296 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The fruit department would show to better advantage if it could all 

 be placed on one floor. Having a part in the galleries does not give the 

 best impression to visitors and is inconvenient in many ways. 



The new cement floor in the building called for much praise from all 

 and is a decided improvement in cleanliness and caring for the exhibits. 

 A place in which to store empty boxes during the fair is much needed in 

 this department and the enclosing of a room in each of the two south 

 corners of the gallery might be made to serve this and the agricultural 

 department while they jointly occupy the building. 



Mr. Wentworth made the following report of the public safety 

 and transportation departments: 

 To the State Board of Agriculture: 



Gentlemen: The steady growth of the Iowa State Fair has been wel? 

 shown through the reports of the various officers and superintendents 

 But, to me, it is especially noticeable through the requisitions made upon 

 this department. 



In 1911 we had a total of one hundred forty-four men; one hundred 

 twenty-seven foot, fifteen mounted, the chief and assistant chief, with an 

 aggregate of 1,023 days' service. In 1912 we had one hundred sixty-three 

 men; one hundred thirty-seven foot, twenty-four mounted, the chief and 

 assistant chief, with an aggregate of 1,201 days' service. 



The early installation of exhibits and policing of the camp grounds 

 required the services of eleven men before the fair actually opened and 

 we were required to hold a number of the men several days after its 

 close. In order to keep the expenses at a minimum it is our practice to 

 request the men to report on different days. As a result fifty did not 

 enter the service until after Sunday. Fifteen of them working the three 

 big days only, while twenty-two worked ten days or more. 



The department endeavored this year to distribute as broadly as con- 

 sistent the appointments; some seventy counties having representation. 

 Eighteen of our men this season were regular police in their home towns 

 and I would here express my appreciation to the mayors of those towns 

 for their courtesy in granting us such services. 



The camp ground is steadily growing in popular favor, 1,598 tents, by 

 actual count, being reported from the camp headquarters, which also 

 estimated 6,500 people actually taking advantage of the opportunities 

 afforded and I feel the figures are conservative. 



I regarded myself as particularly fortunate to secure the services of 

 Mr. W. H. Walker, formerly general agent of the Rock Island Lines, Des 

 Moines, as assistant in the Transportation Department. His complete 

 familiarity with all conditions made him especially useful to the exhibi- 

 tors who were warm in their expressions of appreciation for aid received. 



The demand for buildings and accommodations for exhibitors has been 

 so persistent that the department has not been able to give the attention 

 to quarters for employes that they not only deserve but have a right to 

 expect. We have been favored by well-nigh perfect weather the past two 

 years, otherwise the tents would not have been at all satisfactory, and I 

 hereby recommend the purchase or erection of a suitable building with 

 accommodations for two hundred men, as it will not be five years before 



