The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-07-16
PREPARING
FOR THE

On Monday evening the directors
of the fair held their weekly meet.
ing and among other things, received
the verbal report of E. M. Kennedy
who has recently returned from trip
to Chicago and other points in the
Prairie states where he made care
full study of some things pertaining
to fairs Mr.. Kennedy is chairman
of the aviation committee, and visited
the headquarters of the bird men in
Chicago and Kansas City to learn
what he could of the mysteries OF
hiring and getting aerial fights al
the time they are wanted. It will be
remembered that many Idaho towns
have suffered disappointments in
these matters when their shrewdest
men were doing their best and prom
Using fine things that failed to ma
terialize. Last year our fair associa-
tion fought the trouble by mail and
by wire, separately and collectively,
personally and as body, from some
time in August until the last hour
of the fair, and got one fight and
part of another. Some who were
watching the maneuvers closely re-
call that fine fellow named Hill
came here to fly and found he had
no contract and that another man
named Weaver held the contract for
the business.
Chairman Kennedy took one look
(fgure of speech) at Weaver and ev'
pressed the opinion that he was a
hard man to deal with, that he would
do number of different things If
he had a chance, each of which he
tried to do during the week, and the
board had full week of maneuvers
and grief. In the words of the street,
Mr.. Kennedy called the turn" as to
Weaver on sight, and Secretary Car
ruth called Weaver worse than that
when he chased him out of the office
the evening of the last day of the
fair.
Well, as we were telling you, Ken
nedy hunted up the bird men in
Chicago, and found that was no place
for western man to engage men to
fly in western states. Kansas CITY
seemed to be the headquarters for
western territory so as he came west
Mr.. Kennedy investigated. He learned
that there are in the United States
only about one hundred successful
fliers, and they are controlled by half
"a dozen bureaus. Flights cost from
two or three hundred to thousand
dollars a day, fiier is killed occas-
ionally, the risks are great and no
guarantees can be made. machine
with a 40-horse power engine can
fly in the humid atmosphere of the
prairies but if they send him out into
the dry atmosphere of the plains 1t
takes a 60-horse. power engine to
make it rise. When they send man
to ascend in the dry atmosphere and
higher attitudes of the plateau be-
tween the Rocky and the Sierra Neva-
da mountains, he needs S0-horse
power and long purse for the ex-
penses.
Blackfoot, Idaho, has the name Of
being in dry valley $500 feet above
sea level, with lots of trees and the
biggest and best fair in the state.
That is what the airmen in Kansas
City say about it, and they say that
it is useless to come so far unless
there are three or more fairs con-
tracted to receive him. Mr.. Kennedy
told the directors good many in
teresting things about these matters
that we are not going to tell you un-
IL he gets the necessary engagements
made for flights at Blackfoot. They
say the good die young, and Mr.. Hill,
the man who came here to fly last
fall, the man everybody liked so well
and who was crowded out by Weaver,
lost his life in flight at Los Angeles
during the winter. Mr. Weaver, the
man who wanted to do anything and
everything but what the directors
wanted him to, is still alive as Mr..
Kennedy discovered down in Kansas
City the other night. He met Weaver
in the lobby of hotel and pausing
said to him, Hello Mr.. Weaver! Do
you know me?" Weaver took his
hand mechanically and replied,
why, 6 d you, do you
think could ever forget you?"
This unexpected compliment ex-
cited the curiosity of an airman who
was walking with Mr.. Kennedy, and
the man remarked that he would not
give Weaver 5000 week as bird
man. Mr.. Kennedy replied. "Our
fellows at Blackfoot wouldn't let him
coma tn town again for 5000 f"