The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-04-13
The County Fair.

Why has the county fair fallen into
correct answer to this query, we may
discover why the boys and girls are so
bent on leaving the farm for town and
agriculture in many places is anguish
ing.
The county fair stands for agricul-
tural prosperity-the spirit of prog
ress in husbandry The live, pros
porous. spiritually healthy farming
sections of the United States are hold
ing their time-honored county fairs
today: the dead. calamitous. morbid
rural communities are not. fair is
to an agricultural county what
chamber of commerce is 10 an ambi-
tious city. The town that has "hus-
tie" TO il reflects that quality through
an aggressive. compact organization
of its citizens whose public spirit is
indefatigable. and, by the same token.
the county that blossoms perennially
with new farm houses. new barns,
new fences plenty of paint and white
wash. and whose cultivated landscape
smiles with the abundance of its
promise. reflects these evidences OF
thrift in an annual exhibition OF its
field resources and household indus
tries
Some shallow souls who pine to
leave the comparative peace and plen-
jy of an indifferently worked farm
for four-bit job and a nerve-racking
life in some pent-up Utica may sheer
at the county fair as antiquated and
the legitimate target of the bucOllc
humorists of the press. Let the light
heads sneer, and wnen they have rid
the cheated soil of poor plOwbOy by
taking themselves 10 town, by all
means resurrect the old county fair.
When it has been held several sue
cessive falls you will realize that you
have better county.
We are glad to see a revival of in
terest in this matter in many parts of
the south The other day Mr. NJ V.
Richards. the well-known land and
industrial agent Of the Southern rail
way. was in Columbia, s. c.. and while
there gave 1Ae State a common-sense
Interview on the subject of county
fairs After showing the pecuniary
advantage to the farmers TO come to-
gether at a competitive agricultural
exposition once a year and compare
notes on all branches of their work,
MIR. Richards said:
To meet with the best success the far
mer must become actively Interested; ne
must take hold of the work and give it
his serious consideration; view il and
handle il as a straight business PROPOSE
ton. Every farmer in South Carolina.
whether little or Ing, will promote his
best interests by resolving at once that
be will support the county fair move
ment, and act upon that resolution. Now
Is the time TO prepare for the fair season
1853; We should not put it of. The farm
ers should take it up and treat 1t as per
sCnal matter. perfect an organization and
start right in with the view Of holding a
fair next fall Do not wait for your neigh
Dor to take the initiatiVe-he may not act,
let your business engagement calendar
show this memorandum:
We are going to hold a fair in tniS
county am to see some of the farmers
and arrange for a meeting to consider
plans of organization. etc"
have attended fairs in many northern
states and in Canada and can seriously adj
wise the people of the south to patron
ize their local county fair The towns
people should interest themselves also
and | have no doubt will do SO, if ap-
preached.
This is sound advice. The towns
people will only be too glad to do
their part. but ii is for the farmers TO
realize the value of the movement
get enthusiastic over it and take the
initiative.
The Constitution hopes to see. and
believes it will have the pleasure of
seeing. more county fairs in Georgia
this fall than have been held since
the war.