EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IV 275 



oat croji the like of wliicli was nover seen in Iowa before, 25i),00(),(iO(» 

 busliels of oats of a splendid (luality, bringing 60 and even 65 cents a 

 bushel. It hopefully awaits a corn yield which may pass the 400,000,000- 

 bushel mark and, at 8S to 90 cents a bushel, bring- to Iowa fai'mers well 

 past a third of a billion dollars for their summer's work. In live stock 

 the prospects of profits were never better, nor was there, ever such a 

 determination to make Iowa forge still further ahead as the premier 

 stock state of the nation. Farming enthusiasm is at a white heat. Yet 

 farmers are not thinking of their immediate or future profits alone; they 

 are patriotically dedicated to do whatever the nation may have need of 

 them to do. It was with this spirit that they came to Des Moines, in 

 this spirit that 'they mingled with the thousands of soldiers, saluted Old 

 Glory aloft on the thousands of flagstaffs and talked the foreign situa- 

 tion over, sometimes with bated breath, to be sure, but always with the 

 feeling that the country and the flag which have never been whipped 

 were still the grandest on earth and that no sacrifice was too great to 

 keep them preeminently in the vanguard of liberty, democracy and civi- 

 lization. Production and patriotism were the keynotes of the 1917 Iowa 

 State Fair. 



Something like 10,000 soldiers are encamped in Des Moines this week. 

 Two thousand of these are colored troops, training to be officers. Over 

 4,000 are former National Guard troops, now in the federal service, 

 ordered to leave shortly for Mineola, Long Island, to be a part of the next 

 detachment sent to France. Several hundred are guarding* the immense 

 cantonment which is being built near Des Moines, where 35,000 to 40,000 

 boys and men from Iowa and nearby states will be trained in soldiering. 

 Several other hundred are members of various companies, ranging from 

 the signal corps to the ammunition train. Des Moines is practically an 

 armed camp. These soldiers were given the run of the fair: grounds; 

 several thousand of them were encamped there, awaiting orders to leave 

 for the front. Altogether they made an attraction greater than any the 

 fair has ever known. Friends and relatives flocked to the grounds to see 

 them. Patriotic Iowa looked them over, some for perhaps the last time. 

 There were soldiers everywhere. Every day a different detachment drilled 

 before applauding thousands. They went through the most intricate 

 maneuvers with hardly a flaw. Bugle calls were constantly being heard, 

 tlie tread of armed men sounded above other noises; flags were every- 

 where, the fair had such a martial air as made every heart beat faster. 

 Khaki, khaki everywhere and Iowa paying homage to a soldiery upon 

 which history relies for the world to be kept safe for democracy. 



With the exception of Monday forenoon the weather was ideal. Heavy 

 clouds obscured the sun on Monday morning and ominous rumblings of 

 thunder forecasted a bad day. By noon, however, the skies had cleared 

 and save for the fact that it was unseasonably cold the day was a good 

 one. Tuesday and Wednesday — always the big days of the fair — were 

 ideal for fair visitors, a little too cold to make good corn, but just right 

 for the arduous task of seeing everything the fair had to offer. The 

 result was that on Tuesday the attendance reached 65,917, which was 

 6,000 above the corresponding day last year and within 500 of the largest 

 attendance the fair ever knew, Tuesday of the 1913 exposition. When 

 the gates closed Tuesday night the total attendance was 220,877, which 

 was 15,000 above last year's figures. Wednesday dawned ideally clear 

 and pleasant, soi that by Friday night the attendance should pass the 

 third of a million mark, without doubt. This year's fair will make money, 

 as it amply deserves. Not only were the crowds larger, but they were 

 more liberal than ever with their money, so that almost each day's re- 

 ceipts showed a gain over last year. Admission prices were not raised 

 and there were no incidents of overcharge, either on the grounds or down 

 town, officially reported. 



