Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-08-16
Omaha Exposition Letter.

EDITORS DEMOCRAT:
Thinking your readers would like to
hear something as to how the Greater
American Exposition is coming on at
Omaha / will give you short descrip-
ton of it Taken as a whole / must
say it is good. The grounds are the
finest and in the finest shape ever saw
any where, Chicago nor New Orleans,
that land of flowers, did not come any
where in comparison with them. All
that fine grsas, fine flowers and electric
lights can do to cause fine effect
are here brought to their great
est petfe action. To say the
least the grounds are perfection
The government building which was
admitted by all last year to be grand
exhibit, is really better than last year.
The art gallery is q great deal better
than last year, being pronounced by
judges of art as equal to Chicago or
any exposition ever held in America.
Machinery hall, electricity, manufsc
turers and foreign exhibits buildings
are in some respects better and In other
respects not quite up to last year, SO
upon the whole the show may be said
to be really better than last year.. The
show is all that could be asked for at
the present time and is getting better
every day. There are hundreds Of men
at work all the time and new exhibits
are coming in every day. There are
many familiar faces to be met in the
buildings as well as many new ones.
The county agricultural exhibits are
many and will be very fine when all are
in place. They are all late as the pro.
ducts have to be grown before they can
be put in place.
The management were so late in ar
ranging for their agricultural exhibit,
that in order to hasten them along they
have appropriated twenty thousand
dollars as an inducement to the coun-
ties in different states to compete. The
prizes are 26 in number ranging from
81 900, first premium, to $500 for ten
fourth best and consolation prize Of
$3.50 for any county having creditable
exhibit and yet not getting placed for
any of the cash offerings.
There never has been better chance
for Delaware county farmers to adver-
tise their farms than now. Delaware
county has had more free advertising
than any other county in Iowa and
without any special effort on It's part.
Delaware County products have taken
more prizes at the expositions held in
the United States and at the state fairs
all over the west than any state in the
union can show. And now we call
upon the farmers of this county to for
once, bestir themselves and see how
good show we can show the world.
Kansas and Nebraska have lots of
railroad lands and the railroads are
carrying freights free in both states to
Omaha while Delaware county has to
pay full freight going to the exposition
at Omaha. Besides there is not coun-
ty exhibiting here that the board of
supervisors do not give from three to
five hundred dollars to fix up and main
tain them. Could our present board of
supervisors do less than pay the freight
upon car of exhibits from Delaware
county to Omaha? We think not and
really think that the farmers of Della
ware county would reap q hundred per
cent on every dollar SO spent. 1t is the
fine exhibits that Iowa has shown all
over the country that has caused whole
train loads of the very best citizens we
have to sell out in Illinois,. Wisconsin
and Michigan and invest in Iowa lands
where failure of crops are never known.
The writer of this has taken at
Peoria, at the Illinois state fair every
premium offered on grain and vegeta-
bles with Delaware county products,
not one premium was taken by the
good state of Illinois. At the Cotton
Centennial at New Orleans Delaware
county took ninety one premiums of
the first degree of merit. This was
more than all the states of the union
counted together could show. Della.
ware county can beat the record this
year If the farmers will only try. Now
brother farmers for once save sample
of every good thing you have on your
farms, oats, barley, wheat, rye, fine
samples of full length mammoth clover
potatoes, big pumpkins, squashes, ap.