The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1917-03-09
President W. E. Smith, Of Fair AssOcia-
lion, Tells Why Grady Opposes
MuskOgee Stale Fair
NOT FAIR TO OKLAHOMA
CITY AND NOT WISE
Exhibitors Would Not Exhibit at More
than One State Fair Nor Would
People Visit Two

I w e. Smith, president Of the Grady
County Free Fair association, in an
open letter to Senator Thomas J.
/ O'Neill, gives reasons on which he
bases the contention that the people
OF this county are opposed to the oper-
alton OF the Muskogee free fair bill.
Replying to Senator O'Neill's recent
letter, Mr.. Smith says:
Hon Thomas ]. O'Neill,
! Oklahoma City Okla.
My Dea Senator:
! Your letter of the 18th inst, address,
ed to Messrs. M. f. Courtney, A. B.
Thompson and others, Chickasha, Ok
lahoma, has been read by me with a
great deal of interest / know that
you are sincere in your belief relative
to the establishing of state fair at
Muskogee; that you would favor a
measure establishing ether fairs in the
state. consoientiously feeling it to be
wise move for the betterment of the
citizenship and the upbuilding of our
great state.
But / must offer what | deem to be
worthy argument in support OF my
former contention. do believe that
another fair located at Muslkogee will
be detriment to the stockraising and
farming interests of Grady county
and further, that it will be detrimen-
tai to the entire state
The supporters of this bill in each
Of the sessions Of the legislature, Just
as in the present session. have invaria-
bly, offered that argument Of fairness.
You say in your letter, "The people of
the eastern side are entitled to this
recognition, to deny them would be
gross injustice" TO my mind il is not
"a question Of fairness, it is strictly
business proposition
We have many citizens who have SO
distinguished themselves in the public
good that it might be only fairness to
them to reciprocate by placing them in
some office of public trust But we
cannot create or divide public office
so that the citizenship Of Oklahoma
may be fair to some man or set of men.
who are deserving Of trust. 1t is the
same proposition as state fair 1t
is just as absurd and unwise to have
two big state fairs ar it would be to
have two chief executives or two state
treasurers, one for the east side Of the
safe and one for the west
A state fair in order to have nation
al recognition must first necessarily
have state recognition. 1t must have
the cooperation and loyalty Of it's own
citizens. 1t must be one great organ
ixation, unit within the state. To
have more than one state fair is in ef-
feet splitting up and deNacting from
all. If you distribute it about with
view of accommodating localities it
becomes nothing more nor less than a
county fair
The Oklahoma State and Exposition
are entering upon the eleventh year
Of their work for this state. And sure
ly no one can say that the holding Of
this fair is for selfish reasons or Pc
cuniary gain by its stockholders The
stockholders have never received re-
turns only indirectly by making it pos
sible to render the great good to the
state done by this fair They have
never asked one cent OF the states
money and have spent thousands Of
dollars in Advertising Was this not
advertising to the state in genera? d?
Now after granting a charter and per
hitting the Oklahoma State Fair to
operate at Oklahoma City for ten
years we must very grayely consider
this question Of fairness. Disregard
ing the question Of the advisability OF