FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III 207 



the fair but then the greatest invention is the wheelbarrow." 

 He said, "Why?" I said, "Because the wheelbarrow first taught 

 the Irish to walk on their hind legs. You know I am prejudiced 

 as much as any man ought to be because I was bred in Ireland 

 myself. I would like to hear from Mr. Bradley, the gentleman 

 that has more money than he can take care of. I know that Rock 

 Rapids is the best place in the world in the way of horse racing 

 and I would like for Mr. Bradley to tell us about it. 



Mr. Bradley : We aim in our fair to have everything the very 

 best possible. We put up $400 purses, and had a large field. I 

 think our average net amount for races was about $2,100 or $2,300 

 and we put up for about $4,500. We cater strongly to the race 

 end of it and aim to have everything equal to it in high grade, 

 and our premiums for. stock have been as good as we could afford 

 to make it. But our stock exhibit has not been very heavy. We 

 are very anxious to have the Ames college devise some lines of 

 premiums so we can get stock, but the stock is not in the country. 

 However, our greatest trouble is not that we haven't the stock 

 but it is the jealousy between the farmers. They won't come in 

 because they are afraid the other fellow will beat them out. I 

 don't know if there is anything further to offer; only one thing 

 and that is we have been spending so much time to get this 

 money. I have been trying to get our secretary a little money 

 and give him his time to run the fair. He can get out and in 

 a day's time he can get more money than any sum they will pay 

 him. The secretary can devise some little scheme, advertising 

 in the fair catalog and make $500 or $600 and in that way we 

 can make our catalog pay us $600 or $700 and leave us our straight 

 program. My idea is to pay the secretary that $300 or $400 or 

 $500 a year — give him all of it; don't get anybody else in it but 

 pay him all of it and make him responsible for the whole thing. 

 The only thing we do with the board of directors after the fair is 

 over is to tell them how much money we got. The secretary is re- 

 sponsible for the whole thing. We usually get $24,000 to $25,000 

 together. I believe if you pay one man and pay him a fair salary 

 and let him take an automobile and go out all over the country 

 and get this hurry business we will have a great success. I believe 

 in Minnesota they pay twice what they do in Iowa but I do not 

 know of any fairs in that state that are in any way as good. 

 I think they just depend on the state appropriation and the farmer 

 brings his old cow in and gets his premium on that cow and goes 



