Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1912-10-25
STANDARDS ATTACK
ON CARLY0N TRACT
WIDELY APPROVED
Business Men, City Officials and
Farmers Endorse Plan to Use
City Park for Fair.
ARGUMENTS NOT ANSWERED
Concerted Effort Being Made tu
Defeat Project at Election
Victory Probable.

The position taken editOrially by
THE WASHINGTON STANDARD last week,
opposing an initial investment of $780,
600 in a site for county fair and DEM
onstration farm, has met with express
ed approval among the business men
of Olympia and the farmers through
out the county as well.
Its owners have had the pleasure
during the last week of being assured
by representative business men of the
city. by several city officials, by farm
ers throughout the county, and by
people generally who are interested
in the. county's welfare and also in the
establishment of county fair and
demonstration farm, that the stand
they had taken was the correct one,
that the solution they had offered was
particularly feasible and that it is the
one the people of the city and county
should adopt.
The suggestion had the particular
endorsement of City Engineer E. L.
Van Epps. who highly approved the
plan of utilizing portion of Priest
Point park as a county fair and recre-
alton grounds combined and asserted
that there are several portions in the
park particularly feasible for the con.
struction of race track, if the. pro-
moters of county fair deemed it a
necessary adjunct of their display. He
mentioned several locations roughly
and volunteered his services in making
survey of portions of the park, to
demonstrate how the grounds might
be planned.
Real estate men of Olympia who
deem the Carlyon tract too expensive
property for the county to purchase
for county fair, stated their endorse
ment Of the city park plan. Merchants
Of the city and farmers throughout the
county who deem the purchase of the
Carlyon property inadvisable because
by it for project whose outcome is
problematical. approved the STAND
ARDS suggestion that this initial out
lay be made as small as possible so far
as the county is concerned until the
success of a county fair is demon
strated.
Spurred on by the stand taken by
the STANDARD a committee of taxpay-
ers of Olympia is now sending through
out the county circular setting forth
reasons why in their opinion the Car
lyon property should be rejected.
While these reasons differ from those
expressed by the STANDARD and take
up another phase of the question, they
lead to the SAME conclusion: that
$4,000 is too much money to spend
for a county fair site.
The STANDARD has made no effort
whatever during the last week to as
certain what effect, if any, it's attack
upon the Carlyon proposal might have
had. Nor has it adopted the methods
pursued by the Carlyon publicity
agent of securing the country to obtain
interviews favoring their side of the
proposition.
The demand for copies of the STAN
DARD last Saturday and during this
week, when a larger edition than usu
ally was quickly sold out, the state
ments voluntarily made to its owners
by people whom they met on the street,
and the reports received from nearly
every precinct throughout the county
indicated to them that they had struck
the right note.
They indicated further that it was
unnecessary for the opponents of the
Carlyon project to employ the old, old
game of interviews, one of the easiest
stunts in the publicity business, to
further the fight against it. The
sentiment against it is SO strong and
the arguments against it advanced by
the STANDARD put it in such light
that that sentiment was reinforced.
Among the developments Of the
week was one notable fact: the Car
lyon supporters and the Carlyon pub
licity agent continued the use of favor
able interviews. omitting in one or two
cases some statements of the inter-
viewed which did not coincide with
their purpose, and failed to make any
kind of a reply to the suggestions Of
the STANDARD or to offer any rebutting
or cOunter-arguments.
The STANDARD will not presume to
say why this was, or rather was not
done. 1t might suggest reason but
in doing so it might presume too much
1t takes the position that its argu-
ments being unattached and undisput-
ed, further arguments against the
proposal are unnecessary at the
present time.