192 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The President : I will say, gentlemen, that so far as the re- 

 ports made by the Secretary and Treasurer are concerned, it is 

 not necessary for ns to take any action npon that, for the reason 

 that the law provides that the expert accountant of the state ex- 

 amines the books of the Secretary-Treasurer of this association. 



Gentlemen, it affords me great pleasure this morning to present 

 to you a man who I know is intensely interested in the work 

 which we are trying to do in the state of Iowa, and I think you 

 M'ill bear me out in that assertion — you gentlemen who heard the 

 remarks last night. I can not add anything to the introductory 

 remarks made by the president of the county and district fair 

 managers association of this state. I simply want to indorse them. 

 I want to introduce to you this morning, gentlemen, a man who 

 is intensely interested in the state and county fairs of Towa, Gov- 

 ernor Clarke. 



ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR CLARKE. 



Governor Clarke: I hardly know how it happened that I got on 

 the program last night and also today. When Mr. Corey wanted to know 

 whether I would undertake to talk a while I said I would. Then someone 

 else asked me if I would speak briefly, I again said yes. Well, one ot 

 these gentlemen was talking about one meeting and the other about an- 

 other, but I thought they were referring to the same meeting, the meet- 

 ing last night. I had no idea, until I saw the program, that I was get- 

 ting into two different meetings fcr the discussion of practically the 

 same subjects. 



I see here this morning quite a number who were in the meeting 

 last night. I said all I knew then, and perhaps something I didn't 

 know, about district and county fairs, and gave you something of my 

 ideas of what they ought to be. This meeting, as I understand it, is more 

 particularly v.ith reference to the State Agricultural Society, and the 

 State Fair. This morning I have been examining the report which has 

 just been filed in my office by the State. Accountant with reference to the 

 Agricultural Society, especially with reference to the State Fair, and I 

 am very much gratified at the contents of it. I do not Know whether 

 you are all familiar with that report, or whether it has been submitted 

 to you yet or not; but I want to call attention to some of the figures that 

 occur in it. It is very encouraging, and I want to say to you that 

 when the president says that I am very much interested in the county 

 fairs, and in the success of this great institution over here that we 

 call the Iowa State Fair, he speaks the truth. I am. I do not believe, 

 aside from our educational institutions themselves, there is a greater 

 educational force in the state than the Iowa State Fair. I look upon it 

 and regard it as a great educational institution. That is what it ought 

 to be. It is of great value to the people of the state simply as an edu- 

 cator, in giving them an idea of what is going on in the world, what 



