Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1917-09-14

IRON COUNTY RECORD, CEDAR CIT,
tions, and local. county, state, national inter
national expositions or fairs The fact u.s. the term
is applied to all exhibitions where people are ex-
pected to bestow patronage or make purchases.
Bits of Fair History.
The most common kind are agricultural fairs
county and state-as you know. This kind got
their start as a regular thing in America in 1919
At Albany, N. Y, there was prosperous mer.
chant Elkanah Watson, who believed that such
an enterprise would encourage farming and man.
ufacturing and help business He used his nfu
ence with the state legislature and that body ap
proprated $4,000 yearly, for six years, for pre-
miums on agricultural products and family manu-
features.
Since then annual county, district and state
fairs are quite generally held. The district ant
county fairs especially are held, not mainly foi
the sale of goods, but for advertising purposes
and for the encouragement and stimulation of in
terest in the production of farm products, live
stock, and all home manufactures City street
airs, where amusements Of various kinds are furn
ished, are intended to promote the welfare of the
city by attracting traders to them. The same
goes for worlds fairs, which are held in this coun.
try. While commodities are sold, the primary OBJ
ject is to advertise.
In the old world the fair or bazar is an ancient
institution. If we could find files of the daily pa
pers and country weeklies when old Pharoh was
Ringing for living, when Professor Plato dis
coursing on pure democracy and the what and how
of republic, when the thousand and one events
of the Arabian Nights Entertainments were being
worked out, we should probably find articles like
this one-an editors write up of the annual fair in
his town.
Barter and Exchange Places.
People throughout Europe look upon the fair
as a meeting held for the purpose Of exhibiting and
selling goods. Originally fairs were held at stated
times and places, some for the sale of particular
class of merchandise, others for the sale of goods
of general character. People resorted to them
to exchange goods and to collect their stores to
last for several months Princes and the magis-
trates of cities encouraged them and some of the
privileges granted long ago still remain in force
Such fairs as these flourish today on the out.
skirts of civilization as in Siberia Manchuria
Asiatc Turkey where people live isolated for long
stretches of time and do their buying no oftenei
than once or twice year. They originated in the
church festivals which were found to afford the
best opportunity for commercial transactions, the
concourse of people being such as took place upon
no other occasions.
Other European Practices.
In some parts of Europe persons of al
ranks still wait for the great annual fairs to make
their principal purchases of artcales of every de
scription. This applies especially to parts of Eu
rope where trading Notwithstanding transpor
taton, advertising announcements and the like
are not as highly developed as in all parts of Amer
lea today.
One of the most noted of the old fairs was thai
of" Saint Bartholomew in London, founded at the
beginning of the twelfth century
The greatest fairs in Germany are those Of
Frankfort, Leipzig and Brunswick Other noteC
and historic fairs held yearly or semiannually il
Europe are those of Zurzach, Switzerland; Buda
pest, Hugary Siniglia, Italy; Lyons, France (be
fore the war;, and acknowledgement, Russia. The
last named yearly attracts buyers from all parts
of Europe and central and northern Asia, and mer
chandise worth $1OO,00O,O00 changes hands. Al
Mecca in Arabia, the fair is held in connection
with the annual pilgrimage of Mohammedans, anC
is one of the most picturesque in the world.
We hope this array of solumn facts-all guar
anteed to be reasonably true-will not put dam
per on your sportive mood and initiate against
our fairs in the future. When fair time rolls a
round each year you are expected to doll up in
your gayest drapery and set your heart on having
a regular picnic--just like the year you were six.
teen and had a sweetheart; when you had tintype
pictures made together and exchanged them. Re-
member?
-S)
pATPIOTIcM ADD IED ATT uOup