The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-02-08
COUNTY FAIRS
Of STATE MADE
PROFIT IN 1921
,ei.I Earnings Estimated at 1885,
o79-Attendancs Of 1,sS4,s1o
Reported.

necatur. Ill, Feb. S.-Forty-one
:, the eighty county and district
airs in Illinois last year made a !
.asaI profit of SIS, 599.97, 3S lost an /.
ssvreeate of SIS, 070.25, and one !
sroke even, Walter w. Lindley, |
~snager of the Illinois State fair |
,ols the Illinois Association Of Ag-
,icnltural Fairs here today. !
THE total attendance at Illinois
county and district fairs in 1921
was 1856, $40. Mr. Lindley said. |
These crowds paid $566,773 for adj
mission to the grounds and spent
n5e.715 with concessions.
Exhibitors at Illinois county fairs
last year paid entrance fees of $46.- |
eee and speed entry fees paid by
horsemen to qualify for the races
amounted to $30,O17.99.
! Total earnings of the county fairs
reached $685., 079, according to Mr..
Ijndley's figures This did not in
clude the $751;, $50 appropriated by
the state for county fair exhibits.
County and district fairs made
wonderful showing for the year"
Mr.. Lindley said. I'm view of finan-
ciaI conditions, the effect of depres-
sion was only moderately reflected
in the profit and loss sheets. Many
associations are planning to put
on more complete fairs for 1922.
THE county fair is the Oldest
outdoor amusement known to man"
Early Fairs.
Mr.. Lindley referred to the days
Of the early fairs when settlers
made their annual pilgrimage to
the fair at the county seat.
AFTER the spellbinders had re-
leased the usual amount of oratory
and the creased pig had squeezed
through many hands, the potato
rollers, sack races, wrestling bouts
and many other feats had been
pulled off, the crowds cleared the
road for the great event of the day"
he continued.
Men went to the hitching racks
around the court house and brought
forth their running horses-light
harness races were unknown in
those days.
People lined up on each side
Of the road while the men prepared
their horses for the race. Owners
ers. This folks from Jonathan
Creek, the Salt Forkers and the
boys from the timber were all
worked up with excitement which
always precedes a horse race. After
many contests of speed and the
usual number of fights, the folks
started on their long journey home,
tired and happy after a great day
Of sport
"The fact that the fairs have con-
tnued for more than a century is
largely due to the fact that the
conduct of the fairs has been based
on public service"
Mr.. Lindley, who is widely known
as a horseman, presented Figures
to show the return to popularity of
horse racing, ard OF the leading
features of most fairs.
Leading publications devoted to
the thoroughbred turf state that
the total value of purses and stakes
raced for by the runners of Ameri-
ca in 1921 was SS,435,0S3. OF this
amount 81 ,153, 100 was given at
meetings held in Cuba and Mexico,
leaving the figures for the United
States and Canada 81 ,281 ,953.
''The amount of money raced for
by. the trotters and PAGERS in the
United States and Canada during
the same period is placed at over
100000. The balance is in favor
Of the runners but they race the
year around.
Secretary of War Weeks has
stated that if racing was discon-
tnued the result on breeding could
hardly be less than disastrous to
the utility and light horse industry
Of the United States and it would
mean that the army could not in the
event Of war mount it's calvary or
properly equip its artillery with the
large number of riding horses re-
CURED"