OPENING DAY OF
AMERICAN ROYAL.
STOCK SHOW OPENS AT YARDS
THIS MORNING.
THIS YEAR.
THERE'LL BE A HORSE SHOW
EACH NIGHT.
Fine Line of Beef Cattle, Draft and
Coach Horses, Sheep and Poul-
try on Exhibition -- Judg-
ing Begins Today.
The last flag has been draped, the last bit of bunting festooned over the walls, and the Royal family of American live stock are ready for inspection. The exhibition which opens today is said to be the biggest and best in the Royal's history. The number of entries in the various classes exceed those of former years, and new features have been added which promise to prove attractive to the lover of purebred stock.
All day yesterday and far into the night a crowd of busy attendants worked preparing the decorations for their respective sections. In the big tent workmen were engaged in constructing seats and lacing chairs for the reserved sections. In the big tent workmen were engaged in constructing seats and placing chairs for the reserved sections. Sixty arc lights have been placed in the tent, the roadway has been put in good condition, and everything is ready for the big show.
In the cattle pavilion yesterday the contestants were being washed and groomed for the grand opening this morning. No lady preparing for a ball could be attended with more care by a faithful maid than these representatives of royalty receive at the hands of the grooms. The hair is curled, the hoofs and horns greased and polished, until they look indeed worthy representatives of their royal family.
SHEEP WANTED CABBAGE.
When the sheep began to arrive late Saturday night there was an insistent call from the owners for cabbage. "We must have cabbage to feed our sheep," was the cry. The stock yards company had agreed to furnish feed for the live stock, but here was a contingency which they were not prepared to meet. Being unable to procure cabbage at that late hour, and yesterday being Sunday, there was consternation among the sheep owners. About 8 o'clock yesterday afternoon an old negro who had evidently heard of the dilemma, drove into the pens with a wagon piled high with cabbage. There was a wild scrambling among the sheep owners to purchase the lot and the enterprising farmer realized a good profit on his load. The show sheep now ready for exhibition will eat about 1,000 heads of cabbage daily.
Many devices, showing the enterprise of the attendants with the different heads, may be seen in the pens. "How am I for a Calf," is the inscription above the head of a 1,300-pound yearling, in the Shorthorn division. On every head the grooms and owners are ready and willing to tell of the virtues of their particular string of horses, or herd of Shorthorns.
GREAT LINE OF HORSES.
"If this 2-year-old Belgian mare fails to land first prize we'll walk her back to Iowa," was the boast of a groom who stood at the head of his favorite mare. Stately Percherons, massive Belgians, Clydes and Shires are seen in one section, while in another are the French and German Coach and the Hackneys.
B. O. Cowan of Chicago, assistant secretary of the American Shorthorn Breeders' Association, was enthusiastic over the prospects for the American Royal.
"We are going to have the best show ever seen in Kansas City," he declared. "We have more entries and the people throughout the country have taken a deeper interest. Another thing, you will observe that we have a chicken show this year, a new feature which will be of interest to many."
The night shows during the week will be practically the same as the horse shows formerly held in Convention hall, with this exception, that in all classes there are more entries than in any previous horse show ever held in Kansas City. The big tent, 150x400 feet, with a seating capacity of 7,000, will be well lighted. All seats will be free during the day.
