The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-10-06

When the gates swing open at !.
o'clock this morning upon the eighth
annual exposition OF the Virginia state
Fair association there will be revealed
to the expecIant public the greatest
and best show--both from an educa-
tiona1 and amusement standpoint-that
Virginia ever saw, and it is a question
IL any fair ever held in the South can
compare with 1t.
with fair weather. which is pre-
dictcd for today, the opening days
record-w hlch last year reached 10000
1T ia confidently expected, viii be
greatly eclipsed today.
Nor has there ever been an edition
, of the State fair in such A complete
state of preparedness in every depart
mcnt From early morning unth late
last night the army Of carpenters.
artisans and decorators worked like
beavers, but before taps was sounded
the finishing touch had been put on
everything and the curtain viii rise to-
day upon finished, satisfying show.
In every lire of neutrality-suspicious.
and amusement--the fair is bigger and
better in every departmental moro
ambitious undertaking.
RiS Free Circus.
The grandstand has been enlarged to
practically double the seating capacity
and an additional stage erected on the
arena in front of it, and visitors viii
be entertained twice daily with pro-
gram of twenty six free, sterling free,
attractions that will compare with any
of the biggest circuses extant, while
/ in addition there will be the perfor-
mances of the aviator daring aero
naut and the display of pyrotechntcs at
night
In the farm products building fifty
zone counties are represented IN additsnns~
to the splendid exhibits Of the Bell
wood and Guinea Mil farms. which
! have been forced to take space in the
manufacturers building owing TO the
congestion. The agricultural exhibits
| exceed anything ever before shown at
a State fair in both quantity and
quality since it's Inauguration. There
! are 700 more head of poultry on ex-
/ hibition than last year, and the finest
collection of fowls one could find in a
weeks journey.
/ Great Display of Stock.
/ All day long yesterday the lowing
herds wound slowly DER the lea
meaning from the stock trains to the
! buildings in the fair grounds. and Di-
/ rector Spilman was at his wits end
to take care of the stock. Men had
to be set 10 work yesterday afternoon
to build new pens for sheep and cat
tie. The showing in every class Dr.
rector Spilnaa asserts, is without par
ailel in the history of the association
{ Horses ponies. fat cattle. swine and
sheep are there in profuson, and the
/ judges, who begin their work tomor-
row, will probably have to throw dice
i for the awards. for quality is to be
found on every hand.
One Of the features this year, which
/ is new to the fair. is a dog show.
under the auspices of the New York
Kennel club, and in this class there
are 265 entries Of ped!greed CANNES
! even when Ii comes 10 producing
dogs Virginia leads
Industrial Hall Fine.
Every available foot of space in the
industrial building is taken this year.
and visitors will find not only many
new exhibitors. but many attractive
new booths. The State agricultural
department, and the city school and
health departments will he well rep
resented. and so will the railroads.
the Chesapeake and Ohio, the South
ern and the Norfolk and Western
having attractive exhibits. Among
the elaborate private exhibits are
those of the Virginia Railway and
Power company: Virginia-Carolina
Chemical company; Dunlop Mills: Ga
leski and Hall optical companies.
Franklin Taylor company. Cottrell
Sons; Southern Manufacturing COM
pany; Purity Ice Cream company:
Corley Piano company: Standard OIL
company: and Stephen Putney Shoe
company. AT the Standard Oil booth
which is in charge of w. A.
Spilman, novel contest is to be con-
Quoted every day. five gallons of au-
tomobile oil being given away to the
auto owner whose name IS drawn from
the box and on Wednesday the
Stephen Putney Shoe company will
give away between certain hours six
hundred pairs of shoes. The booths
arc all attractiveiy decorated. and tho
interior of the building is a veritabie
fairyland. The womans department
which has space in industrial hall Ia
more complete this year than ever
before-in fact. the space-as large as
It is--does not permit of the display
of the handiwork OF Virginia women.
which was designed for It.
Midway Very Merry.
At the department of concessionairA
Fred Lewis yesterday IL was stated
that concessions had been granted to
thirty-seven shows on the merry mid
way, starting with such attractions AZ
Ferari's trained wild animal shows
one of the largest in the country
Oklahoma Biils wild west; Crazy Cur
rams autodrome; Coney Island shows
Coney Island ten-in-one shows and
freak shows. merry go-ronnds -aIid
circle swings without number. There
will be no lack of entertainment on
the merry midway. Certainty 1t offers
a greater variety of entertainment
than ever before.
II From the grandstand To the farm
products building every avaiiabie fo0&s
of space Is taken up with refreshMen&
islands and takers. Among -
churches who have attractive fsfEpMs