NINTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XI 545 
what is of still greater consequence, it is no longer safe. The day of 
wooden public structures has passed; steel, cement and brick are needed, 
to make a safe grandstand large enough to accommodate at least 20,000 
people. Such a building will cost close to $150,000, which would still be 
$75,000 less than the Canadian Fair at Toronto paid for its grandstand. 
More land is also needed; at least 20 acres should be added to the grounds 
to partly prevent the present congested conditions that prevail. This 
would probably cost in the neighborhood of $10,000. 
The net earnings of this year's fair, which will be in the neighborhod 
of $43,000, could be used to good advantage for finishing the new Adminis- 
tration building and for providing for other needed improvements in the 
way of buildings, walks and better sanitary facilites. Every dollar the 
state may see fit to add to the well started nucleus now on the grounds 
will be money well invested — money that will pay big dividends in the 
form of increased returns from the farms of the state and thus aid in 
augmenting general agricultural progress. 
A great fair that is well managed is truly educational. It impresses the 
young, teaches and inspires the old and uplifts and enthuses the great 
body agricultural to an extent that can not be measured in dollars and 
cents. Nor is this all. It has a tremendous moral effect on the whole 
state, which manifests itself in a stronger and more determined effort 
on the part of the ambitious to strive for higher ideals and greater ex- 
cellence. The average man of the rural districts needs to attend a great 
fair at least once a year; he needs to come in contact with the leaders in 
his line of work in order to have his latent powers stirred into action. 
His brain needs a stimulant such as is furnished by seeing what those 
who, perhaps under more favorable conditions, have succeeded in accom- 
plishing. 
For these and other reasons farmers should see to it that the legis- 
lature treates them liberally next year in the way of big appropriations 
for their greatest educator — the state fair. 
HORSES. 
The horse show was large — larger than any previous shows made in 
Iowa, and we believe it is entirely safe to say, in the world. Think of 
an exhibition comprising 800 magnificent equines! Where and when has 
it been equaled? It was not only a great show numerically, but it was a 
superb show from a quality standpoint. It taught an impressive lesson 
of the tremendous advancement that has been made in developing that 
noble, useful and faithful friend of man, the horse. It seemed to say 
emphatically, though modestly, that man is trying to show his apprecia- 
tion of the valuable services rendered him by the great equine race by 
helping to develop and improve its physical beauty as well as its mental 
capacity, for the impressive array of splendid steeds seemed to have 
greater mental powers than their progenitors. They are certainly in- 
telligent. 
While it may be said that there was general satisfaction among the 
horsemen with the manner in which the judging was conducted, there 
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