The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1877-10-10
IYDE PARK, OCTOBER 10, 1877.
FAIRS.

al -thN eshA -
for us 10 cast up the profits and losses
Of the month past and see where the
balance lies. These are hard times
and one needs to keep very close track
of his outgoes and not spend money
ioolishly, if he wishes to have an IN
creasing margin left from year to year.
The rule applies, also, fully as well to
society at large as it does to indiv'd-
uals. Institutions that ask for the
peoples money, must show some cor
responding return in money, knowledge
or pleasure, or else 60 down, for we
have not much loose change to throw
away now days. Let us test our
fairs by casting up the cost and receipts,
taking our fair as an average illustra-
ton. We will say that 1900 people
attended the two first days and
$500 the last. The cost to the peo-
ple of the county in admission, at ~
cts, Ia fair average) would be sllOO.
Add to this an average of 80 cents per
individual for money spent for side
shows, nick-nacks, &C., making S3ooo
in all. Add to this the risk, expense
and time necessary to transport the
various entries to and from the fair,
travelling expenses on train, &C., &c.
and you cannot possibly estimate the
cost of the fair to the people of the
county at less than five thousand dol
lars. and if time and labor are counted
M worth much, you can double the
estimate. Now what are the cash
receipts and who have received them.
About $4OO dollars was paid out for
premiums and $3.50 in purses. The fair
made work for quite number who re-
ceivcd pay therefor. The printers re-
ceiyed for advertising and printing
say on the whole 800. Hucksters,
side-show men, cider vendors, rest
aurant keepers, dice-board men, &C.,
&C., made quite good thing. Now
think you the county, on the WHOLE
is from a monied standpoint, richer
or poorer for the fair? But one says,
YOU have not taken into account that
we had, as we must have occasionally,
day of recreation, and possibly some
may suggest that agriculture and do
mestic industry have received a great
impetus from the fair. To the first
WE reply that as day for social visit
ing and recreation, our fair has too
much of the devil connected with it to
Ee q very safe place for Christian,
.lnoral and refined people to go and
take their children. And we believe
the immoral faint received on that day
more than offsets the benefit in the
way of recreation and social visiting.
TO the second we say we have grave
doubts about the extent to which
the fair benefited agriculture. Then
YOU don't believe in fairs, says
some one. Yes we do. We believe
they might be made conducive to the
profit and pleasure of society, but as
they now~exist with their gambling
boards, horse racing, big mouthed
'bummers, bowling obscenity and pro-
family in the ears of our sons and
daughters as they huckster their rum
tinctured cider, with their drunken,
fighting rowdies, their penny catchers
with effigies, lifts, &C., we do
not believe in, nor does the
public generally. A fair with all
these accessories, we do not consider
profitable in money, pleasure, morals
or knowledge. How are you going
to remedy it? We give it up. And
yet, if it were our business, we do
think that in some way this great and
popular institution might be- made
more conducive to the welfare of our
county. We were better pleased with
the Bakersfield town fair than with
our own, and yet, we by no means
advise the town-fair system. Our
county is too small to break up into
fractions on the fair question and be-
come as fiisjoined as is Franklin county.
We are aware that our fair ground
company has in it some of the very
best men in the county and what sur
prises us is that this better element
does not prevail, and work some kind
ola reformation which shall win the
confidence of the people, for it is GER
taihly true that many have, for some
cause or other, been alienated.
The annual meeting of the Vermont
Sunday school Association and Teach