Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1907-04-05
NO USE KNOCKING
County Fair VIII Come, But Not by
DlscOuraging Smaller Shows.

DALLAS, Or, April 2-(To the
Editor. For years I have been de
lighted to know that we have in the
editor Of the Observer a man who
says just what he thinks, no matter
whose OK is gored, and find that the
present case is no exception to the
general rule. But 1 think it is the
EDITORS OK that is gored this time. He
appears to think that / am not a very
bad sort of fellow, but tries at much
length to make the readers Of the OBJ
server think am opposed to our great
goat industry, while there is not the
slightest doubt In my mind that
Angora goats are the best stock in
Oregon for the timber pasture.
have kept them for 90 years, and |
think more of them now than / ever
did.
The OBSERVER agrees with me that
we should have good County Fair
each year, where we can exhibit our
fine animals, grain, fruit, vegetables,
ladies' needle work, bread, etc, in
fact everything grown, raised or
owned in this county. But where he
does not agree with me is that he
claims We must have a special Goat
Show every winter. | would like to |
ask the editor to be consistent and |
give every breeder and producer in |
Polk county equal privileges. I want
him to compute how many special |
shows he win require in a year. One
every third day, find, will not give
every industry a special show. So
think that be and / ought to see that |
life is short and 90 to work for a
County Fair, as I am sure we can
have one Of the best fairs in North
America. I must admit, however,
that We must hold special shows of
horses and bulls at this season of the
year, but these shows would not him
der us from showing the same ami
mails at a County Fair in the Fall.
fright here, Mr.. James Elliott, the
writer of the foregoing letter, knocks
his own arguments against special
shows into a cooked hat, and there
would seem no particular use of pub
fishing the remainder of his commu-
nication, which is devoted entirely to
an effort to show that the special fairs
for which Polk County has become
famous do not give equal privileges
and advantages to all stockmen in
their blooded animals If
he is going to except the horse and
cattle breeders from his list and
permit them to hold special shows,
he will have to grant the equal
privileges" upon which he so
persistently harps, to the raisers Of
goats, sheep, swine and poultry as
we'll. The fact Of the business is, this
is free country and the stockmen
have right to hold their shows when
ever they see fit If some of the
farmers do not care to take part in the
shows, that is their own business.
1t is not worth while to waste space
In discussing this matter farther, or
to permit it to be done in our columns
by others. The Oregon Angora Goat
Show at Dallas is an established insti-
tuition, and valuable one, and it is
certain that these exhibits will be
continued until such time as the goat
breeders shall decide to combine their
display with those Of other stockmen
in IA general County Fair. Leading
goat men have urged such a combina-
tIon for years, and right now have a
committee appointed from their num-
ber to select suitable site for county
fair grounds.
Mr.. Elliott has, as he says, been
breeder of Angora goats for many
years, but If he has ever exhibited an
animal at the annual show, we do
not recall having seen it, MIR. Elliott
also has large orchard almost inside
the corporate limits of Dallas, but if
he has ever shown box OF apples or
plate of prunes at the local fruit
fairs, we do not remember it. It would
be onlyfair to conclude that man who
has taken so little interest In the
smaller exhibitions would not be
overly enthusiastic in showing his
nrOducts Mt n larot T fair hnt the On