Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-09-22
SPRINGFIELD GETS THE
DAIRY SHOW.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

| The dairy experts of the United
States Department of Agriculture here
are getting ready to betake themselves
and their exhibits to the great national
dairy show which is to be held in
Springfield this year.
No, not Springfield. ILL.,, nor Spring
field. Ohio. nor yet Springfield. Mo. All
good towns, and centrally located. But
the national dairy schow. one of the
biggest and most important fairs that
is held in the United States, is going
way up into the corner of the map and
take place at Springfield. Mass.
The way this came about is an inter
esting incident in the great American
sport of capturing conventions to-
gether with the prestige, dollars and
fun that accompany them. Throughout
| It's existence of about a dozen years
the big dairy show has always been
held in Chicago. Last year the cpl
demic of foot-and-mouth disease pre-.
vented 1t, and endangered the lives OF
a lot of valuable cattle. The dairymen
decided to have 1t somewhere else this
year.
That left a wide-open chance for any
city with enterprise. st. Louis ana
Kansas City not unnaturally thought
they were the only competitors worth
mentioning. Both were large, rich ana
centrally located. They piled oe1ore
the dairymen amazing amounts OIL
money and pledges of still more. They
casually mentioned their fine hotels
and ideal locations.
Then the committeeman from Spring
field stepped forward They could not
outbid the big
Conn n,itfoa Mokaa western cities,
but they had one
One Strong Point. powerful argu-
ment: new England needed that show
more than any other section of the
country. After making it perfectly
clear which one of the several SPRING
fields they represented. the committee
men explained that agriculture in New
England was undergoing a tardy and
much needed revival. and that this re-
vival required the dairy show as
stimulus. New England is only pro-
ducing about rs per cent of what she
eats, although perfectly capable of pro-
ducing 100 per cent. The result of her
dependence upon shipment is that 1t
costs a workingman 80 per cent more to
live In New England than in the west
or south. Now. New England is the
factory of America, and that factory
requires the support of a farming in
dustry that can feed it at a reasonable
cost. Generous crops in New England
mean cheaper manufactured goods for
the rest of the country.
Thus argued the New Eng1anders. and
the dairymen were convinced. st. Louis
and Kansas City wanted the dairy
show. but Springfield needed it for
specific purpose; so Springfield got it.
The dairy show will bring to New Eng
land specimens Of the finest blooded
stock In the world, both horse and cat
tie: 1t will bring exhibits of all the
latest machinery and appliances for
dairying and farming. 1t will bring ex-
perts from all the states and the fed
eral government to preach the methods
of scientific dairying and stockraising.
1t will stimulate competition through
out New England. The value of such
a show to a section which Is working
to build up its agricultural industries
can scarcely be overestimared.
The preparations that are going
forward in Springfield indicate that
the dairy show is
Civ Promises going to meet
Record Welcome. welcome Tbev
know how to hold fairs in New Eng
land. That section is the cradle of