NINETEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV 297 



Thursday afternoon and perform evolutions at the fair grounds and the 

 automobile races on Friday afternoon, the attendance bids fair to con- 

 tinue good until the close of the fair Friday night. With continued good 

 weather, the total attendance should be around the 250,000 mark. The 

 monetary receipts up to Tuesday night were $141,094.92, as compared with 

 $158,834.92. The fair will pay out and make a profit this year (notwith- 

 standing the decrease in attendance and receipts) with continued good 

 weather. 



The government's war exhibit, housed in the old Power Hall, was one 

 of the most interesting displays of the entire fair, yet it was so placed 

 that many visitors missed it altogether. It should have been given some 

 of the vacant space in Machinery Hall, or' put in a more central part of 

 the grounds. A similar display at the Illinois State Fair the week before 

 was given the central and most accessible building on the grounds. The 

 government is taking advantage of the state fairs this year to educate the 

 people in our national war work. Exhibits show how our soldiers are 

 armed, fed, clothed, nursed, and sheltered. Figures were exhibited at 

 Des Moines last -week clothed in the uniforms of the various branches of 

 the army service. Nearby were Browning and Lewis machine guns and 

 rifles, hand grenades, bayonets, entrenching tools, cartridge belts, gas 

 masks, cooking and eating utensils, packs, and all the accoutrements of 

 the men who are over in France today so valiantly doing their bit to keep 

 the world safe for democracy. Nor was the navy overlooked. Tor- 

 pedoes were exhibited, attracting the greatest attention, along with depth 

 and floating inines and bombs, and models of immense liners and battle- 

 ships. A splendid exhibit of photographs showed our boys in action, in 

 the trenches, in the field dressing stations, on hospital trains, and all man- 

 ner of thei'r life aibroad. It is doubtful if a more interesting exhibit of any- 

 thing in a non-agricultural line was ever made at the Iowa fair than 

 this war exhibit of the government. The Jackie band from the Great 

 Lakes Naval Training Station rendered concerts during the day, so that 

 all in all this exhibit deserved premier place among the attractions and 

 should have had better housing than was granted it. 



With Iowa having more automobiles proportionate to population than 

 any other state in the union, adopting motor trucks in large number to 

 enable produce to be moved to the market promptly, and looking to the 

 tractor to solve the man-power shortage due to the war, it is not to be 

 wondered at that the automobile, truck, tractor, and general farm imple- 

 ment exhibit at the Iowa State Fair this year should have aroused more 

 interest than ever before. There are whole communities, particularly in 

 the western part of the state, where practically all the live stock shipped 

 to market is sent by motor trucks. Farmers generally have read of this 

 and were anxious to inspect the numerous makes of trucks shown at the 

 fair this year. They have likewise read the reports of the Salina tractor 

 demonstration, as reported in The Homestead, and have been eager to see 

 the year's development in the •tractor, which was exhibited at Des Moines 

 this week in unusually large number. Taken all in all, it is doubtful if a 

 more eager number of farmers ever looked over a machinery display 

 than looked over the acres of farm implements of various kinds last week 

 at Des Moines. While there was considerable vacant space left in Ma- 

 chinery Hall proper, the ground devoted to the tented exhibits and to 

 the demofistrations of trucks and tractors was crowded. Iowa farmers 

 are buying farm machinery by the millions of dollars each year; they are 

 the best customers on earth for time-saving and labor-saving appliances, 

 so it is unusually fitting that so much space and attention should be given 

 to this display at the Iowa State Fair. This was one of the few depart- 

 ments in which it could be truthfully said that this year's display was 

 "bigger and better than ever before." ■ . 



