SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IX. 967 



Press Comments of the Iowa State Fair 



of J 905 



Held at Des Moines, Iowa, August 25 to September J 



AND 



PAPERS REGARDING FAIRS IN GENERAL. 



THE IOWA STATE FAIR. 



WALLACES FARMER, DES MOINES. 



It is not enough to say that the Iowa State Fair held at Des Moines 

 last week justified all predictions and broke all previous records. It 

 did more than this. It set a high water mark, not only for Iowa but 

 for other states in which the aim is to make the annual state fairs 

 great agricultural expositions — clean, helpful, educational. For after 

 making due allov>-ance for what might be thought a natural bias in. 

 speaking of one's home fair, impartial and competent critics must agree 

 with us in the statement that the fair at Des Moines last week, con- 

 sidering both the exhibits and the character of the people who came 

 to see it, came closer to the ideal fair of an agricultural community 

 than any which has ever been held anywhere in the central and west- 

 ern states — in the agricultural country — up to the present time. 



The generally good crops in all sections of the state justified the 

 expectations that with favorable weather the attendance would break 

 all previous records. As a matter of fact it was even greater than 

 anticipated. The crowds began to arrive in Des Moines early Monday 

 morning and by evening every in-coming train was loaded to the capacity 

 of the cars. Monday night the railroads reaching Des Moines rushed 

 out emergency cars which were distributed at convenient points alonK 

 their respective lines, but notwithstanding this foresight almost every 

 train reaching the city Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday had not 

 only every seat filled but the aisles crowded with people standing. By 

 Wednesday night the cash receipts at the grounds exceeded the receipts of 

 the entire week last year and footed up enough to more than cover 

 the entire expenses. The receipts for the remainder of the week will 

 leave a handsome surplus on hand, part of which will doubtless be 

 added to the necessary reserve against future misfortune and the 

 remainder used to still further improve the grounds and provide for 

 the comfort of the people. 



It was a happy, prosperous-looking crowd. There were few able to 

 report such monstrous crops as the optimistic crop boomers have been 

 seeing through their convex glasses, but from every section came the 



