The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-01-09
THE COLORED STATE FaIE.
Not Very Successful Besinnins-Eman-
r:pation Celebration Draws the Crowd.
The Managers Determined.
Special to News and Courier I


recorded by some veracious historian.
who had not the fear Of the populace
OF future "boom town" before his eve,
that at the first Georgia State Fair held
at Marthasville, now Atlanta, the only
article offered for prize was an ass of
the masculine order, commonlyknown
as Jack" Yes, it goes into history
that on the spot where the Kimball
House now stands the sonorous saluta-
ton of this valuable animal first broke
the prlmeval silence and sounded the
praises of the future city of Atlanta. In
like manner the colored people of South
Carolina can regard with prophetic
hope the noisy welcome of the first ex-
hloit entered at their first State Fair.
The early novelists describe the
sound as approximating in English the
compound expression "cock-a-doodle-
doo," but in the late vernacular it
might be more correctly translated as
''er-er-er-er-r-r-h." In short, the first
exhibit of the Colored State Fair, en-
tered on page /, of Book I, of Depart
ment i, is set down as II rouster."
While this is literal fact, it is the
only joke which it is fair to make at
the expense of the "Colored Agricultu-
raj and Mechanical Society of South
Carolina"
The officers have done their best.
They have worked in season and out
of season-for the success of their enter
prise. They have invested many of
their hard-earned dollars in it, and
have talked cheerfully of its prospects,
even when the rain sloped down from
the northeast chilling their semi
tropical hearts and multiplying their
hopeful anticipations.
The Colored State Fair opened to-day
in the grounds of the State Agricul-
tural and Mechanical Society. There
could not have been a worse time for
it. The Christmas demonstration is
not yet over, the weather is superla-
lively unsuitable, the time for prepara-
tion has been short, and the season is
not the best for an exhibit of the crops,
which must ofcourse be in their prim-
est condition some months earlier. The
colored Emancipation celebration, held
elsewhere, drew away many who would
have gone to the Fair, and the standard
rate of 80 cents admission, which was
strictly maintained, frightened off the
remainder.
1t may suit the purposes of some to
exaggerate and misstate the conditions
of the Fair, but the Bureau, which tells
the truth about the State Fair and
other events in Columbia, proposes to
place this on the same basis offact.
The field crop department has a num-
Der of exhibits, most of which are very
good. A few samples are as good as
any which could be found in the State,
but the number of exhibits is discredit-
ably small. The colored people are
able to make ten times as good a
show.
The fancy work and household de-
partments are good, all things con-
sidered, but are subject to the same
criticism as the field crop department.
1t does not show the possibilities nor
the achievements of the negro in South
Carolina.
The miscellaneous exhibits are chiefly
from Columbia merchants. There are
few displays in the machinery depart
nents.
A few head of fine stock are exhib-
tied and some poultry. Altogether
there are about GOO entries, against over
. 5000 at the regular State Fair. The
main buildings, the machinery hall
and all the enclosures look very bare
indeed.
, The numbers of entries in the various
departments, as announced by the of.
ficers, are as follows: Poultry, q, man
ufactures 9, fruit and garden 20, field
crop 10, mechanical departments 8, stock
50, household and fancy 419. Total
543.
There could not have been a worse
day for fair. Old Probs was alto
+ gether against such an ushering in Of
the New Year, and the weather was as
r if made to order for an Arctic instead
Of an Africo-American celebration
e There were hardly dozen visitors be.
f sides the officers and exhibitors, anG
r the grounds were gloomy indeed, il
spite of the excellent work of the
colored Wallace Band. It is hoped thai
S the conditions will be more favorable
g tomorrow, and that the attendance
r will be renlunerative.
d The Colored State Agricultural anC
! Mechanical Society was organized las
: fall through the ins'rumentality of a
: I. Hampton. The officers are: A. +
y Hampton, president, Columbia; J. +
e Massey, vice president, Gadsden; H
), Il. Ely, secretary, Abbeville; f. Yves
:; ton, treasurer. Gadsden. The Other
d officers are: James Robinson, Colum
e bia; Nelson Williams, Columbia; II
r w. Woodward, Eastover; B. G.. Gar
u rick, Gadsden; W. P. Corley, Lexing