Huntsville gazette., 1884-04-19
PREPARING FOR COMPANY.
Remodeling the Interior of the Chicago Ex-
position Building for the May Festival
and the National Political Conventions
The Hotels Ascending Skyward-A " New
Joke.v
CHICAGO. ILL. Anril IA

CHICAGO, ILL, April IA.
An army of workmen are preparing the
Exposition building for the reception Of
the ''May Festival" which will be fol-
lowed closely by the meeting of the Ma
tional Republican Convention, beginning
on Tuesday, June Sd. An auditory is be-
ing partitioned off in the main building,
which viii be about half the size of the
Convention Chamber used four years ago.
At the previous convention there were ac-
commodations for about $4,000 people,
but it was only on the opening day that
the seats were all occupied. 1t was soon
discovered that the chairman's voice
could not be heard in the north end of
the hall, and thereafter the seats in that
quarter were deserted.
THE SEATING CAPACITY
this year will be nominally 10000, but, OF
course, a great many extra people will be
crowded in on the gallery benches. The
acoustic properties of the great building
were never satisfactory at the best; in
deed, it was not constructed with that
end in view, and its location is unfor-.
tunately SO near the Central Railway
Depot that the noise of the moving trains
is source of annoyance to deliberative
assembly within its walls, However, this
is the only capacious building available
for the convention. The changes and
improvements this season will be a small
er auditorium, the removal of the stage
to the opposite end of the hall, and the
erection of an immense sounding board
over the stage. The latter innovation will
enable every person in the audience to
hear
THE CHAIRMAN'S VOICE, e.t--
but it is feared it will be most unsatis-
factory to the speaking delegates, whose
voices will be echoed and re-echoed from
the sounding board. The National Re-
publican Committee appointed sub
committee to take charge of the forth
coming convention. The subcommittee,
III turn, selected a local committee at
Chicago, and the latter has several branch
committees. Headquarters have been
secured for the various conventional
committees st 127 Dearborn street, and
the work of soliciting funds Tor the
necessary expenses of the great meeting
is in progress. AS the expense of trans
forming the Exposition building will be
borne by the May Festival people, the
Republican National Convention and the
Democratic National Convention, the
share of each is not over 200, but the
Republican National subcommittee has
instructed it's local Chicago offshoot
TO RAISE $4,000
in order that the tickets of admission
may be engraved, orchestral music OBJ
tanned and other improvements iIrsti-
tuted over the last session. The local
committee and it's branches are not in
the most complete harmony with the
sub-National Committee, and there is
sure to arise trouble concerning the
distribution of tickets sooner or
later Indeed, the situation has al
ready become so strained that MEN,
bers of the local committee have re-
quested all applicants for tickets to
write directly to Hon. John Z. New at
Indianapolis. This has evidently been
followed, as it is now reported that
Mr. New has four mail pouches of un-
opened letters, and is receiving about
1920 favors by every mail. 1t was
originally intended as joke, but peo-
pie all over the United States have
entered into it with such spirit that
the volume of mail matter flowing
towards Indianapolis is becoming enor-
nous.
The hotels are making extraordinary
preparations to house the hosts Of visi-
tors expected at the conventions. All the
regular boarders must go, and every room
will hold from five to ten cots. The
Palmer House, already eight stories high,
is building temporary wooden shed on
the roof, in which to place 500 people. Ii
the elements are propitious it will be
delightful resort, but in case of cyclone
or fire the destruction of human life
might be appalling