EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART HI 155 



ceipts — the cost of our advertising during the past year — and it has been 

 6 per cent of the total receipts of the entire fair or show. I am not pre- 

 pared to say, because I don't know enough about it, whether that is the 

 right proportion in your business, or not. 



Now, publicity during the show. We didn't know how to handle a show 

 when we started and we are learning all the time, of course, buti we 

 found out during the past two years that it is very good business to send 

 out articles every day. Sometimes we have gone to the expense of having 

 those sent by wire to the leading papers in the state. We did that for 

 the purpose of trying to keep up the interest in the fair, or in the show, 

 and we tell of the awards on the cattle that were given on the day before ; 

 we mention the free-acts that we had, and other things of interest; we 

 give the program and the contests, and give the names of those winning 

 the contests, and we find that a vefy good means of keeping up the in- 

 terest in the show. 



Now, there is another matter that has been mentioned here by other 

 speakers very much better than I can discuss it in the portion of time 

 that I have; but I want to say that I believe one of the best ways of 

 advertising is to treat the exhibitors absolutely right. You know, I Went 

 up to Brother Barber's fair at Mason City and I noticed that the ex- 

 hibitors were well pleased. Later a few of those exhibitors of dairy 

 cattle came to our show, and I want to say to you that every one or 

 those exhibitors that attended the Mason City fair were publicity agents 

 that Mr. Barber couldn't have gotten in any other way. And do you 

 know the reason they are boosters? Because the secretary of that 

 fair — I mention this because it applied to the county or the district fair, 

 it couldn't be applied to the larger fairs — but the secretary of that fair 

 went through the barns every day and talked with them and asked them 

 if they were satisfied, and all that, and do you know that helped the Mason 

 City fair a great deal? 



And then in regard to the concessioners and the free-acts. I remem- 

 ber just before the show opened there was a free-act man that came to the 

 office and wanted to know if any of our acts wouldn't appear. He had 

 just come from Waverly and he remarked about the treatment that he 

 had gotten at Waverly, and do you know that fellow couldn't say enough 

 for the Waverly fair? And for that reason I say if we treat our exhibi- 

 tors right; if we can get time to go out and see them and visit with 

 them, ask them if things are coming along all right that helps a fellow a 

 great deal. 



Another thing that was mentioned here tonight, and which might be 

 of interest to you, is that we have a feed dealer in Waterloo that handles 

 the feed problem for us. We tried to handle it ourselves, but we found 

 it cost us more to deliver and handle the feed than it did for one man 

 to handle it alone, so that we make arrangements each year for the lead- 

 ing feed dealer at Waterloo to handle the feed for us, and that man has 

 a tent at the ground and he has all kinds of feed and takes orders and 

 delivers without delay. We compel him to publish prices of all the feeds 

 that he has, and those lists of feed prices are tacked on the doors in the 

 cattle barns so that every exhibitor knows he Is being treated just the 



