The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-10-07
THE SOUTHERN KANSAS FAIR.
Some Pertinent Facts and Timely Sug-
Pestions


ously attended county fairs ever held il
the state of Kansas have been held a
Wichita. The greatest district fair eve
witnessed in the state was the Southern
Kansas Fair, which closed its exposition
Saturday evening, in Wichita. Twenty
one thousand people passed the gates Of
the last county fair held on the west side
Of the river in a single day, Very near
ly thirty thousand people streamed
through the gates Of the Southern Kan
sas Fair on last Thursday, None of the
elements that 90 to make up a successful
fair were wanting. Good management.
delightful weather. fast races, fine ex-
hibits and big crowds are the essen
tials. and all these were boosted
by the fair of last week,
/ There were no gambling devices on the
grounds, the premiums and purses were
all promptly paid, the crowds were con-
! tented. interested and merry by turns,
the hotels were all full, every merchant
! scored a big weeks trade and no casual
ity occurred to mar any feature Of the
enterprise.
This leads us to say that the EAGLE
has for years maintained that touching
the matter Of agricultural and stock
exhibitions a south Kansas annual dis
trict fair properly organized and eff
GENTLY managed would prove bigger
thing than exhibitions Of like character
anywhere else in the state the state fair
itself not excepted. The reasons are
simple enough. The state fairs have al
ways been held in one corner of the state,
either at Topeka or at Lawrence, both
contiguous to the Interstate fairs at Kan
sas City and st. Joseph and both fro n one
hundred and fifty to three hundred miles
distant from the leading agricultural
counties of the state. Upon the other
hand Wichita, with the finest railroad
facilities of any city in the state, with
more daily passenger trains, almost two
to one, being the commercial metropolis
Of the greatest valley in the state and
the greatest city in southern Kansas,
with superior hotel accommodation, sit
uated from two to five hundred miles
distant from any other point where
great fairs are held, renders her, pre-
eminently, the point for such exhibitions.
The members of the State Agricultural
society, with a full appreciation of these
advantages, could have held a state fair
at Wichita this year, or last year, that
would net only have surpassed in great
ness and profitableness of the so-called
interstate fair at Kansas City, but that
would have benefited the state ten
times over any state fair ever yet held at
Topeka or at Lawrence. And the serious
attention of that board is directed to
these statements.
But to our own district fair, about
which the EAGLE has been so persistent
ly talking and working for months. The
first thing, it strikes us, should be a
move for the ownership of a permanent
location. Twice within the brief his
tory of the county have ample grounds
been in the possession of fair associa-
tons, but both plats have been swallowed
up by the city. The grounds ought to
be accessible. If the grounds used last
week cannot be bought or permanently
leased, or if they are undesirable, then
there is Linwood park and adjoining
grounds accessible by the Santa Fe
track and by street railway lines.
Or, again north or east of
the Union Stock yards; or over
in the vicinity of Alamo; or on the West
Side: or a dozen other locations which
might be named. The surroundings of
this city consists of a succession of
splendid cites. But more of this in the
future.
In congratulating the management
upon the success of first class exhibit
of all that goes to make up the attrac-
tions of such an enterprise, including
the splendid races, and in congratula-
ting the business men of the city who
had the forecast to encourage and help
sustain the undertaking and, especially
those officers of the association them
selves who became personally response
BILE for many of the expenses, including
lumber bills, we still hold that the great
fair Just closed will seem small and in
significant 20 the possible fairs of the
future with the same scope and ideas as
to territory and with a like enterprising
and generous management.
WILL THEY MEET?