The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-25
TO GET AT THE COST
NEW PLAN WILL BE FOLLOWED IN
SELECTING FAIR SITE.
ENGINEER TO INVESTIGATE.
BIDS AND ESTIMATES WILL BE Sc
CURED by DIRECTORS.


Each Tract Under Consideration
in Condition for Holding a Fair.
Committees Were Appointed.
Action ON Stockholders Petition
to BE Allowed TO Settle Question
of Site Was Deferred-Screven
Tract offered.
"A practical step toward finding out
which tract offered is best adapted and
most economically suited to the purpose
of Fair grounds was taken yesterday af-
ternoon at the meeting of the board OF
directors of the Savannah Fair Associa-
tion, held at the Office of the president,
Mr.. George W. Owens. This was to set
about securing estimates of the actual
work of putting the sites offered in con-
dition for holding a fair.
The meeting of the directors was well
attended, only one of the fifteen being
absent, thereby showing clearly the IN
terest that has been elected by the dis
cussion of the question of the location of
the Fair grounds The discussion was
serious and of some length, more than
an hour being required for the completion
of the business of the board.
President j. w. Jackson of the site
Committee reported the two new pro-
poxals that have been received by it, one
from the Agricultural and Mechanical
Association of Georgia, owning the Ten
Brock property, and the other from the
Merchants and Mechanics Land Com
pany, owning the Dale avenue tract Both
of these offers have been published by
the Morning News and are familiar to its
readers.
Yet another offer was made the direc-
tors, Mr.. John Screven, Jr., proffered the
Sereven tract east of the city, in which
there are some 10 acres. This tract is
not far from the Avondale rifle range.
The terms upon which the tract was Of
tered were a five-year lease, the Fair AS
sociation being privileged to remove all
buildings, save those appertaining imme.
diately to racing. and to purchase at any
time during the lease under an ascending
scale of prices, this clause being similar
to that in the offer of the Merchants and
Mechanics Land Company. The Screven
tract was offered at from $2O,0S0 to $25 900.
The principal discussion was of the Ten
Brock and the Dale avenue sites. 1t
was moved by one of the directors that
the question of an option upon the prop
erty used by the Fair Association be en-
tirely eliminated in the consideration of
the tracts to be utilized for Fair grounds,
as 1t was thought improbable that the
association would ever be in a position to
buy. but this was not received with favor
by several of the directors, who spoke
against it Immediately. The motion was
laid upon the table,
It was through the failure of the direc-
tors of the Agricultural and Mechanical
Association to grant an option that the
discussion upon that phase of the ques-
ton arose. Because of certain CONNER
cial reasons, the association felt that 1t
could not give option upon the Ten
Brock property. Some of the advocates
of that tract believe that 1t should be
chosen, even without an option being al
lowed.
A number of Others, on the other hand
were so convinced that an option should
be held upon whatever property might
be selected for the fair grounds that they
seemed to think that the failure of the
Agricultural and Mechanical AssociatI ton
to grant one entirely withdrew the Ten
Brock tract from consideration. Upon
this point there was no little discussion,
but il was finally terminated by a pro-
posal made by Col ]. H. Estil who sug-
gested that the cost of putting the three
sites under consideration in shape for
holding a fair should be ascertained and
that the directors should then take final
action.
This suggestion appealed az once to the
directors, though it was insisted that as
little time as possible be expended in get
ting the desired Information. The Site
Committee will use all dispatch In push
ing the investigation, and 1t is expected
that 1t will be ready with a conclusive
report within ten days
A resolution was proposed and adopted
to increase the Site Committee from three
to five, and authorized it to expend as
much money as may be necessary in car
ryfnS out certain instructions from the d.
rectors, these instructions being to en-
ploy an engineer to determine what work
VIII be required to nit up the tracts for
Fair grounds to advertise for bids and
reliable estimates upon the cost of that
work. building race track, grading, ETC..
and also to ascertain what railroad IA
cilities are afforded by each tract.
The increase in the number of the COM
mttee was at it's request. Mr.. jackson,
Maj. G. NJ. Ryals and Mr.. B. H Levy
the original committee, desiring that
others be added to It. Mr.. Albert wylly
and Mr.. A. B. Moore were added to the
committee by the president
In the matter. of railroad facilities for
the Dale avenue tract, 1t may be stated
that the Plant System has agreed to put
down its spur track to the grounds ca eh
year, provided the tract is selected. The
argument has been advanced that the
company might decide after the first year,
the Fair grounds being established on the
Dale avenue tract, that there was not
enough money in the business to warrant
the track being laid again without the
Fair Association putting up a substan-
tial amount to secure ii.
numerously-signed petition from the
stockholders of the Fair Association, re-
Questing that the selection of site be
left to them. was presented the directors,
but action upon 1t was deferred, the d.
rectors deciding that they have not
enough information upon the question of
sites, yet, to submit to the stockhold-
ers
The following appointments upon com
mittees were made by the president:
On Railroads.&c. Herman Myers Mr.
George W. Tiedeman and Mr.. p. A. Sto-
vail.
On Naming Committees for the State
Fair-Col. ]. II. Estill. Mr.. Leopold Adler
and Mai G. NJ. Ryals.
Several. who were informed Of the ac-
tion Of the directors in seeking
definite information upon the cost
of putting each OF the proposed tracts
in condition for holding fsir. ex-
pressed commentator, saying that the
sN..s.