Arizona citizen., 1876-11-11
LETTER FROM aR. wAssoN.
The Attendance at the Centennial No Extension OfTIme and Why Reference to the Immense Labor Performed by the Commissioners

No Extension OfTIme and Why
 Reference tO the Immense Labor
 Performed by the Commissioner : PHILADELPHIA, October 16.-I ar rived here on the 9th, and have since been daily elbowing through a mass of people from all nations, save on yes terday, the only day of real rest I have had for months. The attendance here now ranges from 75,OOO to 115,OOO. During the past few days, the attend ance has been diminished because of the Ohio and Indiana elections, bul will hereafter increase until a day or two before the Presidential cleo ton, when it will run low unless the local attendance increases. However. il has already surpassed that of any similar exhibition and it is believed the aver age daily attendance will reach nearly if not quite fifty thousand. One of the greatest sights now, is that of the peo- pie who cover hundreds Of acres of the ground during the day and tax the ca pacity of the great Pennsylvania, Read ing and other steam railways, the thousands of street cars and many steamers on the Schuylkill, to trans port them to and from the grounds morning and evening. All kinds of con veyances are not only filled, but theI steps and platforms are damned with people. Everybody pleasantly submits to the jamming and squeezing. Rarely do even gentlemen give up their seats to ladies of any age or condition. A day spent in these grounds in standing, walking and intensely looking at ob- jects of many new kinds and all of in terest, Is tiresome one 10 the s:Outestl persons. The c:owd is SO dense on all Conveyances that if disposed, men could hardly seat all ladies and hence efforts are rarely made to seat any. La dies are SD tired that an offer ofa seat in his lap by strange gentleman is gladly accepted and not regarded par ticularly impr per. Any way to get rest, especially returning homeward in the evening. This city has daily | addition of not less than 100000 peo pie in consequence of the exhibition, and yet they are comfortably cared for at a moderate cost No other cityI could so we'll have accommodated the people, nor furnished such convenient and beautiful grounds for the exhibi- ton itself There has been some talk of extending the exhibition a week or ten days beyond the 10th of Novem l Der, but it will not be done for many reasons. The commission has no con trOl over exhibits after that day, and | If il had, it could not control the weather which after that date, is al most certain to be SO indictment as toI prevent any considerable attendance. The buildings are large and airy and one day last week some of them were uncomfortably cold Then the foreign exhibitors have made arrangements to promptly commence removal of ex-| hibitS after the 10th, and even haveI contracted to send them home by cer- tain steamers, and any extension of time could but result in amazing con fusion and terrible dissatisfaction. The officers of the commission are tired and worried and anxious for the closing day, | and they feel that their labOrs have al l ready been far above their compensa- ton and in most instances above their expectation. Excepting three members of the commission. none have received any pay and but very few their actual expenses. The Exhibition is an ac- knowledged grand success and its financial results will be above antIcipa- tiOn, and hence commissioners feel that their work has been grand success, and that no just call can be made to continue it beyond the day fixed more than three years ago for closing. Of the one hundred and eighty odd build ings on the ground, over one hundred contain articles of interest to nearly any intelligent person, and to have brought about thelr construction with their contents, was a work little ap- preciated by the country al large and by very few of the people. More anon.
 J. W. |