The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-06-30
RAISED
OVER COUNTY
FAIR DEAL
ACTION OF 6OARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONER is SUBJECT OF
FIERCE CRITICISM - CHARGED
WITH "PLAYING POLITICS."

When it became public yesterday
afternoon that the Board of County
Commissioners had turned down the
county fair proposition there was a
lusty roar from a majority of the
business men of the city who had
been led to believe that the county
commissioners were acting in good
faith and in favor of the bill, and
would authorize the levy when the
matter was put up to them in legal
| form.
There were all sorts of charges
against the county commissioners, but
the principal charge was that Of play
ing politics, and, as whole, they
seemed to resent the action OF the
board on this ground.
In their statement yesterday the
chairman of the board gave the rea-
sons why the board rejected the
measure, but this does not seem to
satisfy the majority of the citizens
who wanted the fair, and were ready
to back the county commissioners in
making the levy.
Secretary West of the Chamber Of
Commerce, when interviewed on the
subject this morning, was very EN-
| phatic in his criticism of the actions
of the board and gave as his reasons
the following:
The elections were held in every
township in the county. The elections
in two townships failed-that at Lone
Grove and At Pooeville, in every 9TH
er township, which was a majority
and legal the voters wanted the
fair, and in Berwyn township, the
home of Commissioner Young, the
vote was unanimous, and Mr.. Young
himself was one of the most enthu
sastic taxpayers present at the meet
ing
The people of the county as a
whole wanted the fair, and there must
have been some motive in the action
of the commissioners in turning the
proposition down.
PERSONALLY do not believe that
the board acted in good faith with
the taxpayers. but when they went
to the excise board and asked them
(
down if they failed to make an agree
ment between the city and the com
missioners for the erection of the
necessary buildings, it looks to me
as if they wanted to keep the af-
fairs of the association in the hands
of the board of county commissioners
when i should be delegated into the
hands of the fair association when the
levy was made and the association
organized. it was out of the hands
of the county commissioners and
they had nothing more to do with II.
81 make this statement so that the
business men and the taxpayers OF
Carter county may place the blame
for not having a county fair associa-,
tion where it belongs, and not cen
sure the agricultural agent or myself,
as secretary of the Chamber of Com
merce, for the failure of the Board
of County Commissioners in not com
plying with the wishes of the citi'
zens of Carter county.
Il find from legal standpoint that
the action of the board in this mat
ter was illegal, as it was not an ad-
iourned session of he board, neither
was it called session. and a. this
session no matters could be legally
transacted except those of board
of equalization
1t seems that the people want the
fair, and there is liable to be a lively
scrap precpitated over the matter
yet
Nearly every county in the state
has made a levy for county fair pur'
poses, and it is the general concen'
sus Of opinion of the best business
men of the city that Carter county
should not take step backwards
nor gaIIon