The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-19

Sloppy weather was the principal ex-
hibit at the State fair yesterday. 1t was
present TO the exclusion OF almost every
thing else II drove the heet-footed horses
of the track and made racing an impos-
sibilty. 1t converted the pleasant streets
of the the fair into quagmires Of coffee
colored clay. 1t cut down the attendance
to figure devoid OF extraordinary interest
and probably lost the State Board of Agri-
culture $4,000 in admissions. II changed
the jubilation of the previous days into
disappointment. and made cheerfulness on
the part OF the fair officials a virtue that
stole might have envied.
Water and its by-products were every
where. Rain fell constantly in Irritating
mists. Moisture dripped through the roofs
of the exhibit tents. and wetted every
thing from threshing machine TO a silk
mitten Water stood in pools on the grounds
that needs must be splashed through,
and 1t would be futile to make a guess
on how many pairs OF shoes were spoiled
or how many women's tempers were saw
edged from the maddening realization OF
ruined silk skirts. II yacht races had been
on the days programme they could have
been run without much special preparation.
There was wetness omnipresent and wholly
disagreeable.
Those that attended refused to have their
plans spoiled by cantankerous weather.
were from the country and towns out In
the State for the most part. City people
were comparatively scarce. Thousands had
come in on the steam and electric railways
for the purpose of making one days visit
and these were not deferred by the rain.
AS a matter of fact the attendance was
surprising in view of the disagreeable con-
dition of things. Although the crowd was
less by a considerable figure than the one
of Wednesday. there were. IL is estimated,
about 1900 people present. The grand
stand attendance was cut to half that Of
the day before, not many came In buggies
or carriages, the space in front of the
stand was unoccupied. but the street OF
exhibits was filled all the time and the
sideshows were well patronzed.
VISITORS DISAPPOINTED.
The impossicility Of giving races was the
keenest disappointment TO the visitors
Five cards with fast performers entered in
all of them had been arranged for the aa,,
but the clay track was made as slick as
glass on top. and nothing but a skating
match could have been held on IT, The rain
drove John Phillip Sousa and his band from
the platform in. front OF the stand TO the
center of the stand high up in the tier of
seats. The afternoon concert was none the
less enjoyed. and as IL furnished almost
the single feature of special entertainment
the attention of the crowd was she more
concentrated. The music. however. de-
lightful as IL was. could not remove the
gloom. caused by the appearance of the
track as II lay useless and deserted In front
of the stand
Just what would have been the attend
ance had the rain not spoiled things no one
can say. The officials of the fair believe
that 1t would have been from 30 900 TO g 0D0
Wednesdays crowd broke all records for
fair Wednesdays. over 5000 having been
present, and II was anticipated that an
other record would be smashed yesterday
Wednesday the Union Traction Company
hauled H. 900 people into town. the railroads
probably twice as many. and yesterday
those figures would certainly have been
far exceeded. How many people within a
radius Of 100 miles OF Indianapolis went TO
bed Wednesday night with the intention Of
fair-faring. and then had their minds
changed by the bad weather OF the morn
ing, nobody knows.
Yesterdays misfortune caused the Of
ficials OF the fair TO decide 10 hold over
Saturday. The programme that was 10
have been given yesterday will be given to-
day. races and all. and the programme
arranged for to-day will be given to-mor-
row. To-morrows programme will be CIV
Saturday. In the event that the wealth
er is clear the track will dry rapidly and
should be in shape for racing this after
noon. A brisk wind will dry IL sufficiently
although necessarily IL will be heavy and
fast time cannot be looked for
Secretary Charles Downing said yester-
day: I'VE will go ahead on the theory
that to-day did not exist. and we will carry
each programme one day ahead That
will necessitate giving the fair Saturday.
and IL the rain let's up the public will be as
well of. on the whole. as II the bad wealth.
er had not come. All exhibits will be open
Saturday on previous days. There will
be Just as much fair and not thing will
be removed from the grounds until the en-
tire exposition comes TO an end"
TENTS CROWDED.
The Administration building, the wom-
ans building. the headquarters OF the news
papers and the exhibit tents that had rest
seats for the weary were crowded all aft
ernoon by those anxious 10 get out OF the
rain After the concert OF Sousa's band I'm
the grand stand. the Indianapolis Military
Band played for two hours on the veranda
of the Administration building. The big
buildings In which the art and agricultural
displays were made were crowded 10 their
capacity as were the halls where the ma
chinery was on view. The horse and cattle
barns and the sheep and swine pens were az
well visited as on former days. II takes
more than drops OF water 60 dampen the