OCR Text |
Show SALE OF Fi GUIS IS SEEN B! THE DIRECTORS The announcement yesterday in the Standard In regard to the proposed sale of the Fair grounds has brought out the following statements from the directors of the fair association : Mr. A. P. Blgelow cashier of the Ogden state bank, in an Interview yes-terdav, yes-terdav, said: I do not like to see the communitv lose the Fair grounds, with all the buildings and equipment that have been put there for the purpose of con ducting fairs and stock shows Tho buildings are adequate for exhibition purposes and should be held intact "In regard to exhibitions, the fairs and stock shows have been highly sue-cessful. sue-cessful. The live stock show that was held three yeans aeo, during the National Na-tional Wool Growers' convention, was one of the biggest ever held andthere were more animals shown than at any othT show of Its kind In years. "While passing through Rvanston. Wyo . last fall on an automobile trip, I noticed that they were putting up r-xhlbition buildings and I was told bv a business man of Evanston that they . were going to have a fair. I heard later that tho fair was a big success and it seems to me that it would not be wise for the people of Ogden and Weber county to permit the destruction destruc-tion of buildings similar to those that the people of a community close bv have Just seen fit to erect "The Weber county fair grounds are ecnvenlently located and if they are sold, as has boon proposed, it would bp. Impossible to secure as good a site If at some future t'me tho people should Beek grounds for fair and exhibition ex-hibition purposes i sincerely hope that some pian will be evolved so that the buildings may be kept for the purpose pur-pose for which they were built " O. B. Madson. when approached on j the same subject, said. "I dislike to see the fair grounds and buildings j done away with, as there may come a time when the community will have need of both. They should be maintained main-tained by all means. I do not, however, how-ever, see how the stockholders can keep on paying for the maintenance Of the property, as the grounds occu P3 26 acres of valuable la-iid which, with the buildings and Improvements, is worth In the neighborhood of $30, 000. The taxes and assessments for the upkeep of the property are too b!g to be very well borne by a few people, but If the city and county co operate In the taking over of the property and the holding of fairs, this expense would be divided among all the people and would not be hard on any one. ' It Is almost impossible for Individ uals to successfully conduct a fair without outside assistance. The county coun-ty has authority to levy a tax for fair purposes and. with the assistance of the business men. could make it a success. A fair should bo held every year as fairs are beneficial to anv community Though they havo been failures from a financial point of view, they have been highly successful suc-cessful In the matter of exhibits Through these exhibits the stock-raisers, horticulturists and farmers have been benefited and the people of the citv have derived benefits through the advertising obtained by visitors from outside points. ' The city should not permit this property to be cut up It should be purchased as a whole to be used as 1 a park and, through the assistance I of the county in holding fairs and stcck-shows, the renting of tho grounds to circuses and other exhibitions, ex-hibitions, the grounds and buildings I could be maintained with little individual indi-vidual expense and, as all the people would benefit by keeping the grounds, the expense should be borne by all." In relation to the proposed sale of the fair grounds, John Pingree, cashier cash-ier of the First National Bank, said "The taxes and expenses of keeping keep-ing up the fair grounds and buildings has become too burdensome for the company to bear and, as there has been no revenue derived from the grounds, the directors have thought best to dispose of them They have decided., therefore, to sell the grounds cither as a whole or in small lots, whichever way is the most advantag- j eous, though they prefer to sell the I ground as a whole so it may be used I again for fair purposes. "Personalh, I would much rather see the city or county purchase the j grounds for park and fair purposes All over the country cities are beginning begin-ning to see the need of having parks anil much land Is being bought for that purpose. Ogden needs more parks and a more favorable location than the fair grounds could not be secured for the making of a large park. The city could much better aflord to keep the grounds, than can tho present owners, aa it would be exompt from taxation and that alone ! would cut off a part of the expense, j The buildings are already there, if the people should want to have a fair, and the structures, by all means, should be kept for exhibition pur poses " Dr. H M. Rowe. president of thp Weber olub, when approached on the subject, said "The fair grounds should be boughi and held intact by the city and coun ty. The city could buy It for park Ing purposes or the county could pur chase It through a vote of the people It could then be kept up by the levy lng of a small tax nnd by having fairs Thi' people who have been running it have spent a lot of money for the public good and cannot afford to dc so any longer The expenses arc about $1500 a year for taxes and keep lng up the grounds and buildings even when no fairs are held, and in holders are tired of being assessed. "I am certainly in favor of the city or county buying the property. it Is onlv a matter of a short time when (he people will demand another fair and then they will want grounds for exhibition purposes The property can be bought, I believe, for about 525.000, or maybe for less and that is getting It very cheap, considering its location and the modern Improve nients that have been made. "The grounds could bo made into a beautiful park and then it would stll bo possible to have a fair at any time The city needs park grounds a.nd de slrablo locations should be purchased before the land becomes too costly. It could be owned by the city and the county could be allowed to run the fairs, assisting in this way Its maan tenance. Great benefits have been derived In the past from the fairs and stock shows that have been held on the grounds. Tho International live stock show In 1911 resulted In bring lng Into this locality some of the best livestock In tho world and In improv ing the breed of horses, sheep and cat tie all over the western country. "I am sure that by co-operation, the city and county could purchase and maintain the grounds and buildings for the purpose for which they have been used In the past.'' |