St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1920-10-23

:. I
important institutions OF today is tn
Fair Associations. From the be
ginning Of the world, or, at least
from the beginning OF our writer
history, such exhibitions have beel
notable events in the lives of com
munities.
! In early times, of course, the spec
tacles were narrow in scope, as wei
as in interest, and were necessaril,
associated wth some other attrac
tion in order to draw sufficient peo
pie to make success. The Fair, il
its modern sense, Is a public show
Of goods an dproducts for the pro
motion of trade and the developmen'
of industry.
The first exhibition, OF which ans
accounts made, was held by one oi
the biblical kings, and Is described
in the book Of Esther. 1t states
that, in the third year of his reign
: there were shown the riches and
glories OF his kingdom, and the won
ders and magnificance Of his majes'
ty. It lasted one hundred and foug
score days. The exhibition took
place at Shushan, town In Persia,
just east of Babylon, N a great pal
ace, and the exhibition consisted oil
yari-eolored hangings In the house,
strung by gold and silver rings, 4
wonderful display OF handiWork and
beds Of gold and silver upon a pave
ment OF gold and silver of various
kinds. They served drinks in Ves-
sells of gold and silver OF various
kinds. Variety was the feature, bus
the effect was mostly in degrees OF
finery and not of space.
The first fair since the Christian
era was at Venice, Italy, and the
first important exhibition was held
i'm london In 1855, N which prizes
were offered for improvement in
tapestry ana carpet, the exhfbits be-
ing placed side by side. Five years
after this, there was a fair of farm
implements, held at London, also,
and then in later years, such exhibi-
tions were combined and became
popular and collective displays.
In early times, periodical trading,
in special localities, was necessitat-
ed by the difficulties of cOmmunica-
tion and the dangers OF travel, Trips
to market places could not, be FREE
Quently made. thus the annual event
brought together products that those
people who hraved the difficulties In
order to display their wares and
afterwards trade or buy from 9th :.
ers. This naturally brought the fin
est of everything there was to the
fair. Public gatherings, either re-
Hgieus, military or judicial, each
brought together widely scattered
populations, and were utilized as
places OF commerce. Special laws
governed the events.
At the festivals OF Delos and at
the Grecian Olympic Athletic Games
trade found important outlets. In
many Roman cities, the annual as
sembling of the legislature brought
Roman traders together, and the
event usually resulted in what we
call market. y Religious festivals
were regular and conyoked the larg-
est gatherings, and there was al
ways the sideline OF trade and a
show for all sorts OF prod lucts, and
of the fair is mostly associated. !
think that this Is whereathe custom
Of horse trading and knifs swapping
originated. ~
Before Spain entered Mexico, the
Mexican fairs were attended by forty
to ff. ty thousand people. A special
tax had to be paid by the entrants.
Special officers patrolied the square
to keep peace and quiet and to see
that no false measures were used IN
trading. A court Of twelve men sat
n readiness to try, summariiy, any
offenders brought before them By
these officers charged with cheating
In trade or for non-pGyment of the
tolls. IL found guilty, which they
usually we're, they were sentenced
severely. ; In, Mexico, today, we find
that she is not SO scrupulous In her
trading; however, she Is the same
In her methods OF cruelty and pun
ishment.
In England and France special
charters had to be secured from ths
government to hold their fairs.
These fairs convoked great crowds
for long times, and In many cases
charters and grants were obtained
by cities and towns as means TO
enable them to recover from the eff
fects of war or other disasters. They
were important events. One OF the
kings of England granted form of
charter which stated that during the
fair, and eighteen days before and
after 1t, mercahnts would be exempt
from imperial taxation. exempt from
arrest for debts or civil proceedings
OF any sort, except such as might
arise from the transactions of the
market itself, and within its pre-
einets. During long ages, when COM
mercial projections was considered
necessary for the nations welfare
and merchants had to fight their way
through q wilderness OF taxes, the
great fairs of their communities dur
which they were exempt from taxes
was the only suba&hAasS@ for the free