The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1914-09-19

Dy the COmuib1aTAOuDs Nov ~ - $500
ter. Afterwards the audience sung
Holy God"
Michigan Fair Oldest In v. 8.
The Michigan State fair Is the sixty.
fifth annual exhibition of the Michi'
gan State Agricultural society. Sig
nificance 10 given to the annual In
the statement. as the Michigan fair Is
the oldest exhibition Of Its kind In the
United States. Its birth antedates by
four years the Ohio state fair and the
other commemorative follow In varied
order In their rear.
The first exhibition was held In this
city In 1S49 on land which now Is
Grand Circus park. At the time It
was q field beyond the city limits.
The total receipts from every source
amounted to less than $4,000. 1t was
stupendous sum in those days. and
the men behind the venture were 30
encouraged by the fairs success that
they determined on a permanent or
ganization. A board of directors.
headed by Governor Ransom as the
first president, was named and
constitution and bylaws were drawn
up. The Michigan State Agricultural
society was created by a special act
of the next legislature.
One section of the act provided that
| the society may award premiums on
such articles. productions and i'm
provements as they may deem best
calculated to promote the agricultural
and household manufacturing inter.
ests OF the state. having special ref
erence to the most economical or
profitable mode of competition IN
raising the crop or stock. or In the
fabrication of the article offered; pro-
vided always that before any pre-
MUM shall be delivered. the person
claiming the same, or to whom the
same shall be awarded. shall deliver
to the president of the society IN
writing, an accurate statement and
description, verified in such manner
as the officers aforesaid may direct
of the character of the soil and the
process of preparing 1t. including the
quantity OF fertilizer applied In rails
ing the corn, or any kind and guam
tity of food in feeding the animal
as the case may be.
while entirely possible In these
days this provision on its very face
could not be complied with now.
says George w. Dickinson. genera
manager OF the state fair. The mum
Der Of exhibits for which premiums
will be given at the fair this fall rur
up into the thousands. No doubt tht
information secured from each prem
ium winner would be valuable but M
would have to add secretary, book
keeper and two or three stenographer'
to his farm payroll II he obeyed II u
the letter. We endeavor, by lectures
at the fair by those who made no
table successes In any one line O
farm work, to impart as much OF THU
: information as we can. The products
of course, speak for themselves.
"One other section In the origina
act shows how little the founders o
the fair comprehend what its future
would be. 1t reads: The real ant
personal estate which the said SO
ciety shall be authorized to take. hol'
: and convey over and above Its librar,
: and its scientific and agricultural col
lections,> shall not at any time excee
in amount the value Of 100000. Thai
of course, has necessarily bee
: changed. The state fair plant toda
. represents value close to three-qual
tiers of million dollars, and tn
4 premiums and purses offered for tn
fair this year are more than seve
times the limit imposed on the fair
property IS years ago."
: s2.482 Persons Get Pensions.
Gaylord M. Saltzgaber, Unite
!. States commissioner of pension
!. stated that deaths of veterans lai
9 year were 7.3 per cent Of the su
I vivors OF the civil war. The amour
I paid by his department in pension
: during the fiscal year ending July
!. 1918, was S172,417.516.26 and thel
b were 7s5.2s9 pensioners on the lis
! The amount showed decrease 4
Q the year ending July 1. 1914. and II
decrease will continue every year. tn
Il commissioner says.
,, "The loss by death last year wa
n $685." said Mr.. Saltzgaber. rhel
k are 4S7, 900 survivors on the rolls no'
# We paid out $7,215,0s7.65 in Micntga
e last year. The total number receivii
& pensions In this state IL S2,4S2.'