feel sometimes that we have gone mad on the amusement side of 

 our fairs and neglect the educational side. We should have amuse- 

 ments at our fairs, but I think there is a time and a place for them. I 

 am strongly of the opinion, as I have stated before in some of our 

 meetings, that the forenoon of every day of the fair should be devoted 

 to the exhibits and discussion by the patrons of the fair of the different 

 exhibits, as was the case in years gone by. Then the people have a 

 chance to visit with each other, renew old acquaintances, and then by 

 noon or after. dinner they are ready for the amusement side of the 

 fair. My early experience with fair work was along this line and I am 

 free to admit that I believe the people went home better satisfied with 

 the fair then than they do now. My reason for thinking so is, so many 

 people will remark, "What is the matter with the fair? It is not like 

 it used to be." I am speaking now more particularly of our county 

 fairs. I am free to admit that I have been guilty of the very things I 

 am complaining of now. We thought that to make the fair a success 

 we had to have a continual round of pleasure from the time the gates 

 opened in the morning until they closed at night. What has been the 

 result of this condition? — our exhibits in almost all of the departments 

 have fallen off. Why? — because the people thought they had to go 

 and see the ball game or other amusements that had been procured, 

 and the exhibitors who had brought their stock and other exhibits 

 were left alone with them — everybody went over to the amusement fea- 

 tures, and exhibitors became disgusted with no one looking over the 

 different departments. It has been the policy of the Iowa State Fair 



