The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-11-11
Audit Shows Association Made $780,
600, Which Cleans Up 1911
Debt Of $4,000.
MOST SUCCESSFUL IN HISTORY

Io1A, VI LAC 6IOuAuS Uct"ccA Mill
neapoffs and st. Paul.
Nearly four hundred thousand peo-
pie passed through the gates of this
great Northwestern exposition dur
ing six days. The receipts amounted
to practically $275,OO0, or enough
to pay the expenses of the fair and
leave about $4,000 to be applied on
last years deficit. These figures
place the fair just closed in a class
by itself and leaves the North Star
state without a near competitor.
While, in last analysis, the at
tendance and the revenue are the
results by which the success of any
fair. is judged, the Minnesota state
fair of 1912 will go down in history
as far more than a mere amusement
drawing card and a revenue produc-
er. It was the most comprehensive
and the best balanced state fair ever
held in Minnesota or elsewhere, and
it taught more practical lessons to
more people than any school ever did
in a much longer period.
Aided by almost perfect weather,
every event of the weeks program
was given according to schedule and
every department filled with the fin
est exhibits ever gathered together,
was viewed, studied and enjoyed by
tens of thousands of visitors every
day.
Perhaps the department most talk
ed about was the agricultural. In
this building, there were housed the
best soil products of forty-six of
Minnesota's counties, representing
about seventy per cent of the states
area. In artistic arrangement and
in valuable information strikingly
told, these exhibits were superior. to-
anything of the kind ever seen. The
story of Minnesota, agriculturally,
was told. in a line under this one
roof and over 100000 people took
advantage of the opportunity. There
were many remarkable exhibits, but
the counties scoring the highest were
Houston in the Southern section,
Douglas in the Central and Roseau
in the Northern section.
In the live stock department there
were more horses, cattle, sheep and
swine than ever taken part in a Min
nesota show before and there was
more general interest in the judg-
ing and awards. ~-
Minnesota is coming into her own
as a live stock producing district,
and the breeders and general farmers
accepted the state fair chance of see
ing and studying all of the best types
and will profit by what they learned.
On Machinery Hill seventy acres
of space was crowded with all of the
most improved implements and in
ventions, and this district was one
of the most popular of the big
grounds. In connection with the
machinery department., the automo-
bile show in the grand stand build
ing, proved to be a real attraction,
and all of the dealers represented
there reported remarkably good bust
ness, and almost without exception,
have signed up for space for the
1913 fair. They agree that at no
other automobile show are they fur
nished with such a great buying au-
dience.
There is not space to take up the
various departments in detail, but in
the woman's, apiary, dairy, poultry,
horticultural, Horticultural, liberal
arts and other departments there
were great exhibits and unusual
audiences.
The amusement program needs lit
tie comment, as the grand stand at
tendance of 146,004 during the week
is proof positive that the horse races,
the automobile races, the night show,
the vaudeville, the aeroplanes, bal
looms and other features, were high
class and what the people want
The advance argument that there
would be something to interest
everyone was proven to have been
founded on fact. Nearly four hun
dred thousand people of all classes
and from all parts of the country,
| came, saw and went home praising
the greatest of state fairs. After
| all, the greatest thing accomplished,
is to have brought so many people
together, and given SO many chance
to meet and study their neighbors
and their common needs.
Report of the ticket audit depart
ment shows the attendance. during
the week as follows: 800
noHudy .lIl,lI
tuesday 41,s26
"Wednesday 1881
Thursday 6O.221
Friday 1881
] Continued On last passl.