Our County Fair

Mi President an;l Ge riemen of the Board o Maragers t) the "Washtenaw Co. Agricul ural an 1 Hort' cultural Society : BjLaw No. 11 reqwïres fchat at this meeting tlie genera! superintendsliaU repoit the tiansacttons oí hls o.'iico. and the condition of Dhe society. i tupe.inteaáeat lias íeceived and turned over to the fcreasurer, ior ro its, per centages anti entry :e-, ! :;: L'.T5, the full amonnt reeeived. Orders have leen ir;;wn or billa t. tAved by your auditlug commiltee amounting to - - -' - $-018-65 Note ior laat year's der.cieney -. - 121.67 Premiums - - - - -K 1195.04 Total --- - $3335-36 Bj reierring to last year's books, I find the expensen allo wed at that time amounted to $2ü20.CO. We Lave d; crease! that expense by $141.83. The premiums in 189JL wera $941.10. This year they amounted to LiJ9504y We have al -o paid a rote 'oí $121.67. Byj inany temple yO'JË1 gfoüwds aio eoi.sldered as pub'-is prope.ty. It is a source oí much annoyance to asee.tain vho ;oinmi:s tha depredat:ons- We need the Irieadshlp ol the public and I have endeavored to ie leiiient wibh all in respect to thy use oí grounds and track. I !uive obeeived that tho.se who use the track úo n ot find the stalls satisfactory, go tear down and ï-emodel them 10 {■uit their own tastet'. Consoquen tj -whea fair time tomei around, 1he society has to bear the expense oí repairs. Tet tome oí these people tomplain bitterly because the society not do more lor them. The track is the source oí greatest expensa connected with the grounds. Jfitcl' year it washes away a'.ong; the heme stretch and at the back, and 1lat too, at a time of the year when tlit-re te no money to pay the_bi]ls. TM!-, y e ir, lor the first time, I have boen at.e to make the house account ba'ance the track repairs. While v i; havo been censured uecause tlferc was not more work done on tiic track, the parties using do not ;mh! will not give give anythiag, lor 11).; use of it nor help to improve lt, e!aiming tïiat it is the duty.ïo the o( icty lo have everything platoii lor thein. My esperlence with these people has leen that Avhen1 the i;;.tcs are iorkwl they gain entrance by a private right of way. 'Ihe natmetoi the soil is su li that the track i-uïiers ■vorsc in n dry season ïhan c'uiinga wet time. Actual iniprovemeats upon it will eost quite a .-uní. l'ioii: íesourccís I cannot i-emetly tlie state of affairs and tor this ïeac'Onnnit:e:.'. to tak 'esp nsil illn'ity with jou. telicviag th ; i I have cione my bet with the nieana at my trom mand. I 1 ope that for next year the loard ■vill appoint a tiack om init.ee-. to take this responsibility from the superintendent's dutie.s.' I hope, too, that yon wiil be abe to otoñe on that committe men who eau day the track without cash. ïonr main hall seems to have grown smaller. We could have had twice the exuibit in it this year had there 1 ten more room. During three weeks beïore the fair, we were denying space top iirties wishing to make exhibits and to some oí the society's 1-.est friends. Different parties in business bavo espressed their -vvillingness to JCiri 'With others In building an exhibition hall. I beiieve that at the present time something of the kind [Continuad on Sth page.] OUR COÜNTÏ FAIR (Continued from lst Page.) ((Mild bo easily brought abou . Tho 1805 was one of the greates-t ever held in tlie county. Eveiy clcpartment over-flowlng except those of fruit and swine. Most of tlie department suporintendents take an Ltcrcst in the work. However Ij must say t bat they do not begin carly euough. Our fairs have out grown I the little oneborse fairs of ten years t&ck. Kow the day before the openüu; of the fair is more than the second used to be. A rule sbould be , made that any article or animal not ou the grounds by 4 p. pi. of the first day of the fair, shall not be considerert by the judges. (Perhaps you could lucke an exception ior the school exhibits.) There is notliing gained by waiting ior the tardy ones. Superintcndents oï the horse , ments should collect from each person using a horse stall, two Hollare, to be refunded if the horse enteis an oí the contesta lor premiums ; ii not, to be turned over to the hOcieiy. Department superintendents :-nust look to the society's interésts, act y.,s its agents, not lend or give its badges, so that anyone whOEOever eau gain admission to the grounds or granö Btand. Some IÖe membeis Have abused their privileges' by piocuring tickets ior othcr parties, ihe gate keepers not being able to distiiiguish. It will be a good plan to declare membership forfeited whete tickets are so transíerred. There should be some rule as to the nnmber of attendants each exhibitor shall have. Atteudants should be furnished with passes good until 9 a. m. If any oue has work on the grounds, it must demand his atteution by that tïn.e. It should be some one's duty, 100, to see that parties on the grouuds in the morning are furnished with the necessary passes. This year some persons obtained passes for men who worked but one or two bours. A certain man with bis horse had two attendants, a driver and the owner. He is Btill unreconciled because I thought one attendant all I could pass. All employees of the society were corupelled to be on the giounds at 7 a. m. There is no reason why others couldn't get there by 9. Complimentary tickets shiïuld be good for one person only. To avoid confusión, I woold suggest that yon establish a separate gate for all pasSes - üfe memberships and complimentary. it will cose the pnce of gate keepers, but will either bave room on the grouuds for other people or iucieaso your treasurer's receipts. And put in turn stiles to record the number that enter. I wish to teil you some of the difficulties I have liad in leasing pirvileges on the grounds. You may either censure or stand by and share the responsibility. In accepting this position I realized its duties and have performed thern to the best of my ability. On September 1 we were met with a dition, or rather threat ; if the society did not do certaiu things, certain persons would exert themselves to injure the fair. Your fairs were held up to the public as unclean resorts.not fit for respectable people This was done by people who never supported the organization nor kuew its rules. Ministers in this city's churches made statements which many in the audience say were not true. These same ministers never tried to iind out the trnth. You have on your board twelve iesidents of Anu Arbor, some of theni members of the very churches which oensured us. While we may have been in the wrong with regard to what was doue on the fair grounds, as citizens we are entitled to honest treatment. Do not understand me as questioning the honesty of those who censured us ; I simply wish to show yon their course of procedure. They were inclined to place all the blarae upon the general superintendent, but by the reports, or rather, lack of reports, and statements from the pulpit on September 8, such gentlemen as Sedgwiok Dean and Col. H. S. Dean were included when they came to my assistance. In spite of these statements we read of these same persons advocatiug Ann Arbor as an excellent place for educating children. The only conclusión I eau reach is that some persons wished to créate a sensation and get before the public at our expense. Some of these even tried to break up the school program and went to the school board trying to persuade them not to close the schools that the ebildren, as has been customary, might attend the fair. To the credit of the board they investigated matters and voted to close the schools. Previous to this, the parties at the botton of all this work h:id made application for a stand to the ground. The privilege was graniet! oa the same terras as to other stands of the same general character. Wheu the time of settlement came they were not yet ready. I requested them to send me a 'Statement and 15 per cent of the receipts before the next Friday, but have not heard from them even yet. This is apparently the class of people who wish to establish a clean fair. There is yet another clasa which complains of yocr rales, claims you are too particular to make the fair a great suooess. I refer to the cheap jewelers' show and gaming men. I wonld advise that your next superintendent allow no one stand privilege who is not ready the day before the opening of the fair. I wish to thank the board for the support you have ahvays given me ; to the president and to the chairman of the business committee, Mr. S. Dean. All have been ever ready to do or advise for the good of the society. F. E. Mills, General Superintendent.