The age-herald., 1899-10-13
THE OPENING IS
 NEAR AT HAND State Fair Will Soon be On in
 Full Blast. ONLY TWENTY-FIVE DAYS Buildings Are Completed and Exhibits Will Soon Begin to Arrive-Spec- ial Day Features Will Be
 Great Occasions-Races
ONLY TWENTY-FIVE DAYS

pubic.
 On Noember the gates at Smiths park
 will be thrown open to an enormous crowd
 of visitors, who will flock to Birmingham from all sections of the state to see the
 best and most complete fair ever held in Alabama.
 The Fair association will spare nothing to make their first fair monster success.
 It will be an exhibition of the resources of
 the state that will not only attract the
 attention of Alabamians, but people of other states as well.
 The invitations that have been sent to the various governors in the south have
 met with number of favorable replies and
 already assurances have been received that
 at least four governors, with their staffs, will be here, provided nothing unforeseen occurs.
 The presence of the Mexican national | band is also an item that makes the faair more than a mere state affaair. Then 1t | will be the first opportunity given for l general display of not only the agricultural | interests, but also the timber, mineral and | manufacturing interests ever had before. l Each county rich in mineral deposits Will | have some of 1t here on exhibition. The | agricultural display will be fine, while the large manufacturing interest will make
 most creditable showing. Fine Races Daily
 The prospects are that the largest num-
 Der of racing horses, trotting pacing and
 running horses, ever before seen in Ala
 bama will be at the fair Letters and en- try blanks have been received from horse
 owners throughout the south, north, east T fo,.
 terest is being taken in the Alabama state
 fair. A prominent horse owner there
 writes that he will bring a good string here, being satisfied with the purses that
 have been offered, and also being contented
 with the rules which set down to gov
 ern the races. Some of the best pacers and trotters in the country will be brought here and lovers of that sport will have
 their appetite in that direction well satis-
 fled. The race track is finished, and well informed race men pronounce 1t to be one
 of the finest tracks to be found in the l country. The track was built by firm
 equipped for the work, and it was well l done The grand stand, which will accom-
 modate no less than five thousand people. | is also completed. The porch to the exhibition hall will also
 
 and 600 seats will be reserved for those who | do not care to occupy the grand stand.
 With the standing room around the track | it is estimated that less than fifty
 thousand people can see the races. There
 will be racing every day during the fair.
 The full programme of racing, which has
 been out for some days, will be carried out
 to the letter and some fine sport is certain | ly promised.
 | J. H. Smith, of Windsor, Ontario, has tered ten horses, and writes that he will be here on time.
 | John A Payne, manager of the Laton!a track, was in the city yesterday to arrange | for the entering of a large number of thor | oushbreds. MT. Payne says that some of | the best horses in the country will be here and that the races will be up to high standard of excellence.
 | Special Days | Veterans Day. on November 12 promises to be one of the big features of the fair.
 The occasion will be, in fact, an Alabama
 reunion of Confederate Veterans, as camps
 from all sections of the state will be in attendance.
 It is more than probable that General
 Richardson of Huntsville will assemble the
 Second brigade here on that date, which
 means that almost every veteran in north Alabama wild be in attendance. C. E. Jackson, passenger agent of the 1 Southern Railway, has been notified by the l principal of the Girls Industrial School at MontevaGo that on November 10, Educa- | tioral Day, $50 pupils from that school will l attend lthe fair. special train will be
 run to accommodate the party, arriving here early in the informing and returning 1 at 10 p. Other specials will also be run. | Buildings Completed
 The exhibition hall the grand stand, the l race track and other buildings at the l grounds are completed, and within another | fortnight the exhibits from all sections of l the state and elsewhere will commence to arrive
 | By November 1 the work of arranging l the displays will be under way and when 1 the opening day of the fair is at hand the 1 grounds will be ready for the big crowds. l The fair will commence on the 7th day Of l November, and will continue through Mo- 1 vember IT.
 1 The various departments of the fair will | be in proper shape on the first day, and 1 the management will give strict attention | that everything is kept in condition | through the entire ten days. People who come the first day will see much to satisfy tnelT WulHlS, anu ltidt VIII iucdu 1 visits. The railroad rates go into effect all over the state in plenty of time to allow people to get here for the first day. Tickets are so limited as to allow the people to remain here, if they so desire through the fair
 There are no reasons why there should not be big crowd right from the start.
 The arrangement of the programme Is
 such that every day there will be some
 thing new to be seen and heard, and some-
 thing which everybody will enjoy.
 Secretary Rountree Kept Busy
 Secretary J. A. Rountree has been kept
 very busy for the last few days. He is re-
 ceiving all sorts of communications and each and every one is attended to and
 swers sent as promptly they be
 reached The catalogues still going
 forth to those interested, and the number
 who have answered that they will be here
 with some sort of display or invention is
 large.