FOURTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III 279 



fairs, in our public organization, you ought to do with that thought. I 

 call the attention of you who manage these fairs to this in order that, 

 if you think there is anything in what I have suggested, you may intro- 

 duce at your fairs these things that it seems to me go to make a great 

 life and a great people. After all, the life that satisfies the most wants, 

 morally, intellectually and materially, is the greatest life and makes the 

 greatest people. In other words, if our viewpoint in this country has 

 been the view point of the material alone, our county fairs, or any pub- 

 lic organization ought to change the viewpoint of our people. When 

 you get them together at fairs in great crowds, there ought to be some- 

 thing there that would lead to an appreciation of a higher life, an 

 educated life, those things which are finest and best in life. 



Why do people go to the city? Why do we say that they run away 

 from the farm? What is there here in the city that attracts them? Is 

 it the finer things of life? Is it the show of the city? Is it the hurry 

 and rush and the noise of the city that brings them here? Well — per- 

 haps these things have something to do with it. Perhaps they see finer 

 opportunities for making money here than on the farm. But there is 

 where they are mistaken. In this day and age of the world there is 

 not so much in the city for the masses, but it is on the farm that the 

 great opportunities of life today are found for the great mass of the 

 people of this country. A man who could not make money on a farm in 

 Iowa during the last ten years could not make money anywhere. Every 

 advantage — prices and everything have been to his advantage, so that I 

 think that the fair should have something of the definite purpose and 

 aim in view, to impress that fact and it should be loyal to this purpose. To 

 that end there ought to be leadership. There ought to be an organization 

 among the people to that end, and the fair should develop this leadership. 

 It should lead to co-operation in the counties, economic and social as well. 

 The social life of the county could be improved very greatly in this way. 

 The economic conditions ought to be discussed in the country as well as in 

 the town. And here is a thing I want to suggest that occurs to me just 

 now: You have your commercial clubs in your county seats and in 

 your cities. I think the farmers ought to belong to the commercial club 

 because the interests of the men in the country around the town are ex- 

 actly the interests of the men in the town. Their interests are mutual. 

 Then they -should be mutually helpful to each other. If a town can 

 develop into a beautiful town, beautiful homes, well kept homes, parks and 

 beautiful streets, the land surrounding is increasing in value on account 

 of it, and if the country home can be beautifully kept, good sanitary 

 conditions, well ventilated, good water supply, well painted buildings, 

 well kept farm, that farm is rising in value and so is the property 

 in the town. When the commercial club meets in the town it ought to 

 have men from the country to discuss questions mutually with a profit to 

 both interests. My interest is yours and your interest is mine, and our 

 interests are all bound up together, and when you go into the county 

 fair it ought to be both of the country and the town. These are the 

 serious purposes of the fair. 



