The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-11-01
Fakirs and the Fairs,

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presence 80 communicates the moral at
mosphere of our county agricultural
exhibitions, and their numbers seem
to have so greatly increased the past
season that unless public sentiment is
aroused against their admission to the
fair grounds, they will make them I'M
fit places for any self-respecting person
to attend, and particularly contaminab--
ing to the young. They are there by
permission of the society's officers,
who, for paltry fee, admit them with
in the gates and then permit them to
practice their infamous swindliug
games and schemes, deceiving the pub
lie and fleeing those who can thus
easily be duped, out of money that they
need for other purposes. Society Off
GERS are responsible for these things,
and the public can force them to have
clean fairs if public sentiment is
brought to bear about the time society
officers are elected.
With great show of moral upright
ness, the president of the agricultural
society called the writer's attention to
the fact that he has been offered $500
by man to operate a gambling ma
chine on the grounds during the fair
but he refused the offer and told the
applicant for the privilege that he
couldn't come in for $1,000. But at
the came fair were certain "wheels"
and other gambling devices as objec-
tionable in reality, though not in APP
pearance, as was the one forbidden
county, gamblers were present and did
business with unblushing publicity and
when anyone interfered by advising
others to keep away from the machine,
the gambler called upon the police Of
ficers of the fair for protection and
they told the public they must not in
terfere with the game.
But it is unnecessary to 60 into de-
tails on this subject. Everyone who
attends fairs knows of the evils so
VIGOROUSLY flgrant AT two of these
fairs within the writer's observation,
merchants removed their exhibits from
the grounds before the fair closed on
account of the obnoxious presence of
many fakirs. That is one way--and
an effective one-to protest against
"fakirism."
There is another class of these mon
ey grabbers, possibly little less OBJ
noxious and yet quite as harmful in
some respects. refer to the fortune
tellers, or palmists. Whatever good
there may be in palmistry, we're pref
ty sure to find all that's bad in it when
practiced by peripatetic retailers of the
art on our county fair grounds. No
sensible person, unless it be for the
fun of it, will ever consult one of these
travelling witches" and yet many do
whose mental processes are 80 easily
influenced by what is predicted that
evil results are quite likely to follow
An example is at hand, the incident
having occurred at Middletown, N. Y.
A sixteen-year-old girl attempted to
commit suicide by cutting her throat,
and was nearly successful in the at
tempt. The razor barely missed the
jugular vein, but severed the vocal
cords and larynx 30 that it is unlikely
the girl can ever speak again. 1t ap.
pears that she attended the fair the
day before, and the "palmist" told her
she W ould meet many disappointmer ts
in life, be Tilted in love, ETC., and the
prediction so preyed upon her mind
that she was driven to suicide. This
is an extreme illustration, but, doubt
!. less, there are many who believe just
enough in the mystical powers of the
fortune tellers to allow their unfavor-
able horoscopes to make them miser-
able for all time thereafter. This and
the scores of other ATTRACTIONS" at
county fairs, side shows of every name
and nature, are demoralizing and de.
grading in their tendencies, and, there
fore, ought to be banished from such
places. If these things are necessary
to attract people to the fair, then call
it "The Blank County Aggregation of
Coney Island Side Shows" and not an
agricultural fair. With horse races ga
lore, Wild West riders, Japanese jug.
glers, trapeze performances and enid
ways" of every sort, the agricultural
part of the fair seems we'll nigh forgot
ten, and it's purpose obliterated in the
endeavor to draw crowds and increase
the gate receipts, -Agricola, in New
York Tribune.
LUCAS COUNTY,