Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-09-23
THE NEW PROPOSITION.

THE NEW PROPOSITION.
The proposition of Senator Caminetti, to
which we referred on Saturday, to have
the counties at the next State Fair exhibit
in two or three grand groups, has met with
much favor, and some opposition. 1t is
gratifying to know that it is discussed
warmly. The objections raised to it are
two in number, and neither, we think, are
OF sufficient force to overthrow the PROPOSE
ton. First, that the competition between
valley and foothill and mountain counties
would generate i'll feeling; second, that it
is impracticable to handle all the counties
of one class in an exhibit, as local ieal-
ousies would develop, and, as result, there
would be inharmony. Now, as TO the first,
1t is to be said that it is an unwarranted
fear, and that there is nothing to Justify i'll
feeling between sections in the proposition
to group exhibits, more than in the pres
ent successful scheme of competition be-
tween counties. Secondly, there is very
little likelihood that the growers of apples
the manufacturers Of textile fabrics, the
cultivators of flowers, the raisers of hops,
would quarrel if their exhibits were
grouped, any more than the exhibitors OF
live stock do now, who are and for years
have been grouped at the Park; nor than
the agricultural implement men, who oc-
cupy the same annex without any mani
festation of jealousy. As to the inability
to handle many counties in one group, that
is unworthy timorousness. In the Cen
tennial Exposition, in the Worlds Fair at
New Orleans, in the great exposition held
IN Brazil, in the present Paris Exposition,
the orderly arrangement of kinds to-
gether proved on trial uniformly to equal
ize the exhibitors, to lessen their indi-
Vidual expenses, and to stimulate better
exhibitions. 1t happens that our foothill
and mountain counties are of mixed
character as to products; they show miner
ais, woods, fruits and cereals, clays and
building stone, while the purely valley
counties are confined to agricultural prod
ucts. When these two exhibit as counties.
therefore, there is inequality of competi-
tion, and really not that fair test that there
should be. Thus we find in the premium
lists that grasses and woods are grouped for
single premium. A hill county un-
questionably excels in woods, and a
valley county is superior in grasses,
yet the award for both objects
must be made to one county. So, too, a
mountain county produces fruits and
minerals, valley county shows fruits
without minerals. Yet between those
two there must be an award made. But
if all the articles of growth and manu-
faeture were grouped by sections, in grand
division, but retaining the county credit in
labelling, it would make the competition as
1t should be, between kinds. Moreover
the county character would be preserved
as now, but the competition would be be-
tween those producing minerals for the
mineral awards alone, between those pro-
ducing fruit for the fruit awards alone,
between manufacturers for manufacture pre-
miums, etc. Then in the sections, there
would be grand cont est for the distribu-
tion of the money award, according to the
merit Of exhibition, and that this would ex-
cite the liveliest and most generous COM
petition, goes without saying. In addition
there would be special premiums for
counties, as such, judged by their exhibits
as a whole. We can conceive of the
feasibility of the scheme, all the valley
counties uniting in one grand display of
aggregated groups, and all the foothills
and mountain counties doing likewise, the
whole making such an exposition of the
products OF California as would draw visti-
ors from the most distant parts To witness
1t, and excite among our own people an
interest In our productive capacity they
have not felt before, in generous and lively
competition. Besides, as we said on Satur-
day, the scheme will bring into the field
great many specisl premiums, offered by
men of wealth in their respective counties,
TO stimulate exhibits in particular
branches. We are satisfied that the more
the idea is examined, the more favorable
1t viii appear. As to its feasibility, we
believe that 1t viii call for less output of
energy than to secure county exhibits upon
the present plan, but the abandonment of
which is not suggested On the contrary,
it is simply proposed to extend and
amplify, to improve and give more i'm
portance to county exhibits, by equalizing
conditions and making jus; and fair COM
petition between them.