New Britain herald., 1917-02-15

fair as it is to elect officers. We can get a lot of free advertising if we set our dates tonight. One of the first and most important departments is ad- vertising. We must advertise and 1t costs large sum of money. We ex- pended for newspaper advertising
 $625, billboards cost $385, banners across roads, including one in Meri- den and New Britain cost $225, pos tals to auto owners cost $75, moving picture theater slides cost $7O and miscellaneous window signs, etc., $3S6 total of $1766. I would recommend that we cut the newspaper advertis- ing one third. Do not use the bill boards at all. Billboard posters must be placed on the first of the month and 1t is necessary that we use a poster three times as large as formerly. I would use ten or a dozen banners on the main roads in this section. Cut out all window cards. To replace this loss of advertising I recommend that we send out twenty-five or thirty thousand attrac ctive advertising cards to auto o--~~--- Make this card good for one admission of auto to park when presented at the gate. We would then have some assurance that the card would not be thrown in the waste basket. This kind of advertis- ing would effect a material saving and I believe is well wort rying. All this should be taken care of before the actual preparations are com- menced on our grounds"
 Tents cost us STAG. This expense cannot be avoided unless we erect 1,,;1 erect building for an auto show, or remodel our merchants building. This show will return a substantial rev. enue. Entertainment cost $3,659. This includes vaudeville, music and fireworks. We may be able to make a cut in this expense, but we should
 make alterations in our grand stand and change the location. We could
 depend upon revenue from the stand paying for all amusements as we'll as
 horse racing. The grand stand at other fairs return a revenue many times larger than ours.
 Our labor on the grounds did not cost as much as in previous years which Is good showing considering
 the high cost of labor at that time.
 believe the night fair is a success but am convinced that we are spending too much money for fireworks. The
 running expenses of our fair s are
 high. Hay and bedding are the big items. It is more economic to give the premiums offered in 1915 and sell the feed at cost"
 one thing is very evident, that is we have not got to look for exhibitors. It cost us over $500 to take care of the extra livestock and we did not send representatives to look for stock as in previous years. All exhibits were good considering the year. It is q question if we need all the special exhibits which cost us at least $500 for tents, equipment and cash paid for the exhibit. We may possibly cut our expenses $1,500 to $2,0OO without lowering the standard of the fair but
 with this cut the margin of profit IS not enough, considering the risk in- volved. What we must do is increase our revenue. Build a modern grand stand by subscription, guaranteeing the subscribers a certain per cent of the receipt. each year until the stand is paid for. Build this stand on the
 other side Of the track and extend the midway from the back of Foresters' 1 hall to it. Increase the number of them.
 By expending s2O Cor $500 in al- terations of the mechants' building MT. Steiber, who ran the auto show last year at profit, will guarantee revenue of $500 to $1,000. With all all terat1ans az suggested, we should in-