The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-03-31
Bingham County Will
Not Buy Fair Grounds

nor the gate recelptS nor 90 anyCnlng
but boost their own business and
give the directors little more money
to advertise the fair. The board
spends hundreds of dollars inviting
people to come, and then observes
at fair time that thousands Of
country people for whom the fair
should hold the greatest benefits,
simply ignore it and stay away; that
If the country people were now TAX
ing hold and offering to do anything
that they have not done heretofore
there would be some encouragement
for the board to consider further eff
forts, but outside of a few people
who generally do their share and
more, nothing Of the kind is being
said or done, and large number Of
them have actually criticised, roast
ed and condemned the management
for what they have done and for
Things that never happened and for
conditions in management that never
existed.
The editor of The Republican ask
ed why the board had not written
some explanations for publication adj
vising these people of their mistaken
ideas of how things had been con-
duced regarding complimentary tic
kets and other matters not correctly
understood by the public, and it was
said that it might do some good,
but that when people make up such
stuff as that and circulate it, it seems
hardly worth while to go on acting
in the behalf and explaining to them
that falsehood is falsehood. II peo-
pie want to think ill of the work
they will think i'll of it, no matter
what information is offered them;
that those who have been misinform-
ed and have believed the falsehoods
should learn better than to believe
every wind that blows when it is
against common sense and reason.
The officers of the fair seemed
very much "sot in their ways and
quite full of the experience Of the
past in trying to do for the people
what the people would not do for
themselves and what they have de-
clined to receive for themselves when
offered to them. They went back
over to town and held the annual
meeting called for that date, and
found only a handful of the old
crowd manifesting enough interest
to attend the meeting at which it
was expected that the .qeustion Of
the fate of the enterprise would be
made to get quorum, and the old
board was reelected with the ex-
ception of l.. M. Caps and O. Blu
chanan for whom G. v. Fisher and
George F. Gagon were substituted.
Basalt Man Discussed Fair
j. G. Quinn was in from Basalt
recently and talked some about the
fair. He has lived in the county
ever since the fair started and for
the first few years he exhibited a
large amount and variety Of veget-
ables and then discontinued the prac-
tice. When we asked him why he
quit he said it was an account Of his
disapproval of the way the business
was transacted. He had at first won
many prizes and had to wait SO long
for his money that he was annoyed
by it and was disappointed so many
times he came to feel that he should
have felt better about it If he had
not been connected with it. In other
years he had conducted an expert
mental farm in small way to see
what he could do in raising many
varieties of vegetables, and hoped
that by demonstrating what could be
done and by exhibiting at the fair
and securing the premiums offered,
he could do some good and not be
losing money on it. He brought the
varieties and collections and entered
them according to the lists as pub
ished and found most Of his varieties
ruled out of the competition on the
mere statement that one kind was
and instead of receiving six
,r eight premiums for as many kinds
# tomatoes he received premium
N one kind. Each year he tried to
onform to what was offered, he was
disappointed in some form or an
ther and he quit.
Mr.. Quinn offered the above ex-
lanation rather reluctantly, taking
he view that the public cares little
or his personal affairs or disappoint-
lents, but we assume that IL humid
ed farmers with unusual products