Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-01-23
WILL THE PILOT TAKE NOTICe7

amusement and decrease in attendance
as compared to other years.
We were condemned, criticised and
ridiculed by the WAUsAU PuoT for our
pains. until we had about concluded
that Wausau would be satisfied with
the kind of fairs that went out of bush
ness many years ago. That is. if the
Pilot was to be relied upon, but there
are others in our sister city, who have
ideas on the subject, will be seen from
the following, taken from the issue of
the Wausau Herald of week ago:
Here follows the criticism of the
Herald published in last weeks PLoT.)
This is along the suggestions we made
last fall and is the plan that the Merrill
fairs has followed for several years past
and is just as we stated before, fair to
be popular and to please the people
must have something else besides stock,
pumpkins and horse races. We hope
that they will be able to get this through
Genes head in time for him to smoke
up and do something before another
fair rolls around.-Merrill News.
The Merrill News, like the Wausau
Herald, has wrong conception of
what sho,1ld constitute a county
agricultural fair. 1t is not circus by
any manner of means nor should there
be any attempt made to run fairs along
circus lines. The management that
attempts to make the circus feature
paramount win make dismal failure of
its fair and it ought to. Twice in the
history of the Marathon county fairs,
within the past fifteen years, has the.
circus plan been attempted. The first
time left the society heavily in debt,
the following year it was tried again
and the management went still heavier
into debt and was unable to pay the
premiums. They were finally paid at
about go cents on the dollar. During
the two years the farmers lost conf
dence, became disguised and refused to
have anything more to do with the
fair, until it finally was taken up by
such men as S. M. Quaw, John Klefer,
Robert Plisch, w. +. Hewitt, John
Ringle, l.. X. Wright, E. c. thinner
man, M. H. Duncan, Geo. Rick, H. c.
Head, A. F. Marquardt, Robert Free
man, Pat German and others.
Since 1892 the fairs have been con-
Quoted solely with view of benefitting
the farmer, and it has grown to such an
extent along these lines that today the
Marathon county fairs are held up, by
those who know what good fairs are, in
this and other states as model by
which to follow. Agricultural fairs are
for the farmers; there they can make
display of fine cattle, horses, poultry,
sheep and produce and profit by each
others experience and good horse
races suffice for attraction. The SAME
money expended for a cheap circus
affair like diving horse or balloon
ascension, will bring a herd of fine
cattle or horses for exhibition, which is
of some benefit to the farmer.
The Herald and the Merrill News
both make the statement that there
was a decrease in attendance at the
last Marathon county fair as compared
with other years, on account of the
lack of circus features. This is a state
ment that is utterly without foundation
The receipts of the last Marathon
county fair were the largest for any
one fair ever realized in the history of
the society.
The PILOT reiterates what it has said
before, that the Marathon county fairs
have been conducted just as they should
have been; by so doing the farmers
have been able to get larger premiums;
by so doing the stock has been vastly
improved in the county and the society
is very prosperous and has the finest
grounds and finest stables of any socie-
ty in Wisconsin, While the Wausau
Herald and the Merrill News are de-
nouncing the manner in which the Mar
athon county fairs are conducted, the
PILOT will publish few extracts from
articles written of our fast fair by those
who know what good agricultural fairs
are. The Superior Telegram had a re-
porter here representing its Farmers
Fraternity and Fireside" department.
He said
spent Wednesday and Thursday,
Sept 18th and 9Th, on the fair grounds
at Wausau aud met many of the
officials They all seemed to be bent
on one object, and that was to carry
on strictly agricultural fair and to
make it success which should be free
from all fakism and other low forms of
amusement. AS to whether they were
accomplishing these results could be
seen by any casual observer. In fact
there was not fake on the grounds,
and in the two days was present there
was not single disorder. The only
attraction outside of the exhibits and
various live stock shows, was the races
and the splendid music furnished by
the association Praise is certainly due
the management, but the people
seemed to be assisting the manage
ment, to the same end. On Thursday
every business concern and store in
Wausau was closed so that the people
of Wausau might all attend the fair.
On Thursday there were about 10000
people present. They are well equipped
also for the accommodation of all ex-
hibitors which bespeaks their financial
success. The live stock exhi-
bit, especially the cattle, was consid-
cred by the Judge, Prof. Densmore,
of the Iowa college, as one of the best
he ever saw at county fair"
The Wisconsin Agriculturist gave the
fair a five or six column write up. From
it the PILOT can only make the follow
ing brief clipping
"Once more the famous Marathon
county fair at Wausau has scored big
success. And we are glad of it. The
organization that has this fair in charge
has done work that will make it live
long in the history of American fairs
They have demonstrated time and
again, and without question of doubt,
that a strictly 100 per cent pure,
absolute, agricultural fair can be made
a success and that it is appreciated by
all the people in the territory. They
have shown that all the people are
interested in pure live stock and that
they are more than glad to have an
opportunity to watch it judged and to
listen to the lectures on stock by men
who are expert in the business And