lU IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Another thing I failed to mention, if you would have a good 

 large crowd on your ground the entire three days you can get 

 twice as much for your concessions as you can when you only have 

 one good day and not so good the rest of the days ; and if you have 

 a good fair for three days everj'-body goes home well pleased and 

 the program is such that j-ou can give them plenty of entertain- 

 ment. 



Chairman : We will next have a paper or address by Mr. Mullen 

 of Fonda, on "The Automobile and the County Fair." 



THE AUTOMOBILE AND THE COUNTY FAIR. 



J. P. MULLEN. 



Mr. J. p. Mullen : Mr. President and Gentlemen : I probably 

 owe you an apology for not having a paper on this subject. What- 

 ever I have to say will be in a hit and miss way. 



As I look upon the automobile question it is applicable in rela- 

 tion to the success of all the fairs in the state of Iowa, from the 

 fact in these days, and I believe the most of you will realize it, 

 it is almost impossible to secure excursion trains from the railroad, 

 and railroad rates are gone in this state for some years, so that we 

 cannot secure railroad rates. As I said, it is almost impossible to 

 secure special trains. There may be a few places, or a few fairs 

 in some parts of the state that can secure the special train, but 

 they are very few. So that looking at that question in the light 

 of an advertising proposition and in securing attendance at the 

 fairs, the automobile has largely taken the place of these excursion 

 trains and has added to the attendance and the gate receipts of 

 the county and district fairs of Iowa. I look upon this question 

 as an advertising scheme in this way, that men will drive in their 

 automobiles a distance of twenty-five or thirty miles to a fair, 

 while without the automobile they would not drive ten miles; so 

 that in advertising, or seeking attendance to your fairs you can 

 cover a radius of fifteen to thirty miles, and the people by using 

 the automobiles, can reach there in less time than they formerly did 

 in other kinds of vehicles. Now, I have been informed that next 

 year there will be more automobiles in attendance at the county 

 fairs than ever before. I understand that Henry Ford is going 

 to shorten up the wheelbase of his machine so there can be more 

 of them on the road. So I warn you, gentlemen, to be prepared 

 and secure permanent places at the county fair for these machines. 

 As you are aware, last year it was quite a problem to secure a place 



