The Western news. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1890-1977, 1910-10-11
UTMOST SUCCESS CREETS
RAVALL'S GREAT EXPOSITION
Fair Ends in Whirl of Excitement and
Is Now Theme of Daily
Conversation

Ending in excitement and enthusia
asm, the Great Ravalli County fai
closed its gates Saturday night upor
a large and satisfied crowd and im7ne
diately became the theme of daily con
versation in the Bitter Root valley. Sc
great was the success of the fair, un
der the guidance of the careful and eff
ficient management, that Ravalli coun.
ty is in the anomalous position of feel.
ing surprised at it's own good efforts
There is now no doubt that the fail
Will be made a permanent annual in
stitution. The residents of the valley
have awakened to the value of it's pos
sibilities. They responded bountiful-
ly to the call for premiums and the
valley, the famed fair spot of all the
west, made showing that justified all
/ that has been said of it and it's peo-
pie in the past. The fair was an ex-
position of peerless Bitter Root prod
ucts, an exhaustive and painstaking
collection that impressed every visit
or to the grounds
Up to last night no official list of
prize winners had been prepared. The
secretary's office was swamped with
the work of entering up the awards.
only fragmentary awards could be OBJ
tanned, and none will be given out for
publication until the list of winners is
complete. These will be published in
full in The Western News.
The Big Attendance.
The patronage surpassed the ex-
pectations of the promoters. Fridays
record of nearly 1850 paid admissions
made Missoula day a great event.
Counting passes and concessionaires,
there were $500 people on the grounds.
Saturdays record kept up the stand
ard, while the days program contained
added features.
The presence of Senator Dixon Fri
day as the principal speaker for Mis-
soula day, was responsible for in
creased interest. The genial senator
was in a happy mood. He made a
home-like talk, as to neighbors, MAX
ing it plain that he himself felt very
much Bitter Rooter.
The senator was introduced by w.
J. Tiedt, president of the fair, who, in
a few words, outlined the purpose of
the fair, and then presented Senator
Dixon, who responded with an address,
in which he spoke at length of the
beauty, the resources and the future
of the Bitter Root valley.
Dixon Speaks.
Il want to congratulate you on the
part of the people of Missoula, you,
the good people of Ravalli county, for
the energy that is represented by this
fair" said Mr.. Dixon. I'VE are all
Bitter Rooters, from Ross Hole to the
mouth of the Bitter Root river, we
all belong to one great family. We in
Missoula will not allow you people up
here to lay all claim to the name
Bitter Rooters for we are with you
and are all Bitter Rooters. The fact
that this is the most beautiful valley
in the country is being more and more
firmly impressed upon my mind every
trip | make up here. During the past
20 years l have been in every state in
the Union, with the exception of
Tot h
them all skinned to death
One Little Spot Prettier.
"a short time ago a gentleman from
Washington, D. c., an old newspaper
man, came to Missoula, and from
there he visited the valley, spending
two days up here among you. When
he returned to Missoula he wrote me
a letter at Washington, dated at 2
O'Clock in the morning, at the Florence
hotel, in which he stated that he had
travelled all over the world, and, with
the exception of one little canton in
Switzerland, he had never seen any
thing that compared with the Bitter
Root"
Senator Dixon then took up the po-
sition of the farmer body, compared
with the farmers of the past, showing
that he was surely coming into his
own, that the producer from the soil
was reaping a proportionate part from
his labors. He quoted statistics to
show that this was true. He argued
that the day of intensified farming
had arrived, that hired labor was be-
coming obsolete, that it was now the
day of the small unit with the owner
tilling his own soil. He spoke of the