The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-29
WESTERN CORN CARNIVALS.
HUNDREDS OF STREEr FAIRS TO Clio
RIFY THE CROP

These Fairs are wiping Out County Fair.
and Illinois seems to He Their Greatest
Centre-That state OverrunninR With
Prosperity, rs These Festivals Show,
PEORIA, Ill, Oct 2T-lllinois is corn crazy
Perhaps 1t Is more definite To say that Illinoi,
from the Ohio River to Chicago is one great corn
carnival: at any rate. the people Of this State were
never prosperous they are this wear in ths
product Of the farms, and they never rcjoiCcd so
much nor so openly in their prosperity Tn,
season Of street fairs, or corn carnivafs as thov
arc called in the Middle West, which was At i,s
height when President Mckinley made his tour
Of the State two weeks ago has nearly passed
Now the people are settling down to enoy this
winter the fruits Of Il remarkably abundant hnr.
vest The bulk Of great crops has been stored
or has been shipped away 10 distant markets but
still corn is everywhere, the visible sign Of tho
peoples thrift
Corn festivals, in the form they were witnessed
by President Mckinley at almost every consid
cradle town as he was whirlcd through the Stat.
on his special train two weeks ago, are compare
lively new institutions. For many years the
people OF Illinois, who are mos, directly benefited
by the corn crop, have made public demonstra
tons OF their rejoicing during the harvesting sca.
son. but the so-called street fair has sprung up
within a few years. town of 2. 900 inhabitants
Is not too small TO have some time in October its
autumn festival Of large public character Last
week scores and scores Of these street fairs were
being held throughout Illinois and in other States
the celebrations being carried on in some cases in
towns no further removed from each other than
ten miles. Some of these fairs are now going on
or course the merchants in the towns take this
opportunity 10 make money, and. as the farmers
have already made their money mutual pros.
periiy is enjoyed forthwith. One might think
that since corn is SO common. the people would
not care to see ii after il is gathered from the fields
This is not so. Corn is frankly acknowledged
as the source of the prosperity that is everywhere
and the staple product of the Illinois farms is used
TO the exclusion of everything else except the
national coors, in decorating public buildings
and private residences and in gaily covering
Shs Re lGS a an" are ~ wien H I
Mckinley and the mem bcrs Of his cabinet came
10 Peoria they would doubtless have been sur
prsed at the prodgal display Of corn in The streets
and all public places, had they not seen similar
eHhlbiti"hs at dozen towns earlier in the day.
II might have occurred To the President that in
casS' OF n famine al the national capital there was
enough corn decorating the streets Of Peoria and
people Of the city Of " ashington for a ong Zinc
If t its ia i'e corn palace b Is wonderful place
some Of them great trunk lines intersecttng in
ms city, has l's own display, or rather display
EXHIBIT The e eap prtsS Of iof ,he e to T
palace almost invariably follow the rule tina noh
ing but corn or the products Of corn in the natural
restrictions make the displays really wonderful
One inilroad has produced n scene representing
woman with hair Of brown corn silk. playing a
piano Another road has represented typical
women and children, cattle and fowls occupying
their appropriate places in the picture The corn
McKinley honored The opcnine hall with his prIs'
ence two weeks ago,
only In scores Of towns in Illinois. but all over
Indiana. Iowa and the other corn producing
States In Minnesota the street fair is also popti-
lar There and in the Dnkotas wheat not corn
is king and decorative pIacards announced the fact
everywhere in pubic places These street fairs
mean the passing Of The county fair, There 10
no charge for admission and the merchants. as
well as the people generally. Ii Ike the street fairs
exhibits but of course ,hc stape Of corn and wheat
greatly predominant in their respective regions
, Here ei IN Peoria he prosperity is due not alone
Is brought here by train loads TO make whisky
THE Sun correspondent talked 10 day with
office at the time was a representative Illinois
farmer; The farmer is wealthy man but he
ably associated Win he soil The whisky dealer
talked about whiskey and the farmer talked about
their stories Of prosperity Both were Rcpubii-
cans the farmer remarking, in indirect answer
to question, that he had lived more prosperous
years under a Republican administration Than
any other. and he guessed he ddn ca re- 10 ch anGe
, Neither ,1t OF ,hese men WOULD say what The com
that II was almost or quite without precedent in
It's enormous size. The farmer said that the yield
on his farm this year sixty bushels 10 the
acre. Then the whiskey dealer interrupted 10
say that this meant 800 gallons Of second grade
OF 240 gallons Of high grade whskey to the acre.
lie thought that his farmer friend had. therefore,
nothing 10 complain Of in regard 10 his yield o.
corn, and the farmer said cmph atiCalIy that he
hadn't His harvest was gathered under tho
best conditions. he continued Farm hands in
the corn belt become very proficient in "shuclI-
ing corn and they take quick advantage Of good
weather His son, the Peoria county farmer said,
could shuck 50 bushels day in The field, dby in
and day out There was better record tha an this
which he did not assert that his son held.
These two men called attention to one fact which
illustrates the rich prosperity Of Illinois farmers
II was not uncommon for the farmers to hold
their corn crops year and even Two years In the
cribs, waiting for satisfactory price. They
threw away chances to sell at fifty cents a hlsha
and saw neighboring farmers and Iowa farmers
sell for 30 cents before the season closed But
they were complacent They lived in suhstan-
ual wealth and calmly held their crop a season
or two and then sold for. say SIS cents They
were SO prosperous that they did not have my
immediate necessities Of livelihood to consider
The Peoria district paid into the national Treas
ury last year S22,OO.O0O in internal revenue
taxes, the largest record Of any revenue district
in the United States, Most Of this was taxes on
whiskey made from the corn Of Illinois farmera
The record will probably be surpassed this year