The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-11-01
THE TOPEKA FAIR.

THE TOPEKA FAIR.
The fate Of Topeka's fair IL not
hanging in the balance az some kind
friends in other sections Of the state
imagine, Just because the bad weather
of the last fair week SO cut down the
attendance as to keep the revenues
considerably below the expenses. The
Topeka business men who have
financed this fair for the past few
years, with the aid OF the county in
the matter Of providing some OF the
fine buildings on the grounds. are not
built along the lines Of cutters. They
have met reverses before in many di-
rections, and II they had been in the
habit Of succumbing to them. Topeka
wouldn't be the prosperous and grow
ing city that 1t Is today. The meeting
of the stockholders and officials OF
the fair association which has been
called for Monday night II not for
the purpose Of winding up the affairs
Of the organization. or permitting the
fair to degenerate into nothing more
than a horse-race meet. It IL for the
purpose Of devising ways and means
to meet the present obligations Of the
association and to provide the sinews
for making the necessary preparations
for next years fair. which in the nat
ural order OF the growth of well
established institution will be bigger
and better than any of the really great
fairs that have preceded It in the past
few years.
From the standpoint Of an agricul-
tural exposition and an Amusement
center, the fair Of this fall was super
Tor to anything Of the kind that has
ever been staged in Kansas. It has
this reputation and prestige among
the fair experts Of the country and il
ranked among the first five fairs west
of the Mississippi. During the years
that H. L. Cook has been at the helm
as its secretary, the organization OF its
management has been developed to
the point where the actual cost of the
conduct Of the fair this year was sew
eral thousand dollars less than it was
the year before. This organization
still continues, regardless OF the re-
erettable fact that Mr.. Cook has de-
termined to sever his connections with
it. He was tho king-pin. the genius
Of this organization but the structure
that he has erected does not neces-
sarily fall because he leaves it. And
SO, the fair, as q matter OF fact, is in
q position to continue on its successful
way.
There were a number OF unfore-
seen and unavoidable conditions
which initiated against the financial
success of this years fair that are not
likely to come again, at least not in
a bunch. The decidedly unfavorable
80 (n1x
was the paramount agency in cutting
down the attendance. But there was
another important cause that also
worked in this direction. Topeka, the
surrounding country, and all of Kan
sas, for that matter. were in the last
stages Of one Of the worst and longest
continued drouths that had ever been
experienced by them. When the To-
peka fair week rolled around, most
Kansans, and especially the agricul-
turists, were developing the real thing
In the blue funk line. They were in
no mood to trapse around and spend
their money travelling to and visiting
fairs. Many Of them figured it out
that because Of the drouth the fair
wouldn't amount to much in the way
Of an agricultural exposition. But in
this they were mistaken. It was a
wonderful fair for any kind Of a sea-
son, and a most remarkable one for a
season Of drouth. AS such it was q
most valuable advertisement OF the real
substance of Kansas. and especially Of
the rich farming country that radiates
out Of Topeka in all directions.
With normal climatic conditions
prevailing in the state and an even
break in the weather during fair
week. the Topeka fair would have
been placed on q firm financial foot
ing this year. That Is what 1t has a
chance Of doing next year, provided 1t
is maintained at the high standards it
has set during the past three or four
years. Nobody realizes this, or the
value of the fair to Topeka and Kan
sas, more than the men Of Topeka
who are the bone Of the fair associa-
ton. That's why they propose to keep
it alive and add to its lustre.
And there is another important
consideration involved. 1t is the his
tory Of state fairs in other common
wealths that their first location is far
from always being their final one.
And just because Hutchinson has been
designated as the home Of the state
fair, that does not necessarily mean
that 1t will continue to be such for
ever, or even for long. It is the prov
ince and privilege OF the legislature to
change the location of the state fair.
And it wouldn't be at all surprising,
II when the time comes when the leg
islature IL asked to appropriate big
sums to equip the Hutchinson grounds
with the modern buildings that state
fair needs, 1t may decide that it would
be wise to save this expense and trans
fer the location of the fair to Topeka
where these buildings are already in
existence, and which are the property