New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-10-11

operas and tbeaters and public parks and promen-
AIDES accessible in a few minutes walk In PhlIa-
delphia. after one has walked up and down Chest
nut-st.. seen Independence Hall. the Mint FRANK
Inns Tomb and VIM. PENIS house, ana mas taken
drive in Paramount Park lat cost oil % Oh eiU
there Is nothing more to be done. outsine
az the Exhibition the stranger will lind
very few of the attractions that make
stay in great foreign capital so delightful Wis
itors win take few days to see the Fairs and then
90 home, instead of remaining month or two, as IN
London and Paris. Experience here IN vienna mas
shown that the resident population of the city is the
main support of the Exhibition. There are almost
as many people in Philadelphia as in Vienna; but
they are of very different character The Niennese
are pleasure loving, amusement-seekng people
They are seldom at home, except while sleeping.
They spend their leisure time land they have sur
prising amount Of III in cofiee-hOuses, beer-hals,
public parks, and theatres. They go by thousands
every afternoon TO the Exhibition to take their sup
per in the open air aud hear the bands play. On the
other hand. the Philadephians are staid, mdustrl-
ous economical fond of spending their spare hours
at home, and rarely seeking public amusements.
They cannot be expected to furnish half the contln-
gent of Exhibition visitors which the Viennese do.
Besides, Paramount Park is not nearly accessible
as the Prater To reach the Centennial Exhibition
will require a journey Of an hour and half by
stree-car from the centre of Philadelphia. The In
dustrial Palace in the PTater is only twenty minutes
| by car or omnibus from tine heart of Vienna. All
these circumstances must be considered IN estlmat-
ing the attendance at the Centennial Exhibition.
| OF tcourse no attempt will be made to rival the
present Exhibition i'll magnitude 1t would be 1oLy
to make the attempt. The two main buildings IN
the Prater are over half mile long each. and there
are besides 1877 other structures, great and small,
| several of which are almost large as the New
York Crystal Palace was. The great rotunda is
higher than the dome of st. Peters at Rome or the
| Capitol at Washington. A horse-ralway is now
| constructing to take people from one end OF the
Exhibition Enclosure to the other. The distances are
so great that person walking from the West portal
to the Art Hall is too much fatigued when he arrives
to enjoy ithe pictures. If we could mcose and orna-
ment as much ground and erect as many and as large
buildings for Fair could not get enough at
traciye articles to fill the space or visitors enough
to keep it from looking lonesome. We should seek,
it appears to me- to excel in quality and not in guam
| tity-to create in a word small exhibition of sur
passing interest by reason Of the excellence and
variety of objects displayed and the perfection OF
their arrangement. No one should be al
lowed TO show so articles all alike to adver-
| tise bis business, and space should
be given tOcOmmoDpace things unless they have the
merit of superior workmanship or tasteful design.
| If every man who wants to show patent churn, a
big pumpkin, OF patchwork quilt is gwen room,
| we shall have nothing better than an exaggerated
| country fair With the example Of Vienna to proht
by, the Centennial Managers will not, it is to be
| hoped, have nothing but unreadiness, incomplete
ness and confusion to sh6w the public on the open
| ing day and for weeks arteTwaTd. They will not
lose a thing by not beginning the work of construc-
ton early enough. Then they will not, probably
have tbeunforeseen embarrassments and disarrange
| ments which the Vienna Fair has had to contend
with. We are not likely to have financial crash
in 1876 and the cholera top of it, and both COM
bined with the worst possible weather for an exhibit
ton-frst two months of cold rain, and then two OF
scorchng heat So that If, in comparison with the
Vienna Exhibition, the Philadelphia Centennial
will have many disadvantages, it will have some
cOmpeDsating advantages, 80