Bisbee daily review., 1917-03-11
FIFTY EXPERT BROWNS UPON STATE WIDE
 CONTESTS
Wallace McKeehan, Safety Supervisor of the Copper Queen, Writes Upon Do State Contests Pay?"
OBJECTS TO HOLDING
 THEM AT FAIR TIME
Thinks State Contests Will Be Done Away With Ultimate ly and Will Be Confined to Single Mining Camps.

A comment on state annual rescue and first aid contest held in Phoenix,
 Nov 16, 1916.
 (By Wallace McKeehan)
 ! At the time these contests were held l promised myself tha. some time in the near future l would air my views concerning contests in gen. eral and this one in particular, but upon mature reflection I decided to wait until the smoke of battle had cleared, the wounded fully recovered and the landscape once again serene. ' Do State Contests Pay? Personally, think not. These contestss were or l iginally gotten up as publicity stunt to show the balance of the state what the mining companies were doing. Again, they were supposed to provide an incentive for the employees, so that they would be eager to take the | training.
 As a publicity measure the three contests held have had little value, ! for the reason that the average citi- zen considers it a corporation matter something in which he has no interest and from which neither he nor the state will derive any benefits. As an incentive it is rank failure. for the reason that the rank and file are we'll aware that while many are called, few are chosen, and that these few must be so far above the average in dexterity, quickness and ready wit that the ordinary man is barred. If it were possible for all men to enter these contests, they would be of some value as furnishing an incentive, but under the best of conditions, this can never happen.
 State contests are held at consider able expense to the companies send ing teams. Taking everything into consideration, l would say that a con servative amount would be Sl,000. for each team entered. While some con- panies may get off with a lesser sum, the average will not be far from this figure. One company that l have in mind must have spent considerably more. Would it not be better to use this money at home in providing something that will be of benefit to the largest number?
 If state contests are to be continued I, for one, will object to holding these in Phoenix, more especially if held at the Fair Grounds and during fair time want no more contests under the auspices of the State Fair Commits sion, and the reason is plain; The people who attend the fair are not in- terested in exhibitions of this kind cd. not instructed, and will give the exhibition the once-over and then beat it. What is the use of spending lot of money to put on a show. if you cant draw the crowd? State contests to have any value. and this will be purely local must be held in some mining district. the larg- CT the better. By rights. the Globe Miami District should have had the contest last year. In a mining camp practically all of the people are in terested and have some knowledge of what the local companies are doing. consequently, when the district cham pions meet opposing teams. especially if from a distant part of the state, there will be good turnout and the spectators will understand what the boys are doing or trying to do. This statement can easily be proven by comparing the number of spectators who viewed the contests held in Bis bee in 1915. when thousands visited the ball park-this being the largest gathering that had ever been seen in the Warren District-with the mea- gre few who witnessed the two Phoe- nix contests. Tn Phoenix quite the contrary happens Not one spectator in a hundred could tell the difference between First Aid contest and a baby show-not even if they saw the
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