New-York tribune., 1868-11-04
OUR STATE FAIRS.
To tho Edttor Of The Tribune.

SIR: III IL Win great regret tnat reau III lHb
TRIBUNE, every year, correspondence from our
State Fairs, detractng in every possible way from
their value, giving no credit except to off
set il with wholesale abuse critlcising whenever
peg can be found on which to hang an unkind word.
and often inconsistent net only in itself but with
the proessed position of your excellent journal as
friend and advocate of progressive agriculture.
When there grounds of complaint against the To-
cality in which the Fairs are held, IL seems to he
thought wiser to hold up for public reprobaion the
State Agricultural Society, Tor the State Far
which is the same thing,) rs being an incorporeal
entity which it is rather pleasant and perfectly safe
to belabor
have before me two or three paragraphs contained
In your Weekly edition of Oct. 2, To which cannot
forbear asking your special attention, and conhne
myself 10 them 10 show the position assumed In your
respondonce uf this year. rather than back to snb
stana,e the statement that such criticisms really
matter OF annual should have referred to
the subject sooner but the paper was nsaia ana mas
only just been brought to my notice
,ls sn0f h 3 "s G1 @ a S snI mud there "a. little
confusion and slight regai paid 10 comfort smaller nams
ADD comfort VI the beat things about @ f "
l. The grounds mile, ;bs city. and undoubtedly
much SoOe "a. espss. soa. .s from !" 's % All 1y of coed
locations within mile Of the iy ana eys less Ibsr. va
when 1.a s ~; 20 s s 5 s & & si' .S s IA ssI' oo
drinking not 10 be oand and places for retirement ss'
eW Ssi ,' people .s sGna H b .,sS".S
ssHe Of SS-sy@.Hhsy had ru help which The
or s1s that = goods 81 co .'s more "so ,sa" At
truth r. the STATE f osh, to 60. Ts.y hsT. ..r,,a s
wE5S. s.o9. s Z ...s % f',s
ba. ooaa,y ooab n.i them satisfactory
. ''.:si g. s:.tS S' si!s: ms s:
culture r csss,g ss y',s ss ,ls .s . s @
with the c.es Of p,o@o.Og sgreuors N. es., rSr. VI. snG &
.grs. .s sAS, ssTnsn No. @ s' . s,
pe,snd inda fail eIb, sssd 's,o d.
'.s 60. no., n. s Interest,". ..s.e s.%.ss n,. g.
cd, q exhibition and dsvssp'ssst &C.
l. II your reporter attends Agricultural exhibitions "for
the fun OF the thing" TO me he Is deficient In
good sense. 30 far as aware great public gath
erings can DO conducted without personal Inconvc
nences attending them. The assertion that there were
plenty OF good locations within mile OF the city,
wholly destitute OF truth 10 far as implies That they
could possibly have been procured for tho purpose The
means the grounds In point OF fact were u
usually good and the price Coy rairoad lower than can
generally be secured. As long agricultural shows can
not be- rooted over and their not
BILE of rains 1t seems unjust tn attack
the these grounds particularly @ the area OF tho
buildings and tents provided at Rochester, n not all that
coud have been wished was increased certainly TO the
utmost limit OF the at command Places Tor re-
your correspondent would have asoertaned on
inquiry were "shamefully deHcient and though IN
Ahch crowd persons who required them may not easily
have found them, impossible TO put pacards every
where for the public information on such snbjeets
The crowded Of the city may have led 10 the
demands charged here but after vista
at Rochester during tho Summer, tho writer himself
found no difference between prices at the time OF the
State far and previously supposng however, that the
assertion "a correct, Il s not sin for which the Fair
tsef accountable and would hold good as an argument
or
g. State Fairs we are told. ought TO end" And why
They have served their day, and that our popula
ton great they can no longer accomplish their
object" Ia your correspondent aware or does he merely
overlook the that rural population In New-fork
ia probably no larger now large than was twenty
years ago, and that every Influence which operates
aoaina the constant tendency OF It's further dminuton
and 20 make up for It's loss II Ia drawn away ovgho
encourag ged Through the medium OF our stso fairS
and through the publication Of their awards (which The
TRIBUNE thinks worthy Of record from year TO year. not
withsandng correspondence dsseno, improved STOCK
and better implements constantly gaining ground
whether fairs ought ought not to exist seems 10
be hardly An open question, though your correspondent
has again and again asserted to the contrary Here ana
IN Great Britain they sustained by the parties drecy
concerned In France and Germany they are directly
supported by the Governments who realize ther ippor
tance IN advancing the popular prosperity And As no
field OF competition twidens the lessons that arc taught
increase in value except OF course when the ned GIN
braced like that OF the United States. for example,
extends beyond human power to secure adequate
means Of transport. In the first place the srouhu
OF your correspondents complaint - thAt so many
peope attend as TO render It uncomfortable Tor Dn ana
in the second that 30 few do attend" incose
AL authoritative estimate, probably as nearly correct as
any estimate can be made Of the people actually atehd
ing the State Fairs number Of years past only TO
marking first the folly Of the statement that tho vast
majority Of the visitors have not the least win
agriculture" when full Inquiry must saay any
n,e man that not onctenth part Of the attendance Is
likely 10 have been furnished by the city the remaining
ninete being wholly from the country ana depend
ent on agriculture for their support The following ns
ures are based upon the receipts reported allowing io
changes that have been made In the prices OF
at different times and moderate estimate TOT .oe nun
paying portion of the public
Year. Piaet hWHddarl ien u.T.i. 10 600