The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-09-27
AN EXPLANATION.

l AN EXPLANATION.
| To the Editor Of tie Eagle.
| i listened this morning to q discussion
between prominent citizen and one of the
officers of the Southern Kansas Fair asso
| citation, and believing that any reasonable
| listener would have come to the same con-
| clusion that the complaining citizen did
| / will report the conversation as near as
| can recollect it Prominent Citizen began
| By calling out. ''Say. do you know that
| you have made fatal mistake in putting
your admission at 80 cents / have heard
the matter discussed by many persons and
| not in single case have | heard anything
but censure and in many cases persons de-
clared it was robbery and they would not
attend"
The officer of the fair quietly replied
that he was sorry to do that which fair
| minded men felt compelled to condemn.
| but he was not going 10 De 1eve that any
large number of persons in Wichita felt so
aggrieved at the fifty cents admission to
the fair that they would actually deny
themselves the privilege OF attending.
Continuing he said. I'VE have searched The
country over 70 learn what other fairs are
charging ana our information Is that all
county fairs limit their admission 10 .
ceuts, but that all state and district fairs
charge from so cents TO sl.O0 for admis-
sion TO the grounds and then from 80 cents
! Ia 81 90 more for grand stand and quarter
stretch privileges"
Two weeks ago ST. Joseph, Mo-, gave a
district fair and the admission to the
grounds was so cents and TO the grand
stand an additional 80 cents, W hiie the sea-
son tickets were the same as ours s. Aud
since we are On this subject we might as
well show the difference between the peo-
pie of ST. Joseph and those Of Wichita in
their loyalty to their fairs.
The ST. Joseph Fair association put their
season tickets out the week before their
fair into the hands OF prominent business
men who divided the city into
districts and canvassed it for
the sale of tickets with the
result that II 900 tickets were sold. thus
putting 81 400 into the treasury OF the
association as guaranty fund a week be-
fore the fair SO that rain or shine the eX-
penses of the fair were largely provided
for in advance. We put our season tickets
on sale in three prominent places aud an
nounced the fact through the papers aud
if any body has the curiosity to know how
many season tickets have been sold for
the Southern Kansas Fair association let
him consult the persons offering our tick
cts; do not want it published in the pa
pers. And further | want TO say that the
kick about the 50eents admission does not
come from the country but strongest OF
all it comes from Wichita and from mer-
chants and dealers " no have been largely
benefited by our past fair meetings |
could name at least a dozen merchants
who boosted O: the large business they did
during the fair of 1891. and yet when asked
TO join with others to provide guaranty
fund to secure the payment or expenses
and premiums in case OF bad weather, they
utterly refused.
Season tickets have not been sought for
but the ma. ket for complimentaries has
been strong and active" II yon think we
can pay our expenses and 81, 0e0 in purses
on complimentary tickets, or if yon think
an agricultural fair can I've sustained with
out the hearty good will of the people. you
are away wrong. l mean the people OF the
city; the country people are always good
patrons OF fairs and horse races. But
where prominent business men, wholesale
and retail merchants and dealers, hotels,
banks. street car and oLEer public corpora
tious, look upon a fair with no deeper in
terest than what can be got out OF IT IN
direct cash payment, it has not long TO
live-it will languish and die.
The prominent citizen replied that he
had never thought of it in that light, and
he wished the explanation, as made TO
him, could be published in the daily pa
pers, and upon this suggestion 1t Is offered
To your readers.