The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-10-16
WON FIRST PRIZE BECAUSE OF
PREJuDlcED JUDGES.
EAST SIDE WAS IGNORED
Yellowstone Not Permitted to Have
Member Of Awarding Board
Decision Unpopular.

As published before in The Gazette,
there lis a disposition among the peO-
pie of Yellowstone county generally
to permit the matter of the award
made at the state fair by which Cas-
cade county was given first prize for
general display" to rest, and ma
jority deprecate anything in the di-
rection of an agitation likely to arouse
feeling They realize that all is over
and that any protest or objection rails
ed at 'ohis time would be futile and
useless and out of place and that no
good could come from it. But for all
facts declare the treatment received
was not exactly fair, and some are
decidedly outspoken in discussing the
matter.
While no fault is found with the
management, all realizing that it was
the work of the particular judges
who were selected to pass upon the
merits of the various exhibits, yet
some think that little more firmness
displayed at the right time and by
the right persons would have been
resultant of much good and the feel
ing engendered in some quarters
would now probably not exist. Those
who thus express themselves intimate
that an evident desire to propitiate
the people of Cascade county was at
the bottom of what they designate
as an unfair decision. AS proof of
this they cite the complacency shown
| in the matter of permitting the Cas-
caders to have their own way in the
selection of judges. No eastern Mon
tana man was permitted to be one Of
these. A Billings man, Mr.. Bayerd,
was recommended to the management
and it was understood that he had
been accepted. The fact that for at
least three days he was permitted to
enter the grounds ON a judges pass,
issued to him by the secretary, was
taken by those from Yellowstone coun-
| ty as evidence of the approval OF their
selection. Consequently there was
much surprise and not little dis
appointment when President Benepe
informed some of the gentlemen from
Billings that he was sorry, but the
Cascade men object to any eastern
Montana man being one OF the
| Judges and Mr.. Bayerd's name was
erased. In his place Cascade man
was appointed, giving that county
two judges, while the third was from
Missoula county and outspoken in his
intention of giving the prize to Cas-
cade. Even after the award had been
made he was heard to boastingly tell
people from Cascade that he had elk
ed" it for them
Against Eastern Montana.
"It was a case of almost everybody
against eastern Montana, and partic-
ularly Yellowstone county," declared
gentleman who was at the fair from
the opening to the closing day. '.The
exhibit made by our county, that ap-
parently had not been considered as
a possible competitor by the others
that believed themselves to have a
| monopoly of everything pertaining to
agriculture and horticulture, came in
the nature of a complete and wholly
disagreeable surprise to those who
already saw the blue ribbons tiutter-
ing from their exhibits and displays.
| They could hardly believe their own
I eyes, and when the truth was forced
upon them then they set about to
| defeat us by dishonest and unfair
means. Some of our men, particularly
! MIR. George, who acted as our rep
resentative and spokesman, informed
Mr.. Benepe and all the other officers
that we wished no prizes not honestly
won, as we were there on our mer-
it's and asked no favors, nor expected
any. We were assured that we would
be treated the same as all the others,
but we were not Fear that pique at
not having the fair located at the
northern Montana metropolis might
impel the people from thai part OF
the state to work against its success
lin after years seems to ha We rem