182 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



away. It costs a fair no more to speak of to entertain ten thousand 

 people than it does one thousand, after you open your gates. It's not 

 like a merchant selling his goods at a discount. If he does not sell he has 

 his goods, but, if a fair does not get the people, they have nothing to show 

 for it except blue sky. 



How would I get the people three days to the fair instead of one? I 

 would put on sale early a ticket good for three days, which I would sell 

 at a discount from the regular price of admission. For instance, if the 

 regular price of admission was thirty-five cents, I would sell a ticket good 

 for the three days for seventy-five cents. So on the second day of the fair 

 a single ticket, good for that day only, would be thirty-five cents, or one 

 good for three days, seventy-five cents. I would try, of course, and have 

 as many as possible of the three days' tickets sold before the fair opened. 

 Some may say this can't be done, but it can. Fully one-half, or more, of 

 our Chautauqua tickets are sold before the Chautauqua opens, and these 

 are sold at a less price than they are after the Chautauqua opens. The 

 prime object is to get the money into the treasury as soon as possible, 

 and by getting a large number of these tickets sold insures a good at- 

 tendance for the three days. Now, the prime object is to transfer your 

 second day from one with a light attendance into the biggest day of your 

 fair. So, with that in view, I would make the second day children's day, 

 and along in May, I would have printed a ticket good to all children 

 twelve years old and under, and I would send out a good bunch to every 

 teacher of every school in the county, and I would send the teacher a 

 ticket good for that day. Then I would go garther. I would put on for 

 that day a spelling contest, open to all school children in the county who 

 are in the eighth grade and under. This should be done through your 

 county superintendent. Have every school in the county hold a spelling 

 contest and the five that win are eligible to attend a township spelling 

 contest, held later, and the five winning at the township spelling contest 

 to be admitted to the contest at the fair. In this way you have every 

 school child and teacher in your county boosting for your fair. We make 

 seven premiums, with the first and second gold watches. These seven 

 premiums are selected and placed in some of the merchants' show win- 

 dows a month or two before the fair. 



Now you have about eA^ery fellow interested who is looking for a 

 bargain in tickets, you have all the school children of your county talking 

 and boosting and talking about the prizes their township is sure to win, 

 and they are all going because they already have tickets. The parents 

 just have to go, you know, to take the children, and get those cheap 

 tickets. 



Following this, I would give premiums on each day for a tug-of-war 

 contest. Get, say, six teams organized in your county, two teams to pull 

 each day. Then I would suggest that the county send out a challenge to 

 any nearby county and select seven of your best men out of your six 

 teams to pull them. Of, if you think you can muster a cracker-jack of a 

 team, you can send a challenge to the Danish Brotherhood tug-of-war 

 team of Omaha, who held the distinction of never being beaten, and they 

 will come out on a special train loaded with boosters. 



