100 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



I am not familiar with the details about the management of a 

 fair. All I know about the state fair is I drive up to the gate and, 

 being an "ornery" member, sign my name on a piece of card 

 board, and drive to the place for my car, if somebody hasn't got 

 in before me. I can go about if I have the time to spend every 

 day at the fair, and find something new every minute of the time. 



I visited a good many county fairs and district fairs in the 

 past three or four years. I would see throngs of people every- 

 where, touching elbows, competing in a friendly way for prizes, 

 showing the best they were able to produce. I think it is an 

 institution in the community and in the state which lifts us up. 

 The banker, the manufacturer, the farmer, all meeting together, 

 looking at the same things, going away with a bigger vision of 

 the possibilities of a state like Iowa than when they came ; and 

 what Iowa needs more than any other one thing is a vision of 

 what lies just beyond. There is not a spot of earth in all this 

 world that has the possibilities for the building of a civilization 

 like Iowa. The soil is rich, climatic conditions are favorable, and 

 the people are willing and able to respond to the call. Iowa can 

 lead the nation and the world. We have led in war activities ; we 

 can lead in business activities, and I commend you men in the 

 work of planning for the next fair — not alone for the next one, 

 but for the next ten years — that you tilt your spectacles high and 

 look beyond for this institution is going to live and is going to 

 bring results to Iowa far beyond your fondest expectations. I 

 congratulate you as individuals who have a part in these fair 

 association managements, and I think I can understand that 

 sometimes just at the close of a fair you will say "Is the whole 

 thing worth while? Is all this hurry and hustle and worry and 

 labor worth while?" And sometimes you answer it in the nega- 

 tive, but you are mistaken when you answer it that way. It is 

 worth while ; it is worth while to get the people together and lead 

 them out away from themselves and develop the community 

 spirit, and we need to know that we are dependent upon the 

 other fellow, and if we can keep that thought, which has been so 

 well developed during the war, clearly in the minds of all our 

 people, the strides we will make in the next ten years will be 

 beyond the vision or the guess of any man here present. 



It is a pleasure having this opportunity of meeting with you. 

 T know from what has happened in the past that the planning for 

 tomorrow will be successful. I thank vou. 



