Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-09-12
STATE FAIR WILL
HAVE BIG PURSES
ANIMAL Springfield Show, With Many
Novel Features, TO Open Fri.
day of This Week.
ENTRY LISTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED
Elaborate Plan of Street Decoration
and Light Illumination Is to
Be Carried Out.

/ Springfield, H., Sept 12-The Of
| fees OF the state board of agriculture
/ are now located on the state fair
| grounds, in preparation for the fair.
which opens Friday.
/ Practically all the entry lists have
| been closed and the time from now
until the opening will be devoted to
1 getting the exhibits into place Secre-
/ tary Davidson reports that he is de-
! lighted with the prospects for the fair,
and announces that he expects it to be
| the best on record.
The grounds themselves are in al
most perfect condition, having been
| carefully grOomed and the buildings,
J exhibits are now arriving and Will
greatly increase in number during the
next two days.
! Many of the live stock exhibits are
| already on the grounds. particularly
! the horses. Many Of the cattle ex-
hibits are expected by today.
! Race horses, too, have been arriv-
ing, and stationed in their barns on
| the grounds, for preliminary work
outs. The racing this year will be
more of feature than ever, and there
will be from five to six races a day.
$4,000 in Prizes.
A total Of $4,000 in purses has been
purses for $1,000 are up for the rae
ing and trotting events.
The cattle, swine and sheep exhibits,
which were barred last year on &C
count Of the hoof and mouth disease,
will be back again this year, with
larger exhibits and more varieties
than ever before. Many of these are
already on the grounds.
Secretary Conkling Of the CONNER
cial association, reports that the in
formation bureau on the court house
square, will be opened next Friday,
to furnish information for fair Wis
itors.
At the bureau, records will be kept
not only of lodging houses, and hotels,
but Of private families, throughout
the city, who are taking roomers and
boarders during fair week. The Wis
itor TO the city can thus more easily
find his way about a place to eat, and
place to sleep.
Decorations Elaborate.
The Commercial association also
announces that the day decorations
will be much more elaborate than ever
before. The system used this year
will be strings of five or six large
flags, strung across the streets. One
row will be in the state fair colors,
of red, green and orange; the next in
the national cOlOrs, and the third of
American flags. These will be strung
alternately, and will be placed in the
main thoroughfares in the city.
The night Examinations will be on
the same plan as last year, with fes-
TONED effects across the streets, with
five strings to the block. These will
be strung on the main streets, and are
expected to be in place by Thursday
night. The decorations will be in place
by the middle of next week.
The state fair schools will all be in
full swing next week. The girls school
opened last week, and will end its ses-
sion on the opening day of the fair,
when the girls prepare the governors
luncheon. The boys school opens the
day before the fair, and continues
through the week. The purpose of the
boys school is to give the boys of Illi- !
nOis the opportunity to avail them +
selves of the remarkable educational
features Of the fair, particularly along
agricultural lines. The girls school is
a liberal education in domestic econ |
omy.
Many Attractions.
Never before have such list Of at
fractions been offered at the fair. To |
begin, not one, but four airmen have
been engaged. 1t has been announced !
that contracts have been signed with /
four European war type birdmen, who |
will be on the grounds for afternoon |
and evening flights, on Friday and Sat |
urday, Sept. Is and 10.
The most sumptuous exhibition of
the whole fair will be, perhaps, the
Thearle-Duffield production with fire
works of the ballet spectacle, THE |
Last Days of Pompeii." Twenty |
Springfield girls will be presented in |
the spectacle. The program likewise |
includes the sinking of a man-of-war |
by q submarine and a battle between |
a United States battleship and a flag |
ship of the Mexican navy. The fire. |
works will start the first Monday of /
the fair and will continue nightly I'M
til Friday
AS for danger, the aeroplane artists !
will pale IN comparison with the auto |
polo games. The game is played from |
a small, light, high-powered racing /
car, exactly as horse polo is played. /
Two very able teams will compete,
and their motto is TOO fast for the |
movies"
Educational Exhibit Interesting.
OF the special exhibits, none will be
more interesting this year than the
educational exhibit, which will occu-
by the entire top floor Of the Industrial
DullQ1Qg. 1LS purpose Is 10 ILLUSTRATE
educational methods from all the in
situations IN the state. One Of the
features will be bee exhibit, gotten
up by z. A. Baxter Of Springfield,
which will show exactly how honey is
made, from the flower to the comb.
Besides the downtown information
bureau on the court house square
there will be an information stand on
the grounds conducted under the state
board of agriculture. This is to aid
visitors in finding their way about the
grounds and to and from the fair
AS an added safeguard and convent
ence TO fair visitors, complete system
Of supervision by the police will be
maintained There will be ample 20
Hoo fro and bnanffa1 aaruica xxy{t, !