272 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



munity, you can see the best horses and sheep and swine and poultry, 

 you can go through the floral hall and see the best products of the 

 field and the farm, and you can also these later years see an educational 

 exhibt that has become the best and most prominent feature of our 

 agricultural fairs today; and no matter how much interest may lag in 

 these other exhibits, you will never fail to see the men and women and 

 young folks stop and linger around this educational exhibit, usually pre- 

 sided over by a county superintendent and able corps of teachers. You 

 will not only see those things, but you will hear music from the best 

 band in the community, you will see high grade clean attractions, you 

 will see a good base ball game, probably an automobile race, and you 

 will see as fine harness racing as you wish to see; and it will cost you 

 for this ten hours entertainment about 35 to 50 cents. Now, so far as 

 the entertainment features of fairs are concerned, it occurs to me that 

 there will be no criticism that the patrons of the fair do not get their 

 money's worth. 



Now I spoke about the change, the great evolution that is occurring 

 in these fairs. During my personal observation of probably fifteen or 

 eighteen years in connection with local fairs, I remember the time when 

 license was granted for selling intoxicating drinks, I remember I have 

 seen gambling games licensed by the officials, chuck luck games and other 

 objectionable features. But those features have been eliminated, they 

 have passed away, even the snakes today are tabooed, so that the fairs 

 are becoming cleaner and better, and a man can take his wife and 

 family today in all the fairs I know of in northern Iowa, he can go around 

 on the ground and discuss intelligently and healthfully all the features 

 of the present day county fairs. That, in my judgment, is a long stride 

 toward the permanency and the value of our district fairs. Mr. Censor 

 stated last evening that the atendance at these county fairs, exclusive of 

 the state and inter-state fair, probably numbered 800,000 people; so that, 

 including those other two fairs, it is probably within the mark that there 

 will be 1,100,000 people attending fairs in Iowa. There is not any other 

 place where you can obtain that educational information of any con- 

 sequence, that so many people attend, or that attract so many people. 

 So, consequently, the local fair is entitled, in my judgment, to the sup- 

 port of all the best people of our community. 



The educational part of our fairs is rapidly developing, much more 

 so today than in the years past. Here in Iowa probably twenty-five years 

 ago, not more than thirty-five possibly, there was not very many herds 

 of pure bred live stock. And the great strides we have made in the 

 short period of time is due, in my judgment, to these early beginnings 

 and these early contests where the breeders and exhibitors met and 

 contended for victory, for the blue ribbon, and no matter whether the 

 man won or met defeat, especially if he met defeat, in the philisophy 

 of that defeat, he probably gained the inspiration that brought him 

 future victories. And the men who have ascended the ladder of fame 

 in this line are the men who had early struggles to obtain the first 

 round, and the man who won at a county fair did not rest content with 



