The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-11
STATE FAIR WILL
 BE GRAND EVENT
It Will Open Thursday Under Splendid Auspices
MANY GOOD ATTRACTIONS
Wonderful Variety Will Include United States Cavalry Drill, Bobby Wal thour, Exciting Horse Races,
 and Marvellous Midway.

The week is the most important in all calendar for this year of Grace, 19OS inso- far as the entire trolley line metropolitan district of Birmingham is materially con cerned.
 This week brings the opening day of the best fair Birmingham or Alabama ever had.
 This week will mark the turning hither of the broadest and most far-extending stream of travel that ever made for this ocean of the most unique and absorbing industrial activity that ever formed within so brief a period between any encompass ing mountains of iron. coal and lime stone known of man.
 This week will work wonders in making these busiest and most crowded of all streets still busier still more animated, still more intensely interesting to all who care to mingle with humanity when 1t is most prosperous and happy.
 A Thousand Delights.
 This week will add to the thousand charms of thrilling Birmingham thous- and delights that are new and altogether excellent.
 This week brings in the first glad hours of ten golden autumn days of worthy hopes worthily satisfied in fullest fruition.
 This week brings the dawn of brilllnat season of merriment and laughter and joy and abundant instruction in material things that make for civilization and suc- cess
 This week the thoughts and desires of old and young-and everybody in the val ley and eager thousands from nearby and afar off-will lead all footsteps to the place of play and pleasure and profit. the home of the State Fair, where "open house" will be kept from the morn of the fifteenth day of the tenth month until nighttime of the four-and-twentieth day Thursday October 18th to Saturday, Oc- tober 24th 1903.
 aye Most powerful truth is all this; and the half is not yet told"
 Opening Day Features.
 Thursday will be the opening day of perfected all arrangements for making every day a feature day." every day the best there will be as matter of fact one special great attraction for the opening day which in the nature of things cannot be given thereafter.
 This unique feature for Thursday will be the wonderful performance of Bobby Walthour the former Birmingham boy. who enjoys the envable and highly profit able distinction of being the champion cyclst of the world. He is the fastest middle-distance cyclist living or who ever lived.
 Walthour the Wonder.
 As has been already widely made known, Walthour, mounted on a bicycle, will speed around the racetraclx in front of the grandstand of the fair grounds twenty times in a ten-mile race against the fastest ten running horses entered for the regular daily racing. At the end of each mile a jockey will mount a fresh horse and dash off another mile, at the end of which third fresh horse will be mounted, and so on until the ten horses have each raced one mile in the herculean task of beating Walthour for the glitterins prize of a thousand gold dollars.
 A spectacle more thrilling cannot well be imagined and to witness it were worth thrice the price of admission through the fair gates.
 United States Cavalry.
 Yet on Thursday will be many other spectacles no less interesting. In the forenoon a full company of the Seventh United States regiment of cavalry, the most expert horsemen in the world. mounted upon their own marvellously trained warhorses, will give an exhibition trick drill in front of the grandstand; will for an hour go through evolutions and most daring performances that will make any circus or wild west show on earth look like thirty cents" to quote the ex- pressive phrase of Major Charles R. Evans, president of the Chattanooga Carnival association and himself highly trained cavalry officer and expert horse back rider.
 This cavalry drill will be repeated on Thursday night in the brilliant glare of fifty thousand candle-power electric lights
 And every forenoon and night of the fair this most thrilling of all possible cavalry drilling will be witnessed by cheering multltudes of delighted pleasure seekers The music for the drilling will be furnished by the full regimental band of the Seventh cavalry.
 Then to be thoughtfully and gladly dwet upon the thousand other absorbing attractions provided for the pleasure of an amusement-loving people, all to be seen and enjoyed to the stirring music of Me moli's splendid band. Besides this, the great Midway" shows of the Robinson Amusement company have their own splendid band. Thus there will be three great bands at the fair every day and night, and so a world of entertaining music.
 The Races.
 All lovers of the sport of kings" will bear in mind that every day there will be splendid horse racing for rich purses. This daily feature will be so thoroughly good that the fair management count con fdenty upon 1t to greatly swell their gate receipts.
 State Fair Telephones.
 The numbers and locations of the tele- phones in use by the Alabama State Fair Association are:
 Peoples 142. Fair headquarters. Ala bama National Bank building