The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-01
State Fair rs Ready for Uisitors

/ the Minnesota state fair has regained the
supremacy.
Improvements and Announcements over
preceding fairs there are good and plen-
| ty. 1t is, indeed, difficult to select a be-
| ginning, but let US start at that all-im-
! portant matter of communication which
has kept many a business man away
| from entertainment. A brand new tele-
| phone system has been installed Forty
| wires, running through the avenues of
| the grounds, tell something-all one needs
! to tell. There also is a new lighting Sys-
| tenn, and street cleaning arrangement,
one that would make Col. Warnings fam
Gus white wings look dusty, and all
kinds of things.
Not the least is the fire protection
While everyone is familiar with fire.
fighting apparatus, not everyone has ex-
perienced the pain of scorch. Some $12-
| coo has been expended in the last year
for water supply, and horses stand
pitched to engines night and day. 1t may
call forth sympathy for the animals to
know they must sleep standing, but
horses can enjoy it, If human beings
cannot, and protection to life and prop
erty is thereby made much more secure
1t was only year ago that fire
destroyed a very considerable portion of
the fair, buildings and exhibits. That
this can never happen again seems now
to be assured There are over 5000 feet
Of l6-inch mains in direct connection
with the water works of st. Paul with
steamer, hose carts and chemical eng ne.
In the district which the flames sdevas-
tated, there has since. grown up a. sec
ton as new and improved as followed the
conf1agration which for time put Chi
cago in misery and was followed by a
growth like upon fallow lot. The dis
aster of then shines as a benefit now.
NEW AGRICULTURAL HALL.
Other building improvements have
taken place. First of all comes the new
agricultural hall, erected at cost of
$25,O00. The money appears to have been
well invested. There has also been am adj
d1tion to the grand stand to accommo-
date 5000 persons, making a total ca
pacity of over 1900. Custom, probably,
is responsible for the addition havina
been given the rather stigmatized name
Of "bleachers," but the crowds who enjoy
the pyrotechnie displays at night win
stand for the name when they can sit
in the stand. A new entrance added to
the grand stand with doors twelve feet
wide, and a large, open space after-pas-
sage will also be found to not only afford
convenience but lessen danger from the
nimble fingers Of pickpockets.
These doors were not put up to lessen
expense Of police, however The police
force has been increased both in mounted
and footmen in order to secure he great
est safety for visitors, the most orderly
conduct by them, and, incidentally, to
persuade the small boy to work his pas
sage instead of to steal surreptitiously
over, under or through the fence.
When it comes down to cold, hard
money strung up in packages hanging
| over the heads of all who care to con
test, the Minnesota state fair carries of
the blue ribbon of the country Not to
be content with previous records, how
ever, the amount has been increased by
$4,000 this year.
1t is a question with an inexperienced
fair goer whether the amusement or the
| utility end of the show is of most benefit.
| Secretary Randall says each has an in
, ming and a productive one People, he
thinks, must have a recreative amuse-
ment, and he points out the growing pop
ularity of the midways at all of the
great expositions, not only of this coun-
| try, but abroad. Yet he insists that the
Minnesota state fair is of practical bene-
| Mt In business way to the residents of
| TINS state. Not the weakest of his argu-
ments in support Of this claim is the