THE WORLD'S FAIR. A MONTH'S HAPPENINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2056, 20 July 1893, Page 5

THE WORLD'S FAIR.

A MONTH'S HAPPENINGS.

' ADVANCE OP THE EXPOSITION.

(By Oufi Special.)

Chicago, June 17.

The month has brought a wonderful change in the Exposition. The men who stood and /watched the President press the button, leaving it to the joint slaves of man's ingenuity— steam and electricity— to do the rest, would not identify the picture of to-day with that of the past. There are the buildings and the waterwa y s — they are unchanged, of course, but exterior scaffoldings that hid from view some of the beauties have disappeared;, the huge rows of cases to be seen in the promenades around certain of the buildings, have vanished like the snow before spring warmth ; that never-td-be-forgotten sea of mud through which the world's pilgrims waded — even then good humouredly— has given place to clean, well-watered pathways ; the trees, then mere skeletons shooting their limbs aloft, as it were worshippers at the shrinej of their sun-god, crying for the unveiling of his face and the warmth of his full presence, now present a radiancy of foliage that, bright as it is, is a restful break 'twixt water and white palaces ; then we had not an outdoor flower visible, now there is a wealth of colour surrounding the principal buildings, and Woody Island, from being a chilling and forbidding spot, which called to mind a ghostly forest relic of a huge bush fire, has been transformed into a nook— a host of nooks — wherein young couples can, tired of the whirls of the general sight-seeing, rest and compare notes. It was a wonder before to merely gaze upon the buildings in partially completed state, with evidence on every hand of the chaos whence this partial order had been evolved, to stand wrapped in waterproofs and warm clothing and face the bitter wind that water charged came driving over old Michigan, mighty inter-ocean that he is, but what was a vision of startling proportions has changed into a dream-poem. Throw aside your wraps my friends, for— well, I was going to say summer is here, but really the changes baffle me. Is it summer, I wonder ;- because, though it be warm enough, somehow I've lost trace of spring. The days are warm enough for summer; indeed I've seen them as stifling as a nor'-wester devoid of his dust-carrying propensities— though don't from that imagine that hot winds carry no dust, or you'll be sadly mistaken— that burning whip-lash kind of heat that blisters you, and parches up all the system— those fire-laden breezes' that you get when nearing the crater of Vesuvius. , But we've had no spring as we Antipodeans know it. From 30deg above zero to 85deg has been no steady transition— a matter of three or four days and there you had it. So, in the face of all this, is it spring or summer P

Away down the waterways the lazy yet withal graceful gondolas are threading the silver path side by side, with wonderful little electric launches that, with an occasional low whistle to clear the road, dart in and out under the numerous bridges. Everywhere is a scene of animation ; everything and everybody appears desirous of lending to the general effect, and that general effect is entrancing. Your vision is limited while on terra firma. Come, we will mount into the clouds. "You saw the white city from the elevated railroad it was a massing of minarets, towers, cupolas, national bunting, and a slight foreground of unfinished streets. We will take the elevator in the Transportation building and view the scene from the tower. Your breath taken away by the exquisite loveliness of what you see — is that what you said ?— well, I'm not surprised, for away below you is a panorama that no ' brush can faithfully depict. Away north the huge buildings seem dwarfed into ordinary proportions, and the moving masses in the various avenues look like dolls; or seeing those in a procestion passing along the midway plaissance are like unto the toy soldiers made of pewter wherewith we in our youthful days oft made merry. To the south is the Administration, Agricultural, and ether buildings, and the Diana on the latter in the distance, turning with every zephyr, is outlined against the sky in size like a china doll. But we cannot stay here all day. You'd like to ; I don't doubt it, but you are satisfied that you have never gazed on such a dream of loveliness. Wales may boast of its rugged grandeur— minus the buildings ; Versailles of its grand and petite trianons, with their connecting avenue of trees; Italy of its blue skies, water frontages, and old palaces ; Venice of her water-locked security— but no individual piece of ecenery can compare for diversity and lovely surroundings with this collection, this creation of modern skill. ;l; l Not, the picked gem of any nation, but the .'gems of all nations in the matter of architecture lie before you; modern ideal architecture oheek by jowl with Moorish minarets, Swiss pointed gables, Roman classic severity, French delicacy, Esquimaux barbarity — aye, and even Australia's bark huts, all are here, not huddled up in an incongruous mass, but all with individual characteristic surroundings and all of them bordering on a mighty fresh-water ocean. We'll go down and see what is the change in relation to interior arrangement. The directors have issued a notification to the world that the house has been put in order. Yes, there is a decided advance, but still in many parts nothing approaching completeness has been "arrived at; but who expeots it? , Wonders have been worked since opening day. In the Manufactures and Liberal Arts building we are nearest completion of anywhere ; next come the Machinery and the Transportation buildings. The Electrical building is far away behind all the rest, and won't be ready for another month. Russia, who was the unfortunate country in that her exhibits got frozen in the Baltic, has put on a wonderful spurt and opens to-day. Of the exhibits I think Great Britain carries away the palm for being first in position, and her official catalogue came to my hands by yesterday's post. Next came Germany, New South Wales, Italy, Denmark, France, and to-day, as! have said, Russia. There will now be a chance to visit the buildings and find out just how things are in relation to exhibits of special significance. This has been impossible hitherto for the work of to-day has had to give place to that of tomorrow. Ido not think any but the oaptiously critical will find fault with the statement of the directors, for to all intents and purposes the fair is complete. If you come to see a special exhibit it is just possible you may find it not yet in working order if it is a piece of machinery, ox being put in position if a picture or work of art, but quite 80 per cent, is in perf eot arrangement, and there is more to be seen than you, my friends, could accomplish the examination (even most cursory) in all the months allotted for this place to be open. No one need go away disappointed. Where completeness has not been arrived at the work of arrangement is pushed on during the closed hours of the exhibition. The subject of attendance is not one upon which the directors have reason to plumetthem-

selves; the figures alongside those of the Paris Exposition do not show up well. There can' be no doubt that there is a daily growing patronage, but here we are now, after nearly seven weeks, and there have to be special days to pull up anything like the averages. With settled fine weather we were told there would be an alteration. Well, we've got the fine weather, but still the recording machines have not in the general acceptation of the term been called upon to do any very big work. The outlook for an escape with small loss is not good. As an illustration of the feeling behind the scenes the directors have just decided to publish only the gross admittances instead of as heretofore the paying and deadhead sections separately. Tha people want to know why is this thus, but no explanation is forthcoming. . The month .of May closed showing a total of 1,053,037. The following week showed 533,828 had passed the gates, and for the first five days of this week a total of 545,281. German Day.(Thursday last) was a monster day, in fact surpassing any estimate for the proceeding, despite the knowledge that the German element in the population overtops even the native-born. Additions of these figures give a total attendance for 44 days, counting the Sundays on which the fair was open, of 2,255,036. (i